A group of students staged a protest at Dhaka University on Saturday accusing several cultural and media personalities of promoting ‘cultural fascism’ after they posted tributes to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on social media marking 15 August.
The protest began around 5 pm near the Raju Sculpture and later moved to the ‘Ghrina Chattar’ area of TSC.
During the demonstration, students were seen hurling shoes at photographs of the named celebrities, and also at an image of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman displayed on a pillar of the Dhaka Metrorail infrastructure.
The protestors, who introduced themselves as general students, displayed posters and chanted slogans calling for the boycott of several well-known figures from the entertainment and media industry.
Among those named were cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, singer Lincoln (of the band Artcell), actors Siam Ahmed, Meher Afroz Shaon, Nazifa Tushi, Saju Khadem, Mumtaheena Toya, Farabi Hafiz, Arosh Khan, Irfan Sajjad, film actor Shakib Khan, and actress Mehezabien Chowdhury, among others.
Participants accused the figures of supporting what they referred to as "Mujibism" and claimed these personalities were helping to re-establish an ideological agenda tied to the previous government.
Protester Md. Samiul Haque, a second-year MBBS student at Dhaka Medical College, said for the past 16 years, the country has suffered under political, economic, and cultural fascism driven by Mujibism and Bakshali ideology. Following the July mass uprising, we believe Bangladesh has been freed from this regime. But now, certain cultural figures are attempting to revive that same fascism through their platforms. We reject and resist this.”
The protesters labelled them as "cultural fascists" and vowed to boycott them.
