For the first time in 47 years, the Bengali New Year celebrations at Chittagong DC Hill in Bangladesh were cancelled after unidentified individuals vandalised the venue.
According to a Times of India report, the attackers tore down banners, festoons, and side stages prepared for Monday’s Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year) festivities in Chittagong.
Venue Vandalised
Eyewitnesses reported that a group of around 30 to 40 people stormed the site on Sunday evening, chanting slogans like “accomplices of fascists, beware!” and “agents of Awami League, beware!”
In response to the attack, the event organisers decided to cancel all planned programmes in protest.
Event coordinator Sucharit Das Khokon shared that the team had already faced challenges in the days leading up to the festival.
“Just before the event, the district administration gave us a list of 23 organizations we were told not to allow to perform,” he said. “Then came the vandalism.”
Yunus Calls For Unity
In the wake of the incident, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus called for unity, saying, “Let us pledge in this Bangla New Year to build a Bangladesh free from discrimination—peaceful and inclusive for all.”
Bangladesh’s Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, strongly condemned both the attack and the current administration under Yunus.
‘Erasing Benagli Culture’
“Today, anti-liberation forces have seized power illegally. They are bent on erasing Bengali culture,” she declared.
She added, “Every time such forces come into power, they strike at the heart of our heritage. They’ve tried to stop the Mangal Shobhajatra before—and now they’re even renaming it.”
Hasina’s Call To Preserve Culture
Hasina concluded her message with a call to preserve cultural integrity: “This Bengali New Year, let us reject all that is toxic, distorted, or divisive—and instead embrace a vibrant, creative, and healthy cultural life.”
The traditional Mangal Shobhajatra procession—central to the New Year celebration—was renamed Anondo Shobhajatra this year, following pressure from conservative Islamist groups such as Hefazat-e-Islam, who criticised it as a “Hindu ritual.”
(With inputs from IBNS)
