Cultural Affairs Adviser to the interim government, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, has said that the long-standing binary of “forces in favor of liberation” versus “forces against liberation” needs to be re-examined.
Farooki made the remarks on Thursday around 8:50 pm at the Pāyra Chattar of Dhaka University’s TSC, during the closing ceremony of the five-day “Shaheed Osman Hadi Book Fair”, organized by Ducsu and the Young Columnists’ Forum.
He said, “This binary needs to be looked at anew. Who are the forces against liberation today? They are the ones who have compromised our sovereignty for 15 years. They are the ones who have erased elections from this country.”
Referring to how national decisions were allegedly made from abroad, he added, “When decisions about who will govern Bangladesh or who will be ministers are made while sitting in another country, and then you still claim to be a pro-liberation force—there can be no bigger farce than that.”
Farooki emphasized the need for a cultural space in Bangladesh that would ensure there is no room for future fascism. He said, “The main weapon behind the 16 years of misrule by the Awami League was culture. They created a cultural narrative dividing society into ‘high culture’ and ‘low culture’.”
He explained, “Those who believe that so-called Bengali culture means Awami culture—meaning hegemonic politics—are labeled ‘high culture.’ And BNP? They came from the military, so ‘tsk tsk,’ they can’t be high culture. That means Ziaur Rahman isn’t high culture, Khaleda Zia isn’t high culture. Islamic parties? They’re not high culture either. They’re all branded as low culture.”
Explaining how the concept of high and low culture operates, he said, “This framework decides whose death you are allowed to mourn and whose death you are not.”
He added, “Because of this narrative, when Barrister Arman is forcibly disappeared, the middle-class conscience doesn’t mourn. Because so-called progressive newspapers have taught you that he doesn’t belong to high culture—so you shouldn’t cry for him.”
Towards the end of his speech, speaking about the referendum, Farooki said, “All the reforms we’re talking about—yes, if we fail to win, we don’t know whether any of this will materialize. So I urge all of you to motivate your friends and those close to you to vote ‘Yes.’”
At the closing ceremony, speeches were also delivered by Dhaka University Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed and Osman Hadi’s elder brother Omar Hadi, and the event concluded with slogans led by Ducsu Vice President Shadik Kayem.
