Abdul Mannan, former chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and dean of the Business Faculty of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, has said a large part of the country's youth does not know the true history of the Liberation War.
He made the comment at a discussion session titled “50 years of Liberation War: Bangladesh through the mirror of the golden jubilee of independence” on Thursday, the first day of the Dhaka Lit Fest.
Abdul Mannan said there is no weakness in Bangladesh's literature as it is not widely appreciated in the world. If the country's education system becomes knowledge-based after cancelling the grading system, the extraordinary literary works of Bengalis will shine in the arena of world literature.
But the initiative must come from the policymakers, said the educationist.
Another discussant, poet and essayist Minar Mansur, criticized the countries that gave shelter to the self-confessed killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“Self-confidence is the biggest achievement of Bangladeshis as a nation in 50 years of independence. And it started with achieving the desired victory in the great Liberation War,” said the poet.
Renowned photographer Nasir Ali Mamun moderated the hourlong discussion.
Theatre personality and freedom fighter M Hamid was also present and reminisced about his war days.
He also thanked the organizers of the Dhaka Lit Fest.
He said: “The struggle of Bengalis against suppression, discrimination and hunger is thousands of years old. During the Pakistan regime, if a play was to be staged, the script had to be brought to the police, and after corrections were made by the policeman of the police station, we would perform the play with that script.”
“And today in independent countries, there are theatres in every neighbourhood,” added M Hamid.
Expressing grief, he said: “Bangladeshi theatres would have become more world-class if they had received official patronage.”
