Dhaka:BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has called for an increased emphasis on the practice and exploration of Bangladesh's history, heritage, and indigenous culture to safeguard the nation's independence and sovereignty and resist cultural aggression. He made these remarks while addressing a discussion at Payra Chattar on the Dhaka University campus.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Rizvi criticized the previous government, alleging that over the past 16-17 years, there have been attempts to transform the country into a monolithic state through insidious cultural aggression. He highlighted the patriotic consciousness among young people, as demonstrated by BUET student Abrar Fahad's stance on water rights, which contributed to the historic July-August mass uprising.
Rizvi compared Bangladesh's movement with the French Revolution of 1789 and the American Revolution of 1776, noting that mass uprisings emerge when an illegitimate government becomes isolated from the people and commits severe human rights violations, including enforced disappearances and killings.
He praised the humanist philosophy of folk mystic Fakir Lalon Shah, emphasizing that while Bangladesh had not experienced a formal Renaissance or Industrial Revolution like Europe, Lalon's emergence from the soil represented a humanist outlook similar to the spirit of the European Renaissance. Rizvi referenced Lalon's song "Sob loke koy Lalon ki jat sangsare" to illustrate how the philosopher challenged social and religious divisions without formal academic training.
Rizvi warned of the potential continuation of cultural aggression in various forms and stressed that preserving independence and sovereignty relies on rediscovering, practising, and nurturing the roots of native culture.