Indian artistes pay tribute to Abu Sayed, support Bangladeshi students’ plight
As tension reaches unpredictable heights in Bangladesh amid the quota reform protest movement across the country, reports about the violent clashes between students and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists have reached media portals worldwide. Indian celebrities in Kolkata are showing their support for the Bangladeshi students on social media.
Celebrities and notable figures in Kolkata, including Swastika Mukherjee, Sahana Bajpaie, music composer and director Indraadip Das Gupta, and actor Anindya Chatterjee, have voiced their support for the protesters.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. These celebrities have shared the pictures of Abu Sayed, who became the ultimate symbol of the ongoing protests as he bravely stood in front of police and was killed during a clash between police and protesters seeking quota reform on Rangpur's Begum Rokeya University campus on July 16.
Swastika Mukherjee
"It's been almost a month since I left my country. News channels in the United States hardly cover any news from third world countries. And since I'm not very attached to my phone, it took a while for such terrible news to reach me."
"Just a few months ago, I visited Bangladesh. I really wanted to visit Jahangirnagar University. I was fortunate to visit the Faculty of Fine Arts, which will remain a memorable day in my life. Every time I come, I don't manage to go due to my busy schedule. My mother also wanted to visit Bangladesh very much, but I couldn't take her. But today I was heartbroken and shocked to see the ghastly videos of smoke from gunfire in these premises with the students being attacked."
"My student days are long gone, but Jahangirnagar and my Jadavpur University are very close to my heart. The frangipani trees (Kathgolap tree) are quite similar. The clouds in the sky are also quite similar. But today, there is the smell of gunpowder there."
She then shared this poem, "The field becomes heavy as mist descends,
The route march fades towards the horizon.
Is that a Krishnachura fallen by the roadside?
I bend down, pick it up in my hands,
Your severed head, Timir."
"I have never seen such a hospitable nation; the invitations to eat seem endless. Where else would I see such beautiful language motifs all along the streets? Eye-catching wall writings? This is probably only possible for a nation that has taken an oath during the Liberation War.
Today, I feel restless. I am a mother too. I hope Bangladesh will be peaceful. I am far away, and this is all I can pray for.
Light emanating from the source of darkness – that is our light…
Let there be light."
"May everyone be well."
Sahana Bajpaie
Sahana Bajpaie reshared a status from Kolkata journalist Arka Bhaduri's Facebook wall with the hashtag, "#InSolidaritywithBangladesh".
"Just before his death, Abu Sayed wrote on social media about his idol - Rajshahi University teacher and martyred Professor Shamsuzzoha, who was killed in police firing in 1969 during a student protest. In the mass uprising that took place that year, he sacrificed his life trying to protect students from the bullets of Pakistani soldiers."
"Abu Sayed wrote, 'Sir, we need you desperately at this moment. All of your contemporaries have passed away, but you remain immortal even in death. Your grave is our inspiration. We are illuminated by your spirit.'"
"Not just Abu Sayed, but millions of boys and girls across Bangladesh are saying today, 'If I become a martyr today, leave my lifeless body on the streets. When the student community returns with a victory march, declare me victorious and bury me.'"
Indraadip Das Gupta
"Life will remember you, brother. With power comes responsibility, a truth often forgotten and overridden today. Shame on you, Governance. In absolute solidarity with the Bangladeshi student community."
Anindya Chatterjee
Small screen actor Anindya Chatterjee shared wise quotes of freedom fighter Khudiram Bose.
"Fight -
If you can't fight, say it.
If you can't say it, write it.
If you can't write it, then give us support.
If you can't support, encourage those who are doing these.
If you can't do that which others can,
Don't let their morale diminish.
Because, they are fighting the battle that belongs to you."
Kausik Sarkar
Artiste Kaushik Sarkar has shared a drawing on Facebook depicting the slain protestor Abu Sayed. The pen sketch beautifully captures Abu Sayed, showing him with his chest widened, embracing death with open arms in his fight for quota reform.
He captioned his drawings with the line, "My eyes are filled with passion and thirst. Such thirst encircles my chest for rebellion."
Today, protesters aim to enforce a "complete shutdown" nationwide, protesting violent measures taken by law enforcement across various campuses. However, 229 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed nationwide to manage the situation.
As potential unrest looms, celebrities and artistes in Kolkata hope for peace to be restored in Bangladesh.
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