March ahead together, with determination: Farooki

"Today is July 35. We stand a little away from independence. March ahead together, with determination,"-- writes filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki on his social handle. 

From the beginning of the movement by the Student Against Discrimination (SAD), Farooki has been vocally active online in support of the students. 

In two separate Facebook posts made last night and this morning, Farooki expressed his views on the current situation in the country.

Emphasising the need for collective efforts to reform the state, Farooki wrote, "Then there will be the long work of state reform and the long work of institutional reform so that we never have to fall into such captivity again. Some are asking, who will carry out these reforms? You will, we will and collectively all of us will do it."

Expressing his confidence in the youth, the "Saturday Afternoon" director wrote, "To be clear, everyone knows where the problems in our system lie and where overhauling is needed. Senior citizens within the country are already aware of this. I also want to remind you of the youth. They are growing up with a new global perspective. After such a significant movement, you surely have no doubts about their capabilities. Meanwhile, we see the hashtag 'Reserve Brain Drain.' A generation studying abroad also wants to contribute to this work. We've had enough chaos. It's time to reorganise the country anew, to create a humane democratic society. Long live the revolution."

Additionally, last night Farooki made another long post titled "A few words to the army, the government, and my fellow brothers and sisters in the movement." In it, he expressed his desires to everyone involved. Addressing the government, he wrote, "It's better to accept reality." He further stated, "Your politics has suffered a terrible defeat. The stark contrast between the politics of the Awami League before independence and today's Awami League will astonish future history students. The people of Bangladesh today seek liberation from fascism."

He further suggested, "If you accept this truth and make wise decisions, you might be able to control some of the remaining damage to your political image. However, if you try to stay in power by killing people, it will cause tremendous harm. Bangabandhu's Pakistani counterparts tried to maintain their position by killing people. I surely don't need to tell you where they stand in history today."

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At the end of his long post, he left a message to the protestors, "Today, when some of you charged towards the police in Shahbagh, a group of you formed a human shield to protect the police. Let this be the future of Bangladesh. We know there are a hundred thousand reasons for anger. But in the greater interest of the nation, during such transitions, anger must be controlled. If incidents of harassing or attacking someone from the opposition occur, our progress will ultimately suffer. If someone commits a crime, there are legal measures for that. Can we advance if we speak the language of fascism while trying to eliminate fascism? We must ensure that no over-enthusiastic person causes such incidents and that no one is attempting sabotage."