Shillong, Aug 6: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has appealed to the interim government in Bangladesh to take control of the internal situation in the country and avoid further loss of life and properties.
His statement comes following the destruction of the statue of the legendary Khasi freedom fighter, U Tirot Sing Syiem, at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
“Unruly mob has on Tuesday attacked the Indian Cultural Centre in Bangladesh capital Dhaka and destroyed a bust of U Tirot Sing Syiem, a Khasi chief who was one of India’s first freedom fighters. Visual of the attack emerged on social media and went viral across social media platforms in Meghalaya drawing condemnation from several quarters,” the Chief Minister said on his Facebook handle on Tuesday evening.
“While the situation in Bangladesh is the internal affairs of the people of Bangladesh, we wish the caretaker government to take in control the matter and avoid further loss of life and properties,” he further said in his appeal.
The IGCC building was completely gutted in a fire set alight by an irate mob on Monday, which also destroyed the Khasi freedom fighter’s statue. A video of the incident went viral on social media on Tuesday.
Tirot Sing Syiem’s commemorative statue was unveiled at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in Dhaka on February 16, 2024.
An unruly mob has been on a vandalism spree across Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina’s resignation as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh as well as fleeing the country. Army has taken over the control of the country’s affairs to form an interim government, however, there is a stiff debate going on the members to be included in the government.
The protests in the country had erupted in June this year over a contentious reservation policy for the decedents of the heroes of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, making 30 percent reservation for them in civil posts. The protests turned violent in July at Dhaka University where few of the protestors died in confrontation with security forces and pro-government groups. The protests and violence quickly spread to other parts of the city and slowly to other parts of the country, leading to death of over 300 people.
Despite the Supreme Court of Bangladesh later curtailing the overall reservation to only 7 percent, Hasina’s directive to call in Army and use violence besides blanket ban on internet and telephonic services and clamping curfew to control the situation further riled the protestors. After a brief lull, the violence erupted again on Sunday, killing atleast 100 on the same day with the security forces also sustaining many casualties.
Right before the protestors stormed into her palatial residence on Monday afternoon, she resigned and the left the country.
It is to be mentioned here that the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in Dhaka was formally inaugurated in March 2010. It promotes bilateral cultural linkages between India and Bangladesh by organising cultural programmes, cultural seminars, workshops and engaging India based Gurus, professionals and trainers for Yoga, Hindi, Indian classical Vocal Music and Indian Dances such as Kathak and Manipuri.
A cultural centre of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the Centre also has a library with over 21,000 books in the fields of Indian art, culture, politics, economics and fiction.
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