BNP acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday accused some cultural figures, including Rokeya Prachy and Meher Afroz Shaon, of praising deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and getting involved in “various conspiracies.”
“Today, Rokeya Prachy and others in Bangladesh are heaping praise on Hasina and getting involved in various conspiracies. Look at Humayun Ahmed’s younger wife, Meher Afroz Shaon, and see what kind of role she has already been playing,” he said.
Rizvi made the remarks while speaking at the unveiling of a new song by singer-songwriter Ethun Babu about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the evening.
He said being an artiste does not necessarily mean that someone will be a humanist, and being a cultural personality does not necessarily mean that one will have an open mind or be a humanist.
Rizvi said the true cultural figure is someone who possesses the qualities of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. “The person who has humanity is the true artiste. A person without humanity can never be a true artiste,” he said.
He said cultural activists have historically played a leading role in struggles for independence, democracy and revolutions.
“The cultural force is the vanguard, the leading force of every movement. If they are not organised, a movement cannot succeed,” the BNP leader said.
He said fascist regimes also had their cultural groups and cultural personalities who supported them.
“History has shown this in different countries of the world. Many prominent artistes, performers and cultural personalities supported Hitler’s Nazi regime and Mussolini’s fascist rule,” Rizvi said.
He said not every artiste or prominent cultural personality necessarily becomes a humanist, alleging that some artistes failed to recognise the sacrifices of those killed during the July uprising.
“They did not see the sacrifices of Ahnab, Mugdha and Abu Sayed, which we just watched on the screen. They did not see the blood flowing from their bodies or the white shirts soaked in red,” the acting BNP secretary general said.
He said some people had become so “closed-minded” and “narrow” that they were supporting what he described as a “terrible fascist” despite being citizens of the same country.
Rizvi also advised people not to focus solely on becoming someone else or reaching a particular position, but to try to move forward from wherever they currently stand.
“We all think about what we will become and what position we will reach. But if I think about trying to move a little forward from where I am, that will bring the greatest success. That is what will take you much farther,” he said.