Staff Reporter:
National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam on Saturday alleged that the segment on killings along the Indian border and the list of Bangladeshis who died in such incidents, which existed in the July Memorial Museum during the interim government’s tenure, has been removed under the current govern-ment.
“The list of Bangladeshis killed in border shootings and the memorial for Felani have been removed from the museum. Meanwhile, the current government has increased its own party-related content,” Na-hid told reporters after visiting the museum on Saturday morning.
He said during the rule of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, all authoritarian decisions including looting of people’s money used to be taken from Ganabhaban.
The interim government had planned to convert the building into a museum.
“We spoke extensively both in parliament and outside for the museum to be opened to the public. I had visited here before as well. Some changes have been made by the government after the elections,” Nahid said.
He further alleged that the segment on border killings, memories of the massacres at the border, and rec-ollections of the anti-Modi movement have all been removed from the museum, while the BNP’s move-ments and struggles have been given comparatively more prominence. “The museum should not become a place for practicing party-based history. It should remain a place for practising national history.”
Commenting on the removal of anti-India content from the museum, Nahid said India was complicit in the fascism that prevailed in Bangladesh over the past 16 years. “BNP is perhaps afraid of India. The government thinks doing this will help maintain good relations with India. The issue is not about having good or bad relations with India, the relationship must be one of dignity.”
The NCP convener said the memories preserved from the July uprising should be showcased in greater detail, following a timeline covering contributions from various districts, universities, private universi-ties and madrashas.
