Why the renaming of an iconic Bengali New Yr parade in Dhaka sparked a debate

Within the predawn hours of April 12, a fireplace on the Dhaka College campus diminished a 20-foot bamboo-and-cane sculpture known as the “face of fascism” to ash. A papier-mâché dove, symbolising peace, was additionally charred.

The arson assault on the paintings was the visceral climax of a debateover a single phrase: “mangal” or auspicious.

It had been sparked by the college administration’s resolution to rebrand the long-lasting Mangal Shobhajatra procession, which is held on Bengali New Yr on April 14, because the Borsho Boron Anondo Shobhajatra (“Procession of Pleasure within the New Yr Embracement”).

The renaming of the 36-year-old custom, which had been born in protest towards army dictatorship, has ignited a cultural struggle in Bangladesh.

Officers declare they’re restoring the occasion’s authentic identify. However the timing and context betrayed a darker agenda: the erasure of a logo that after unified Bengalis throughout spiritual and political divisions.

The Mangal Shobhajatra started not as a competition however as a revolt. In 1989, underneath Common Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s autocratic regime, college students at Dhaka College’s School of Superb Arts crafted grotesque owls (to characterize corruption), tigers (braveness), and doves (peace) to mock the army’s grip on energy.

They paraded these figures via the campus at an occasion they known as Ananda Shobhajatra (“Joyful Procession”).

By 1996, as democracy flickered to life within the wake of contemporary elections, the identify was modified to Mangal Shobhajatra and have become a logo of Bangladesh’s anti-authoritarian ethos.

This evolution mirrors a worldwide sample: traditions are sometimes solid in disaster. Contemplate France’s Bastille Day, which remodeled revolutionary chaos right into a sanitised nationwide vacation, or India’s Republic Day parade, which repackaged colonial-era army shows as postcolonial satisfaction.

In 2016, the procession was recognised by Unesco as an essential a part of the world’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage. However that very acclaim has made it a goal. Islamist teams have decried the occasion as a “Hindu ritual”. Its secular motifs (peacocks, owls) and anti-fascist slogans are seen as an affront.

The renaming of the procession just isn’t mere semantics. The phrase “mangal” carries layers of historic weight. Its adoption within the Nineties mirrored a collective craving for democracy. Its erasure in the present day alerts a retreat from that imaginative and prescient. As one critic famous, “They’re not simply altering a reputation – they’re rewriting a manifesto”.

The college’s administration’s justification for the rechristening is riddled with contradictions. Whereas claiming to revive the 1989 identify, officers omitted to elucidate that including the phrase “mangal” to the identify was a deliberate response to the anti-Ershad motion.

Professor Azharul Islam Chanchal, convener of the celebration committee, insisted the change is natural. However college arts college students stated they’d boycott the occasion, describing it as “hypocritical” and politically coerced.

The backlash prolonged past campuses. On-line, customers mocked the renaming as capitulation to extremism: “Why not rename Tuesday [Mongolbar] as Anondobar?” requested one social media person. Others stated this was selective cultural cleaning.

The regime’s transfer is as a lot about geopolitics as home management. Bangladesh has deepened ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, nations cautious of secular activism. Scrubbing motifs related to Hinduism (peacocks, owls) and changing “mangal” with “anondo” aligns with Gulf sensibilities, the place “pleasure” is palatable however political company just isn’t.

Domestically, the rebranding appeases Islamist teams such because the Hefazat-e-Islam, which stated that the phrase “mangal” was “un-Islamic.” The administration’s declare that the occasion is inclusive rings hole. Whereas 410 artists from 26 ethnic teams had been to be included within the parade this yr, their participation is tightly choreographed. A Mro artist requested, “Why should Bengali traditions be diluted to incorporate us? Our festivals are separate.”

The arson assault on the “face of fascism” sculpture gave a way of what was at stake. Whereas officers blamed “unknown miscreants” for the fireplace, college students alleged complicity of the college authorities. “They need to erase any image that challenges their narrative,” stated one pupil who requested anonymity.

The renaming of the Mangal Shobhajatra just isn’t a return to roots however a retreat from them. It displays a worldwide authoritarian playbook: co-opt cultural symbols, sanitise dissent, and rewrite historical past.

But the procession’s legacy stays alive in those that refuse to overlook.

Zakir Kibria is a author from Bangladesh. He’s a chronicler of entropy, chasing caffeine, free falls, and glances. His e mail deal with is zk@krishikaaj.com.