A three-day film festival organised by the neighbouring Bangladesh government in Tripura capital city Agartala scheduled to begin from Thursday has been postponed keeping in mind the tense situation on both sides of the border post Comilla communal clashes during this Durga Puja.
A communal clash broke out on October 15 after a rumoured video of a Durga Puja in Cumilla of Bangladesh, where the deity was shown standing over Islam’s holy book, The Quran, made rounds that allegedly irked the Muslims — majority there — to attack Durga Pujas and commit arson in several parts of the country in which six, from both sides died, while several others were injured. Though no attacks, but social media is seething with condemnation of the incidents from several sections of people in India.
Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Agartala Jubayed Hassan said that the festival has been postponed “due to current tensed situation”.
“Keeping in mind the current tensed situation caused due to attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh and the consecutive discontentment among people in Tripura over that, the Bangladesh government has decided to delay the festival until things get better,” Hassan said.
“In the proposed film festival, 34 films, mostly on ‘Mukti Yuddha’ (1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh), were planned to be screened from October 21 to 23 in the Rabindra Satabarshiki Auditorium,” Assistant Commissioner Jubayed Hassan said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Tuesday urged the Bangladesh government to protect the lives, properties and religious places of the minorities in that country.
Many organisations, intellectuals, political parties and NGOs in Assam and Tripura have condemned the recent attacks on people belonging to the Hindu community in Bangladesh, besides organising protest rallies against the communal violence in the neighbouring country.
They have met the Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioners in Agartala and Guwahati and urged them to request their government to ensure action against those who attacked the minorities, vandalised Durga Puja pandals, and properties belonging to non-Muslim families.
As a result of the violence, that the Bangladesh media house reports as “worst episodes of communal unrest in over a decade”, during the Durga Puja festival, 71 cases have been filed, a Bangladesh police spokesperson told the media.
According to Bangladesh media, at least 450 people have been arrested as of last Tuesday.
As precautionary measures, Dhaka — Bangladesh capital — has strengthened police presence in several districts like Chittagong, Narsingdi, Comilla, and Munshiganj that are known for historic Durga puja celebrations
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