Communal violence: 71 progressive organisations put forward 7-point charter

An alliance of 71 progressive organisations on Monday put forward a seven-point charter over the recent incidents of communal attacks in different parts of the country.

The protesters, including cultural activists, students and members of progressive organisations, gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital where they also held an anti-communal culture programme.

Perpetrators of the recent communal attacks, along with those involved in such incidents previously, must be brought to justice through speedy trials, they demanded.

Their demands also include -- proactive role of local administration to prevent such incidents in the future, quick reconstruction of houses and temples destroyed in recent incidents.

They demaned the inclusion of the importance of the Liberation War, Bangabandhu, Bengali nationalism, moral principles and tolerance in the national curriculum.

Proper measures should be taken to inculcate Bengali culture in the younger generation and action must be taken to prevent the spread of rumours on social media, they further said.

Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, Sector Commanders Forum, Dhaka University Teachers Association, Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi Bangabandhu Parishad and Jatiya Kabita Parishad, among others, participated in the programme.

Recently, communal violence erupted in several districts that left at least eight dead.

Several Hindu temples were vandalised, homes of the religious minority ransacked and set on fire, and their businesses looted.