Rahul Das (Ananda) life threatened in Dhaka - Fundamenatlists attack his play

Rahul Das' friends are in fear for his life. Soon after a very succesful workshop in Brazil, Rahul is under fire for his views - or for the misinterpretation of his views. Rahul is a popular member of the Melange Network who has worked in Scotland, England, Brazil, Egypt and India as well as his native Bangladesh, a country now in much turmoil. A brilliant talent, Rahul needs support now. Messages can be channelled to him through link.

Re-printed from New Age, Dhaka - 14 November 2008

Left, progressive RU student bodies stand together against Shibi
Our Correspondent . Rajshahi

All left-leaning student organisations and the Progressive Students’ Alliances in Rajshahi University on Thursday teamed up against the fundamentalist forces, including Islami Chhatra Shibir.
   Campus sources said the JSD-backed Bangladesh Chhatra League, Chhatra Union, Chhatra Front, Chhatra Maitree, Udichi Shilpi Goshthi, Amra Muktijoddhar Santan and Awami Aini Chhatra Parishad at a meeting floated an organisation called Students Combine against Fundamentalism (Sampradiyikata Birodhi Chhatra Oikya.
   They also formed a 16-member committee. The university unit Bangladesh Chhatra League president, Taymur Faruk Tushar, was made the committee convener.
   The committee announced its first programme against Islami Chhatra Shibir on the campus for Saturday.
   The district and university units of Udichi Shilpi Goshthi submitted memorandum to the chief adviser through the deputy commissioner on Thursday.
   They demanded punishment of the fundamentalist forces who were trying to make an issue out of a drama staged by Dhumketu Natya Sangsad by giving false interpretation.
   They said Dhumketu had staged the drama, Mandar, on the campus on November 3 in protest at the dismantling of the baul monument in the Dhaka airport crossing.
   The play, scripted by Rahul Ananda and published in theatre journal Theatrewala in 2004, featured a character named Rasul Miah. The play was earlier staged at least 20 times by Prachya Natya Dal in Dhaka.
   But Islami Chhatra Shibir was giving out a false explanation and on November 6 manhandled a Bangla department student, Hosne Ara Farzana, also an Udichi activist, in connection with the alleged satiric attack on Islam in the drama performance, a charge the troupe dismissed as false and conspiracy.
   Shibir later announced to burn alive all cultural activists based on the university campus.
   Islami Chhatra Shibir activists teamed up Sachetan Chhatra Samaj on Thursday also submitted a memorandum to the acting university vice-chancellor, Mamnunul Karemat, and the proctor, Enamul Haque, demanding punishment of campus-based cultural activists for staging the drama.
   Several hundred Shibir activists went to the vice-chancellor’s office at noon and submitted the memorandum. They later submitted a copy of the memorandum to the proctor.
   The Shibir activists threatened tough programmes to drive cultural activists out of the campus if the university authorities would fail to take action, according to the memorandum.