Liton Poddar had to go through the news broadcast on a private Bangladesh news channel several times to find it in the posters and placards of the recent Awami League protest in Dhaka. The poster shows a picture of Lijesh Poddar and Edwin Sutradhar, two friends of businessmen from lower Assam.
“This picture of my son and his friend Edwin was a frame of creative capture by Tapas Pal, a photographer from Bongaigaon. When Tapas thought of doing something different, he made my son as a Hindu boy and the other as a Muslim friend. A friend of mine told me that this picture was on the posters of the Awami League protest in Dhaka. I am very happy that my son and his friend are now the poster boys of peace and communal brotherhood in Bangladesh.”
Nine-year-old Lijesh Poddar, and Edwin Sutradhar, a year older than him, were primary school friends. Lijesh who now studies in class 3 is in a different school but often meets Edwin who is in class 4 in their dance school. In 2020, Rahul Gandhi tweeted his picture saying, “Coronavirus is an opportunity for India to unite as a people while bridging differences of religion, caste and class; to create a common purpose: this deadly virus.” of defeat. Compassion, empathy and self-sacrifice are at the heart of the idea. Together we will win the battle.”
Liton, who is a teacher in a government school, said the picture of friends has been shared by several people on different occasions, including Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, an MP from Rajasthan and president of the Assam Jatiya Party. However this time it has crossed the boundaries for a bigger reason. “Lijesh says he feels like a celebrity when he sees her pictures on various forums,” Litton said.
Thousands of members of Bangladesh’s ruling party recently rallied against sectarian violence, making it clear that Bangladesh will never allow communal hatred on its soil. Central leaders of the Awami League participated in which the people seeking peace and harmony joined the massive rally leading up to the Swahid Minar.
According to local media, at least six people, including two Hindu men, were killed and dozens of houses destroyed in the wave of clashes. Police said 450 people have been arrested. The attacks began when hundreds of Muslims protested in southeast Noakhali district, accusing Hindus of an incident of Quranic blasphemy. Many Hindu religious places were vandalized and houses were set on fire. “Stop this communal evil, Bangladesh,” read a banner held by women supporters, which also carries pictures of two friends from Assam.
Hindus make up about 10 percent of Bangladesh’s roughly 170 million people. A Bangladesh Police spokesman said authorities have registered 71 cases in connection with the violence during the Hindu festival of Durga Puja.
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