Editorial
Celebration of International Indigenous Day
Impeding it to send wrong signal to the world
Precisely how the State benefits from stopping the celebration of cultural diversity in the country is bewildering. If one goes by recent newspaper reports, the district level administration has been directed not to extend any support in celebrating the 'World Adivasi Day', an event that has been held since 1994. Apparently such a decision was handed down as it is in line with the controversial law the government passed in 2010 that termed all indigenous groups as "minor races" and "ethnic sects".
Such sentiments when propagated at the government level is tantamount to giving out the message that the overwhelming majority of homogenous people may be ignoring the cultural and ethnic minorities who are a part and parcel of Bangladesh. Surely, we do not wish to be seen as a nation that has minimal respect for the indigenous people living in the country and be likened to countries such as Myanmar that has recently bulldozed the right of the ethnic minority living in Rakhine State. The fact that the government banned the use of the term "indigenous" effectively sidelines all such groups living in the country and diminishes their political, economic, socio-cultural and land rights.
With nearly three million people of 46 indigenous groups living in the country, such attempts at undermining them cannot be the hallmarks of a secular, democratic nation. We must celebrate the rights of cultural multiplicity these groups have had since time immemorial as they are communities with separate and distinctive language, culture and identity. Nothing could be further from the truth when government officials declare nationally and internationally that there are no indigenous people in Bangladesh and this is not the sort of message we should be sending out to the international community. Instead of banning an event that celebrates our differences, the State should embrace a policy of inclusiveness where diversity is tolerated and observed with due honour and respect.
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