Issues of hartal
Dilruba Nasrin ELL, IIUC
Every day we lose many of our brothers and sisters in road accidents, launch disasters, building collapse etc. But our political parties aren't interested to call any hartal for them; only when they lose their leaders they call hartal. Not only the opposition but also the ruling party calls hartal on very silly matters. They are just playing with the fate of the people. This is one side of the page. One the other side, we see a silent protest. There is Asma Kibria, an artist and widow of the slain AL leader Shah ASM Kibria. Though he was an opposition leader, his family, especially his wife, doesn't call "hartal". Apart from her family members, leading intellectuals, opposition lawmakers, politicians, freedom fighters, cultural and human rights activists, lawyers, teachers, students, and commoners joined her silent protest. They did not call any hartal but they did many things. Holding a giant banner inscribed with more than 100,00 signatures from home and abroad, they stood up silently in front of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. They organised many human chains in different places of Bangladesh. His sisters staged a 150-minute hunger strike. His son and daughter-in-law led a rickshaw procession. His daughter who lives in the US stood by her mother. The Kibria family initiated the 'Blue For Peace" programme as part of their non-violent movement demanding punishment to the masterminds of all bomb and grenade attacks across the country that took place in recent years. They urged the people to observe the programme on every Thursday by wearing blue dresses. It is the best time for Bangladeshi people to join the programme because it is more powerful than hartal.
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