A frustrated group wants to keep society unstable: Mirza Fakhrul

Local Government, Rural Development (LGRD) and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said there is a frustrated group in the country that wants to keep the society unstable.

“I do not want to mention any specific party or individual. Our politics is not clean or healthy. Time and again, people have fought for change, given their lives, tried to bring change, but unfortunately, change has not come.”

He made these remarks as the chief guest at a discussion meeting organized by the district administration at Rabindra Kachari Bari in Patisar, Atrai, Naogaon, on the occasion of the 165th birth anniversary of poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “I just want to say that our core foundation is the Liberation War of 1971. We must remember first and foremost that our identity and our essence is that we are Bangladeshi.”

“We did not gain independence easily. We fought for nine months. Through that war, we achieved independence. Again, we regained democracy through struggle. We did not get democracy back without effort,” he added.

The minister said, “In July, the struggle that all our children fought together - we call it the July War. Change has come. A new election has been held. People are hopeful about the new government. Those who were fascists had taken the country toward destruction.”

He also said: “They looted and took the money abroad. They plundered the banks. They destroyed the administration. By fighting against that we have reached today‍‍`s position.”

Many are trying to divert this change into a different direction. “None of us wants any more unrest in the country,” he added.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “When Rabindranath came here, seeing the misery of the farmers, he established a bank. To modernize agriculture, he started farming using modern methods.”

He said this was beyond his life, work, and poetry. Rabindranath had free movement in all fields—poetry, verse, prose, drama, and song. He shook the entire world by writing Gitanjali, he added.

The meeting was chaired by Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner Dr. A N M Bazlur Rashid.

Land Minister Mizanur Rahman Minu, State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Newaz Mahmud Khaiyam, Whip of the Jatiya Sangsad Advocate M Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu, Sheikh Mohammad Rezaul Islam Reju, MP, Mostafizur Rahman, MP, Enamul Haque, MP, Fazle Huda, MP, Ikramul Bari Tipu, MP, and Zahidul Islam Dholu, MP, also spoke.

Former Ambassador of Bangladesh to Mexico M Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey, DIG of Rajshahi Range Mohammad Shahjahan, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam, Superintendent of Police Mohammad Tariqul Islam, and District Council Administrator Abu Bakr Siddique Nannu, among others, were present.

After the discussion, recitations, Tagore songs, dance, and cultural programs were performed with participation from artists from Dhaka and local performers.

Thousands of visitors and Rabindra enthusiasts gathered in a festive atmosphere across Patisar, which is steeped in memories of the great poet.