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Bengalee culture secular, humane

Hasina says while inaugurating Zainul Abedin's birth centenary celebrations

BSS, Dhaka
Bangalee culture's main characteristic is non-communalism or unity irrespective of caste and creed and artistes, litterateurs and cultural activists must do more to spread this culture and heritage as only it can bring about a change in inhumane behaviour and hatred and awaken humane values, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday.
"But questions sometimes arise in my mind whether the Bangalee nation is being directed away from its mainstream culture...Militancy has emerged today. People are being killed in the name of religion...evil forces in the guise of religion are attackingplacesofworship.
" Last year we witnessed how the holy Quran was burnt on the premises of Baitul Mukarrarn National Mosque and the national mosque was ransacked," she said, adding that Bangalee culture has nothing in common with militancy,
fanaticism, intolerance and violence.
"Brotherhood, harmony and hospitality...are the Bangalee nation's ideals. The Bangalees may not have much resource but they can enjoy whatever little things they have," she said.
Hasina said Bangladeshis irrespective of caste, creed and religion celebrate Pahela Baishakh with fanfare and festivity and it was an everlasting tradition of Bangalees while people of all faiths celebrate religious festivals together.
"It is like a union of confidence and the Bangalee nation made it possible and set such an example in the world," she said while inaugurating celebrations as part of the cultural affairs ministry's yearlong programmes marking Zainul Abedin’s birth centenary in the capital's Bangladesh National Museum. Hasina paid tributes to Zainul, saying his importance was endless. "He was a genuine artist close to the soil. Similarly, he pioneered the movement for art and culture," she said.
She said almost all of Bangladesh's artists were proud and enlightened through Zainul’s direct and indirect support. "He was turned into a legend for his humane qualities,* she said.
Hasina said Zainul was not only an artist, he also gave leadership in art and cultural arenas during Bangladesh's transition periods.
Zainul, she said, was a very powerful and sensitive artist who never considered arts as matters not related to life. Rather his philosophy was to consider arts as an inseparable
part of life, she said.
Hasina said Zainul wanted to develop a beautiful society enriched with culture, tradition and heritage and devoted himself to establishing a coordinated environment for all during his four-decade long lifetime.
He spread his thoughts among other cultural activists and his organisational plans uniquely contributed to flourishing Bangladesh's entity.
Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor was in the chair while eminent artist Mustafa Monowar and Zainul’s wife Begum Jahan Ara Abedin also spoke.
Eminent educationist Dr Borhanuddin Khan Jahangir gave the memorial lecture and the ministry Secretary Ranjit Kumar Biswas the welcome address.