STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Removal of the word “Adivasi” from the back cover of NCTB textbooks is a betrayal of the July uprising’s spirit, said speakers at an event yesterday.

“Those who participated in the July uprising were not in favour of removing the term ‘Adivasi’. If they were, it wouldn’t have appeared in graffiti on the streets,” said Khushi Kabir, executive director of Nijera Kori.

She was speaking at a remembrance event marking the first death anniversary of indigenous leader Rabindranath Soren at Dhaka Reporters Unity.

She criticised the decision to remove the word, saying, “Why are we so quick to consider such changes just to appease a small group?”

She urged people to resist the discrimination that comes with minoritisation.

“Bangladesh has begun to dream of a new future through anti-discrimination movements. To realise that, we must work to end long-standing inequalities and secure the rights of all, including indigenous peoples,” Khushi Kabir said.

She also called for a separate land commission for indigenous peoples in the plains and demanded the

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