Songs, paintings and protest at Dhaka's Shahbagh

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The blood red poster "one nation, one roar, hang the bloody razakars" screams at you much before you reach Shahbagh square. However, even as parts of Bangladesh burn in violence with 22 people being killed in the latest round of clashes, the protesters at Shahbagh remain calm. Much like protests at Jantar Mantar and Ramlila Maidan, young students, executives, men and women sing songs, paint their anguish on walls, and continue to get signatures for their movement. On Sunday afternoon, the protestors went on a rally to oppose the two-day hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami. Asked why he was spending so much time at Shahbagh, TV actor, MBA student and one of the main organizers Sayeed Zakir Ahmed said it was never planned. "I don't even remember which friend suggested we come to the protest site, it was a message on my Facebook page and I like many others just went. Within 24 hours, the numbers started building up," he said. Ahmed and his friends have not been home for the last 20-odd days after a fellow activist and blogger Ahmed Rajib Mollah was killed by fundamentalists. So far, they have collected 3.5 lakh signatures. Kamreozzaman Sagar, a filmmaker, plans to produce a documentary soon called 'Projonmo 71'. Sagar, whose grandfather and three uncles were killed in the Liberation War, said, "When the first verdict was given ... we went online and before I knew it ... everyone was feeling the same as me." Referring to the protests, President Pranab Mukherjee told a Bangladeshi TV channel in an interview, "I have great respect for the people of Bangladesh and their sense of patriotism, courage and independence. Above all, they have shown their belief in democracy and participative politics. We have recently seen a reawakening of the youth who recall the extraordinary sacrifices that led to the birth of the nation. The youth of this country will determine its future."