Judges in Chattogram have held a rally to protest the defacement of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s sculpture amid a growing clamour against the construction of statues by Islamist groups in the country.
The judges staged a human-chain protest outside the Dampara Police Line on Saturday before marching towards the Zilla Shilpakala Academy and joining a rally organised by public servants, reports bdnews24.com.
Explaining the reason for holding the demonstration, Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman said, “We may be judges, but we are still humans. Our hearts bleed when the statue of the Father of the Nation is vandalised.”
Chattogram District and Sessions Judge Md Ismail Hossain said, “Judges deliver justice, and at the same time, are citizens too. It is the duty of the judges as citizens to join the protest.”
The judges united under the banner of ‘Bangladesh Judicial Service Association, Chattogram District Committee’ and chanted slogans like - ‘We will preserve the dignity of the Father of the Nation, we will keep it shining’.
“As many as 100 judges of Chattogram district have joined the protest rally. They want the country and the nation to know that judges don’t only adjudicate, they also know how to take part in protest rallies,” Judge Ismail said.
“Judges will make no compromise when the Father of the Nation is in question. The Constitution has given us the duty to keep the honour of the Father of the Nation intact.”
Judges from different courts, including Chattogram district, metropolitan and chief judicial magistrate's courts, participated in the procession.
“We’ve observed a repulsive initiative and its reaction over the last several days. It has deeply affected us. An Islamist group has displayed the audacity of vandalising the sculpture of the greatest Bangali in a thousand years, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” said Judge Ashfaqur.
“The initiatives these radical groups have taken in different countries around the world have not just caused harm to those nations but to Islam itself. They do not realise how little they actually know. The most beautiful aspect of Islam is that wherever it has gone, it has adopted the area's culture.”
“But some radical groups are in denial. Islam has spread and expanded through beauty. These people are bringing more harm to Islam.”
