SUMI KHAN
Dhaka, Feb 18 (IANS) The dismatled head of a sculpture of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, that was removed from the campus of Dhaka University, has been found by some passersby at the premises of the ongoing ‘Amar Ekushe’ Book Fair here, Shimul Kumbhkaar, leader of Bangladesh Chhatra Union, Dhaka University, told IANS on Saturday.
On Thursday, Dhaka University (DU) authorities had reportedly removed the statue of Tagore, which the university students constructed next to the Raju Memorial sculpture. The students built the symbolic sculpture of Tagore on Tuesday to protest against the recent banning and censorship of books at the ‘Amar Ekushe’ Book Fair.
The sculpture featured a taped-up Tagore holding a book with a nail pierced through it. After the disappearance of the sculpture, aggrieved students put up a banner at the same spot that read “Rabindranath has disappeared” (‘Gum Hoye Gachen Rabindranath’).
“We still don’t know who removed it. We will meet the Proctor and try to find out,” Kumbhkaar told IANS.
DU Proctor A.K.M. Golam Rabbani, meanwhile, told IANS that the authorities are trying to find out who put up the sculpture on the university campus. He also claimed that the beauty of the existing Raju Memorial sculpture was destroyed by some people.
“The university has a policy of placing sculptures on the campus. The sculpture (of Tagore) was placed without informing the university administration. Therefore, the administration removed it,” Rabbani said.
The students claimed that they put up the sculpture as a symbol of protest against the lack of freedom of speech and expression in Bangladesh.
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