Students for Sovereignty demands withdrawal of ‘false cases’, release of arrestees

Students for Sovereignty, a student platform, has demanded the immediate withdrawal of 'false cases' filed against them and unconditional release of all their activists.

They held a protest rally titled 'Protest Against the Unprovoked Attacks by Separatist Tribes and Red Terrorists' in front of the Jatiya Press Club today (23 January).  

The students demanded the arrest of those who are advocating for 'indigenous' status, calling the term 'anti-constitutional' and 'anti-national.'

They said there have never been indigenous people in thecountry and there will be none in the future.

The rally also highlighted the issue of the recent inclusion of the term 'Indigenous' in textbooks by members of a revision committee under the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), which they claim violates the country's constitution and promotes separatism.

Muhammad Shamsuddin, a student of Shaheed Suhrawardy College and coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, said people claiming to be indigenous are mostly migrants from other countries who have been allowed to stay in Bangladesh.

He said tribes and indigenous people are distinct, and the term 'Indigenous' does not apply to Bangladesh.

They expressed concerns over the activities of 'separatist' tribes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts who have been accused of using the 'Indigenous' label as a cover for their separatist agenda.

They claimed that these groups are plotting to separate the region from the rest of the country.