In a city still reeling from political upheaval, the vibrant hues of autumn have been overshadowed by the shadows of intolerance. The annual Sharat Utsab 1432, a 19-year tradition of poetry, music, and art celebrating the season’s poetic allure, was abruptly postponed on Friday, thwarted by a last-minute barrage of objections, police intervention, and protests from pro-Yunus activists and self-styled religious guardians.
Organisers from the cultural group Satyen Sen Shilpigosthi decry the cancellation as a chilling blow to Bangladesh’s secular heritage, unfolding against a backdrop of escalating Islamist extremism under the interim government of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
The festival, envisioned under the bakul trees at Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA) since 2006, was set to commence at 7am on Friday.
It promised recitations of Rabindranath Tagore’s verses, folk performances, and tributes to cultural icons like the late musician Farida Parveen. But late Thursday evening, FFA Dean Md. Azharul Islam Sheikh Chanchal issued a press release announcing the postponement, citing “many objections” and “fears of unrest.”
The decision followed a petition from the Fascibaad Birodhi Lekhok Sangbadik o Shilpisamaj (Anti-Fascism Writers, Journalists, and Artists Society), which alleged that some organisers had ties to the “fascist” ousted Awami League regime of Sheikh Hasina.
“We paid Tk26,000 for the venue and secured police permission,” fumed General Secretary Manzarul Islam Chowdhury, speaking to reporters outside the FFA gates.
“This is a cultural event, not political. Last year, we honoured the martyrs of the July uprising that toppled Hasina. Now, false accusations of ‘rehabilitating fascists’ have silenced us.”
The petition, circulated widely on social media, claimed the event masked efforts to revive the banned Awami League, whose activities were outlawed in May 2025 amid trials for crimes against humanity.
With the university venue yanked, organisers pivoted to the Kisholoy Kochi-Kachar Mela playground in Gendaria, Old Dhaka, aiming for a 9am start. But within minutes of setupโbanners unfurled, children sketching seasonal motifsโpolice from Gandaria station descended, halting proceedings.
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Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner (Wari Division) Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid confirmed to Prothom Alo that no permissions had been sought for the alternate site.
“We acted on complaints from locals and school authorities about potential risks,” he said, denying internal organiser conflicts as alleged by Gandaria Officer-in-Charge Golam Mortuza.
Eyewitnesses painted a tense scene: Around 50 protesters, including vocal pro-Yunus student activists from the National Citizen Party (NCP) and members of conservative religious outfits like Hefazat-e-Islam affiliates, gathered, chanting slogans against “fascist cultural infiltration.”
Banners read: “No Place for Hasina’s Legacy in Autumn’s Light!” and “Protect Islamic Values from Secular Plots.”
One protester, a bearded youth identifying as a madrasa student, told this reporter: “Sharat Utsab glorifies Hindu-Bengali traditions. Under Yunus Bhai’s just rule, we won’t let it poison our youth.”
The group, numbering fewer than 100, dispersed peacefully after police cleared the field, but not before scuffles broke out, with organisers shoved and equipment seized.
In defiance, Satyen Sen Shilpigosthi held a symbolic vigil: The national anthem echoed faintly, children drew protest sketches of wilted bakul flowers, and a minute’s silence honoured Parveen.
“Nineteen years unbroken, except for Covid,” lamented Chowdhury. “This ends our continuity. Who’s nextโthe Durga Puja pandals?”
The postponementโframed by the FFA as temporary, with a Saturday meeting to rescheduleโarrives amid a documented surge in religious extremism since Yunus’s August 2024 ascension.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports the interim regime’s “failure to contain conservative religious groups,” which have targeted women’s rights activists and Awami League remnants.
In the first half of 2025, over 4,200 rape and sexual assault casesโ including 650 gang rapesโwere logged, a 35% jump from 2024, often linked to unchecked vigilante mobs invoking “moral policing.”
Global advocacy group GCDG warns of “Taliban-style fanaticism” risks, citing shrine desecrations and attacks on Sufi sites as assaults on syncretic traditions.
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Awami League exiles, protesting in Geneva last week, accuse Yunus of “fueling extremism” by allying with Islamist parties like Jamaat-e-Islami to shore up support.
“The Yunus government is illegal, promoting religious bigotry against our independence spirit,” thundered party leader Shamsul Haque Khan. NCP rifts, exposed by adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan’s rebuke of “safe exit” rumours, underscore the fragility: Yunus’s coalition, born of anti-Hasina fervour, now juggles reforms with appeasing hardliners who view cultural festivals as Western-Hindu relics.
On X, reactions poured in. Prothom Alo English posted: “Sharat Utsab postponed at DU’s Fine Artsโnot cancelledโover ‘objections’ and unrest fears.”
Hashtags #SaveSharatUtsab trended alongside #YunusDictatorship, with artists lamenting: “Autumn without culture is just decay.” Extremist-leaning accounts celebrated: “Victory against fascist artsโAllahu Akbar!”
Yunus, in a September NPR interview, defended his balancing act: “We’ve restored police confidence in a broken system, but it takes time.”
Yet critics, including The New York Times, charge him with being “too soft” on extremists exploiting the post-uprising vacuum.
Economic woesโGDP growth at 2.3%, inflation at 12%โexacerbate unrest, with unemployment fueling recruitment into radical groups.
As Dhaka’s streets fill with autumn’s golden ambalilas, the postponed Utsab symbolises a nation at a crossroads. Will Saturday’s talks revive the festival, or has Yunus’s “delicate balancing” tipped toward intolerance?
Organisers vow resilience: “Art outlives tyrants,” Chowdhury said. But in a Bangladesh where cultural whispers now provoke shouts, the season’s poetry feels perilously fragile.
English