The black night of March 25, 1971 when the Pakistani occupation forces kicked off one of the worst genocides in history that led to a nine-month war for the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. Every year different socio-cultural and educational organizations chalk out elaborate programs to observe 25th March. In 2013 I was documents the present situation after its 42 years of Independence.
10 March 2017 Dhaka, Bangladesh ~ After Friday prayer a group of Bangladeshi Muslim Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh members shout slogan and demanded to remove the statue of Greek Goddess form Supreme Court in Dhaka city. During their protest a plain-clothes police arrest one member from the spot at National Mosque on 10 March 2017 Dhaka, Bangladesh. According to the local media, the leaders demanded to remove the Greek Goddess as soon as possible otherwise they will go for big movement across the country soon.
Women in Dhaka, Bangladesh gather outside on March 8, 2017, to mark International Women’s Day. At the worldwide demonstrations, many women focused their protesting on an end to wage gaps and the legalization of abortion. This region focused on demanding an end to child marriage. This year the theme of International Women’s Day is ” be bold for change” .
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Police use a water canon on protestors during a half-day long strike against the gas price increase in Dhaka, Bangladesh on February 28, 2017. Activists from the Progressive Students’ Alliance, the student wing of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and the Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) along with components of the Gonotantrik Bam Morcha (a coalition of left-leaning political parties), organized the strike after the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission announced increased gas prices for all consumers.
Video Footage & Edited by Monirul Alam
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February 13, 2017 Dhaka, Bangladesh – Bangladeshi people celebrations the spring festival (Bashanta Utshab ) at the Dhaka University Art College compound in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 13 February 2017. The Bashanta Utshab is a local traditional festival, which marks the beginning of the spring season. Basantabaran Udjapan Committee organizes programmes to celebrate the day, as nature takes off the blanket of fog and welcomes the sunlight to the earth. Though winter in Bangladesh is brief, people here bid a quick farewell to gloomy, melancholic shroud of dust and dried leafs, and embrace Falgun with all their hearts.
Video Footage & Edited by Monirul Alam
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Chobi Mela the International Festival of Photography BANGLADESH 2017 held in Asia, Chobi Mela IX begins on the month of February 2017 with many events like workshop, photography exhibition, portfolio reviews, seminar and artist talk’s . National and International Photographer’s eagerly waits for this event which is being held every two years in Bangladesh in the capital of Dhaka.The key organisers are Drik Picture Library Ltd. and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute.
In the photography and art works hailing from 16 countries — Algeria, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, USA amongst others Chobi Mela is an international festival of photography held in this year.
Festival derictor Shahidul Alam, said to the media, “The global photography spotlight is on Bangladesh. The stars are arriving at our doorstep. It is now up the podium. The world of photography beckons”.
I am as a Pathshala fellow photographer, teacher and visual artist to join in this beautiful event and to visit an interesting exhibitions all vanues and participate artist’s talk during the Chobi Mela festival and captured a few moments which I never ignored. Love Chobi Mela and hope to join the next event which will be held in 2020. Thanks Chobi Mela team and the organizer. Such a beautiful event held in my country Bangladesh.
Participants attended first day of Chobi Mela Festival, the international festival of photography and biggest photography event in Asia on February 3, 2017 in Dhaka. Two Bangladeshi photographers Nasir Ali Mamun and Saida Khanom received Lifetime Achievement Awards. Video Footage & Edit : Monirul Alam
The Bishwajit Ijtema meaning Global Congregation is an annual gathering of Muslims in Tongi, by the banks of the River Turag, in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the second largest Islamic congregation after the Hajj. Ijtema is an Arabic word which means public gathering. In Bengali, the event is known as the “Bishwa Ijtema”. Bishwa is a Bengali word which means world. Every year thousands of Muslims gathered and join the Ijtema is a prayer meeting spread over three days, during which attending devotees perform daily prayers while listening to scholars reciting and explaining verses from the Quran. It is attended by devotees from 150 countries.Speakers include Islamic scholars from various countries.
In this year devotees from home and abroad were seen streaming towards the gathering site on the 1st phases 15-17 January 2017. According to organizers, around three million people have taken part in the final prayers,During the Final Prayer,huge crowds stretch from the Ijtema ground in Tongi into the Dhaka metropolitan area. Schools and offices are declared closed on the occasion.
The Bengali Tabhlighi Jamaat movement started in Dhaka, East Bengal during the 1950s. The first Ijtemas were organized in Chittagong 1954 and Narayangonj 1958 followed by Ijtemas at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka in 1960, 1962 and 1965 Due to the increasing rate of participants, the government of East Pakistan allowed organizers to schedule the event annually by the River Turag in Tongi 1967. As the number of participants increased, The government of Bangladesh allotted 160 acres of land was acquired and developed as a permanent Ijtema ground in Tongi.
January 14, 2017 – Dhaka, Bangladesh – A woman spits fire on the last day of Bengali month Paush. This traditional festival is locally known as Sankranti. People of the old Dhaka celebrate Shakhrine with colorful kite flying during the day and fire eating and performances after dark.
MONIRUL ALAM 