The Center for South Asian Studies held a seminar at the Dhaka University on Monday highlighting the importance of upholding the spirit of the Liberation War and maintaining communal harmony.
Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Akhtaruzzaman, speaking as the chief guest, said that it is legally prohibited in all societies to conduct the process of religious conversion by temptation.
The Vice-Chancellor said, evil forces have arisen in Bangladesh for ages and they have been resisted.
“The power to resist is automatically born from within the society and some people are born to resist those evil forces as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born in this region,” he said, referring to the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh.
In this context, he said, looking at history, we see that at different times in different countries of the world, when people are devastated and helpless for any reason, some religious groups come forward with money and religious books to help them.
“In other words, we see the tendency to try to convert them by taking advantage of their helplessness. But the bottom line is that conducting a conversion process under any inducement is probably legally prohibited in all societies. It is not right to do that. It destroys religious harmony.
He expressed optimism that if the country runs in the light of the liberation war, all kinds of evil forces will be destroyed. The country will move forward.
Senior journalist Mohsin Habib presented the keynote paper at the seminar titled 'Ideology of Liberation War and Importance of Communal Harmony'.
The programme was presided over by Prof. Dr. Arun Kumar Goswami, Director of the Center for South Asian Studies.
Freedom fighter and senior journalist Ajay Dasgupta, General Secretary of Dhaka University Teachers Association Professor Zeenat Huda and Dhaka University Peace and Conflict Studies Department Professor Dr. Rafiqul Islam also spoke at the seminar.
Shibli Noman, Assistant Professor of the Department of Japan Studies, moderated the event.