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DHAKA: Tens of thousands of Bangladeshis crowded the streets of Dhaka on Monday to welcome the Bengali New Year, with a parade that pays tribute to the student-led uprising that led to the ousting of longstanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

In the capital, people wore traditional attire as they marched, danced and sang in a colorful procession that started from the Art College of Dhaka University, alongside larger-than-life handmade figures depicting the ousted premier and symbols related to the mass student movement that took place last July. 

Monday’s parade was the first under the new interim government led by Nobel-winning economist Muhammad Yunus, who assumed office in August 2024. 

“The memories of July spirit are still very fresh in our hearts. And we tried to demonstrate this spirit through this New Year's parade,” Dr. Azharul Islam, the dean of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, which organized the event, told Arab News. 

“Our efforts were to represent the country from historic to contemporary time. That’s why the July movement spirit also got a placement along with other traditional Bengal cultural elements.”

The student-led movement of July 2024 began with protests that were initially sparked by opposition to public sector job quotas, but it quickly grew into a broader, nationwide uprising against Hasina’s government. 

After a violent crackdown by security forces and a communications blackout, the unrest peaked in early August with protesters defying nationwide curfew orders and storming government buildings, forcing former premier Hasina to resign and flee the country, ending 15 years in power of her Awami League party-led government.

This year, the new year’s parade, called Ananda Shobhajatra, was held under the theme “Symphony of the New Year, End of Fascism.” It featured an elaborate, dark-colored figure meant to depict Hasina as a “Face of Fascism,” seemingly chased by a figure of a Bengal tiger trailing behind it. 

The parade also featured a huge water bottle, which became a symbol of the student movement and a nod to a young protester called Mugdho, who was shot and killed as he was handing out bottles of water during a protest.   

A watermelon figure made it into the line-up of festivities in Dhaka as a symbol of solidarity with Palestine from the country of 170 million people, which have held several pro-Palestine rallies since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023.  

“The main success of this rally is people's participation,” Islam said. “People joined the rally hand in hand in a peaceful way. It shows that with this event, we have been able to uphold the people's voices of the time."

The parade, which was formerly known as Mangal Shobhajatra, was in 2016 recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. 

It was first organized in 1989 as a protest against military rule by art college students at Dhaka University. Since then, it has been held annually to mark the first day of Bengali New Year — known locally as Pohela Boishakh. 

While celebrations have in the past focused on Bangladesh’s heritage, the additional themes have added new layers to the event. 

“The specialty of this year's celebration is the representation of (the July spirit), the resistance for the Palestinians, the fall of the fascist regime, and other traditional elements of Bengal culture,” Dhaka resident Puja Sen Gupta told Arab News. 

“This year’s celebration arrangement was a bit different compared with other years. I enjoyed participating in the parade a lot.”