Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern over removal of graffiti with “Adibashi” (indigenous) words from the back cover of ninth and tenth-grade textbooks by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB).
In a statement on Friday, it said the NCTB labelled itself as an ally and rehabilitation center of deposed authoritarianism with this decision.
TIB termed the NCTB's decision and the subsequent series of attacks on aggrieved indigenous people, who were protesting peacefully, as a betrayal of the spirit of student-people movement and the aspiration for discrimination-free Bangladesh.
The anti-corruption watchdog called for the NCTB to be held accountable and this institution to be reformed to free it from the allies of authoritarianism.
Describing the government’s handout issued on Thursday as a timely one, TIB also called for the government to clarify its position on the issue of equal rights and dignity for indigenous people in Bangladesh, including the recognition of their identity as indigenous people.
