DU Correspondent :Several cultural organizations of Dhaka University on Tuesday threatened to burn the office of Prothom Alo, a vernacular daily, if it did not apologize to the nation for its serious mistake in an article on the Indian Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi. The daily in the article branded the War of Independence 1971 as ‘Indo-Pakistan War’. The leaders of the cultural organizations demanded unconditional apology from Editor of Prothom Alo Matiur Rahman. In case of his refusal, tough movement will be started against the daily. “We shall not even hesitate to burn the office thereof,” they said. They said this at a protest rally in front of the Teacher-Student Center (TSC) of Dhaka University (DU) yesterday. The leaders of the cultural organisations said that the newspaper betrayed with the 30 lakh martyrs and two lakh women who were killed by the Pakistani soldiers and its collaborators in 1971. “The Prothom Alo is trying to distort the history of Bangladesh. They also do not hold the spirit of Liberation War. That is why they published such on article,” they said. “The leaders and the activists of these organizations said that the newspaper’ authorities did not say sorry. Rather they said that they had just translated the article. The statement is undesirable and unexpected, they added. They also demanded to the government to form a probe committee to investigate the matter and bring the Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman to justice. The leaders and the activists of Dhaka University (DU) Film Society, DU Debating Society, DU Photographic Society, DU IT Society, DU Tourist Society and DU Cycling Society took part in the rally.
