BFUJ General Secretary Kader Gani Chowdhury served as the chief guest at a discussion titled "Our Responsibilities in the Development of Indigenous Culture," held in the capital. Photo: Collected

DHAKA, Jan 29, 2026 (BSS) - Bangladesh Federal Journalists Union (BFUJ) General Secretary Kader Gani Chowdhury said culture is the foundation of civilization while alien culture locks the door of conscience.

He made the remarks this evening while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled "Our Responsibilities in the Development of Indigenous Culture" held at the Bangladesh Shishu Kalyan Parishad auditorium here.

Mentioning that culture is the pursuit of beauty, Chowdhury said the culture is the foundation of civilization and civilization is the advanced form of culture. 

"When civilization did not exist, culture did. Culture shows the path to beauty, while alien culture takes people toward ugliness and pushes them into darkness," he said. 

He continued: "Obscenity strangles national values, bolts the door of conscience. Obscenity distances people from love for their mother, soil, and country; its glitter is like a mirage." 

Young people are being attracted to obscenity because it contains excitement, stimulation, and momentary pleasure, he opined. 

"It has an allure. We must remember that the future of a country lies with its youth. If this youth becomes misguided under the violent bite of obscenity, the nation's future will sink into darkness," he also said. 

He went on saying that flashy Western culture has struck at the roots of our thousand-year-old cultural heritage. 

"As a result, we are losing our identity and are steadily rushing toward cultural poverty," he stated. 

He said that the richness of a country's civilization and tradition is understood through the nature of its culture. 

"When the cultural environment becomes polluted, the nation's downfall begins. In national life, imitation, disunity, division, disorder-in short, overall decline-emerge," he said.

He mentioned that culture acts as the driving force behind significant changes in a state. 

In a somewhat disappointed tone, he said that at present the key to culture has gone into the hands of corporate profiteers. 

"They pour in piles of money and, through the media, promote business at their whim in the name of culture. Thanks to the media, this swells and carries a flood of obscenity from one end of the country to the other," he added.

In this age of globalization, cultural aggression will come, he said, adding that foreign films and foreign music will play on social media. 

Addressing journalists, he said that to save culture, villages must be nourished with the essence of age-old heritage, while civic facilities must also reach rural areas. 

"The new generation must be brought back from the harsh rays of mobile phones and shown the soft moonlight, autumn skies, and star-filled nights. Jatra plays and poetic song duels must be revived," he also said.

He said that education is vital for a healthy culture. 

"Education and culture go hand in hand; they complement each other. If we want a healthy culture, we must build the new generation into enlightened human beings," he opined. 

Chowdhury reminded that Bangladesh's cultural backbone has been attacked repeatedly, adding, "Jinnah tried to impose Urdu as the national language; he failed. A past government tried to take away our freedom of speech; it failed. Students resisted it. The Bangla language and freedom of speech cannot be snatched away from us. But that attempts are still ongoing cannot be denied. "

Chowdhury said that culture is no longer in the hands of the people; it has gone into the hands of profiteers. 

The discussion was presided over by Samajik Sangskritik Foundation (Social Cultural Foundation) President Lion Anwara Begum Nipa and moderated by Manjur Hossain Isa. 

Rezabuddoula Chowdhury, Tashik Ahmed, Kamrul Hasan Darpan, M. A. Sayem Masum, Siddiq Al Mamun, Kader Mansur, Akhtar Hossain, and Molla Nasir Hossain, among others, spoke at the event.