Dhaka, April 14 -- Cultural Affairs Advisor Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has declared that Pohela Boishakh is a celebration of the "lives of Bangladesh" from now on.

Speaking after the Barshabaran Ananda Shobhajatra on Monday, he said the Bengali New Year festivities had long been observed as a Bengali celebration but would "no longer" continue to be so.

"Bengali, Chakma, Marma, Garo, alongside all other ethnicities, we observe the arrival of the new year. So we began celebrating it as a Bangladeshi festival."

Farooki explained that particular groups had historically used the occasion to "attack their opponents".

"The Shobhajatra [joy parade] is not political this time. We've only used the face of the fascist this time. Because fascists are...