Staff Correspondent:

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Friday said the July-August mass uprising presented Bangladesh with a rare and golden opportunity to chart a course towards lasting peace and prosperity by learning from historical mistakes.

“To utilise this opportunity, collective efforts are required. If the hopes and aspirations of the masses that have arisen in the new Bangladesh are not realised, we will fall behind as a nation,” he said while speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day ’14th Biennial International History Conference and General Meeting’ of the ‘Bangladesh Itihas Parishad’ at Dhaka University.

The chief justice said since taking office, he has already announced a roadmap for judicial reforms to restore public trust in the judiciary and that efforts are underway to implement it to establish justice and restructure the judicial system.

Litigants and stakeholders have already started experiencing the benefits of the reform initiative, he noted.

The chief justice added that an ordinance has been enacted for appointing judges to the High Court, and appointments to the Appellate Division have been made transparently in accordance with its provisions through the Supreme Judicial Appointment Council.

Highlighting the importance of history, he said, “A nation’s past consciousness, achievements, and sacrifices are all recorded in history. It is both our guide and source of inspiration for the future.”

Syed Refaat Ahmed also stressed that history is not confined to books but is preserved in museums, documents, artefacts, architecture, and memorials, and that all citizens, not just historians-have a role to play in safeguarding it.

The conference was inaugurated by Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmed Khan, while Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, president of the Bangladesh Itihas Parishad, presided over the session. Prof Dr Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman Khan, dean of the Faculty of Arts, attended as a special guest.

Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, president of Bangla Academy, presented the keynote paper, and Prof Dr Abdul Bashir, General Secretary of the Parishad, delivered the welcome speech.

Three individuals were awarded the ‘Bangladesh Itihas Parishad Book Award’ for the best history books published in Bengali years 1430 and 1431.

Around 100 research papers will be presented by university teachers and researchers in 18 sessions over the two-day conference.