Sheikh Hasina’s misrule should not affect our judgement of Bangabandhu

October 18, 2024

DHAKA – Two recent announcements have taken us by surprise: first, the reconfiguration of national days, and second, the statement by Information Adviser Nahid Islam that the interim government does not consider Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation.

Regarding the national days, we are on the same page as the government on most of them except three: March 7 (the day of Bangabandhu’s historic speech), August 15 (the day of his assassination along with most of his family), and November 4 (the day our constitution was promulgated). History was made on these days, and their significance should not at all be eroded.

Bangabandhu is a giant of history and the supreme leader of our independence movement. There were many others, such as Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, Tajuddin Ahmad, Syed Nazrul Islam, and Gen MAG Osmani. History will judge them all and give them their due place.

In our view, Bangabandhu must be judged in two separate segments: the first is up to our independence, and the second is after his return to Bangladesh on January 10, 1972. In the first phase, his role is central and decisive. He united the Bangalee nation to demand its economic, cultural and political rights. He generated in us the self-confidence to demand, assert and fight for our rights. During the 13 years (in total) that he was in jail, he never compromised. His sweeping victory in the 1970 general election made him the spokesperson of the people of East Pakistan, a responsibility that he carried with tremendous courage and honesty till we became independent. His lifelong struggle to free us from the clutches of Pakistani rule is indisputable. He is