Denigrating Mujib

THE writing was on the wall in Bangladesh when the interim government’s chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus, didn’t even mention the young nation’s founding father, ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in his Bijoy Dibosh (Victory Day) speech on December 16 last year. The day, celebrated as Vijay Diwas in India, commemorates the Pakistan military’s surrender to Indian defence forces and the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. Yunus understandably described deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime as the “world’s worst autocratic government”, but he did a grave disservice to the independence movement by ignoring its iconic figure, Mujib.

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It’s obvious that the interim dispensation is bent on undermining, if not erasing, the legacy of Hasina’s father. New textbooks for primary and secondary students will state that Ziaur Rahman, not Mujib, declared independence of Bangladesh. Ziaur, a decorated military officer who later became the President, served with distinction in the 1971 war. His contribution must be duly acknowledged by the nation, but it should not be used as a pretext to belittle Mujib’s stellar role. Phasing out currency notes with Mujib’s image is another step in the wrong direction. Undoubtedly, these decisions are prompted by political considerations as the caretaker government — which calls itself ‘apolitical’ — is on good terms with Ziaur’s widow and ex-PM Khaleda Zia, who heads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Desperate to regain power, the BNP is getting restless over the delay in holding elections.

The Yunus government is also under pressure from student leaders who spearheaded the movement that sent Hasina scurrying to India last year. They want the 1972 Constitution rewritten, describing it as a ‘Mujibist’ charter that paved the way for “India’s aggression”. The anti-Mujib narrative and the anti-India rhetoric — this lethal cocktail can deal a body blow to Bangladesh’s democratic aspirations. Dhaka would be well advised to neither burn bridges with Delhi nor consign Mujib to the scrap heap of history.