Bangladesh's 2025 textbooks credit Ziaur Rahman with declaring the country's independence on March 26, 1971, removing Mujib's title as 'Father of the Nation'. This shift in Bangladesh could further polarize the political situation, as the political legacies of Mujib and Ziaur continue to shape the country's political landscape.
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Bangladesh's textbooks in 2025 will credit Ziaur Rahman with declaring independence in 1971, removing Mujib's title as 'Father of the Nation'.
In the 2025 academic year, Bangladesh’s textbooks will state that Ziaur Rahman, not Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, declared the country's independence on March 26, 1971.The textbooks will also remove Mujib’s title of 'Father of the Nation'. Prof. A K M Reazul Hassan, the chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, confirmed that Ziaur Rahman’s declaration is emphasized in the new curriculum.This is not the first time history has been rewritten; under different governments, the narrative surrounding Bangladesh's independence has been altered several times.
The question of who proclaimed Bangladesh’s independence has always been a politically sensitive issue.
The Awami League led by Sheikh Mujib’s family claims that Mujib declared independence, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) founded by Ziaur Rahman credits Ziaur as the one who made the proclamation.
This difference in views has led to changes in official history depending on the political party in power.
In 1978, during Ziaur Rahman’s presidency, official history was changed to state that Ziaur was the person who declared Bangladesh's independence to solidify his own legacy while downplaying Mujib’s role.
In 2010, under Sheikh Hasina’s government, the Bangladesh Supreme Court declared the third volume of ‘Bangladesh Independence War: Documents’ null and void. This volume, published in 1978, had presented Ziaur Rahman as the person who proclaimed independence.
The court’s ruling established the narrative that Mujib was the key figure in the Independence Declaration.
There is little factual support for the claim that Ziaur Rahman declared independence. While Ziaur did make a proclamation on March 27, 1971, on behalf of Mujib, Mujib had already declared Bangladesh’s independence a day earlier, just before being arrested by Pakistani authorities.
Multiple international sources, including US intelligence reports and newspapers, confirm that Mujib made the first declaration on March 26, 1971.
Ziaur Rahman, a major in the Pakistan Army at the time, made a proclamation of independence on March 27, 1971, through the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. Although it was widely reported, newspapers at the time often misidentified him as “Zia Khan.” His declaration came after Mujib’s original proclamation on March 26.
Mujib, the leader of the Bangladesh Liberation War, wanted to establish a secular republic, whereas Ziaur Rahman, after assuming power, focused on nationalism and Islamism, removing secularism from the constitution in 1978.
The political legacies of Mujib and Ziaur are central to the ongoing conflict between their respective political heirs, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. Ideological differences continue to shape Bangladesh's political landscape.
The current government's support for Ziaur's vision of Bangladesh, which differs from Mujib's secular, socialist principles, has the potential to further polarize the political situation.
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q.Critically analyze the impact of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) of 2015 between India and Bangladesh on their diplomatic and economic relations.(150 words) |
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