A line is being pushed that Sheikh Hasina did "injustice" to many from Bangladesh (East Pakistan history) those who had equally contributed to the country’s independence - other than Mujibur Rahma from Pakistan in 1971 - were ignored !!
This is essentially a Pakistani line
The July-August 2024 students-led political uprising led this sp-called a re-evaluation of the history.
The new argument is Sheikh Hasina's father Late Mujibur Rahman was not the sole hero of the liberation war !!
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| Chira unnata Momo shir -- Nazrul's famous line talks about a human holding head upright |
It is true post-August 5 (2024), the day the Sheikh Hasina government fell, one particular face in all of these murals has been desecrated: hammered out, blackened by spray paint.
It is that of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of this country of over 170 million people. Of course there is always another side of the coin !!
Sheikh Mujib's post-independence legacy remains divisive among Bangladeshis due to his economic mismanagement, the famine of 1974, human rights violations, and authoritarianism.
Under Yunus’ rule, Awami League and Sheikh Hasina's critics now brand the founding father Mujib as a “fascist”.
Bangladesh has to hold onto its secular roots.... even a radical Islamist groups gain ground.
People take photos in front of anti-government graffiti on a vandalised mural depicting Sheikh Mujibur Rahman days after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of his daughter Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on August 10, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP (social media)
"Although the initiative to rechristen Mujibur as a fascist leader has been taken by the Jamaat-e-Islami, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, and other Islamist organisations, mainstream political parties like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) appear to be amenable to the efforts to belittle the Awami League icon," runs an article in a popular media outlet.
Comment in magazine 'Foreign Policy' :::
Faced with nationwide antigovernment protests, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Aug 5, boarding a military helicopter and fleeing the country. When Hasina, who held office since 2009, initially landed at the Hindon air force base outside of New Delhi, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was on hand to greet her.
The protests began weeks ago in response to civil service job quotas for Bangladeshi freedom fighters and their families; the protests morphed, and the government cracked down hard.
On August 6th, after Hasina’s resignation, the country’s parliament was dissolved and President Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead an interim government.
The abrupt shift presents a dilemma for India. A new elected government in Dhaka could have significant implications for its domestic politics and foreign policy, affecting trade, regional security, and transnational ties.
That Doval met Hasina on Monday exemplifies the significance that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government attached to its bilateral relationship with Bangladesh under her leadership. Modi cultivated a close partnership with Hasina’s government.
He was prepared to overlook many shortcomings of her tenure, including blatant human rights violations, as long as her government was willing to crack down on Islamist radicals within Bangladesh and work with India on the fraught issue of shared water resources.
India, in turn, was willing to provide Bangladesh with substantial economic and military assistance.
New Delhi’s ties with Dhaka are long-standing:
India was instrumental in the founding of Bangladesh as it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. However, relations have not always been smooth—owing to the issue of water sharing, as well as India’s concerns about migration from Bangladesh. Nor was India content with long stretches of military rule in Bangladesh in the 1970s and 1980s.
A bloody 1975 military coup involved the assassination of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh (and Hasina’s father), who was close to New Delhi. Bangladesh’s military governments were also to varying degrees sympathetic to Pakistan, India’s irksome neighbor.
With Hasina’s resignation, India now has two compelling concerns. First, India must be anxious about the government that will emerge in Bangladesh.
Given the Awami League government’s harsh crackdown, it is unlikely that the party will be able to stage a comeback when elections are eventually held.
The cozy relationship that New Delhi enjoyed with Dhaka during Hasina’s tenure is now at considerable risk. At best, India can reach out to Bangladesh’s military establishment in the hope that it can maintain some influence in the country—but this won’t be an easy task, given how the military has historically viewed New Delhi.
Second, India will be especially wary about any future government turning toward China.
ends
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