Bangladesh's 1971 History Under Threat: Awami League Slams Yunus Government

Recalling Bangladesh's independence achieved on December 16, 1971 -- celebrated as a Victory Day -- the Awami League alleged that for the second year in a row, the country will mark the occasion without its iconic parade.

"December 16, once a day of national pride, will pass with empty streets: no marching soldiers, no salutes, no public celebration of our hard-won independence," the party stated.

Slamming the Yunus regime, the party stated that from cancelling national holidays linked to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to removing his portraits from public spaces, the interim government's decisions are eroding the very symbols that remind the country of its origins.

"Cancelling this year's parade isn't just about silence on the streets. It signals a deliberate sidelining of national memory, an attempt to weaken the emotional connection to our independence, our pride, and the heroes who secured our freedom. Sometimes, silence is not neutrality; it is erasure," it added.

According to the Awami League, since Yunus led interim government assumed power after the 2024 student demonstrations, the erasure of Bangladesh's Liberation War legacy has been systematic and relentless. It added that key national holidays that once united the country in remembrance and pride have been cancelled or stripped of official recognition.

"The assault has not stopped during the holidays. Symbols of the nation's founding are under attack. Portraits of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been removed from government offices and even currency notes, erasing his presence from the everyday lives of citizens. Statues and murals commemorating the Liberation War have been defaced, destroyed, or abandoned, leaving public spaces stripped of memory and meaning," the party asserted.

"Legal and institutional changes further reinforce this deliberate rewriting of history. The government has redefined who qualifies as a freedom fighter, diminishing the status of genuine veterans, while controversially removing the title 'Father of the Nation' from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. These are not minor bureaucratic tweaks; they are intentional moves to dilute the legacy of the Liberation War and undermine the country's founding narratives," it stressed.

The Awami League stated that the pattern is unmistakable, arguing that these actions mirror the old Pakistani strategy--weakening national memory, downplaying 1971, and dismantling the rituals that define Bangladesh's independence.

"And it's no accident that Yunus is backed by Islamist groups and pro-Pakistan forces, many with ties to war criminals who opposed Bangladesh's freedom. For them, diminishing the Liberation War is not just convenient; it is a deliberate ideological mission", it stated.

- IANS