Not Mujib, but Ziaur had declared independence… History was changed again in Bangladesh's books

Now, in Bangladesh, it will be mentioned in the textbooks that it was Ziaur Rahman and not 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who declared independence in 1971. Mujib's title of 'Father of the Nation' has also been removed from the new textbooks. The new textbooks for the 2025 academic year will say that Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971.

Professor A K M Riazul Hasan, chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, said new textbooks for the 2025 academic year will state that Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. Ziaur was the founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the husband of current BNP chief Khaleda Zia. Mujib, the father of recently ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, led the Bangladesh Liberation War.

This is not the first time a change has happened

This is not the first time that such changes have been made in Bangladesh's textbooks. The legacies of Mujib and Ziaur have always been politically contested and the question of who declared Bangladesh's independence has been disputed. The Awami League claims that its leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence, while the BNP gives credit to its founder Ziaur.

This means that the official history has varied depending on the regime in Dhaka. The first time the official history was changed was in 1978 during Ziaur's reign as President of Bangladesh. During his tenure, it was announced that Ziaur Rahman was the person who declared independence. Since then, history has been rewritten several times.

Sheikh Hasina was removed after the movement in August last year. After leaving the post of PM, Hasina came to India. Mohammad Yunus is the advisor of the interim government there. The claim that Ziaur, not Mujib, declared the independence of Bangladesh…does not appear to have any factual basis.

What do the reports say?

Mujib's declaration of independence was also reported by most newspapers around the world on 27 March 1971. According to a report by The Associated Press, East Pakistan's nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested just hours after declaring his region independent.

According to Syed Badrul Ahsan's biography 'Bangabandhu', Mujib sent his message via telegram. He probably sent this message on 26 March 1971 at around 12.30 pm. Mujib and Ziaur are at the center of the controversy in Bangladesh over who declared independence of Bangladesh. Mujib won the 1973 election with a huge mandate. However, most reports said that he won the election through rigging. He later banned Islamic parties, which he claimed had supported Pakistan during the Liberation War.

Most of his family was killed in 1975 during the first coup in independent Bangladesh. This paved the way for the rise of Ziaur Rahman, who rose from military chief to president of Bangladesh. Ziaur was also killed during a coup in 1981.