Topic: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Bangladesh has spiralled into a vortex of instability and stands today as a banana republic led by a puppet government.

Bangladesh Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman also termed illegal constitutional provision declaring Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as ‘father of the nation’.

Move, comes after interim govt cancelled 8 national holidays instituted by Sheikh Hasina, including ones on the birth and death anniversaries of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

On 7 March 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed a gathering of about 10 lakh people in Dhaka declaring Bangladesh's independence 18 days before the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Analysts, however, feel commemoration of Jinnah's 76th death anniversary was a one-off, but admit that New Delhi and Dhaka will have to take calculated steps going forward.

Till Hasina’s ouster in August this year, an event observing Jinnah’s death anniversary and public proclamations praising him would have been unthinkable.

Indians are conditioned to think of Bangladesh as battleground for 2 diametrically opposed ideologies. But, Daud's story shows that things were & are considerably more complicated.

In 2017, there was a controversy over the statue of the Lady Justice placed in Bangladesh's Supreme Court. It was removed after religious hardliners objected to it.

On 17 March 1972, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi shared the stage with 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at a public rally in Dhaka and expressed admiration for Bangladesh's struggle for independence and reaffirmed India's support.

The future of Bangladesh cannot be left to be decided by vandals on the streets of Dhaka or by unelected civilians whose apron strings will now be attached to the army. New Delhi must assert its position and act decisively.