Sheikh Mujib is not the father of the nation: Nahid

In a bold and controversial Facebook post on Friday, Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), has challenged one of the most deeply entrenched pillars of Bangladesh’s national identity—declaring that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is not the “Father of the Nation.”

The statement, posted on the eve of National Mourning Day, has ignited a firestorm across political, academic, and public spheres, reigniting long-suppressed debates about history, legacy, and the nature of national heroism.

“The title ‘Father of the Nation’ was not born from the people’s will—it was manufactured by the Awami League to sanctify a personality cult,” Nahid wrote. “We reject this political mythology. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is not the Father of the Nation.”

While Nahid acknowledged Sheikh Mujib’s leadership in the struggle for independence, he sharply criticized his governance from 1972 to 17 August 1975—the day of his assassination.

“We do not erase his role in 1971. But we also cannot ignore what happened after liberation: a constitution imposed without public mandate, the rise of lawlessness, political killings, economic plunder, and ultimately, the establishment of BAKSAL—a one-party dictatorship.”

He described the 1972 Constitution as “forced upon the people” and accused Mujib’s government of turning Bangladesh into a “client state of India”, undermining sovereignty in foreign policy and security.

Nahid reserved his harshest critique for what he called “Mujibism”—a term he defined not as a legacy of liberation, but as a system of ideological control used by the Awami League for decades to consolidate power.

“Mujibism today means enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, institutional decay, corruption on a national scale, and the weaponization of history to silence dissent.”

He accused the Awami League of using “Mujib worship” and “Liberation War glorification” to divide citizens into “loyal” and “anti-state” classes, justify authoritarian rule, legitimize dynastic succession, Plunder state resources under the cover of patriotism

“They’ve turned a national leader into a deity and the country into a family estate. For 15 years, they ruled without accountability—stealing, repressing, and rewriting history.”

Nahid credited the 2024 People’s Uprising—a mass, youth-led movement that led to sweeping constitutional and political reforms—with dismantling what he described as a “feudal-style regime” built on dynastic rule and ideological monopoly.

“That revolution broke the chains of personality cults. From now on, no individual, family, or ideology will be allowed to hijack the state, erase pluralism, or impose fascism in the name of liberation.”

He emphasized that the 1971 Liberation War was not the achievement of one party or leader, but a collective struggle of millions—farmers, students, women, workers, religious minorities, and freedom fighters across ideologies.

“The war was won by the people—not by a single party. To claim otherwise is to betray the martyrs.”

Nahid called for a political, cultural, and ideological revolution to build a truly democratic, secular, and sovereign Bangladesh—one where no leader is above the Constitution, no party owns the narrative of 1971 and no family controls the state as private property.

“Bangladesh belongs equally to all its citizens—Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, indigenous communities, atheists, and secularists. No one has the right to monopolize patriotism, history, or national identity.”

He urged resistance against what he described as the “toxic elements of Mujibism” to land grabbing from minorities, anti-Islam bias in state discourse, erosion of judicial and parliamentary independence and selling national assets and sovereignty to foreign powers.

“Our goal is not to erase history—but to reclaim it from myth and restore power to the people.”

The remarks have drawn fierce condemnation from the Awami League and its allies.