National Citizen Party convener Nahid Islam on Friday said that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh, was not the 鈥楩ather of the Nation鈥� and the title was a fascist tool manufactured by the Awami League to silence dissent and monopolise the state.
鈥楽heikh Mujibur Rahman is not the Father of the Nation,鈥� Nahid wrote on his verified Facebook profile in an English-language post on the day Mujib and most of his family were killed by a disgruntled section of the Bangladesh Army officers 50 years ago on August 15, 1975.
鈥榃e acknowledge his role and sacrifices in winning independence, but we also remember the national tragedy that unfolded under his rule. Through his leadership, Bangladesh was reduced to a tributary state of India, the anti-people Constitution of 1972 was imposed, and the foundations were laid for looting, political killings, and the one-party BAKSAL dictatorship,鈥� wrote Nahid.
鈥楢t the core of the Awami League鈥檚 fascist politics lies Mujib worship and Liberation War worship, a political idolatry used to oppress the people, plunder the nation, and divide citizens into first-class and second-class,鈥� he added.
The NCP top leader also wrote that it was nothing less than modern 鈥榣andlordism鈥� disguised as democracy.
He also said that the Awami League for decades treated Bangladesh as its ancestral property, ruled without accountability, and used Mujib鈥檚 name to justify every act of corruption and repression.
Mentioning that the landlordism was shattered through the July uprising in 2024, he said, 鈥楴o person, no family, no ideology will ever again be allowed to strip citizens of their rights or impose fascism on Bangladesh.鈥�
鈥楾he 鈥淔ather of the Nation鈥� title is not history, it is a fascist tool manufactured by the Awami League to silence dissent and monopolize the state,鈥� wrote Nahid.
鈥楤angladesh belongs equally to all its citizens, and no single person can claim ownership of its birth or its future,鈥� he added.
He also wrote that 鈥楳ujibism鈥� was a fascist ideology in the name of Sheikh Mujib and the War of Independence.
鈥極ur struggle is to build a Republic, a sovereign, democratic Bangladesh of equal citizens, where no party, no dynasty, and no leader stands above the people. Bangladesh is not anyone鈥檚 property, it is the people鈥檚 Republic,鈥� he ended.