Bangladesh Jasod urges Pakistan to offer apology
Leaders of the Bangladesh Jasod on Sunday urged the government of Pakistan to offer an apology for committing atrocities on the unarmed people of Bangladesh during the war of independence in 1971...
Tags : 1971
Reforms to secure economic future
SINCE independence in 1971, Bangladesh has gone through several political transitions, many of which involved interim or caretaker governments. During these times, significant institutional reforms have often been introduced that tend to last beyond their immediate terms. The current government, now responsible for leading the country through a critical...
32 citizens want Jamaat admit anti-liberation role
Thirty-two citizens in a statement on Thursday said that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami must admit that it played a role against the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971...
Consensus urged for strong foreign policy
Politicians and former diplomats at a dialogue on foreign policy in the city on Thursday said that Bangladesh could not present a strong foreign policy due to lack of consensus since its independence in 1971...
Birth centenary of Tajuddin Ahmad observed
Academics, professionals and journalists on Wednesday at a discussion meeting held in Dhaka said the late politician Tajuddin Ahmad, founding prime minister of Bangladesh, who was one of the organisers聽 of the 1971 War of Independence, wanted to establish a democratic country upholding the rights of the common聽people...
SC begins hearing Mobarak鈥檚 appeal against death sentence for war crimes
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing the appeal of Mobarak Hossain, an expelled Awami League leader and a former Jamaat-e-Islami member, challenging his 2014 death sentence for war crimes committed in the Brahmanbaria area during the 1971 Liberation War...
Left ogrs condemn attacks on, threats to protesters
Left student organisations on Sunday condemned recent attacks on and threats to left student leaders and activists during demonstrations in Rajshahi and Chattogram rejecting the Supreme Court鈥檚 May 27 verdict acquitting Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam of 1971 war crimes charges...
Protests on against Azhar release, attacks on protesters
Protests rejecting the Supreme Court鈥檚 May 27 verdict acquitting Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam of 1971 war crimes charges and against the recent attacks on left student leaders and activists in Rajshahi and Chattogram continued in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country for the fifth day on Saturday...
Azhar鈥檚 death sentence overturned
The Appellate Division on Tuesday overturned its 2019 judgement that had upheld the death sentence of Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam for crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the 1971 liberation war...
BETWEEN UNIFORMS AND WORDS: Struggle for democratic soul, shaped by 1971
NINETEEN seventy-one arrived, not as a year, but as a violation, a savage tear in the thin skin of what we dared call life. I was a child, a splinter of a being, four years old, yet the tremors of that brutal rending still reverberate in the hollow spaces of my bones. They call it the Liberation War, a tidy phrase for a messy, monstrous thing. It was the air we choked on, thick with...
1971 WAR CRIMES: SC to rehear Jamaat leader Azhar鈥檚 appeal against death sentence
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to reopen the appeal of Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam, who was sentenced to death for war crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War...
BOAT ADRIFT: AL鈥檚 journey through power and paradox 鈥� I
BANGLADESH, a nation forged in the crucible of its 1971 liberation war, now sees its legacy of sacrifice and identity increasingly distorted into a tool for political spectacle. Over the last 16 years, the Awami League government under Sheikh Hasina has leaned heavily on emotional rhetoric and symbolic gestures to cement their authority. This reliance on...
Higher education landscape
HIGHER education plays a vital role in a country鈥檚 development, serving as a conduit for nurturing the knowledge and skills of its people. Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh鈥檚 higher education sector has grown considerably, with the establishment of numerous public and private universities significantly expanding access to education...
Bangladesh debunks attempts to distort history of 1971 Liberation War
The Bangladesh interim government on Wednesday refuted attempts to distort the history of 1971 War of Independence, referencing a book written by the late J N Dixit, a former Indian foreign secretary, diplomat, and national security adviser....
Victory Day celebrated across Bangladesh
The nation on Monday celebrated the 54th Victory Day amid festivity, paying tribute to the freedom fighters who made supreme sacrifices to free the country from the marauding Pakistani army in the War of Independence in 1971.
Military Power, Youthful Passion, Moral Resilience: A journey from 1971 to 2024
IN THE quiet spaces between history and memory, where the weight of time presses heavily, there are forces unseen but deeply felt. Military might, cold and calculating, intertwines with the raw, untainted zeal of youth, pulsing with the hope of a future unshackled. From the dust and blood of 1971 to the turbulent echoes of 2024, the struggle for sovereignty...
Democratic rewrite of constitution
THE call for constitutional change in Bangladesh has intensified, not merely for refinement but as a profound demand for democratic renewal. Reforming the 1972 constitution within its current framework overlooks a critical reality: the document is itself embedded with principles that have enabled authoritarianism rather than safeguarded against it...
Govt should define amnesty in voluntary fake FF doc return
THE government鈥檚 announcement for the people who did not take part in the liberation war but have managed to get certificates as 1971 veterans to return their credentials on their own is a welcome step forward towards ensuring justice for the people who took part in the war and for citizens who have so far been led to believe that a number of such people...
Fake FFs asked to handover certificates voluntarily
Bangladesh interim government Liberation War Affairs adviser Farooq-e-Azam, Bir Pratik on Wednesday asked fake freedom fighters, who managed to get certificates as 1971 veterans to return the credentials voluntarily to evade punitive actions...
Revisiting Shahbagh events and July-August uprising
THE Shahbagh movement of 2013 and the recent July-August uprising stand as defining chapters in the evolving narrative of Bangladesh鈥檚 socio-political history. The two protests, distinct in origins and goals though, explain interwoven paths of public mobilisation, collective memory and the exercise of state power. The Shahbagh movement emerged from a nation鈥檚 quest for justice, its rallying cry demanding the...
CPB holds countrywide national flag procession
Communist Party of Bangladesh leaders on Sunday at a rally said that the spirit of the liberation war of 1971 has not yet been implemented...
Official recognition of flag hoisting day demanded
Politicians, youth leaders and professionals at a discussion in Dhaka on Saturday demanded the official recognition of the day of the first national flag hoisting before the beginning of the war of independence in 1971...
Bangladesh to celebrate Armed Forces Day on Nov 21
The Armed Forces Day will be observed today amid festivity and enthusiasm marking the establishment of the army, navy and air forces during the 1971 Liberation War...
Armed Forces Day: some reflections
THE magnificent origin of Bangladesh鈥檚 Armed Forces Day goes back to 1971 in the battlefields of the war of independence. November 21 is a significant day in the victory saga of patriotism. On this day, the army, the navy and the air force united with the Mukti Bahini, freedom fighters 鈥� and led the joint offensive against the occupation forces...
One lakh freedom fighters denied justice: adviser Sharmin
Social welfare adviser Sharmin S Murshid on Saturday in Rangpur said that one lakh heroic freedom fighters of 1971 did not get justice during the post-independence period...
The case for Jamaat鈥檚 apology
SHOULD Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami be permitted to engage in politics without first addressing its role in the 1971 liberation war? This question takes on heightened significance in light of the 2024 mass uprising. If Jamaat is sincere about its desire to participate in the current political landscape, offering an apology appears essential. Without such...
A possible defreezing
SINCE the ouster of the Hasina-led government, Bangladesh has strongly indicated that it wants to strengthen relations between the two countries to ensure a democratic South Asia while also resolving the issue of the liberation war of 1971 with Pakistan. Bangladesh-Pakistan relations were strained during Hasina鈥檚 15-year rule. However, the leadership...
Relations with Bangladesh to be easier if Pakistan apologises for 鈥�71: Touhid
Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday said that the current government did not give any impression at all to Pakistan that Bangladesh was willing to build good relations leaving...
Communal harmony: need for political transition
AS BANGLADESH navigates through a pivotal phase in its political and social transformation, the necessity of maintaining communal harmony has never been more critical. The country鈥檚 rich tradition of religious tolerance, once a shining example for the region, now faces the gravest threats in recent memory. The foundations of this harmony, deeply...
Unfulfilled promises and the burdens of 1971
AS A navy veteran, the naval battles of Trafalgar and Jutland have always captivated my attention. These pivotal encounters, while defining moments in maritime history, have broader implications that resonate across continents and centuries. Their echoes can be heard in the struggles for freedom across the globe, including Bangladesh鈥檚 relentless...