Recognise All the Founding Fathers — Not Just One Man

15 August 2025

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman should be honoured for what he was — the torchbearer of our independence movement. He carried the banner, united the people, and became the face of our struggle. But history must be honest.

After the war ended in December 1971, Mujib was freed from prison, flown to London, then to New Delhi, and finally returned to Dhaka on 10 January 1972. Two days later, he was sworn in as Prime Minister. It was then, according to an interview given by Tajuddin Ahmad’s daughter Sharmin Ahmad, that Mujib whispered to her father the moment he arrived in Dhaka that he intended to take the premiership.

While still in London, Mujib met international reporters at Claridge’s Hotel on 8 January 1972 and declared that “millions” had been killed in the war. Soon after, in a televised interview with David Frost, he repeated the figure of three million. As The Guardian later reported, Serajur Rahman — then deputy head of BBC Bangla Service — was “surprised and horrified” by the claim, suggesting that Mujib had likely confused three lakh (300,000) with three million. Regardless, the inflated number stuck, feeding political myth-making.

Within three years, the democratic promise of independence collapsed into centralised power. Mujib created BAKSAL, abolished political pluralism, and laid the groundwork for authoritarian politics.

In the 16 years since returning to power in 2009, the Awami League has entrenched a single-man narrative of independence, systematically portraying Mujib as the lone saviour of the nation. State resources have been poured into glorifying his image — from giant statues and portraits dominating public spaces to murals, monuments, and endless exhibitions — while the other founding fathers have been relegated to footnotes, if mentioned at all. Textbooks have been rewritten to match this one-dimensional history, and millions of taxpayer taka have been spent turning Mujib into an almost mythical figure while erasing the collective leadership that actually secured Bangladesh’s freedom.

Mujib and Tajuddin: Bangladesh’s Jefferson and Washington

If we compare to the American Revolution, Mujibur Rahman was our Thomas Jefferson — the man who articulated the political vision for independence, embodied the cause in the public mind, and provided the democratic mandate for separation. Like Jefferson, he was the intellectual and political torchbearer, not the wartime operational leader.

Tajuddin Ahmad was our George Washington — the man who, in the absence of the political figurehead, held the independence movement together, secured foreign alliances (India in our case, France in Washington’s), coordinated military and political strategy, and ensured the fragile coalition didn’t collapse. Without Washington, America’s revolution might have fallen apart; without Tajuddin, Bangladesh’s independence could have fractured before it was born.

The difference is that in America, both men’s contributions are celebrated in history and memorials. In Bangladesh, the official narrative has elevated Jefferson while erasing Washington. It is as if American history credited Jefferson with winning the war single-handedly and wrote Washington out entirely.

📜 Timeline: From Struggle to Liberation

(A reference guide to the movement and the roles of each founding father)

1948–1952 – Language Movement

Seeds of autonomy sown; Mujibur Rahman rises in the Awami Muslim League.

1954–1965 – Rise of Autonomy Politics

Awami League gains ground; Rehman Sobhan exposes economic disparity.

Feb 1966 – Six Points

Drafted by Mujib with Rehman Sobhan’s economic framework.

1970 – Pakistan’s General Election

Awami League wins big; West Pakistan refuses power transfer.

25 March 1971 – Operation Searchlight

Pakistan Army crackdown; Mujib arrested. Tajuddin escapes to India.

April 1971 – Mujibnagar Government

Tajuddin as PM, Syed Nazrul Islam as Acting President, Mansur Ali as Finance Minister, Qamaruzzaman as Home Minister.

Dec 1971 – Victory

Dhaka liberated; Mujib still in West Pakistan.

8–10 Jan 1972 – Mujib’s Return

London press conference: “millions” dead; Guardian later cites likely mistranslation.

1972–1975 – Post-War Government

Mujib centralises power; BAKSAL created in 1975.

3 Nov 1975 – Jail Killings

Tajuddin, Syed Nazrul Islam, Mansur Ali, and Qamaruzzaman murdered in Dhaka Central Jail.

The Call for a National Archive

That is why Bangladesh urgently needs a National Archive — independent, non-partisan, and free from party control — with a Liberation Archive as an integral part of it. This Liberation Archive must include the full documented history of the independence movement: from the early political struggles and the Language Movement, through the Six Points and the Mujibnagar Government, culminating in the Liberation War and its immediate aftermath. It must recognise all founding fathers and contributors, ensuring their stories are preserved through verified documents, testimonies, photographs, and recordings — in Bangla and English — and made accessible to the public.

For 16 years, the Awami League has spent millions on statues, murals, and state-sponsored pageantry to enshrine one man’s image — while the archives of our actual history rot in neglect. If even a fraction of that money had been invested in an independent National Archive, Bangladesh would today have a complete, truthful record of its liberation, free from party distortion. It is time to stop building monuments to myth, and start building the institution that will preserve our truth.