Latest news with #MujiburRahman
Hindustan Times
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Book critically examines key decisions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
New Delhi, Embattled Sheikh Hasina has to first reform her party Awami League and dump the corrupt to stage any comeback, says a new book which critically examines several key decisions of her father and first Bangladesh president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Book critically examines key decisions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman In "Mujib's Blunders: The Powers and the Plot Behind His Killing", author Manash Ghosh also argues that the 2024 students' revolution that forced Hasina out from office and the caretaker government's quiet decision to drop Mujib's honorific 'Father of the Nation' follow a script first drafted in 1975 when the Bangabandhu was assassinated along with several members of his family in a predawn coup. The book, published by Niyogi Books, is a sequel to Ghosh's "Bangladesh War: Report from Ground Zero" . It dealt with his coverage of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War for The Statesman. The author says political turbulence will gather more steam and instability will continue to haunt Bangladesh, as there will be more such violent regime changes waiting in the wings to happen. "This is because I firmly believe that Sheikh Hasina's Awami League is no political pushover and is far from a vanquished force and will seek to reassert its rightful presence in the country's mainstream politics," he writes. "But there is no doubt that while the party and its leaders try to do that, both will be subjected to long phases of repression and persecution which will keep the nation and its neighbouring Indian states politically unsettled," he adds. According to Ghosh, all those who have gone gaga over Hasina's banishment from power and view the subsequent developments to be the end of the road for her are being too presumptuous. "They are not aware of her indomitable courage and resilience with which she has staged a comeback from far more hopeless and worse situations," he says. "For someone who lost all her near and loved ones in gory killings in one night at the hands of the country's military and survived almost 28 assassination attempts, including the deadly grenade attack again in August 2004 on her life, the latest developments can at best be called a setback," he adds. Moreover, the author writes, Hasina and her 80-year-old party, the Awami League, are no pushovers as "both carry a rich tradition and legacy of service and sacrifice for the people and the Bengali nation". "But for staging a comeback she has to first reform the party and refurbish its image by dumping the corrupt and the 'Pakistani Trojans' in the party without doing which it will surely face extinction," he argues. The author also claims that there are striking similarities between what happened preceding August 15, 1975, when Mujib, along with 18 of his family members, was killed in a bloodbath, and that which occurred almost 50 years later, on August 5, 2024, again in Dhaka, when Hasina was ousted from power in a bloodless coup. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Is Bangladesh slipping into authoritarianism?
On June 7, on the eve of Eid ul Azha, the Chief Adviser to the interim government in Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, delivered a televised address to the nation, promising to hold elections in April 2026. He also announced that the country would witness the launch of the 'July Proclamation', which had been earlier planned by student activists to 'bury' the Constitution of Bangladesh, as it is linked to the founder of Bangladesh and Awami League co-founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Prof. Yunus said that the document will 'include a list of reform proposals, agreed upon by all parties, aimed at building a welfare-oriented state.' As the interim government of Bangladesh has announced that there could be constitutional reforms, there are concerns that the country is slipping into authoritarianism. Is Bangladesh slipping into authoritarianism? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Smruti S. Pattanaik, Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses; Sanjay Pulipaka, Chairperson of the Politeia Research Foundation Host: Kallol Bhattacherjee Audio edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian You can now find The Hindu's podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Old Bangla currency with Bangabandhu Mujib's face becomes souvenir in Bengal
Kolkata: Many in Kolkata with currency notes of Bangladesh that have the image of the country's founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, are saving them as souvenirs. This has been prompted after Bangladesh Bank recently introduced new currency notes of Taka 1,000, Taka 50, and Taka 20. The redesigned notes have images of various nationally important establishments in place of the image of Bangabandhu. The official website of Bangladesh Bank, which is the centralised bank of the nation, clearly mentions: "Bangladesh Bank has the sole authority to issue banknotes in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Bank, like other central banks the world over, changes the design of banknotes from time to time. The Bangladesh Bank has so far issued notes in the denominations of Tk.5, Tk.10, Tk.20, Tk.50, Tk.100, Tk.500, and Tk.1000 in this series. " The Taka 50 note highlights Ahsan Manzil and Zainul Abedin's Sangram. The Taka 1,000 note showcases the National Memorial and the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The Taka 20 note features Kantaji Temple and the Paharpur Monastery. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Flexible Phone Plans for Small Biz Undo In India, cultural activist Subha Prasad Nandi Majumdar, who is from a refugee family of 1947, described this as a move on expected lines "given the kind of political forces that have taken over the power in Bangladesh." "That is because the present regime, as per Yunus's own admission, has pushed a reset button regarding Bangladesh's history. A regime, which remains a stoic witness, if not active participant, to the demolition of 32 Dhanmondi and all sculptures associated with the liberation struggle would naturally be too keen to remove Bangabandhu' s image from currency notes," Majumdar said. Majumdar went to Bangladesh in Feb and heard that the currency change was underway. "I realised that these currency notes will be treated as historic souvenirs in the coming days. I believe a large section of the population in Bangladesh will retain a part of their currencies with Bangabandhu's image as a souvenir while exchanging new currency notes," he said. On his return to Kolkata, Majumdar deliberately never converted them to Indian currency. Saikat Sekhareswar Ray, the head of the department of editing at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, too wants to keep the old currency as a souvenir. "A nation in search of a new identity often attempts to shed its past by any means possible. Unfortunately, some of these efforts are merely symbolic — this being one of them ," Ray said. Author Prabal Kumar Basu last went to Dhaka in 2020. "It was just before Covid-19. I have some currencies of Bangladesh that bear Mujib's image. I kept all of those and have no wish to convert them to Indian currency. Since there was no announcement about replacing the old currency with the new, I kept them with me. I want to visit Bangladesh again and hope to use them," Basu said.
The Hindu
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
In Id speech, Yunus revives July Proclamation that was planned by students to ‘bury' Bangladesh's 1972 constitution
In his Id speech delivered on Friday (June 6, 2025), the Chief Adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, Prof. Mohammed Yunus announced that the next national election will be held in April 2026. However, he announced the country would witness the launch of the 'July Proclamation', a document that he said was 'agreed upon by all parties'. The July Proclamation was earlier planned by student activists to 'bury' the constitution of Bangladesh, as it is linked to the founder of Bangladesh and Awami League co-founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Also Read | Bangladesh drops the title of 'Father of the Nation' for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 'The students who led and participated in the July Uprising have announced plans to issue a July Declaration. They invited me to be part of it. I suggested that it would be more meaningful if the declaration is issued jointly — by all political leaders, civil society representatives and others. This Charter is a promise,' Mr. Yunus said in the speech, where he did not mention the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose images were dropped from the new currency notes printed by the interim government last week. It was reported by The Hindu that the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, that led the uprising against then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, announced in a press conference on December 29, 2024, that they wanted to 'bury' the 1972 constitution of Bangladesh and launch the 'July Proclamation' in a public meeting on December 31, 2024, at the Shahid Minar of Dhaka. Also Read | People disappointed with announcement of Bangladesh polls in April 2026: BNP The students paused the plan at the last moment after the military reportedly intervened, fearing that replacing the constitution with a charter drawn from the July-August uprising would have destabilised Bangladesh further. However, in the Id speech, Mr. Yunus indicated that the July Proclamation that was to be launched by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement has said this time the 'July Proclamation' will 'include a list of reform proposals, agreed upon by all parties, aimed at building a welfare-oriented state. By signing it, the parties will pledge to implement these reforms.' He, however, did not specify the legal validity of such a charter overseen by an interim administration. Also Read | Bangladesh Army at odds with government on Myanmar corridor The timing of the speech drew attention as it came days after Army Chief Waker-uz-Zaman and the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) criticised the government for being slow in holding the promised election and demanded that the election must be held by December 2025. The BNP has not yet expressed its opinion on whether it would sign the July Proclamation that Mr. Yunus mentioned in his speech. Soon after the speech, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the largest overground political party, held a meeting in the party headquarters in Gulshan neighbourhood and opposed the idea of holding elections in April 2026. However, Mr. Yunus argued that 'free, transparent and peaceful election to pave the way for transfer of power' can take place only after ensuring justice for the killings of agitators during July-August 2024. 'We are confident that visible progress will be made in the delivery of justice for these actions by that time,' Mr. Yunus said, indicating the verdicts in the cases related to the police action in last year's uprising will be completed before April 2026.
The Hindu
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
In Id speech, Yunus revives July Proclamation that was planned by students to 'bury' Bangladesh's 1972 constitution
In his Id speech delivered on Friday, the Chief Adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, Prof. Mohammed Yunus announced that the next national election will be held in April 2026. However, he announced the country would witness the launch of the 'July Proclamation', a document that he said was 'agreed upon by all parties'. The July Proclamation was earlier planned by student activists to 'bury' the constitution of Bangladesh, as it is linked to the founder of Bangladesh and Awami League co-founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 'The students who led and participated in the July Uprising have announced plans to issue a July Declaration. They invited me to be part of it. I suggested that it would be more meaningful if the declaration is issued jointly — by all political leaders, civil society representatives and others. This Charter is a promise,' Mr. Yunus said in the speech, where he did not mention the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose images were dropped from the new currency notes printed by the interim government last week. It was reported by The Hindu that the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, that led the uprising against then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, announced in a press conference on December 29, 2024, that they wanted to 'bury' the 1972 constitution of Bangladesh and launch the 'July Proclamation' in a public meeting on December 31, 2024, at the Shahid Minar of Dhaka. The students paused the plan at the last moment after the military reportedly intervened, fearing that replacing the constitution with a charter drawn from the July-August uprising would have destabilised Bangladesh further. However, in the Id speech, Mr. Yunus indicated that the July Proclamation that was to be launched by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement has said this time the 'July Proclamation' will 'include a list of reform proposals, agreed upon by all parties, aimed at building a welfare-oriented state. By signing it, the parties will pledge to implement these reforms.' He, however, did not specify the legal validity of such a charter overseen by an interim administration. The timing of the speech drew attention as it came days after Army Chief Waker-uz-Zaman and the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) criticised the government for being slow in holding the promised election and demanded that the election must be held by December 2025. The BNP has not yet expressed its opinion on whether it would sign the July Proclamation that Mr. Yunus mentioned in his speech. Soon after the speech, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the largest overground political party, held a meeting in the party headquarters in Gulshan neighbourhood and opposed the idea of holding elections in April 2026. However, Mr. Yunus argued that 'free, transparent and peaceful election to pave the way for transfer of power' can take place only after ensuring justice for the killings of agitators during July-August 2024. 'We are confident that visible progress will be made in the delivery of justice for these actions by that time,' Mr. Yunus said, indicating the verdicts in the cases related to the police action in last year's uprising will be completed before April 2026.
