There is no need to cry so much over the incident of breaking Sheikh Mujib’s sculpture. This was bound to happen.
Yes, Sheikh Mujib was an undisputed leader before and after independence, but he did not maintain that dignity. He was the first dictator of independent Bangladesh, the first state murderer. What his daughter has been doing for the last 15 years is a continuation of his actions.
Just as we should know the history of his contributions in the 1970s, we should also know and be able to speak about the history of his formation of BAKSAL, the killing of democracy, the formation of the Rakkhi Bahini, and the corruption, irregularities, and famine during his time. We have not been allowed to speak about these. Instead, he was forcibly turned into a deity. He was made into a green spirit descending from an airplane.
For the last one and a half decades, the fascism that Sheikh Hasina has been practicing has symbolized Mujib. So it is natural that the symbol of that power will be destroyed after his fall. Those of you who are crying, if you were truly respectful towards Mujib and the Liberation War, you would have opposed the misuse of his ideals and image to establish the most horrific fascism in the history of the country. You would have opposed it when the names and marks of other national leaders were being removed.
Let Mujib’s sculptures be broken because they are symbols of the abuse of power. But at the same time, we must be vigilant to ensure that no one uses this incident as an excuse to drag the revolution into religious extremism or to re-establish foreign powers. We must protect sculptures related to Bangladesh’s independence and others.
We must also ensure that, alongside stopping Mujib worship and breaking his sculptures, no one tries to erase Mujib’s name from history as the Awami League tried to do with Zia’s name.
Mujib’s name will remain, his contributions will be acknowledged, and so will his deviations. If someone in power today walks the same path of excess, their fate will be the same.
The Awami League won a landslide victory in 2009. During Shahbagh, it seemed that the Awami League was everything, and Jamaat-BNP could be completely eradicated. But due to their injustice and oppression, history turned around in less than 15 years. The same fate will befall anyone who does this in the future – no doubt about it. It may take a little more or less than 15 years, but it will happen.
History inevitably comes full circle.
This article is written by Mozammel Hossain Toha. Translated into English by Inu Etc
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