The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh is distorting the history of the country’s freedom movement and downplaying the critical role played by India in ensuring the former’s Independence from Pakistan.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) is leaving no stone unturned in undermining the contribution of India in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
“In these changes lie an underlying theme — of playing down the Indian leadership’s contribution to the Bangladesh Liberation War in which the combined forces of Indian Army and the Bangladesh freedom fighters had defeated Pakistan’s armed forces in December 1971, leading to the creation of the nation,” the newspaper stated.
Under the watch of the Yunus regime, changes have been made to 441 books used by primary, secondary and higher secondary school students.
According to The Indian Express, two photographs of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been dropped from the Std VI English book. Both the pictures were from 1972.
In one photograph, Indira Gandhi was seen sharing the stage with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at a Kolkata rally, while in another photograph, the Indian Prime Minister was being received by the founding father of Bangladesh at the Dhaka airport.
NCTB Chairperson A K M Reazul Hassan rationalised the decision that the photographs were part of the 2023-2024 curriculum, which has now been nullified.
Although India was the first country to recognise Bangladesh as a free nation, it will soon be changed to Bhutan in textbooks under the Yunus regime.
NCTB Chairperson A K M Reazul Hassan told The Indian Express, “The old books state that India was the first to recognise Bangladesh (as an independent nation) on December 6, 1971. However, we were told that Bhutan was the first to recognise Bangladesh on December 3, 1971. Since we were short on time, we could not rectify this. We will fix this next year.”
Only the event of the surrender of the Pakistan army to Indian forces has been retained in the textbooks. Even the ‘national flag’ and ‘national song’ of Bangladesh have been removed from the front page of textbooks, given that they are perceived as ‘imposition by India.’
Hostile attitude of Muhammad Yunus regime towards India
The interim government had been maintaining a hostile attitude with India after it took the reins of Bangladesh following the undemocratic ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
In October 2024, a top adviser in Bangladesh’s interim government issued a “threat” to the government of India, stating that if India tried to refuse the extradition of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the country would launch a “strong protest.” Law adviser Asif Nazrul cited provisions of the extradition treaty and claimed that India is bound to follow it.
A Bangladeshi Islamist identified as Sarjis Alam, who rose to prominence during the ‘student protests’ and the undemocratic ouster of Sheikh Hasina, issued veiled threats to PM Modi on Vijay Diwas (16th December 2024).
During his speech, Alam was heard saying, “I want to let Mr Modi know that is not Gujarat. This is Bangladesh.” He was jeered on by his radical supporters.
“Aggressive communalism does not thrive here… You cannot come to power here by spreading rumours and killing people,” he claimed.
According to media reports, the Islamist had additionally threatened to ‘gouge the eyes out’ of anyone who raises his eyebrows at Bangladesh.
Earlier, Sarjis Alam had repeatedly threatened India and demanded the handover of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Owing to his anti-Indian rhetoric, the Islamist was made the chief organiser of the Jatiyo Nagorik Committee.
Around the same time, Mahfuz Alam, who serves as an ‘adviser’ to the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of Bangladesh, threatened to capture India.
The Islamist posted a map of Bangladesh, which spread deep into the Indian States of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. Mahfuz Alam later realised that his open admission of the sinister territorial expansion of Bangladesh could lead to diplomatic issues.
Within 2 hours of sharing his fantasy of annexing India, he quietly deleted his tweet. Mahfuz Alam had previously served as a ‘special assistant’ to Muhammad Yunus.
In January this year, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) commander Lt. Col Golam Kibria issued threats to India’s Border Security Force (BSF).
“I am standing here with all the forces. You (villagers) do not need to come here. I am alone enough to cut down BSF to size. Was I able to make you understand?” he was heard saying in a viral video.
The BGB commander declared that he would call upon the villagers to ambush the BSF when the need arose. “When it becomes necessary, I will give a call to villagers to come with me and cut down BSF to size,” he threatened.
Conscious distortion of the history of Bangladesh
In January 2025, the Yunus regime introduced new textbooks for primary and secondary students, which falsely claimed that the first declaration of independence of Bangladesh was made by Ziaur Rehman.
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the founding father of Bangladesh, was arrested by the Pakistan army on 26th March 1971. Before his arrest, he declared the independence of Bangladesh through a wireless message. The message read [pdf] –
“This may be my last message, from today Bangladesh is independent. I call upon the people of Bangladesh wherever you might be and with whatever you have, to resist the army of occupation to the last. Your fight must go on until the last soldier of the Pakistan occupation army is expelled from the soil of Bangladesh and final victory is achieved.“
This very message is a part of the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of Bangladesh. The declaration of Independence by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was broadcast twice on 26th March 1971.
The original message was broadcast in the morning by an unidentified wireless station while another broadcast was made by the ‘Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra’ (Free Bengal Wireless Station).
Both the broadcasts were intercepted and monitored in Shillong and Calcutta. They were reported by The Statesman, The Times of India, The Los Angeles Times and others.
Despite this, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) under the Yunus government is falsely attributing the first declaration of Independence to Ziaur Rehman.
In fact, there is no evidence that he made any such announcement on 26th March 1971. It is however documented that Ziaur Rehman made a second declaration of independence from Kalurghat (located north of Chittagong city) a day later.
On 27th March 1971, he had announced on radio, “I, Major Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People’s Republic of Bangladesh has been established. I have taken command as the temporary Head of the Republic. I call upon all Bangalis to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our Motherland. By the grace of Allah, victory is ours.”
It is thus evident that Sheikh Mujibur Rehman made the first declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on 26th March 1971 and the message was reiterated by Ziaur Rehman on the following day at the former’s behest.
As such, the changes made in the academic curriculum are based on lies and distortion.
Ziaur Rehman, who was in the Army at the time of Bangladesh’s independence, went on to lay the foundation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He also became the 6th Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Unlike Sheikh Mujibur Rehman who kept the Bengali identity at the forefront of his secular politics in Bangladesh, Ziaur Rehman promoted a ‘Bangladeshi identity’ based on Islam.
His majoritarian form of Islamic nationalism had no place for Hindus and other religious minorities in the story of Bangladesh.
A ‘Minorities at Risk’ report by UNHCR makes it crystal clear –
“The founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, enshrined secularism in the country’s first constitution. But in 1977, the country’s military ruler, Ziaur Rahman, removed this principle as Bangladesh turned toward the Middle East for political, economic, and cultural reasons.“
After his death, Ziaur Rehman’s wife Begum Khaleda Zia became the chairperson of BNP. Under her Prime Ministership, there was severe mushrooming of radical Islamic outfits in Bangladesh, increased infiltration in India’s North-east region and systematic persecution of the Hindu community.
Ziaur Rehman and his family thus represent the ideology of radical Islamism in Bangladesh, which is premised on anti-Hindu and anti-India sentiment.
The appropriation of Ziaur Rehman by Muhammad Yunus and his attempt at trivialising the contribution of Bangabandhu is thus strategic and aligns with his broader interests.
