Awami League Accuses Yunus Government of Erasing History of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War

Dec 2025 : The Awami League on Saturday strongly accused the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus of attempting to systematically erase the history and legacy of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, calling it a deeply disturbing and deliberate pattern. As the nation prepares to mark Victory Day on December 16 — the day Bangladesh achieved independence from Pakistan — the party claimed that the iconic military parade will remain absent for the second consecutive year.

In a sharply worded statement, the Awami League said that December 16, once a powerful symbol of national pride and collective remembrance, will pass in silence this year. “The streets that once echoed with marching soldiers, salutes, and public celebration of freedom will remain empty,” the party said. It described the absence of public celebrations as a painful departure from tradition and a symbolic diminishing of the nation’s hard-fought independence.

The party accused the Yunus-led interim administration of systematically dismantling the symbols associated with Bangladesh’s birth. From the cancellation of national holidays linked to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to the removal of his portraits from public offices, the Awami League said the government’s decisions are gradually erasing the very imagery that reflects the nation’s origins. “The cancellation of this year’s parade is not merely about silence on the streets. It represents a deeper, deliberate attempt to weaken the nation’s emotional bond with its freedom, its heroes, and its sacrifice,” the statement read.

According to the party, the alleged erasure began after the interim government assumed power following the 2024 student-led protests. Since then, it claimed, significant national commemorations that once unified the nation in remembrance have been either cancelled or stripped of official recognition. “The assault on history has not paused even during national holidays,” the Awami League asserted.

The statement further alleged that images of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, widely revered as the architect of Bangladesh’s independence, have been removed from government offices and even from currency notes. Statues, murals, and wall paintings depicting the Liberation War, the party claimed, have been defaced, vandalised, or abandoned. “Public spaces are being stripped of memories and meaning,” it said, warning that such actions were creating a deliberate disconnect between younger generations and the nation’s founding struggle.

The Awami League also criticised recent legal and institutional changes, claiming they amount to an intentional rewriting of history. It alleged that the government has redefined who qualifies as a freedom fighter, thereby diminishing the status of genuine veterans. The controversial removal of the title ‘Father of the Nation’ from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was cited as further proof of what it described as calculated historical revisionism.

“These are not routine bureaucratic decisions,” the party stressed. “They are conscious steps aimed at dismantling the legacy of the Liberation War and distorting the story of how Bangladesh was born.”

The party further alleged that these actions mirror what it called a long-standing Pakistani strategy to undermine the memory of 1971 and weaken the traditions associated with Bangladesh’s independence. It also targeted the political backing of Yunus, alleging that Islamist groups and pro-Pakistan forces supporting the interim regime have ideological motives rooted in opposition to Bangladesh’s liberation.

“For them, undermining the struggle for independence is not accidental — it is an ideological mission,” the Awami League concluded, warning that the systematic dilution of national memory poses a serious threat to Bangladesh’s identity and democratic foundations.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)