Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman should not be considered the Father of the Nation, said Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP) on Friday.
He acknowledged Bangabandhu’s role in Bangladesh’s independence but criticized his rule and the political legacy that followed.
In a post on his verified Facebook account on Friday, Nahid wrote that under Mujibur Rahman’s leadership, Bangladesh became a “colonial state of India” and that the 1972 constitution laid the groundwork for looting, political killings, and the one-party BAKSAL dictatorship.
He added that “behind the fascist politics of the Awami League, there had been worship of Mujib and the Liberation War. Political idol worship was carried out by oppressing the people, looting the nation, and dividing citizens into first and second classes. This was nothing but the establishment of a modern feudal system under the guise of democracy. Yet the Liberation War was the struggle of all people.”
Nahid also said the Awami League had treated Bangladesh as its ancestral property for decades, justifying corruption and repression using unaccountable governance and the Mujib name.
He said: “Mujibism is a fascist ideology in the name of Sheikh Mujib and the Liberation War. Our struggle is not against any individual, but against a fascist ideology. Mujibism is an ideology of fascism and division. It means enforced disappearances, killings, rapes, and other human rights violations. It means Islamophobia, communalism, grabbing the lands of minorities, and selling national sovereignty to foreign powers.”
Nahid also said: “For 16 years, Mujib was kept politically alive as a weapon, and behind the statue, abduction, killings, looting, and genocide were spread.
“Mujibism is a living menace. There has been a call to defeat it through political, ideological, and cultural resistance. Our struggle is to build a democratic Bangladesh where no party, faction, or leader will oppress the people. Bangladesh is nobody’s property; it is a republic.”