THE assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with most of his family members, on August 15, 1975 is a dark chapter in Bangladesh`s history. The cold-blooded way in which they were murdered including his minor son, wife, and daughters-in-law, as well as individuals with no familial ties was shocking and reprehensible. It was also destabilising for a nation still grappling with the trauma and devastation of a ninemonth bloody war.
Carried out by a group of army officers, Bangabandhu`s assassination was followed by another dastardly act on November 3 of the same year: the brutal jail killing of four national leaders Tajuddin Ahmad, Syed Nazrul Islam, M Mansur Ali, and AHM Qamaruzzaman.But these were the very men who had formed a provisional government in April 1971 while Bangabandhu was imprisoned in Pakistan, trained ordinary citizens to become freedom fighters, and led the fight for `liberation` against a well-equipped occupying army. Their assassinations steered the country further away from the ideals it was founded on and towards years of military rule. The governments that followed shunned democratic principles and legitimised these heinous crimes.
The precedent set on August 15 made future political assassinations more conceivable, including repeated attempts on President Ziaur Rahman, one of which ultimately led to his death in a 1981 military coup, again creating a national crisis. History must assess Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in two distinct phases: as a leader who inspired a nation to fight for its freedom, and as the prime minister after 1971, whose controversial actions, including the formation of the one-party BAKSAL system, failure to curb corruption, and perceived inability to prevent the 1974 famine, led to public disillusionment.
Sheikh Hasina politicized and weaponized the Liberation War and Bangabandhu’s legacy to consolidate power and suppress perceived threats, including political rivals and dissenting citizens. The July–August 2024 student-led uprising, which left around 1,400 dead, was a direct consequence of her fifteen years of power abuse. Consequently, anything associated with Mujib has become anathema to many who suffered under her rule. Yet Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s foundational role in Bangladesh’s independence remains indisputable, and attempts to rewrite history risk repeating past mistakes.
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