Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of the Jamaat-controlled interim government, has stressed presenting the true history of the 1971 Liberation War impartially, as his Adviser Faruk E Azam claims that the Awami League presented a confusing history by constructing various memorials and sculptures, spending millions.
The adviser further said that the Awami League government had developed freedom fighters as a privileged class.
They think that five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina glorified Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman disproportionately and demeaned other leaders of the Liberation War.
Activists say such statements are issued to justify the countrywide demolition of the 1971 symbols, museums, and sculptures of Bangabandhu; the removal of Bangabandhuโs image from currency notes; the humiliation of freedom fighters; the distortion of history in textbooks; and the release of convicted war criminals like ATM Ahzarul Islam Azhar.
Last year, during an interview with the Voice of America, Yunus said his recruitersโthe studentsโhad pushed the reset button to rewrite the history, implying that the narratives of the Liberation War and the contribution of Bangabandhu would change.
Freedom fighters like Siru Bangali and activists have confirmed that Yunus’ father, Muslim League leader Dula Mia Saudagor, and brothers sided with the Pakistani Army during the war, which is why Jamaat has a strong influence over the interim government.
Since July 1, the unconstitutional government has been observing the first anniversary of the anti-quota and anti-government movements through different programmes and has offered special benefits for the families of the martyrs and the injured, who are labelled as July Joddha or July Warriors.
But some newspapers have already exposed gross irregularities in preparing the lists of martyrs and July Warriors, corruption in the scrutiny, and mass trading over the filing of murder and attempted murder cases.
When the meeting on the 1971 Liberation War was underway, the district authorities in Jamalpur were bulldozing a monument with portraits of the national leaders and murals depicting the historic events.
The local unit of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement said that a โJuly Martyrs Memorialโ will be erected there.
The monument was built in the Shekher Vita area ofโ the Jamalpur-Dewanganj bypass road for Tk7.5 crore in 2023. At that time, the establishment was named โMirza Azam Chattar.โ
After the August 5 changeover, this square was renamed Bijoy Chattar.
In mid-June, the government started dismantling the โMrityunjayee Pranganโ at Bijoy Sarani, involving heavy machinery and a team of 50 workers, overseen by the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) under a Tk5 crore budget.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the โMrityunjayee Pranganโ on Dhakaโs Bijoy Sarani on November 10, 2023, adorned with several murals depicting the history of Bangladesh and a sculpture of Bangabandhu.
The pro-Pakistani government says the site is being cleared for a โmodern urban development project,โ including a 10-lane highway and commercial complex, with construction slated to begin in August.
Moreover, a mass memorial monument, or Gono Minar, will be built covering the entire Bijoy Sarani area.
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