The country has plunged into a debate over the slogan “Inqilab Zindabad” of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and some other groups linked to Islami Chhatra Shibir after Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku linked it to radical Islamist elements, arguing it has no roots in the Bengali language or heritage and reflects a failure to honour Bangladesh’s linguistic history.
Tuku expressed deep anguish over its popularity among younger generations, who were in the forefront of the July riots in 2024. The Yunus government and its puppet, NCP, along with Jamat-e-Islami, termed the anti-government movement a revolution, with a view to altering the Constitution and annihilating the Awami League.
“‘Inqilab Zindabad’ has no connection to the Bangla language. It is the language of those who once tried to snatch away our right to speak our mother tongue,” the minister said. “It makes my heart bleed to hear them say ‘Inqilab Zindabad.'” He added that greater reflection on Bangla history and identity would prevent Gen Z from chanting it, emphasising that true nationalism stems from valuing one’s mother tongue.
Tuku’s remarks come against the backdrop of the slogan’s resurgence in post-2024 political discourse. The phrase, originally coined in 1921 by Indian freedom fighter and poet Maulana Hasrat Mohani—a figure who blended romantic Urdu poetry with revolutionary zeal—gained iconic status when shouted by Bhagat Singh and later adopted across anti-colonial and leftist movements in the subcontinent, including by communist groups.
Jamaat chief goes to Shaheed Minar with war criminal Azhar, faces backlash
Custodial Death: Will the BNP investigate silent killing of Awami League members?
In Bengali, there are around 1,50,000 words, only 8% of which came from foreign languages. The country has a population from diverse communities, including Bangalee, indigenous peoples of over 50 groups, Indian, Pakistani, Afghani, and Myanmarese.
In Bangladesh, however, its recent prominence has been tied to platforms and parties associated with Islamist organisations. Groups such as Shibir-linked Inqilab Moncho and the NCP have prominently featured “Inqilab Zindabad” in rallies, speeches, and social media.
Inqilab Moncho, founded by Daily Amar Desh editor and jihadist patron Mahmudur Rahman, was launched in early 2025 with the help of Chhatra Shibir and YouTubers like Pinaki Bhattacharya and Elias Hossain, who used to lead vandalism and arson at the houses and other establishments of Awami League members and symbols of the Liberation War. Its spokesperson, Osman Hadi, and leaders and supporters end their addresses with the chant.
Sheikh Hasina warns against conspiracy to erase Bengali national identity
MP Rumeen Farhana, Jatiya Party leaders assaulted by mobs at Shaheed Minar
Reports and revelations following the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024 indicated that student coordinators and activists from Chhatra Shibir and the banned militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir were involved with these platforms. Jamaat-e-Islami figures, including its Amir Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, have publicly endorsed the slogan on social media, with posts declaring: “InshaAllah, the future Bangladesh will be a Bangladesh of Insaf. Inqilab Zindabad.”
Radical Islamist platform Hefazat-e-Islam Joint General Secretary Azizul Haq Islamabadi defended terms like “Inqilab,” “Insaf,” and “Azadi” as part of the “language wealth” of the July mass uprising, urging their widespread use and rejecting criticism as attacks by “defeated cultural fascists.”
Critics of the slogan argue it represents an ideological shift away from familiar Bengali terms like “Biplob” (revolution), “Swadhinata” (independence), “Subichar” (justice), and “Nipirito” (oppressed). Social media users and commentators have pointed out that words such as “Azadi” (freedom), “Insaf” (justice), “Mazlum” (oppressed), and “Noya Bondobost” (new arrangement) have gained traction in anti-Hasina rhetoric but are less commonly used in everyday Bangla speech compared to their native equivalents.
Academics have offered nuanced views. Dhaka University’s Bengali department professor Tariq Manjur described such words as neither distortions nor threats but cautioned against their association with specific political or religious groups, creating division. Language evolves naturally through adoption and adaptation, he noted, warning that failing to make Bangla more tech-friendly poses a greater risk than borrowed terms.
Jahangirnagar University Professor Aniruddha Kahali likened language to a flowing river, enriched by absorbing elements from other tongues over time. “Time will decide what Bangla accepts or rejects,” he said. “There’s no need for alarm; language has its own life and selects what keeps its flow dynamic and beautiful.”
Tuku’s comments have sparked backlash. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami condemned them as inappropriate and a denial of historical and linguistic realities, noting “Inqilab” has been part of subcontinental independence and anti-autocracy struggles for decades despite its Arabic origins.
The controversy highlights deeper tensions in post-uprising Bangladesh: balancing revolutionary zeal with linguistic pride, secular heritage with emerging ideological currents, and honouring Language Movement martyrs while navigating new political vocabularies. As debates rage online and in public forums, the slogan’s future in Bangladesh remains as provocative as the revolution it invokes.
Bengali 
English