THE ECHO OF A THUNDERING VOICE: WHY BANGLADESH CANNOT AFFORD TO FORGET MUJIB

A nation’s collective memory is its most fragile yet indispensable inheritance. For Bangladesh, that memory is inseparable from a single, towering presence--Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

However, as we move into 2026, there is a subtle but perilous erosion underway. The thunder of the War of Independence and the searing sacrifices made during the struggle are increasingly reduced to textbook footnotes. This creeping amnesia is an act of intellectual as well as national sabotage.

The Architect of a Defiant Identity

To understand Bangabandhu is to understand the birth of Bangladesh’s soul. He was not simply a political leader. He was the distilled expression of centuries of Bengali resistance, dignity and longing for self-rule. 

When he spoke, his words carried the heartbeat of a farmer in Jessore, and the defiance of a student in Dhaka, just as he whispered the prayers of a mother in Sylhet. His voice did not merely persuade. It awakened a dormant civilisation.

His return on January 10, 1972, transformed independence from an abstract victory into a lived reality. He was a man who had stared down execution in a dark Pakistani prison cell, stepping into the sunlight of a country he had summoned into being. That homecoming was more than a political triumph. It was the return of a father to a wounded but liberated family.

The Radical Shift: A Nation Haunted by Erasure

Today, Bangladesh is gripped by a radical approach to historical revisionism. It seeks to dismantle the very foundations of our statehood. Bangladesh is presently also witnessing an aggressive attempt to “haunt” and negate the legacy of the Liberation War through systematic denial and the surgical removal of our founding narrative.

The Vandalism of History

The recent removal of Bangabandhu’s images from public spaces and the stripping of his title, the “Father of the Nation,” are attempts to decapitate our national identity. By trying to rewrite who held the mantle of leadership in 1971, revisionists are effectively gaslighting the millions who marched under his name.

The Extremist Infiltration

Radical forces, emboldened by political instability, are working to replace Bangladesh’s secular and linguistic pride with a narrow and exclusionary ideology. They view Mujib’s inclusive vision as an obstacle. When his memory is allowed to fade, doors are left wide open for these extremist narratives to colonize the minds of the youth.

The Academic Purge

The systematic removal of Bangabandhu’s history from school textbooks is perhaps the most dangerous haunting of all. By denying the next generation the truth of their origin, the state is creating a vacuum of identity. Without a clear understanding of the 1971 struggle, the youth will become vulnerable to radical narratives that seek to trade hard-won sovereignty for sectarian control. To diminish Mujib’s role is to betray the blood of the martyrs. A nation may survive a financial crisis, but it cannot survive the loss of its soul.

Gratitude as a National Anchor

Why should a Bangla teenager in 2026 feel emotionally connected to 1971? Because unity is born from shared gratitude. Freedom without memory breeds entitlement; freedom with memory breeds responsibility. Honouring Bangabandhu means acknowledging the right to speak the mother tongue and walk freely under our own flag that was purchased with blood. There were 3 million martyrs, and they are not just numbers; they are the price of a leadership that sought to vindicate the existence of Bangladesh. A generation that understands this sacrifice is the only effective shield against the radicalism currently haunting the borders.

Lighting the Eternal Flame

Bangladesh’s history is written in sacrifice, and Bangabandhu was the hand that held the pen. Remembrance must move beyond portraits and ritualized praise; it must become an act of defiance against those who wish to rewrite the past to control the future of Bangladesh. To truly honour him, each Bangladeshi national should ask the question: Are we protecting the secular, inclusive freedoms he won?

Bangabandhu’s story must be told not as a distant myth but as a human truth—a man who loved his people more than his own life. If his legacy is allowed to be erased by radical agendas, Bangladesh loses the mirror that reflects its highest potential. It’s high time for Bangla youth to return to their roots, not out of obligation but out of an urgent necessity to remain a free and dignified nation.