In light of the mass uprising, a new national day may be introduced, according to Nahid Islam, the Interim Government’s ICT, Telecommunication, and Information & Broadcasting Advisor. He made this statement in response to a question during a briefing with journalists at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
Earlier, in a meeting of the Advisory Council, a decision was made to cancel eight national days, including March 7 and August 15. Five of these days are centered around the family of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League government. The relevant section of the Cabinet Division has been instructed to enforce the cancellation, and an official notification will be issued to that effect.
Following this, Advisor Nahid Islam addressed the media, stating, “Awami League has made Bangabandhu a controversial figure. Whether you consider him the ‘Father of the Nation’ or not, is up to you. The Awami League held power in a fascist manner by depriving people of their voting rights and engaging in disappearances, killings, and massacres. Therefore, the continuity of their declarations, including who they termed the ‘Father of the Nation’ and which days they declared as national days, will not persist in the new Bangladesh. We aim to reshape Bangladesh and, thus, need to bring a new perspective to history.”
He added, “There is no legitimacy in a government that came to power without a vote. Much was done during that time, and all of it will be restructured and reassessed.”
When asked whether the current government considers Bangabandhu as the ‘Father of the Nation,’ Nahid Islam responded, “Absolutely not.”
In response to a follow-up question about whether Bangladesh would have any ‘Father of the Nation’ at all, he explained, “Many individuals have contributed to the struggle of this land. Our history does not begin solely in 1952; we have the anti-British struggle, the fights of 1947, 1971, as well as the movements of 1990 and 2024. We have many founding fathers whose struggles led to our independence.”
The Information Advisor further commented, “The national days that are being canceled were imposed by the Awami League. It was a fascist approach. The government has deemed these days insignificant, which is why they are being canceled.”
