Those who oppose liberation war are destined to be defeated: Mahfuz Alam 

Those who oppose the 1971 Liberation War have been defeated in the past and are destined to face the same fate in the future, Advisor Mahfuj Alam said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

His remarks, stressing the need to honour the sacrifices behind Bangladesh’s birth, come amid a deeply divided political landscape, with the legacy of the Liberation War continuing to shape national discourse.

Alam wrote, “Criticise what happened after the Liberation War. Analyse history. There is no problem with these things.

“Even debates about what happened during the war are valid. But all of this must be done while accepting the Liberation War as a reality.”

To make his point, he said of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: “Sheikh Mujib turned out to be a fascist, but his contribution to the birth of Bangladesh, like that of many national leaders, is undeniable.

Emphasising the historical significance of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman before 1972, he said, “We must give due importance to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's contributions before 1972.”

Alam argued: “Some freedom fighters became fascists, but the Liberation War was a struggle of the entire people.

“You cannot deny or question the Liberation War or all freedom fighters just because some of them became fascist, Islamophobic, or murderers. That would be a betrayal of the birth of the state.” 

The Advisor reflected on the decade following the Liberation War, describing it as a period of conflict between factions of freedom fighters.

The Advisor said, “The history of that time was marked by struggles between fascist Mujibist freedom fighters and anti-India, patriotic freedom fighters.

“Yet, no anti-hegemony freedom fighter dared to deny the Liberation War itself. This is where the difference lies between the pro-Peking people and others.”

Alam, also a July uprising leader, emphasised that politics in Bangladesh must align with the spirit of the Liberation War and the mass uprisings that followed.

“If there is any deviation from this spirit, we will not accept you as a force in favour of Bangladesh or the mass uprising,” he said.

Noting the July mass uprising and depicting it as a continuation of the Liberation War’s legacy, he stated, “This mass uprising reclaimed the Liberation War from the Sheikh family and the Mujibist project.”

He asserted that those who stand for Bangladesh must also stand for the Liberation War.

“However, it is also true that many who fought in the Liberation War became fascists and sycophants. Today, they have been defeated by students and the masses,” he said.

Commenting on the current political climate, the Advisor said that the July uprising has brought an opportunity to unite the nation.

“We wanted to reconcile with the [Awami] League by completing the judicial process. But they chose to plot against the country while sheltering in Delhi. You too should not stand against history,” he said.

To save the nation from division and move forward with unity, Alam called for all to “unconditionally and unequivocally embrace both 1971 and 2024”.