Jahangirnagar University鈥檚 former professor Anu Muhammad on Sunday stated that although Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was considered the Father of the Nation, he could not step outside the boundaries of the Awami League and he remained its leader.
He made the remarks at a seminar held on Sunday afternoon at the R C Majumdar auditorium of Dhaka University.
聽The seminar was organised by the Siraj Sikder Study Center to mark the 80th birth anniversary of Comrade Siraj Sikder.
At the seminar, speakers discussed a book titled Paharer Lal Akhyan.
The book explores the untold chapter of Siraj Sikder鈥檚 party in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Anu Muhammad said at the seminar that in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the most popular leader in Bangladesh鈥檚 history, and it was uncertain whether such a popular leader would come again.
Anu Muhammad further stated that if Sheikh Mujib had the openness to embrace all forces in the liberation struggle, acknowledging their contributions to the struggle alongside the Awami League, perhaps the history of Bangladesh would have been different.
He noted that in 1972, there were widespread calls for a national government representing everyone, but Sheikh Mujib remained confined to the Awami League.
鈥楨ventually, Sheikh Mujib established BKSAL ignoring the calls for a national government, and the whole situation changed. Had he created a national government, he could have accommodated even Siraj Sikder,鈥� said Anu Muhammad.
Paying tribute to Siraj Sikder鈥檚 memory, 抖阴精品 editor Nurul Kabir said that of the leftists, Siraj Sikder was the first to recognise that a revolution could not be possible within the Pakistani framework.
鈥楬e envisioned a revolutionary movement through people鈥檚 war in alliance with the Awami League, which was a pragmatic revolutionary thought at that time,鈥� he said.
He also said that back then, a solution to any problem required going directly to Sheikh Mujib, indicating an absence of a rule-based governance system.
It was a highly personal, authoritarian governance system, which is a sign of fascism, Nurul Kabir added.
鈥楾he newspaper Banglar Bani once wrote, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want the rule of law, but we want rule of Mujib.鈥� This is an example of fascist politics. Siraj Sikder stood against this fascism, and he was killed for it,鈥� he said.
Independent researcher Altaf Parvez remarked that the ownership of the July-August uprising had not been given to everyone.
Siraj Sikder Study Centre executive director Shiplu Rahman chaired the seminar.
Sudatta Bikash Tanchangya, author of Pahader Lal Akhyan, and Badal Shah Alam, editor of Khanan, among others, spoke at the seminar.