Jamaat’s claims are not just wrong — it’s an insult: Ziaul Kabir Dulu
Bangladesh's Independence Day birthed a lot of political intrigue this year. The National Citizen Party (NCP) argued that 1971 and 2024 are interconnected. Jamaat-e-Islami took things further by claiming Bangladesh only achieved true freedom with the 2024 July Uprising, calling it a "second liberation." However, the BNP rejected this notion, stating that calling the uprising a "second independence" undermines the 1971 liberation. So, how do members of civil society view this matter?
I am not just a freedom fighter on one front. I have fought in multiple wars for justice — in 1971 for Bangladesh's independence, then also for Palestine's freedom.
I know what it means to bleed for a cause, to watch my friends and family be murdered, and to stand against oppression in all its forms. So, when I hear Jamaat say that 1971 was not true liberation but July was, what can I say? That's not just wrong — it's an insult.
First, let me say this: What the students did in July was brave. They rose against a fascist regime that had turned Bangladesh into a prison with jailed dissenters, rigged elections and enforced disappearances. Just as we fought the Pakistanis in '71, the youth of the July Uprising also faced torture, disappearances and state terror. I have been attacked by the Awami League government throughout their reign. I commend the students for rising up.
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But let's be clear: July was a fight for democracy. 1971 was a fight for survival. Three million of us were killed. Women were raped, villages were burned. We fought with whatever we had — sticks, rifles, even bare hands — against tanks. And we won. In 1971, we didn't just overthrow a regime — we birthed a nation through bloodshed. How can anyone possibly say that 1971 wasn't a true liberation. Look at the facts. In 1971, our victory gave us a flag, a boundary and an identity.
I know that many controversies surround freedom fighters of 1971, in a way that it doesn't for the youth of the July Uprising, but Jamaat's statement is completely political, without any historical merit. The blood of our martyrs is not a political tool. There can be no debate about our liberation in 1971.
Ziaul Kabir Dulu is a 1971 Freedom Fighter and was a Volunteer at Palestine Liberation Organization
TBS' Alhan Arsal spoke to Ziaul Kabir Dulu over the phone.
