Independence of Bangladesh

Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March and lasted till 16 December 1971 which is celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh. There is a dispute along partisan line on who declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Awami League claim Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party claim it was Ziaur Rahman.

Quotes

• One common but divisive question: Who declared Bangladesh's independence? Sheikh Mujibur Rahman or Ziaur Rahman? Actually but sadly, Bangladesh is polarized over the independence declaration, which is not an academic disagreement pondering over a past event—it's a politically explosive question that determines the winners and losers of Bangladesh politics even today... The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP), the two largest parties are locked in a jockeying for power over who declared the independence in March 1971—Awami League chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman or Ziaur Rahman, a military officer at that time.
  • M. Rashiduzzaman in Bangladesh: In Search of a New Historical Envisioning, quoted in Y Rosser, Indoctrinating Minds: Politics of Education in Bangladesh. 2004