Mujibur Rahman downsized, India’s role in Bangladesh Liberation War cut: Dhaka rewrites textbooks | India News

* India’s role in the freedom movement retained, but photographs of Indira Gandhi with Mujibur Rahman dropped.

* Hasina’s message for students on the back cover of textbooks replaced with photographs of graffiti from the 2024 July uprising against her regime.

These are among the most drastic changes made to school textbooks in Bangladesh this year by its National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) — alterations that almost obliterate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and curtails her father Mujib’s role in the freedom struggle.

In these changes lie an underlying theme — of playing down the Indian leadership’s contribution to the Bangladesh Liberation War in which the combined forces of Indian Army and the Bangladesh freedom fighters had defeated Pakistan’s armed forces in December 1971, leading to the creation of the nation.

A team of over 57 experts set up by the Bangladesh Education Ministry has carried out alterations to 441 school books used by primary, secondary and higher secondary students, sources said, adding that over 40 crore new books have been printed for the current academic session. The Indian Express analysed several of these books — across classes and subjects.

These changes are among the “reforms” in the education sector that the interim government announced following the toppling of the 16-year regime of Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, and has been living in India ever since.

Speaking to The Indian Express on phone from Dhaka, A K M Reazul Hassan, chairperson, NCTB, said, “The textbooks have been revised on the basis of the 2012 curriculum. The 2022-2023 textbooks have been nullified.”

India’s role shrunk

The Indian Express found that two photographs of Mujib with then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had been dropped from the inside cover of the Class 6 English book — of Mujib making a speech and Gandhi sharing the dais at a rally in Kolkata on February 6, 1972, and the other of March 17, 1972, when the Bangladesh President received the Indian PM at the Dhaka airport. Photographs of Mujib with world leaders have been deleted from other textbooks too.

When asked about the change in content on India’s role, Hassan said, “As far as I can remember, in one of the back covers of a book, there was a picture of Mujibur Rehman with Indira Gandhi. Since all old books (from 2023-24) have been nullified, it is no longer there. However, the role of India during the Liberation War and that of the Mitro Bahini (an alliance of the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini) have been kept intact.”

Indeed, the 1971 surrender has been retained in the Class 5 textbook in a chapter titled ‘Pakistani Bahinir Antmosamarpan O Amader Bijoy (Pakistani Forces Surrender and Our Victory)’. The text mentions how Indian forces and Muktijoddhas (Bangladeshi freedom fighters) joined hands to defeat Pakistani forces. It’s accompanied by a historic picture — of the Indian Army’s Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora accepting the Instrument of Surrender from Pakistan Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi.

“The historic surrender… has been kept in the textbooks as it was earlier. Only political content on the back covers of books has been removed. Our aim is to show the true picture and remove all political messages,” said Hassan.

Among other changes, the national flag and the national song — seen by critics of the Awami League as legacies of Mujib and an imposition by India — have been moved from the front pages of the textbooks to the back. Hassan said, “Those who revised the books felt that the national flag and song were not needed in textbooks. They thought that the front covers should have pictures that would draw the attention of children, which is why both (the flag and song) have been moved to the back. We will decide later if they should be removed entirely.”

Referring to another impending India-related change, Hassan said, “The old books state that India was the first to recognise Bangladesh (as an independent nation) on December 6, 1971. However, we were told that Bhutan was the first to recognise Bangladesh on December 3, 1971. Since we were short on time, we could not rectify this. We will fix this next year.”

Mujib scaled down

Among the biggest changes in the books is the move to bring in other leaders of the Muktijuddho (Bangladesh’s freedom struggle), who, critics of the Awami League say, were overshadowed by Mujib and his daughter Hasina.

The revised curriculum includes biographies and photographs of other “political stalwarts” such as Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, former Muslim League leader, first president of the Awami League and a prominent figure during the 1971 Muktijuddho; Huseyn Suhrawardy, the former Chief Minister of undivided Bengal and the former Prime Minister of Pakistan; Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq, a former Muslim League leader and Prime Minister of East Pakistan; Tajuddin Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and a Muktijuddho leader; and Khaleda Zia, Hasina’s rival, two-time Prime Minister of Bangladesh and wife of former President Ziaur Rahman.

In a Class 2 Bengali book, a prose on Mujib, titled ‘Sonar Chele (Golden Boy)’, has been dropped, while his biography in a Class 3 book has been replaced with ‘Amader Char Neta (Our Four Leaders)’. The chapter has short biographies and photographs of Maulana Bashani, Fazlul Haq and Suhrawardy, with Mujib coming in last.

Stating that all instances of “deification of personalities” have been dropped from the revised textbooks, NCTB’s Hassan said, “Earlier, the curriculum was politicised to create a cult of one or two personalities. I don’t think textbooks anywhere else in the world had political messages from political personalities. Political messages by the leader of the former fascist regime (referring to Hasina’s regime) have been removed in the revised editions. Students, guardians and teachers had protested against their inclusion.”

“Maulana Bhashani, Suhrawardy, ‘Sher-e-Bangla’ Fazlul Haq were senior to Sheikh Mujib. Their role and biographies have been aptly represented in the 2025 textbooks alongside that of Mujib. We have not entirely removed (text on) Mujib,” he added.

Two poems on Mujib, ‘Banglar Khoka (Bengal’s Son)’ and ‘Mujib Mane Mukti (Mujib Means Freedom)’ have been removed from Class 4 Bengali books. In a Class 4 history book, in a prose titled ‘1971 Muktijuddho (1971 Freedom Movement)’, a photograph of Zia has a caption stating that the then Army chief made the first declaration of independence from Chattogram (now Chittagong) on March 26, 1971, followed by another one a day later, on March 27, 1971, on behalf of Mujib. Earlier books had credited Mujib with making the first declaration of independence on March 26, 1971.

To a question on this, Hassan said, “It is historically documented that Zia made the first declaration of independence on March 26, 1971, in his personal capacity. The declaration on March 27, 1971, was made — in Zia’s words — ‘on behalf of our great leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’. We have stated that in the new textbooks.”

References to Mujib have also been dropped from textbooks used in secondary and higher secondary classes — a poem titled ‘Mujib’ has been dropped from Charu Path, a Class 6 book.

In a Bengali grammar book for Class 6, an essay titled ‘Jatir Pita Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman (Father of the Nation Mujib)’ has been removed. Other parts dropped from a Class 6 English book include chapters named ‘Son of the Soil’ and ‘Mujib in School Days’. Texts including ‘Bangamata: Our Source of Inspiration’ on Hasina, and ‘Bangabandhu’s Love for Sports’ and ‘Bangabandhu’s Response to Natural Calamities’ on Mujib have also been dropped.

What’s in: Anti-Hasina protests

While photographs and prose on Hasina — which were earlier on the flaps of the textbooks — have been entirely dropped, what’s notable are the additions on the July 2024 uprising that led to the fall of her Awami League government.

A Class 5 textbook named ‘Amar Bangla (My Bengali)’ now has an essay on the “martyrs” of last year’s uprising. Besides biographies, the essay, titled ‘Amra Tomader Bhulbo Na (We Won’t Forget You)’, has photographs of student-activists Abu Sayed and Mir Mahfujur Rehman Mugdho, who were gunned down by the police during the protests.

The Class 8 literature book too has an essay on the anti-Hasina protests, titled ‘Gana Abhyuthaner Katha (Tale of Mass Uprising)’. In the Class 8 English book, a chapter titled ‘Bangabandhu for Bangladesh’ has been replaced by one on the role of women in the 2024 protests, titled ‘Women’s Role in Uprising’.

The textbooks also have photographs of graffiti from the July 2024 uprising.

The NCTB chairperson said “more changes” are to follow. “Due to the lack of time, we were able to revise only a small part of the history books. We have revised the text till 1971. Next year, we will revise it further.”