Bangladesh’s interim government cancels memorial holiday of country’s founding father

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim government has canceled a national holiday marking the assassination of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, just over a week after his daughter Sheikh Hasina was removed from her premiership.  

An official gazette on the cancelation was issued on Wednesday by the new government that took over the South Asian nation of 170 million people last week, after a swelling student-led movement forced Hasina to resign and flee the country.  

“The government has scrapped the general holiday on 15th of August on the occasion of national mourning day,” read a notification from the Ministry of Public Administration.

For decades, Bangladesh has observed Aug. 15 as National Mourning Day in memory of Rahman, the nation’s first leader who led its fight for independence from Pakistan in 1971. 

He was assassinated with most of his family in a military coup in 1975 and was survived only by his two daughters, Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, who were visiting Europe at the time. 

Hasina went on to play a pivotal role in Bangladesh’s politics, serving one five-year term in 1996 — during which her administration declared Aug. 15 a national holiday — and later regaining power in 2009. 

The sudden collapse of her government after 15 years of uninterrupted rule followed weeks of nationwide demonstrations and a deadly crackdown on protesters, which left at least 300 people dead, scores injured, and about 11,000 participants arrested. 

Bangladesh is now led by an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, with its members also comprising student leaders instrumental in overthrowing Hasina. 

“We talked with all the stakeholders who were part of the protests; it’s not done by the advisors alone … The decision has been taken in consultation with all parties,” Farida Akhter, renowned rights activist and an adviser to the interim government, told Arab News, adding that Hasina’s Awami League party was not part of the discussions. 

“We think that it isn’t necessary for this holiday to continue … In the end, this sort of event turns into a partisan program; not everyone in the country participates in it.” 

Dhaka resident Sultan Hossain was among those who were supportive of the caretaker government’s decision to scrap the Aug. 15 holiday. 

“I think it’s a good decision,” he told Arab News. “Compared with the recent killings, the incident that took place 50 years back, which has been observed as mourning day, is not comparable at all.” 

The protests in Bangladesh had reflected a broader discontent against Hasina’s rule, with scenes from the demonstrations at one point showing protesters toppling the statue of her father in Dhaka. 

Hasina’s critics say the 76-year-old leader has grown increasingly autocratic and called her a threat to the country’s democracy. 

The student-led rallies that began in July were at first held in protest of a quota system for government jobs, which was widely criticized for favoring those with connections to the ruling party. 

But even after the Supreme Court scrapped most of the quotas, the violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators, as well as a crackdown on protesters, sparked a civil disobedience movement that eventually ousted Hasina. 

Many are pinning their hopes on the caretaker government to pave the way for a better future for Bangladesh. 

“During the last regime, there was no freedom of expression in the country. We had to face many anxieties when we were out of our homes, police harassed people without any reason. I want the country to run beautifully in a proper way,” Hossain said. 

Noman Romij, a businessman based in Dhaka, believes that the new government “will do whatever will be good for the country.

“I expect that everything will go in a positive direction during this period of government. The mistakes we committed earlier will be removed along with the support of the students,” Romij told Arab News. 

“We all want a corruption-free country. It’s a demand from everyone in Bangladesh.” 

Prof. A.S.M. Amanullah, a professor of sociology at Dhaka University, said it would take some time for the caretaker government to fix the country.  

“The mass uprising has just taken place, and the wound of this upsurge is still very fresh among the people’s minds,” he told Arab News. 

“The students held a mass uprising. Let them decide which is good, which is bad, which should be operative, which one shouldn’t be operative; let them decide … The legitimacy and authority of this government came from the students, and they are a driving force here in running the government.”