Forced ouster of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman from public memory in Bangladesh, the Father of Bangladesh disappears from new currency notes

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, June 3, 2025

Bangladesh’s illegitimate interim government seems determined to erase from public memory in the country all signs and symbols of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman who had created sovereign Bangladesh out of the womb of Pakistan through a sustained political struggle since 1952 . The blood-spilling liberation struggle of 1971 launched by ‘Bangabandhu’ through his clarion call for freedom struggle had finally led to the emergence and independent and sovereign Bangladesh . However , the ‘Bangabandhu’ and almost his entire family except his two daughters Sheikh Hasina (later PM) and Sheikh Rehana had to pay for this with their lives in August 1975 in a military coup. But aside from what had happened earlier the process of de-Mujibisation had gained in momentum since the counter-revolution of August 5 last year and forcible seizure of power by Yunus and his fundamentalist cohorts . Reminiscent of the depredations of barbarians like Vandals, Huns ,Mongols and Muslim armies of the Middle East, Turkey, Afghanisthan etc the fundamentalist regime of Bangladesh destroyed all visible symbols of ‘Bangabandhu’ and his family members. But the last nail in the coffin of Mujibur Rahaman’s memory seems to have been hit now with the decision to erase his image from all currency notes of Bangladesh.

According to sources from across the border Bangladesh's interim government has taken another step in eroding the legacy of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation. On Monday, Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of Bangladesh, unveiled new currency notes that will soon come into circulation - however, these won't feature Bangabandhu on it.

Critics of the Yunus Government see this as an effort to wipe out the legacy of the Father of the Nation. This comes after other similar steps, like rewriting history books and diluting Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's contribution in Bangladesh's freedom struggle, and removing his statues from several prominent locations. Instead of Sheikh Mujib, the redesigned Taka notes feature the cultural landmarks of Bangladesh. Since 1971, when Bangladesh gained independence from West Pakistan, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's image has featured on all banknotes.Justifying the decision to remove Bangabandhu's image, authorities in Bangladesh say that the move is a step towards depoliticising national symbols amid heightened political tension in the country.





Besides landmarks of historical and cultural significance to Islam, the new banknotes, authorities say, will include images of Hindu and Buddhist temples. This comes at a time when Dhaka is facing international pressure over the plight of minorities in Bangladesh.Earlier this year, while announcing the new banknotes, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus had said that they will incorporate the "historical and archaeological architecture of Bangladesh".Giving a glimpse of what the new currency notes would look like, Mr Yunus wrote on social media platform X that he had been "handed over images of six newly designed banknotes following a meeting of the advisory council" at his office today.

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