


A politically charged rally was held at the demolished residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi Road No. 32 on the morning of Victory Day (December 16).
The event, organized under the banner of the Jatiya Nagorik Party and led by Joint Member Secretary Arif Sohel, involved hanging pictures of figures associated with alternative narratives of the Liberation War and post-war struggles. The pictures featured Sirajul Alam Khan, Siraj Sikder, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Major M. A. Jalil, and contemporary activist Sharif Osman Hadi.
In a statement, Arif Sohel strongly criticized the current government, alleging that the Liberation War has been "made the property of the Sheikh family and the Awami League." He claimed that the 1971 war was a "People's War" spontaneously led by farmers, workers, students, and the general populace, not dependent on the Awami League, which he alleged "fled in the face of the Pakistani attack."
The rally was explicitly held in memory of these "heroes" who, according to Sohel, were "wiped out in the 1971 Liberation War and subsequent struggles." He stated the program's significance was to launch a struggle to "return the 1971 People’s War to the people" from what he termed the "clutches of the Sheikh family and the Awami narrative," while also highlighting a current "struggle in the face of Indian hegemony." Sohel vowed that similar programs would continue.
Comment