'Sheikh Mujib's freedom fighter status not revoked': Bangladesh interim govt

Bangladesh's interim government on Wednesday clarified it has not revoked the freedom fighter status of "Bangabandhu" Sheikh Mujibur Rahman despite amending the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka) Act.

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"Sheikh Mujib's freedom fighter status has not been revoked," Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary to chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, leader of the caretaker government, told news agency ANI.


Faruk-e-Azam, adviser to the ministry of law and affairs, also said those in the erstwhile Mujib-led provisional government will continue to be identified as freedom fighters.

By making the amendments, the Yunus administration gave a new definition of who would be recognised as a participant in the country's struggle for independence from Pakistan.

Under the amended ordinance, members of the provisional "Mujibnagar government" would now be recognized as "associates of the Liberation War."

The ordinance also identified four other categories of freedom fighters as "associates."

These four categories are: Bangladeshi professionals who have made special contributions to the liberation war abroad and played an active role in shaping world public opinion; officials, employees, envoys and others assistants of the Mujibnagar government; artists and technicians of the "Swadhin Bangla Radio Station" and all the journalists who served in support of the Liberation War at home and abroad; and the Swadhin Bangla Football Team.

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This comes just days after Sheikh Mujib's photos were removed from Bangladesh's bank notes. His daughter Sheikh Hasina fled the country and came to India in August last year following student-led protests against her government.

Bangladesh gained independence through a 9-month bloody war in 1971 against Pakistan under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. India helped Bangladesh achieve independence.