My father was in India during liberation war: Mirza Fakhrul

Claiming ‘falsehoods’ are being spread about his father, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that during 1971, his father Mirza Ruhul Amin spent almost the entire period of the Liberation War in India.

The BNP secretary general made the remark in a post on his verified Facebook page Monday afternoon. He did not specify what the falsehoods are. However, the content of the post suggests he may be referring to the recent social media campaign portraying his father as ‘anti-independence’.

Mirza Fakhrul wrote on his verified Facebook page, “Smears about my father began during the last Awami regime. Unfortunately, a group that considers itself a participant in the July movement has also joined in spreading these smears over the past year.”

Mirza Fakhrul’s father, a Muslim League leader, was a member of the Peace Committee in 1971, according to Awami League leaders. Fakhrul’s post comes after such claims have resurfaced recently.

Fakhrul, who has been in his birthplace Thakurgaon for the past two days, added, “It is very important to speak out for the future of our country and for the younger generation. I never felt the need to say these things before. But now, at this stage of life, seeing some people in society spreading lies for their own benefit, it has become even more necessary to speak out.”

He then recalled the events of the Liberation War, writing, “My father, the late Mirza Ruhul Amin, went to my maternal home on 27 March 1971 with my two younger brothers, two sisters, and my mother. In April, he left for Islampur in India and spent almost the entire war in a refugee camp. Thakurgaon was liberated on 3 December! My father returned to Thakurgaon then. When he came back, he saw everything had been looted. My late mother had to sell her jewellery. I joined as an economics teacher and gave my first salary to my mother. By Allah’s mercy, life went on! After 1971, millions of people in Bangladesh have similarly rebuilt their lives from the ruins.”

Claiming that his father, former East Pakistan Provincial Assembly member, former MP of Bangladesh, and former mayor of Thakurgaon pourashava Mirza Ruhul Amin, never faced any case, Mirza Fakhrul said, “Whatever is modern in Thakurgaon district began with my father! Every honest person in this district knows about him. After his death, the foundation established to preserve his memory was led by all the prominent politicians of Thakurgaon. When he passed away in 1997, the government officially expressed its condolences!”

Having left teaching to enter politics, Mirza Fakhrul reflected on his own political journey, saying, “Last July, our sons and daughters gave Bangladesh a glimpse of hope! I hope that in the Bangladesh of the new generation, our sons and daughters will not cultivate lies. They will follow the path of truth and compete through talent, intelligence, honesty, and policy. Deceit and falsehood may win populism, but they cannot build a nation. Let us, with our experience, patriotism, and the courage and love for the country of the new generation, create a dignified, honest, and humane Bangladesh!”

In his post, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also attached a page from a book titled Muktijuddhe Dinajpur. It states in bold letters, “My father was also a Muslim Leaguer. At that time, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly. My father also went to India during the Liberation War.”