By Ranjana Biswas

“Follow Mujib’s path, liberate Balochistan”—does the slogan chanted by Mahrang Baloch and other independence supporters amount to a historical irony for those in Bangladesh who oppose the country’s Liberation War?

On July 29, 2024, at the Baloch Rajee Muchi gathering held in Gwadar, Balochistan, Mahrang Baloch raised the slogan: “Follow Sheikh Mujib’s path; liberate Balochistan.”

The debate over Bangladesh’s political history and its legacy will not end, particularly given the positions taken by those who oppose the country after the July 2024 uprising. Their minds, the writer argues, are no longer guided by reason but by an “ancient” part of the brain that stores fear—the amygdala. This section is not intended for them.

If we look closely, the structure of this slogan is remarkably similar to the slogans used by freedom-seeking Bengalis in 1971: leader + path + liberation.

Bangladesh (1971): Follow Sheikh Mujib’s path; liberate Bangladesh.
Balochistan (2024): Follow Mujib’s path; liberate Balochistan.

The slogan contains three elements: first, a historical leader; second, the political path followed by that leader; and third, freedom or liberation as the destination of that path.

This path emerged from a situation in which the central rulers and exploiters of the state had become extremely “cold” towards people living on the periphery. In 1971, Sheikh Mujib emerged as a symbol of the sovereignty of the people and of resistance to Pakistani domination. Today, he appears as a source of inspiration for the Baloch—a figure whose political path is invoked as a reference for their own struggle.

To the Baloch, Sheikh Mujib represents an international symbol of a successful national liberation movement—the movement through which Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan.

At this point, I am reminded of Bangladeshi folk singer Mohammad Shah Bangali. In 1971, he sang:

“You tried to hurt Sheikh Mujib by force;
instead, you made him an international leader.”

His observation proved true then, and, according to the writer, it has once again proved true today. At a time when efforts are being made to erase Sheikh Mujib from Bangladesh’s history after July 2024, he has emerged elsewhere as an international symbol of national liberation. Truly, what a turn of events! Joy Bangla.

In this slogan, Sheikh Mujib functions as a historical frame. Through this frame, the Baloch leader appears to be saying: “If Bangladesh could achieve independence from Pakistan, why can’t we achieve independence in the same way?”

This is how, the writer argues, Sheikh Mujib has become part of a transnational liberation narrative among the Baloch. This narrative has taken Sheikh Mujib beyond the boundaries of Bangladesh and transformed him into an international reference point for national liberation struggles. At the same time, it has once again recognised the political legacy of Sheikh Mujib as an individual historical figure.

This recognition comes, according to the writer, at a time when the July movement’s supporters in Bangladesh have sought to trample the country’s national history; when debates over who declared independence and who merely read the declaration have been brought to the forefront to deny the leadership of the national movement; and when Sheikh Mujib’s house and monuments were demolished because of his role in the breakup of Pakistan.

While, the writer argues, some of the July movement’s supporters are seeking to embrace a Pakistan-oriented political identity, Baloch people at the other end are fighting a life-and-death struggle while recognising Sheikh Mujib’s experience of establishing an independent state and invoking his path as a source of inspiration.

What a cruel irony!

No matter how controversial Sheikh Mujib may be made in contemporary political discourse, it is impossible to completely erase his historical role. The Baloch slogan itself, the writer argues, demonstrates this.

The slogan is a historical reference. In many movements around the world, successful leaders from other countries have been invoked as symbols and references—Nelson Mandela, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and Mahatma Gandhi, among others.

Now Sheikh Mujib has emerged as such a reference.

And not only has he emerged as a reference beyond Bangladesh’s borders, but the irony is that, at a time when some figures in Bangladesh are being presented as his political counterparts or opponents, Sheikh Mujib is being invoked elsewhere as an inspiration for a national liberation struggle.

Isn’t that irony difficult to digest?

—Ranjana Biswas