Opinion || The Struggle Does Not End with a Death Sentence: The Fight and Leadership Grow Sharper Amid Threats and a Farcical Trial

Sun Rudra

Turning the pages of history, an indestructible truth becomes clear again and again—that the core of politics, deeply rooted in the masses, cannot be silenced by imprisonment or the so-called gallows. There may be an attempt to temporarily corner an ideology with the iron bars of a prison or the verdict of a politically motivated kangaroo court, but that unjust blow only fuels the fire in the hearts of its followers with double intensity the next moment.

★ Lessons from history – Leadership did not bow down even on the gallows:

World history testifies that Nelson Mandela’s 27-year imprisonment on Robben Island did not stop the anti-apartheid struggle, but rather became a symbol of the liberation movement around the world.

Similarly, the history of fighting against injustice is not new in this country. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman spent 4,682 precious days (about 13 years) of his life in prison during his political career. Starting from the so-called Agartala Conspiracy Case of 1968 to his death sentence in a secret trial by a military tribunal in Mianwali Jail, West Pakistan in 1971. Even a grave was dug for him in prison.

But neither the gallows nor the prison cell could humble Bangabandhu; rather, that oppression only sharpened and made the Bengali spirit of independence more irresistible.

★ Unilateral verdict and the farce of the kangaroo court:

The same conspiracy of history is being repeated again today. On November 17, 2025, the Kangaroo Court, also known as the International Crimes Tribunal, unilaterally sentenced Bangladesh Awami League President and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death.

Today, September 15, 2026, the same Kangaroo Court again handed down a farcical death sentence against top leaders including Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat, Jubo League President Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Inan.

★ The future struggle will be sharpened by the test of fire:

Today’s verdict by the Kangaroo Court is a continuation of the unjust steamroller of false cases, attacks, imprisonment, oppression, and torture that has been carried out against the leaders and activists of Bangladesh Awami League, Chhatra League, Jubo League, and all associate organizations since August 5, 2024.

However, the truth of history is that this farcical trial based on conspiracy and the verdict of the kangaroo court are bound to be proven false soon.
The sacrifices of the countless Trinamool workers who are fighting on the streets today will not go in vain. History bears witness that those who cannot be made to submit by the threat of hanging, whose ideals on the streets cannot be held captive by the chains of imprisonment, those fighting soldiers will become even more honed and hardened through this difficult ordeal.

“Just as Bangabandhu’s historic sacrifice once gave birth to an independent nation, a new morning will dawn, breaking through the darkness of today’s injustice and farce—where patriotic leadership will once again return to the service of the people with heroic courage.”

No bloodshot, no farcical verdict of a kangaroo court will be able to stop this pulse of the masses; rather, every unjust blow today will become a powerful inspiration for tomorrow’s historic resurrection and irresistible turnaround.