Sohel Taj’s Controversial Post on Mujibnagar Government: Ignorance or Intentional Misrepresentation?

Opinion

Sohel Taj has once again resorted to falsehoods about Bangladesh’s history in his Facebook post. A single instance might be considered a mistake, but repeated occurrences point to deliberate misrepresentation. To understand why this is deemed falsehood, one must compare Sohel Taj’s statement and the attached proclamation of Bangladesh’s independence side by side.

The proclamation of April 10, 1971, is part of the official documents of the liberation war, and the attached copy is from 1971 itself. The proclamation was approved and published on April 17, appearing in newspapers the following day, April 18.

Sohel Taj claimed that his father, the revered Tajuddin Ahmad, as the then-General Secretary of the Awami League, formed the government democratically by coordinating with the elected representatives.

Now, let us examine the proclamation. According to the document:
“We the elected representatives of the people of Bangla Desh… declare and constitute Bangla Desh to be a sovereign people’s republic and thereby confirm the declaration of independence already made by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”

This means that the elected representatives declared Bangladesh a sovereign republic and reaffirmed Bangabandhu’s declaration of independence on March 26. Towards the end, it is stated that this proclamation shall have effect from March 26, validating Bangabandhu’s declaration.

Further, the elected representatives appointed only two positions explicitly—Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as President and Syed Nazrul Islam as Vice President. They outlined the President’s powers, including being the supreme commander of the armed forces and appointing the Prime Minister and other ministers. They also stated that, in the President’s absence, the Vice President would exercise these powers.

At the time of drafting this proclamation, neither a Prime Minister nor any other ministers were appointed. The Vice President, Syed Nazrul Islam, later appointed Tajuddin Ahmad as Prime Minister, Colonel (Retd.) M.A.G. Osmani as Defence Minister, and others between April 10 and April 17.

Thus, it becomes evident that the government was formed by the elected members of parliament. They appointed the President and Vice President, who, in turn, delegated powers to appoint the Prime Minister and other ministers.

Finally, let us address the claim of Tajuddin Ahmad’s “legal authority” to form the government. What was his official position at the time? He was an elected member of the National Assembly from the Awami League, as were 166 others. Additionally, he was the General Secretary of the East Pakistan Awami League.

Two pieces of information are essential here:
1. On February 16, 1971, in a meeting of the Awami League parliamentary party, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was appointed as the Leader of the House, and Syed Nazrul Islam as the Deputy Leader for the National Assembly. Captain Mansur Ali was chosen as the Leader for the Provincial Assembly. Political party structures do not form governments; parliamentary parties do. Even the party president, if unelected, would not hold a government position.

This is why the proclamation was issued by elected members of the Awami League, not the party itself. As per the decision on February 16, Syed Nazrul Islam and Captain Mansur Ali followed Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the parliamentary hierarchy.

2. Alongside the East Pakistan Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman revived the All Pakistan Awami League in 1966, serving as its president. During the same period, A.H.M. Qamaruzzaman was the General Secretary of the All Pakistan Awami League.

It appears that Tajuddin Ahmad was not in a superior position to Syed Nazrul Islam, Captain Mansur Ali, or A.H.M. Qamaruzzaman within the parliamentary or organizational structure. This raises the question: On what basis did Sohel Taj claim that his father held “legal authority”?

The discussion can extend further. How did Tajuddin Ahmad claim to be the Prime Minister of Bangladesh while visiting Delhi, before consulting senior party leaders? How did he unilaterally announce his position on the radio without their consent? Let us leave this debate for now.

For now, let us confirm this much: if the April 10 proclamation holds, no one had assumed the Prime Minister’s role at that time. The elected representatives declared Bangladesh a sovereign republic, ratified Bangabandhu’s March 26 declaration, and appointed a President and Vice President, delegating them the authority to form a government.

That’s it!

-Hasan Murshed
Writer, journalist, researcher on the Liberation War and genocide, and human rights activist.