Filmmaker and adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has criticized what he sees as selective memory in Bangladesh’s intellectual circles.

“Our intelligentsia does not celebrate Osmani or Ziaur Rahman,” he wrote. “Yet these are the very people who talk about the spirit of the Liberation War—while those who fought on the ground or declared the war have been deliberately sidelined or dimmed in history.”

Farooki questioned why critical aspects of history remain unaddressed: “What were Osmani’s statements during the war? Did he differ on any issues? Why was he absent on December 16? Why was the surrender made to Indian forces? These are the questions that must now be asked.”

He added: “It is also time to document not only the atrocities of the Pakistanis but also the injustices and oppression faced by Bengalis in the pre-1947 years. We are beginning this work, and I believe the next government will carry it forward.”

On General Osmani’s birthday, Farooki recalled a moving memory: “Some footage of him during the Liberation War remains etched in my mind. But one moment will stay with me forever—his salute at Ziaur Rahman’s grave after Zia’s death. A rare gesture of love and respect from a general to his commander.”