Dhaka University professor and former interim government adviser Asif Nazrul said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s contribution to Bangladesh’s independence and autonomy movements was undeniable, and that without his birth the country would not have become independent in 1971. He made the remarks in a Facebook post on Saturday, August 15, marking Bangabandhu’s death anniversary.

Nazrul wrote that Bangabandhu had a clear commitment to democracy, economic liberation and political dissent over a long period. He said this was reflected in records of Constituent Assembly debates up to November 4, 1972. At the same time, he said Bangabandhu was not skilled at governing and that administering post-1971 Bangladesh was extremely difficult for several reasons.

He said those circumstances did not justify what he described as Bangabandhu’s increasingly oppressive and authoritarian rule from 1972 onward. Nazrul cited famine, indiscriminate killings and the establishment of one-party rule during that period. He also criticized Sheikh Hasina’s rule as identity-based fascism, saying her use of her father made Bangabandhu an opponent of the July uprising. Nazrul ended his post by expressing love for Bangabandhu and praying for him.