Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's cult of personality

{{See also|List of artistic depictions of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman|List of things named after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman}}

A cult of personality was created around Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during his tenure, where his supporters venerate him.{{cite news |title=Bangladesh unrest: Protestors bring down iconic statue of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka |url=https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/bangladesh-unrest-protestors-bring-down-iconic-statue-of-bangabandhu-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-in-dhaka/videoshow/112312335.cms |work=The Economic Times |date=6 August 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Bangladesh's power vacuum |url=https://www.ft.com/content/529af3e0-0cf1-4d19-915c-b887108c4e03 |work=Financial Times |date=6 August 2024}} After being pushed to the sidelines by the successive military rulers Ziaur Rahman (who founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party) and Hussain Muhammad Ershad (who founded the Jatiya Party), Mujib came back to dominate public consciousness from 2008 under the Awami League government led by Hasina.{{cite news |title=PROFILE - Sheikh Hasina: Iron lady whose reign has fallen after student protests in Bangladesh |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/analysis/profile-sheikh-hasina-iron-lady-whose-reign-has-fallen-after-student-protests-in-bangladesh/3295836 |access-date=15 December 2024 |work=Anadolu Agency |date=5 August 2024}} Hasina was criticised for overemphasising the role of her father and the Awami League in securing Bangladeshi independence at the cost of sidelining other prominent figures and political parties of the time.{{cite news |last1=Chowdhury |first1=Jennifer |title=In Bangladesh, a Personality Cult Gives Way After Student Protests |url=https://newlinesmag.com/argument/in-bangladesh-a-personality-cult-gives-way-after-student-protests/ |work=New Lines Magazine |date=15 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921075020/https://newlinesmag.com/argument/in-bangladesh-a-personality-cult-gives-way-after-student-protests/ |archive-date=September 21, 2024 |language=en}}

During her tenure, Hasina amended the constitution to make the presence of Mujib's portrait mandatory in every school, government office and diplomatic missions of the country and made it illegal to criticise Mujib, his ideals and his deeds, especially the one-party BAKSAL regime headed by him, through writing, speech or electronic media.{{cite news |title=Sheik Mujib Gets Total Authority Over Bangladesh |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/26/archives/sheik-mujib-gets-total-authority-over-bangladesh-a-strong.html |work=The New York Times |date=26 January 1975 |access-date=30 August 2024 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926133238/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/26/archives/sheik-mujib-gets-total-authority-over-bangladesh-a-strong.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Transition from autocracy |url=https://www.newagebd.net/post/new-age-specials/247353/transition-from-autocracy |work=New Age |date=10 October 2024}} Awami League government spent 4,000 Crore to built around ten thousand sculptures and artistic depictions of Sheikh Mujib throughout the entire country. In 2021, 1220 sculptures were made to celebrate his 100th birthday.{{Cite web |title=১০ হাজারের বেশি ম্যুরাল-ভাস্কর্যে ব্যয় প্রায় চার হাজার কোটি টাকা |url=https://www.ittefaq.com.bd/706683/%E0%A7%A7%E0%A7%A6-%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2-%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A7%9F-%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0 |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=The Daily Ittefaq |language=bn}}{{Cite news |date=2025-04-09 |title=মুজিববর্ষ উদযাপন ও মুজিবের ভাস্কর্য নির্মাণে ৪ হাজার কোটি টাকা ব্যয়ের তদন্ত শুরু করল দুদক |url=https://bangla.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news-664826 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250409141249/https://bangla.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news-664826 |archive-date=2025-04-09 |access-date=2025-05-09 |work=The Daily Star Bangla |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-11-07 |title=১৫ বছরে তৈরি হয়েছে শেখ মুজিবের ১০ হাজারের বেশি ম্যুরাল-ভাস্কর্য |url=https://www.kalerkantho.com/online/national/2024/11/07/1443759 |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=www.kalerkantho.com}} Many events commemorating the birth-centenary of Mujib in his lifetime were launched by the Hasina administration, including an official biopic in collaboration with the Indian government. The Hasina government converted Mujib's residence in the capital city of Dhaka, where he and his family was assassinated by military personnel in 1975, into a memorial museum. Hasina designated the day of Mujib's assassination as the National Day of Mourning.{{cite news |title=Lessons from the fall of Bangladeshi icons Hasina and Mujib |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Lessons-from-the-fall-of-Bangladeshi-icons-Hasina-and-Mujib/172-289861 |work=Daily Mirror |date=20 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240922155643/https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Lessons-from-the-fall-of-Bangladeshi-icons-Hasina-and-Mujib/172-289861 |archive-date=September 22, 2024 |language=English}}{{cite news |title=By Revoking Some National Holidays, Bangladesh Signals Shift Away from Cult Worship of Sheikh Mujib |url=https://thewire.in/south-asia/by-revoking-some-national-holidays-bangladesh-signals-shift-away-from-cult-worship-of-sheikh-mujib |work=The Wire |date=20 October 2024 |language=en}} The Hasina government also made the birthdays of Mujib, his wife Sheikh Fazilatunessa, eldest son Sheikh Kamal and youngest son Sheikh Russel as official government holidays, alongside March 7 (on that day in 1971, Mujib declared Bangladesh's seccession at a speech in Dhaka). Under Hasina's rule, the country was dotted with numerous statues of Mujib alongside several roads and prominent institutions named after him.{{cite news |title=Bangabandhu to toppled statue: Mujibur Rahman's contested legacy post Bangladesh upheaval |url=https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/bangabandhu-to-toppled-statue-mujibur-rahmans-contested-legacy-post-bangladesh-upheaval/articleshow/112802912.cms |work=The Economic Times |date=26 August 2024}} Critics state that Hasina utilises the personality cult around her father to justify her own authoritarianism, crackdown on political dissent and democratic backsliding of the country.{{Cite news |last=AFP |date=5 January 2024 |title=Bangladesh's growing political personality cult around 'Father of the Nation' |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/bangladeshs-growing-political-personality-cult-around-father-of-the-nation/article67706051.ece/ |access-date=17 October 2024 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105022250/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/bangladeshs-growing-political-personality-cult-around-father-of-the-nation/article67706051.ece/amp/ |archive-date=5 January 2024}}{{cite news |title=An Old Bangladeshi Reflex Threatens Its Revolution |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/24/opinion/bangladesh-revolution-memory.html |work=The New York Times |date=24 August 2024}}

Describing the naming of government projects after the members of Sheikh family, Executive Director of the Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development Mostafa K Muzeri noted:{{cite news |last=Hamid-Uz-Zaman |script-title=bn:বাদ যাচ্ছে শেখ হাসিনার পরিবার ও আওয়ামী লীগ নেতা |url=https://www.jugantor.com/national/948997 |work=Jugantor |date=3 May 2025 |language=bn}}

{{quote|The psychology behind this was, firstly, it would be easier to get the approval of projects containing Sheikh family's names. Apart from this, components [of those projects] weren't checked toughly. Besides, there were opportunities to get exemption doing irregularities and corruption at the implementation stage [of those projects]. Combinedly speaking, there were opportunities to steal [wealth from the projects] having Sheikh family's names.}}

{{Update-section|date=December 2024}}

{{Further|Sheikh Mujibur Rahman statue destruction|Demolition of Dhanmondi 32}}

Following the violent overthrow of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, the cult of personality around Mujib is being systematically dismantled.{{Cite news |date=16 October 2024 |title=Bangladesh government cancels national holidays introduced by Hasina regime |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/bangladesh-government-cancels-national-holidays-introduced-by-hasina-regime/article68759906.ece/ |access-date=17 October 2024 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/7003130/bangladesh-student-protests-police-job-quota-hasina-awami-league-razakars/ |title=How Mass Protests Challenge Bangladesh's Past—and Threaten to Rewrite Its Future |last=Campbell |first=Charlie |date=25 July 2024 |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728014629/https://time.com/7003130/bangladesh-student-protests-police-job-quota-hasina-awami-league-razakars/ |access-date=6 August 2024 |archive-date=July 28, 2024 |quote=In lieu of a true popular mandate—the U.S. deemed January's election, which returned the Awami League for a fourth straight term but was boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), as neither free nor fair—Hasina increasingly leans upon the cult of personality she's constructed around her father.}} Just after the fall of Awami League government, protesters toppled the golden statue of Sheikh Mujib in Bijoy Sarani, Dhaka, which received live coverage around the world.{{Cite news |date=2024-08-06 |title=Bangladesh unrest: Protestors bring down iconic statue of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/bangladesh-unrest-protestors-bring-down-iconic-statue-of-bangabandhu-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-in-dhaka/videoshow/112312335.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-09-15 |work=The Economic Times |language=en}}

Many places named after Mujib was changed.{{cite news |title=14 govt hospitals renamed by removing names of Sheikh Mujib, Hasina, family |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/14-govt-hospitals-renamed-removing-names-sheikh-mujib-hasina-family-983786 |work=The Business Standard |date=4 November 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Bangladesh has ousted an autocrat. Now for the hard part |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/08/08/bangladesh-has-ousted-an-autocrat-now-for-the-hard-part |newspaper=The Economist |date=8 August 2024}} Biographies of Sheikh Mujib or his family members were replaced by the biographies of Kazi Nazrul Islam, Rabindranath Tagore, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and four national leaders from the elementary textbooks.{{cite news |script-title=bn:প্রাথমিকের পাঠ্যবইয়ে যা বাদ পড়ছে, যা যুক্ত হচ্ছে |url=https://www.ittefaq.com.bd/709708/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A5%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%87%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%9C%E0%A6%9B%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4-%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%9A%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9B%E0%A7%87 |work=The Daily Ittefaq |date=6 December 2024}} The Bangladeshi government also decided to remove the portrait of Sheikh Mujib from the banknotes of Bangladeshi taka.{{cite news |title=Govt approves new banknote designs, featuring heritage monuments |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/banking/govt-approves-new-banknote-designs-featuring-heritage-monuments-1013631 |work=The Business Standard |date=8 November 2024}}

On 17 January 2025, the Advisory Council of the Interim Government of Bangladesh approved the name change of 13 public universities, agreeing to the proposal of the Ministry of Education.{{cite news |title=Govt renames 13 universities, removes Sheikh family honorifics |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/13-universities-renamed-sheikh-family-honorifics-be-dropped-1044386 |work=The Business Standard |date=16 January 2025 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Interim govt renames 13 public universities, says Asif Mahmud |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/interim-govt-renames-13-public-universities-says-asif-mahmud-3800856 |work=The Daily Star |date=16 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250116143806/https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/interim-govt-renames-13-public-universities-says-asif-mahmud-3800856 |archive-date=16 January 2025 |language=en}} As a result, the names of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and other members of the Sheikh family were removed from the names of these universities.{{cite news |title=13 univs renamed, dropping names of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina - |url=https://www.observerbd.com/news/507763 |work=The Daily Observer |date=16 January 2025}}

On 5 February 2025, protesters demolished the house of Sheikh Mujib, turned into a museum under Awami League government, following a speech of Sheikh Hasina perceived as provocative by many.{{cite news |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/372963/chronology-of-dhanmondi-32-destruction |title=Timeline: The demolition of Sheikh Mujib's Dhanmondi 32 residence |author=Tribune desk |date=6 February 2025 |work=Dhaka Tribune |access-date=6 February 2025}}

• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's cult of personality
• Saparmurat Niyazov's cult of personality
• Mao Zedong's cult of personality
• North Korean cult of personality
• List of things named after Ziaur Rahman
• List of things named after Sheikh Hasina

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{{Sheikh Mujibur Rahman}}

{{Bangladesh Awami League}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mujib's cult of personality}}

Category:Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's cult of personality

Category:Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Category:Cults of personality

Category:Cultural depictions of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Category:Works about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Category:Sheikh Hasina

Category:Awami League

Category:Culture of Bangladesh

Category:Politics of Bangladesh