 "Was statue of Pakistan army’s surrender in 1971 Liberation War in Bangladesh vandalised?")
Bangladesh has been witnessing political turmoil since its ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country last Monday. An interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been installed. But political stability is yet to return.
The South Asian country is reeling from violence, with its minority Hindus also becoming a target. These anti-Hindu attacks have raised concerns in India, with PM Narendra Modi urging the Yunus-led government to ensure the “safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities.”
Now, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has claimed a statue commemorating the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War has been defaced by “anti-India vandals”. But is that true?
Let’s take a look.
Shashi Tharoor’s tweet
Taking to X, Tharoor shared a combined picture of the “destroyed” statue depicting the Pakistan army’s surrender to the Indian army in 1971, which led to the creation of a new nation – Bangladesh.
He purportedly seems to be indicating that the statues on the floor are broken.
“Sad to see images like this of statues at the 1971 Shaheed Memorial Complex, Mujibnagar, destroyed by anti-India vandals. This follows disgraceful attacks on the Indian cultural centre, temples and Hindu homes in several places, even as reports came in of Muslim civilians protecting other minority homes and places of worship,” he wrote on X.
Tharoor said the “agenda” of some protesters is “quite clear”.
The Congress MP extolled the Yunus government to “take urgent steps to restore law & order in the interests of all Bangladeshis, of every faith.”
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More Shorts“India stands with the people of Bangladesh at this turbulent time, but such anarchic excess can never be condoned,” he added.
Importance of the statue
The first image shared by Tharoor shows the signing of the ‘Instrument of Surrender’ by Pakistan army Major-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi to the Indian army and Bangladesh’s Mukti Bahini (freedom fighters).
The picture of Niazi’s surrendering in the presence of Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, GOC-in-C of the Indian Eastern Command, has become an iconic image.
On December 16, 1971 Niazi, along with 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and government officials, had surrendered. This was the largest surrender by an army since World War II.
With this, India’s war with Pakistan concluded in just 13 days. Pakistan was divided and East Pakistan was now a new country – Bangladesh .
Were statues vandalised?
Tharoor’s claim has been challenged by an X user named Neeraj Rajput, who has called the reports of broken statues “fake narrative”.
He wrote on X, “The ‘71 war sculptor memorial at Mujibnagar in Khulna distt of Bangladesh depicts people/statues lying as can be seen in my ‘18 tweet. Those are not destroyed statues. Many journalists, veterans and ex ministers are sharing it. May be it survived as its under the custody of [the] Bangladesh Army. So, be cautious in sharing.”
Warning ⚡️: Don’t fell into trap of fake narrative. The ‘71 war sculptor memorial at #Mujibnagar in Khulna distt of #Bangladesh depicts people/statues lying as can be seen in my ‘18 tweet. Those are not destroyed statues. Many journalists, veterans and ex ministers are sharing… pic.twitter.com/N84U2ASYk5
— Neeraj Rajput (@neeraj_rajput) August 12, 2024
Rajput also shared his 2018 tweets with pictures from the memorial which capture the statue of the Instrument of Surrender and sculptors depicting atrocities committed by the Pakistan army on Bangladeshis during the Liberation War.
The Bangladesh daily Prothom Alo’s 2018 article titled From Mujibnagar memorial shows several pictures from the complex.
One of the images showcases the Instrument of Surrender sculpture and another shows statues on the floor. The second image has been captioned, “The atrocities by Pakistani army could be felt at the memorial.”
Mujibnagar, where these statues are located, is an important place in Bangladesh’s history. It was here that the provisional government of independent Bangladesh was sworn in in April 1971, leading to the country’s liberation in December.
The memorial complex called the Mujibnagar Smriti Soudha, which is spread over an area of 20.10 acres, stands at the site of this oath-taking ceremony in Mujibnagar.
As per Daily Sun, Mujibnagar, which is currently a town in the Meherpur district, was previously known as ‘Boidyanathtola’. It was later renamed Mujibnagar to honour Bangladesh’s father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose daughter is the ex-PM Hasina.
With inputs from agencies
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