Is the Battle Before Us Imminent in Bangladesh: Liberation Versus the Betrayers of Liberation?

Bangladesh stands today at a decisive historical crossroads.

The struggle that now unfolds before us is not merely political; it is moral, civilizational, and existential. The contest is not between competing parties or ideologies in the ordinary sense. Rather, it is a renewed confrontation between the spirit of our Liberation War of 1971 and the dark, opportunistic forces that opposed it — the ideals of 1971 versus those who betrayed 1971. conspiracies that have, decade after decade, attempted to rewrite, distort, and ultimately dismantle the cherished ideals of independent Bangladesh.

We are living in a time when history itself is under assault.

Those who once sided with the genocidal Pakistani military junta in 1971 — those who helped to identify, imprison, torture, rape, and butcher our intellectuals, our freedom fighters, our unarmed civilians — now seek to cloak themselves in respectability. They speak the language of democracy while practicing the politics of destruction. They plead peace while sowing discord, violence, and communal hatred. They speak of development while conspiring with foreign power brokers to place Bangladesh under external custody and ideological subjugation.

And they have found new collaborators among those who, cloaked in the pretense of international acclaim, manipulate democratic openness as a weapon to destabilize the state.

The War Never Ended — It Only Changed Its Form

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana

It must be said plainly: the Liberation War did not conclude on December 16, 1971. The bloody physical battle ended, yes — but the ideological struggle continues. The enemies of 1971 did not vanish; they merely changed strategy, language, and method.

They abandoned military uniforms and adopted suits and ties.

They traded rifles for propaganda.

They learned to weaponize religion, misinformation, and the illusion of democracy, to fracture society from within.

The West Pakistani Amy and their local collaborators of 1971 — Jamaat-e-Islami and their ideological offspring — have, in the post-1971 decades, continuously attempted to destroy the secular, humane, progressive character of Bangladesh. Their objective has always remained the same: to drag Bangladesh back into the medieval darkness of communal extremism and subservience to foreign influence.

And today, a new opportunistic faction — cloaked in Nobel prestige, NGO networks, and international relationships — joins hands with these same anti-liberation forces. Theirs is an alliance of convenience, power, and cynical self-interest.

Thus, the battleground now before us is not on the fields of Dhaka, Gazipur or Sylhet or Kushtia or any other places of Bangladesh — but in the realm of national consciousness, identity, institutions, and future direction.

The Mask of “Peace” and the Politics of Deception

“The greatest villain is the one who wears the mask of virtue.” — Publius Syrus

There are those today who profess to be reformers, humanitarians, or advocates of civic freedom — yet who are deeply complicit in the erosion of Bangladesh’s hard-earned sovereignty. Their rhetoric is gentle, their public image polished, and their tone crafted for international audiences.

But polished language cannot conceal the truth.

When one weakens the military in the name of decentralization, yet invites foreign strategic interference — this is treachery.

When one undermines the economic stability of the nation in the guise of financial restructuring — this is sabotage.

When one empowers extremist and communal elements in the name of political pluralism — this is betrayal.

The domestic collaborators of today are the ideological heirs of those who betrayed Bangladesh in 1971.

The script has not changed — only the actors.

Bangladesh Has Fought Too Hard to Surrender Now

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

The people of Bangladesh did not sacrifice three million lives, endure systematic rape of hundreds of thousands of mothers and sisters, nor lose the brightest intellectuals of their time — only to become pawns in the hands of conspirators and profiteers.

We are a nation born not of negotiation, but of blood.

Not of compromise, but of courage.

Those who now seek to claim ownership of Bangladesh’s future through deceit or by aligning with external patrons would do well to remember that the soul of this nation is forged in sacrifice. The spirit of the Freedom Fighters has not faded — it is embedded in the soil, the rivers, the songs, and the collective memory of this land.

No amount of media manipulation, NGO-influenced discourse, or foreign lobbying can erase the truth of who we are and how we came to be.

The Struggle of This Generation

It is now upon this generation — not the generation of 1971 alone — to guard the nation’s moral and historical foundations.

This is the moment to declare with unwavering conviction:

Bangladesh belongs to those who believe in the Liberation War —

not those who opposed it, betrayed it, or now seek to profit from its legacy.

This is not merely politics — it is identity.

It is dignity.

It is the fundamental question of who we are and who we will become.

The forces of the Freedom Fighter stand for:

Secular humanism

Cultural plurality

Social justice

Economic dignity

Sovereign independence

Democratic accountability grounded in national interest

The forces of anti-Freedom Fighter stand for:

Sectarian extremism

Historical revisionism

Opportunistic power politics

Dependence on foreign approval

Subversion of institutions

Erosion of national dignity

There can be no middle ground between these two.

Conclusion: The Duty Before Us

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

The time for hesitation has passed.

The time for ambiguity has expired.

To remain silent now is to stand with the betrayers.

The struggle ahead is indeed intense, as the saying goes — A formidable battle awaits us — and we shall not retreat! — and the stakes are nothing less than the soul of Bangladesh.

We must choose:

The Bangladesh of 1971 — sovereign, humane, secular, progressive —

or

The Bangladesh of reaction, compromise, foreign domination, and ideological darkness.

The future will be determined by what we do now.

And we shall not falter.

For Bangladesh was not born to kneel.

Bangladesh was born to stand — proud, free, and unbroken.

Joy Bangla. Joy Bangabandhu.

Written by Anwar A. Khan

×