Recently, claims have been circulated in several media outlets and online platforms in Bangladesh that the freedom fighter recognition of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders has been revoked, and their status has been redefined as “associates of the Liberation War” under the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka) ordinance.
View the media reports published regarding the claim in Samakal, BBC Bangla, Channel 24, Kaler Kantho, Jugantor, BDNews24, Amader Somoy, BanglaNews24, Ittefaq, Inqilab (X), News24, Ekon TV, Bangla Tribune, Dainik Bangla, The Daily Campus, Dhaka Mail, Tikana News, Dhaka Post (Facebook), Dhaka Times24.
View Facebook posts related to the same claim here, here, here.
View a YouTube video related to the same claim here.
View an X post related to the same claim here.
View Indian media reports related to the same claim in ANI, The Times of India, Republic Bangla (YouTube), Zee News, The Wall, Times Now, North East News, News18 Bangla (YouTube), India TV, Firstpost, News18, Latestly.
Fact Check
Rumor Scanner team’s investigation revealed that the news of canceling the freedom fighter recognition of Sheikh Mujib and the four national leaders and designating them as associate freedom fighters is not accurate. Instead, verification of the new ordinance shows that individuals who led the Liberation War under the Mujibnagar government will be recognized as freedom fighters. However, officials and employees under the Mujibnagar government will be considered associate freedom fighters.
Regarding this matter, the government’s cultural affairs adviser, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, stated in a Facebook post this morning that the cancellation of freedom fighter certificates for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Tajuddin Ahmed, and other Liberation War leaders is fake news. The new ordinance clearly recognizes all members of the Mujibnagar government as freedom fighters.
Farooki included a screenshot of the relevant ordinance in his post.
Based on this, a PDF copy of the National Freedom Fighter Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, published on the Bangladesh Government Press (BG Press) website yesterday (June 3), can be found. The ordinance’s definition section states that the expatriate Bangladesh government (Mujibnagar government) will be included as heroic freedom fighters.
Since Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the President and the four national leaders were ministers in the expatriate Bangladesh government, according to the new ordinance, they will also be considered freedom fighters. Therefore, the news of their freedom fighter recognition being revoked is not accurate.
Point 15(b) of the same section states that individuals who served as officials, employees, or diplomats under the expatriate Bangladesh government during the Liberation War will be considered associates of the Liberation War.
Since Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders were not officials but members of the cabinet, they are not considered associates but are recognized as freedom fighters.
While searching for relevant statements on this matter, a report published on the website of the national daily The Business Standard caught attention. In response to a question about whether Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders are considered freedom fighters or collaborators of the Liberation War under the new definition of the ordinance, the Secretary of the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, Israt Chowdhury, stated, “Of course, they are freedom fighters, because the Mujibnagar government was formed with them, and it was under their leadership and strategy that the Liberation War was fought.”
She further added, “The ordinance designates those in the Mujibnagar government as freedom fighters, because the Liberation War was conducted based on its planning and directives.”
Further investigation uncovered a statement by Faruk-e-Azam, an adviser to the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, given to the media. He confirmed that the freedom fighter recognition of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with the four national leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, M Mansur Ali, and AHM Kamruzzaman, remains in effect.
Therefore, the claim that the freedom fighter recognition of Sheikh Mujib and the four national leaders was revoked and reclassified as associate freedom fighters is completely false.
Sources
- Department of Printing and Publications: জাতীয় মুক্তিযোদ্ধা কাউন্সিল (সংশোধন) অধ্যাদেশ, ২০২৫
