NCP’s Nahid Islam Links July Uprising to 1971 Struggle

SAVAR, Dhaka: Marking Victory Day today, National Citizens Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam delivered a strong, historically grounded statement, arguing that the struggle for a democratic and just Bangladesh remains unfinished, 54 years after independence.

After paying homage to the Liberation War martyrs at the National Memorial, Nahid said that while Bangladesh achieved independence on December 16, 1971, the people have been “repeatedly deceived over the past 54 years.”

Nahid asserted that the nation failed to realize the core promises of the Liberation War.

“We could not build the country according to the promises of the Liberation War. Neither equality, nor human dignity, nor social justice were established. Instead, fascism was entrenched,” he said.

The NCP leader positioned his party as the rightful inheritor of this long struggle. He stated that the mass uprising and revolution of 2024 were organized precisely against that “fascism,” and that the NCP sees itself as the successor to the continuous historic struggles waged by the Bengali people from 1947, through 1971, and up to 2024. “We want to build the future Bangladesh by embracing that struggle,” he stated.

As the country heads toward a crucial national election, Nahid announced that the NCP would campaign for the vote to serve as a referendum on reforms.

However, he tempered his political optimism with a call for caution, citing continued security threats to activists and criticizing the authorities for the lack of arrests in the attempted killing of Sharif Osman Hadi. He stressed that the safety of “July fighters” cannot be ensured by police alone, requiring the creation of public organization for self-reliance in security.