At a reception in New York, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami deputy amir, Dr Syed Abdullah Mohammed Taher, made a claim that has unsettled many. Standing before supporters, he declared that “at least five million of our young men will wage an independence war against India.”
According to reports in Observer BD, Taher was pressed on fears that Indian forces might intervene in Bangladesh to protect minorities if Jamaat ever came to power. His answer was startling: “I pray they do. If they do, the false stigma imposed on us in 1971 will be exposed, and we will have the chance to prove ourselves as true freedom fighters.”
In another account carried by BDDIGEST, Taher framed the confrontation in even more ideological terms, warning that Jamaat was ready for “Ghazwatul Hind” , a battle to avenge their defeat in 1971, and boasting of mobilising millions of youths.
Political Tensions on Foreign Soil
Taher’s visit to New York also became entangled in political disputes among the Bangladeshi diaspora. DhakaStream reported his comments defending NCP leader Akhter Hossen, who was pelted with eggs at JFK Airport. Taher called the incident “shameful” and said it disrespected Bangladesh itself.
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Meanwhile, Daily Sun quoted Akhter Hossen accusing Awami League activists of exporting “intimidation tactics” abroad. And according to TOB News, BNP leaders blamed the Bangladesh government for leaving opposition figures exposed during the US visit.
These quarrels reflect the intensity of Bangladesh’s politics, but it was Taher’s rhetoric against India that cut deepest, reopening old wounds and memories of 1971.
Bangladesh: The 1971 Reality
India’s Eastern Neighbour was born out of one of the 20th century’s bloodiest conflicts. When Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight in March 1971, it unleashed a campaign of mass killings, rapes, and forced displacement. Millions fled across the border into India. Then-President Yahya Khan summed up his brutal intent with a chilling line: “We want the land of East Bengal, not the people.”
India opened its borders to an estimated 10 million refugees, shouldered the humanitarian crisis, and by December entered the war. Alongside the Mukti Bahini, Indian troops forced Pakistan’s Eastern Command into surrender within just two weeks. Nearly 3,800 Indian soldiers lost their lives. Without India’s intervention, the genocide in East Pakistan might have continued unchecked, and the dream of an independent Bangladesh could have been extinguished.
Old Ghosts Return to Bangladesh
That is why Taher’s words sting. They ignore the role India played in Bangladesh’s very survival. They also brush aside Jamaat’s own history. In 1971, Jamaat opposed independence. Its auxiliaries- Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams – collaborated with the Pakistan Army, targeting pro-independence activists, minorities, and intellectuals. Many of those leaders were later tried and convicted of war crimes.
For Bangladeshis who remember the Liberation War, Taher’s boast about proving himself a “true freedom fighter” sounds hollow. The true freedom fighters were the Muktijoddhas who fought and died for their people’s independence. The Razakars, whom Jamaat aligned with, fought against them.
A Lesson That Cannot Be Rewritten
Fifty-four years on, Bangladesh’s progress depends on building bridges, not burning them. Leaders carry the responsibility to speak with honesty about history. To forget, or to twist it, dishonors those who gave their lives in 1971.
Taher may seek to rally supporters with fiery words in New York, but history leaves no ambiguity. Bangladesh exists today because of the courage of the Muktijoddhas and the sacrifice of India. And no speech can erase the fact that Jamaat’s place in that history was on the wrong side.
