Bangladesh revises history, textbooks to say Ziaur Rahman declared independence

The Bangladesh government has decided to eliminate any "exaggerated" historical information or "unnecessary" glorification of individuals from textbooks for the upcoming academic year, according to officials from the Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB).

The new textbooks for primary and secondary students will now state that Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, a report by The Daily Star said. Ziaur Rahman was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth President of Bangladesh.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, the NCTB opted to discontinue the new Curriculum-2022 and revert to the 2012 curriculum starting in 2025.

Textbooks for grades four through nine under the old curriculum are being revised, while those for classes one to three will remain unchanged. To facilitate the transition, expert committees have been formed to revise 33 textbooks across various grades. Each committee, consisting of three to five subject matter experts, is tasked with implementing changes as per directives from the NCTB and the interim government.

A member involved in the process spoke to The Daily Star and said, "Many textbooks written during the previous government's tenure contain narratives and speeches of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with other exaggerated information. We have been directed to remove such content."

This means that there is little possibility that statements by the ousted prime minister will remain in the textbooks, the member added.

One committee member revealed that portrayals of Hasina in a heroic light, deemed unnecessary for educational purposes, will be omitted. Instead, equal respect will be given to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman for their contributions to the nation.

Efforts are also being made to include Ziaur Rahman’s contributions, which were previously excluded.

Key subjects undergoing significant revisions include Bangla, Mathematics, ICT, Bangladesh and Global Studies, Civics and Citizenship, History of Bangladesh, and World Civilization. Cover designs of all textbooks will also be updated or removed.

According to NCTB Member (Curriculum) Prof Robiul Kabir Chowdhury, the revision process is already underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Rakhal Raha, a writer and activist involved in the revisions, said, "We have very little time to make major changes, but the government has instructed us to revise any glorified or exaggerated accounts of individuals."

NCTB Chairman Prof. AKM Reazul Hassan confirmed that textbook cover designs featuring exaggerated depictions will be replaced with content reflecting national values or emergency services. Additionally, all politically sensitive material is being reviewed for historical accuracy.

Although revisions will not include content on the student-led mass uprising due to time constraints, the matter will be addressed in future updates. Hassan also assured that the process for printing revised textbooks is underway and that students will receive them by the first week of January.

The Hasina-led government had introduced the Curriculum-2022, implemented in phases starting in 2023. However, the interim government deemed it "not implementable" and decided to revert to the 2012 curriculum.