The election sans opposition parties in the battle of the ballots. The principal opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the election along with other smaller opposition after 10,000 leaders and members were jailed
By dint of Bangabandhu’s statesmanship, Bangladesh was steered into the United Nations and at the same time, Sheikh Mujib pursued the goal of coming out of superpower rivalry, and two years after liberation in 1971, Bangladesh joined the Non-Aligned Movement
Islam was legitimized on a political basis because large quantities of foreign aid flowed into the country from the Gulf as well as international Islamic organizations, indicating that the rising prevalence of and respect for the religion could not have been on ideological grounds alone, but due to Islamist groups spurring economic development in the country
Photo: NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA Images.
For Bangladesh the period from 1947 to 1971 was perceived as a continuation of colonization, and the contemporary narrative of national consciousness begins only in 1971.
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