7 November belongs to no single party, it is an achievement of people from all walks of life: Home Minister

Martyred President Ziaur Rahman was the one who saved this country's unprotected independence through the Sepoy-People's Revolution of 7 November 1975, said Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed.

He made the remark while speaking as chief guest at a discussion and cultural programme organised by the Officers' Club, Dhaka, on the occasion of National Revolution and Solidarity Day 2026, on Saturday (7 November) night.

The Home Minister said that after the great Liberation War of 1971, the dreams and expectations of the people of this country were not fulfilled. One-party rule created economic inequality, corruption, political instability and smouldering anger within the nation.

He said that at that critical moment, the sepoy-people foiled geopolitical conspiracies and freed Ziaur Rahman from captivity, placing the leadership of the country on his shoulders.

The minister said Ziaur Rahman did not bring about the Sepoy-People's Revolution of 7 November out of a lust for power or on his own initiative. In his words, it was the people who made him a leader, out of the great need of the nation.

The minister said Ziaur Rahman freed Bangladesh from the chains of unprotected subjugation and united it through multi-party democracy, a contemporary economy and an inclusive constitution. This bound every citizen of this country together in a single thread and laid a strong foundation of nationalism.

He said 7 November is not the sole property of any particular political party; it is an eternal and universal achievement of Bangladeshi nationalism and freedom-loving people from all walks of life.

The Home Minister noted that what the British in 1857 called the Sepoy Mutiny was in fact the first war of independence of the subcontinent. He said that although that revolution failed, the Sepoy-People's Revolution of 7 November 1975 did not fail. Had the revolution not succeeded that day, Bangladesh might have remained bound in the chains of subjugation for a long time to come.

Speaking about the July mass uprising and the political consciousness of 2024, the minister said the 2024 mass uprising did not take shape in a single day. From 2009 to 2024, this achievement came at the cost of the sacrifices, blood, disappearances, murders and extrajudicial killings of many people. Therefore, it is not proper for any particular group or political force to claim sole ownership of it, because this consciousness belongs to the entire nation.

The Home Minister called on civil service officers to serve the people free from political influence. He said civil service officers must work with dedication, above all political influence and temptation, in the service of the republic and in implementing the manifesto of the elected government that has received the people's mandate.

He said the fundamental duty of government employees is to disobey illegal orders and to run the state and perform election-time duties impartially.

Salahuddin Ahmed said that as a former associate of the Civil Service Association and a former government officer, he is one of this very family.