'Joy Bangla' slogan sparks rift inside CPB as 10 leaders face show-cause notices

Disagreement inside the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) over the Liberation War slogan 'Joy Bangla' has reached a new dimension. After attacks on party workers, tension around the central office and contradictory statements by top leaders, the question of show-cause notices served on 10 leaders has now come into discussion. It has created a fresh debate inside the CPB over political position, organisational discipline and the legacy of the Liberation War.

The episode began on October 26. During a programme in Dhanmondi in the capital, organised in protest against preventing women Baul singers from singing in Sunamganj, police detained Dipak Shil, a former president of the Chhatra Union. After he was released, a procession set out from in front of the CPB office in Purana Paltan.

After the procession, the slogan 'Joy Bangla, Joy Samajtantra' was raised, creating tension there. CPB workers allege that several people identifying themselves as members of Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal opposed the slogan and attacked them. At one point, tension also spread in front of Mukti Bhaban, the CPB's central office. Two party workers were injured in the attack.

However, CPB president Kazi Sajjad Zahir Chandan said the slogan 'Joy Bangla' was not raised from the party office. Police, on the other hand, said supporters raised the slogan after Dipak Shil's release.

After the attack, a new debate began inside the CPB as leaders took two positions on the slogan. The party's general secretary, Abdullah Al Quafi Ratan, claimed on social media that although the Communist Party raised the 'Joy Bangla' slogan during the Liberation War, it was not used in party programmes after 1972.

Several party leaders disagreed with his statement. CPB central leader Mihir Ghosh said in a counter-statement that former party president Manzurul Ahsan Khan raised the slogan 'Joy Bangla, Joy Samajtantra' in various programmes. CPB workers also used the slogan in the Gonojagoron Mancha movement demanding the trial of war criminals.

Former general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince also said that 'Joy Bangla' was a universal slogan during the Liberation War. Communists also raised it in later united movements against anti-liberation forces. Former president Manzurul Ahsan Khan also believes there is no conflict between this slogan of the Liberation War and the politics of the Communist Party.

As a result, the debate is no longer limited to whether or not to use a slogan. It is now linked to the CPB's political tradition and the party's position in the current situation.

In the midst of this debate, the matter of show-cause notices served on 10 CPB leaders has come to the fore. However, it is important to confirm whether the notices were served directly for raising the 'Joy Bangla' slogan, or over public statements on the matter or allegations related to party discipline.

'Joy Bangla' is one of the main slogans of Bangladesh's Liberation War. But because of the Awami League's long political use of it, the slogan has also become deeply tied to that party's identity. After the fall of the Awami League government in the mass uprising of 2024, the political use of the slogan has come under fresh debate.

One section of the CPB argues that the historic slogan of the Liberation War cannot be treated as the sole property of any one political party. The other section argues that the CPB has its own political identity and slogans, and that the political significance of using 'Joy Bangla' in the current situation also needs to be considered.

General secretary Quafi Ratan, however, made clear that there is no justification for attacking someone simply for raising the 'Joy Bangla' slogan.

Three questions have become particularly important in the CPB's current situation. First, what will be the party's formal position on using the 'Joy Bangla' slogan? Second, how will the leaders' public differences be reconciled with party discipline? Third, if the dispute over organisational measures grows, what impact will it have on the party's unity? On one side is the legacy of the Liberation War, on the other a changed political reality; the CPB must determine its own position between the two.