Razakar Slogans

The Razakar slogans were a series of protest chants used during the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement, beginning on 14 July 2024. The slogans included,

Which emerged following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina referred to the protesting students as "grandchildren of Razakars" during a press conference. The slogans later became the main rallying cry of the movement and played a significant role in the July Revolution. Moreover, the slogans have either been praised as stance against "monopolistic" political tagging binary between freedom fighter (or in favour power of liberation) and Razakar (or opposite power of liberation) by contemporary autocratic Awami League government to defend it's tyranny and autocracy, or have also been criticised claiming as "opposite of dominant political narrative" (or counter-narrative) of Bangladesh liberation war. Moreover, the slogans have either been praised as a against "strategic" political tagging binary between freedom fighter (or in favour power of liberation) and Razakar (or opposite power of liberation) by contemporary autocratic Awami League government to defend it's tyranny and autocracy, or have also been criticised claiming as "opposite of dominant political narrative" (or counter-narrative) of Bangladesh liberation war.

Background

On 14 July 2024, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during a press conference in the Ganabhaban, following her state visit to China, was asked a question by, Prabhash Amin, Head of the ATN News, regarding the protests questioning and stating,

In response, Hasina quoted,

Incidents

In response to Sheikh Hasina's comment, in the early hours of 15 July, students began using slogans such as,

Protesters argued that Hasina’s statement indirectly labelled them as "Razakars" and demeaned them for advocating for quota reform, which led them to adopt the slogan.

Reactions

Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, a Bangladeshi litterateur and former professor at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology condemned its use, stating that although he considered Dhaka University his beloved institution, he no longer wished to visit it, as the slogan made him associate the students with Razakars. In response, students of the university declared him a ''Persona non grata''. Political leaders, including Dipu Moni and Junaid Ahmed Palak, along with several organizations, criticized the slogan as being disrespectful to the spirit of the Bangladesh Liberation War and to the country's history. In response to the protests, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clarified that her earlier remarks had not been directed at the students.

Following its emergence, the slogan became a topic of widespread debate and was referenced in various literary and musical works. Later on, 15 September 2024, protesters at Dhaka University continued to use the slogan as a symbol of their movement.

The slogan also appeared in a calendar related to the quota reform protests, marking the date of July 14. Asif Mahmud later shared an image of the calendar on social media and used it for the cover of his book "''July: Motherland or Death''". However, in the final version, the slogan was replaced with the phrase "''Asche Phagun, Amra Hobo Digun''" (), a change that attracted criticism from some quarters.

In popular culture

Many songs, poems, articles and short stories had later been written over the slogan including by Hero Alam, Lemon Mahmud, T Mahmud, Anik Sahan, Anik Shutradhar, Newton Jr. etc. A song named "Awaz Uda" (Raise your voice) by Rapper Hanna was meanwhile made on these slogan theme. Other songs are Shayan's "Bhoy Banglay", Moushumi's " Deshta Tomar Baper Naki", 'Baajan Amar Hoye Gyache Lash', Cezanne's 'Kotha Ko', 'Chobbisher Guerrilla', Parsa Mahzabeen's 'Cholo Bhule Jai', Coldcraft's 'Bayanna', Az Omix's 'Rokto', Mc-E-Mac and GK Kibrea's 'Slogan' and 'Inqilab', Siam Fardeen's 'Abu Saeed', Naheed Hasan's 'Jabab Dena', Revolution in Motion's 'Palte De Itihash', Voice of Revolution's 'Razakar', Lunatic's 'Bir' and Ridmaster's 'Desh Kaar'.

References

{{Quota reform movement in Bangladesh

July Revolution (Bangladesh)
Bengali words and phrases
Bangladeshi political slogans
2020s fads and trends