Hasina will be listed as ‘mass murderer’ in major overhaul to textbooks next year, says Advisor Asif Mahmud

The advisor says new editions will feature information on four national elections and the July Uprising

From next year, school textbooks will undergo significant revisions, with the name of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to be included as a “mass murderer”, according to Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain.

In a verified Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, the local government advisor said the updated curriculum will include detailed accounts of the July Uprising and key information on Bangladesh’s last four national elections.

He wrote, “To pass on the story of the 2024 Uprising and the people’s fight against authoritarianism from generation to generation, textbooks will undergo major changes.”

Asif shared the post along with a photocard featuring a picture of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, bearing the caption: “Sheikh Hasina’s name to appear in school textbooks as a mass murderer.”

Following the fall of the Awami League government in August last year, the current academic year saw significant changes to the curriculum.

The new editions have featured the July–August uprising in chapters on Bangladesh’s mass movements.

The same chapters also mention both Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s and Ziaur Rahman’s declarations of independence in the context of the Liberation War.

These turning points have been incorporated by replacing the previous curriculum with a revised and restructured one, aimed at reflecting the recent political shift.

The updated textbooks also feature “Shahider Birattogatha”, a narrative written in memory of those killed during the student-led movement that brought down the Awami League’s 15 and a half years rule.

Content removed from the new editions includes quotes and photographs of Hasina, who fled the country amid public anger during the Uprising.

Graffiti from the July–August movement has also been featured.