It’s astonishing how swiftly history fades—quicker than ink on wet paper, more transient than promises made before elections.

Days after a mural commemorating the Liberation War of Bangladesh was veiled in Lalmonirhat district, it was demolished at the behest of local authorities. On the very day that marks the hard-won independence of a nation, the memorial was hushed, covered, and then erased—like a chalk drawing washed away by an indifferent rain.

Watching this, one wonders if memories are meant to be forgotten: Fifty-three years ago, brave Indian soldiers marched across borders, not as conquerors, but as liberators—young men in olive-green uniforms who fought in a foreign land, bled for a cause not their own, and left behind graves marked by the humility of sacrifice.

Yet, today, the contribution of these soldiers is barely whispered in the classrooms of Dhaka or acknowledged on the streets of Chittagong.

But before we shake our heads in self-righteous disbelief, let’s take a good, hard look at our own selves. Are we any different?

Today, we watch in dismay as statues of Gandhi are defaced, his contributions trivialized by those who cannot comprehend the strength of nonviolence.

We hear voices deriding Nehru, the architect of modern India, painting him as a villain rather than a visionary.

Freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh are reduced to slogans, appropriated by political parties more interested in votes than values.

The towering legacies of Sardar Patel, Ambedkar, and even Subhas Chandra Bose are twisted and repurposed to suit divisive agendas.

It’s the same pattern—rewrite history, erase gratitude, and bend the truth.

How quickly we forget that independence was not a single stroke of midnight but a saga of sacrifice, stitched together by countless unsung heroes.

Today, their stories are quietly erased from textbooks, their contributions lost in new narratives.

The Liberation War mural in Bangladesh may have been bulldozed, even as we are busy burying our own past to narrow-mindedness.

Bangladesh’s disregard for its own liberation struggle is not an isolated case. It’s a cautionary tale—one that warns us of what happens when a nation forgets to honour those who died for its liberty.

But even as I say these words please remember that history is unforgiving to those who neglect its lessons.

The ungratefulness of our neighbor is a mirror—one that shows us a reflection we don’t want to look at.

Let us remember, not just today but every day, the men and women who laid down their lives so we could stand free.

Let’s silence those who malign our freedom fighters and celebrate those who truly deserve it. And everyday, as we see an ungrateful neighbour, forgetting what gratitude means, let us shamefacedly look at ourselves and realise, they are just reflecting what we are..!

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