The name of the place where the dream of red sun of independence of Bangladesh arose is Mujibnagar in Meherpur. Previously the name of the place was Boddyanathala. And later it was named after the name of the architect of Bangladesh's independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The spelling of the name is 'Mujibnagar', written in the national identity card of the local people, even though the spelling is the all over the world.
Anger has been set among the people as the name of the place was not corrected for a long time. However, the District Election Office source has said that the issue has been mentioned for multiple times but no solution has come from the Election Commission yet.
In 1971, in order to break the chain of subjection of Pakistan the youths of our country joined the liberation war in response to clarion call of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Although the first provisional government of Bangladesh was formed on 7 April, the oath taking ceremony was held, in front of people and the journalists from home and abroad, on 17 April under a big mango orchard located at Baddyanathtola under Bangwan Union of the then Meherpur sub-division. On that day, Baddyanathtola was named after the name of the father of the nation and was declared as the first capital of Bangladesh.
Although it is historically written as 'Mujibnagar', in the updated voter list of local voters this was written as 'Mojib Nogor'. Software was prepared by Tiger IT while facilitating pictorial voters list in 2007. At that time, 'Mojib Nogor' was written instead of Mujibnagar since the Election Commission did not notice the matter. Local residents have been carrying a national identity card with a misspelt name for a decade. And the local people are suffering for this unintentional mistake of the authority.
Victim students said, the name of the upazila was written on certificate and other documents as Mujibnagar by the educational institutions but the NID bearing the name as Mojib Nogor. As a result the official works and various job petitions have been rejected and no amendment came from the concerned authorities.
Other local residents said that a national identity card does not only identify a person, it ensures the country and national identity. That identity is wrongly written. Moreover, it is wrong to write the name of the architect of independence. It has been distorted the name of the country's first capital Mujibnagar. Whose responsibility is it? This mistake has not been resolved in a decade.
Some of the freedom fighters who provided the guard of honour to the first provisional Bangladesh government said that the people of Bangladesh, including millions of youths, gave their lives for independence. Mujibnagar was renamed to keep the name unforgettable contributions of the great leader Bangabandhu who was imprisoned and threatened of death because of his struggle for independence. But the name of the great leader has been distorted. After repeatedly informing the Election Officer of the matter, there was no proper response. This is very sad.
The chairman of Bagwan Union Parishad of Mujibnagar Upazila said that the 73 thousand voters of the area were suffering due to wrong spelling of the name of the historic Mujibnagar. People of the entire region are seeking its correction. But there is no attempt seen for its correction, the concerned department said. The mistake of Bangabandhu's name is a grave mistake.
An associate professor of political science at Meherpur Government College says many things of an independent sovereign country depend on a name. We could not get the taste of independence if the great leader Bangabandhu was not born. And that's why it is difficult to accept the misspelt name of him. Due to this mistake all people is suffering in different stages of official activities. This fault is not desired since smart card can one day be used as like as a passport. This must be corrected.
Mujibnagar Upazila Election Officer said that under the supervision of the army, the Election Commission undertook the effort of updating the voter list with photographs in 2007. At that time Mujibnagar was written as Mojib Nogor mistakenly. Many people used to come to the office for correction after seeing at first. But the software that worked with it could not be fixed. The existing server does entertain it for correction. The matter was reported to the superiors through the letters.
Deputy Commissioner said, "I knew a few days ago that there was confusion in the spelling of the historical Mujibnagar." It is awful that the name of the architect of independence has been misspelt. He also said he would send letter to the authority concerned for correction.
M R Alam, District Correspondent,
the Daily Observer, Meherpur
