No Legitimacy for Interim Govt Within Current Constitution: Farhad Mazhar

NN Online :
Poet and public intellectual Farhad Mazhar has strongly rejected the legitimacy of Bangladesh’s interim government, criticizing it for upholding a constitution forged under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration—even after the transformative events of the July Uprising.

Speaking at a roundtable hosted by the Imaginext Foundation at the National Press Club on Friday, Mazhar argued that the political developments following the uprising have failed to mark a genuine departure from the past.

“This mass uprising has not led us toward the creation of a new state,” he stated. “Sheikh Hasina’s fascist constitution remains intact. I do not think that is right.”

He further declared: “I do not consider a government operating under this constitution to be legitimate. I speak for the people—there can be no question of offering unconditional support to such a regime.”

Mazhar also placed his critique within a wider ideological lens, denouncing nationalism in all its forms—including Bengali nationalism—as intrinsically fascist.

“One form of nationalism is Bengali nationalism,” he said. “Its history is deeply entwined with fascism.”