How Bangabandhu earned the 'Greatest Bangali of All Time' moniker

While he is considered the greatest Bangali of a thousand years to some, others call him the greatest Bangali, ever. 

Obviously, he is Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation. 

But little are most of us aware of the fascinating story that went into Mujib officially earning that moniker, nearly three decades after the heinous assassination of him alongside most of his family members.

So, on the occasion of Bangabandhu's 104th birth anniversary, let's find out about the said event, as well as the other great Bangalis who make up the list of "20 Greatest Bangalis of All Time".

'100 Greatest Britons' paves the way

In the year 2002, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a TV show named "100 Greatest Briton", with a view to determining the 100 greatest personalities in the storied history of Great Britain. 

It was the former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill who eventually won the top prize, with the next two positions assumed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Diana, Princess of Wales, in the votes of the commoners. 

The TV show gained worldwide popularity right from the beginning of its journey, mostly owing to its unique theme and the anticipation it generated. 

But it gave birth to a bigger sensation, even without the presence of social media at that time, after Sir Winston Churchill had been announced victorious ahead of many other prominent figures from the country's illustrious history. 

Trolls started to make fun of the choice of the British, pointing fingers at the lack of knowledge regarding their own past. 

But the bottom line was: this TV show broadcast by BBC was a blockbuster hit. Also, it played the role of a poster child of the Briton's freedom of expression, quite rightfully reflecting which historical figures the British considered as their role models.

BBC Bangla steps up

Inspired by the enormous success of the aforementioned TV show, BBC Bangla Radio Service also planned to arrange a similar poll, which would determine the greatest Bangali of all time, according to the service's Bangla-speaking listeners. 

After rigorous planning, BBC Bangla's initiative finally came to fruition in 2004, under the supervision of Sabir Mustafa, the head of the BBC World Service's Bangla service. 

The total population of Bangladesh and eastern India (West Bengal, Tripura and Assam) stood at 25 crores at that time. Of them, 1.2 crore Bangalis were BBC Bangla's regular audience, whom the service considered as potential voters.

Between 11 February and 22 March 2004, the survey was conducted, with the participation of thousands of Bangalis, not just from Bangladesh and eastern India, but also from all over the world.  

The rule was as simple as it got: every participant had to name five greatest Bangalis of all time chronologically, with the top nominee bagging five points and the fifth nominee getting one point.

In the end, BBC made their selection of the top 20 people on the basis of the total points each of them acquired. 

Results reveal Mujib's majesty

With the survey process done and dusted on 22 March 2004, BBC Bangla started announcing the names through a countdown over 20 days, beginning from 26 March, Bangladesh's Independence Day, and ending on 14 April, Pohela Boishakh - the first day of the Bangla New Year. 

As it turned out, the surveys produced a total of 140 names, and the top 20 were compiled on points awarded according to listeners' order of preference. 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman came out on top as he accumulated nearly double the points of second-placed Rabindranath Tagore, the polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter.

Interestingly, the "Bishwa Kobi" also got almost double the points of Bangladesh's national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, who in turn got nearly double the points of Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Haque, the presenter of the historic Lahore Resolution. 

Other than them, everyone else among the top 20 list had a very narrow difference of points. 

Still, there were two Bangalis who stood out: Begum Rokeya, the pioneer of women's liberation in South Asia, was the only woman in the top 20 list, while Amartya Sen, the winner of 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, was the only living Bangali.

Also, instead of choosing any specific personality, BBC Bangla's listeners opted for the martyrs of the language movement in 1952 for the 15th place. 

Beyond the top 20, participants also picked Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda Zia, Kader Siddiqui, MAG Osmani, Chittaranjan Das, and Sourav Ganguly.

No space for controversy

Needless to say, unlike Churchill being the greatest Briton, there was not much controversy surrounding Sheikh Mujib being crowned as the greatest Bangali of all time. 

It was evident from the difference of points between Mujib and everyone else, even at a time when Mujib's Bangladesh Awami League was not in the regime, that his greatness among the Bangalees was never in question. 

Still, there were some accusations coming from West Bengal about the survey being biased owing to the fact that the majority of participants in the survey were from Bangladesh. 

However, it was quite normal that most respondents were from Bangladesh, because in 2004, Bangladesh's Bangla-speaking population was way bigger than the combined Bangla-speaking population of eastern India or elsewhere. 

That the respondents were not considering the names of their preference on the basis of their political affiliation was also well reflected in the fact that many  respondents named Tagore, Bangabandhu, and Golam Azam in the same nomination sheet.

Also, there could not be any prejudice over religious beliefs or nationality, either. 

Of the top 20 greatest Bangalis, 10 were Muslim, six were Hindu, two were Brahma, one was Buddhist, and the other did not subscribe to any specific belief, as noted by Mustafa in the BBC Bangla website in 2020.

He also mentioned that of the top 20, eight could be called Bangladeshi, while 10 could be called Indian, and Atish Dipankar and Lalon Fakir could not be confined to any certain geography. 

One of the all-time greatest leaders

Even if a global media house like BBC had not recognised Mujib's greatness above all other Bangalis, he would still be holding his ground firmly on his own. There really cannot be any doubt about him being the greatest Bangali of all time. 

The recognition from BBC Bangla can just be identified as a cherry on the top.

The more pertinent question that needs to be asked now is where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stands among the all-time greatest leaders of the world.

It was Fenner Brockway, the life-long crusader and member of British House of Lords, who once famously said of Bangabandhu: "In the history of struggles he [Sheikh Mujib] will certainly be recalled along with Lenin, Rossalinburg, Gandhi, Nkruma, Lumumba, Castro, and Alende."

This is indeed the list Bangabandhu quite rightfully belongs to.

It is natural that most foreign media agencies are not yet ready to rank someone from a small state like Bangladesh among the greatest leaders of all time. But regardless of that, Bangabandhu's legacy will live on forever. 

And once his vision of making Bangladesh a "Shonar Bangla" gets fulfilled by his successors, that day too might not be very far when the entire world will also accept Bangabandhu's greatness and start pouring the honour on him that he really deserves.    

Jannatul Naym Pieal is a journalist