National Revolution and Solidarity Day in Bangladesh Date in the current year: November 7, 2026

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known as Mujib, was a prominent Bangladeshi revolutionary and the founding president and second prime minister of Bangladesh. He played an important role in achieving Bangladeshi independence from Pakistan and in rebuilding the war-devastated country after independence. However, in early 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established a one-party state, curtailed the powers of parliament and the judiciary, and imposed censorship.

On August 15, 1975, a group of mid-level army officers stormed the presidential palace and assassinated Mujib and most of his family. Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, one of his close associates, took control of the government and proclaimed himself president. Ahmad granted immunity to Mujib’s assassins, barred Mujib’s two daughters, who were in Europe during the coup, from returning to Bangladesh, and declared martial law.

However, Ahmad’s regime was short-lived. On November 3, 1975, Major General Khaled Mosharraf overthrew his government. His time in power was even more brief. The Biplobi Shainik Sangstha (BSS), a clandestine revolutionary group within the Bangladesh Army, deemed the coup counterrevolutionary and prepared a countercoup that they carried out on November 7.

The November 7 Bangladeshi coup d’état resulted in the deaths of Mosharraf and other officers. The rebels also freed Ziaur Rahman, a Bangladeshi revolutionary and military leader who had supported Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and had therefore been placed under house arrest by Mosharraf. This marked the beginning of Ziaur Rahman’s rise to power: he would eventually become Bangladesh’s sixth president in 1977.

The anniversary of the November 7 coup began being commemorated as National Revolution and Solidarity Day in 1976. It subsequently became a public holiday and was celebrated as such until 2007, although not continuously. In November 2007, the caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed, which ruled the country during the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis, removed National Revolution and Solidarity Day from Bangladesh’s public holiday calendar. However, some political parties and individuals continued to celebrate it unofficially.

The Awami League government that came to power in 2009 did not reinstate National Revolution and Solidarity Day. The Awami League’s 15-year regime ended in August 2024 due to the July Uprising. After its fall, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called for the holiday’s reinstatement. However, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus did not restore it.

The BNP won the 2026 general election, and the new government, led by Tarique Rahman, reinstated National Revolution and Solidarity Day as a public holiday in April 2026. The Ministry of Public Administration officially confirmed this decision in October 2026.