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2011-04-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

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2011-04-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani

2010-02-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Osmani was born in Sunamganj, Sylhet Division on 1 September 1918. He passed matriculation from Sylhet Government Pilot School. Later, he graduated in Aligarh Muslim University, India. He was a descendant of Nizamuddin Osmani of Dayamir, Sylhet.

With the formation of Mujib's government on 17 April 1971, Osmani was appointed commander in chief of all Bangladesh Armed Forces. Under his direct command, Osmani divided up the entire declared Bangladesh territory to 11 sectors. Each sector was under the command of a trained military officer with the title of Sector Commander. Each sector also had sub-sectors with sub sector commanders.

Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, better known by General M.A.G. Osmani (1 September 1918-16 February 1984) was the supreme commander of Mukti Bahini and Bangladesh Armed Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Osmani was born in Sunamganj, Sylhet Division on 1 September 1918. He passed matriculation from Sylhet Government Pilot School. Later, he graduated in Aligarh Muslim University, India. He was a descendant of Nizamuddin Osmani of Dayamir, Sylhet. With the formation of Mujib's government on 17 April 1971, Osmani was appointed commander in chief of all Bangladesh Armed Forces. Under his direct command, Osmani divided up the entire declared Bangladesh territory to 11 sectors. Each sector was under the command of a trained military officer with the title of Sector Commander. Each sector also had sub-sectors with sub sector commanders.

Tajuddin Ahmad

2010-01-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Tajuddin Ahmad was born on July 23, 1925, in the village Dardoria, in Kapasia Thana,of Gazipur district, which is 82 kilometers by road from the Capital city Dhaka, Bangladesh. The name of the village connotes "The River Gate" or "Flowing River" and may be associated with the river Shitalakhya on whose bank it stands.

Tajuddin’s father was Moulavi Muhammad Yasin Khan and his mother Meherunnesa Khanam. There were ten brothers and sisters--four brothers and six sisters. Being the child of a conservative Muslim family from a middle class, his education began at the village maktab (religious school) founded by his father. Later on he was enrolled in Bhuleswar Primary School, two kilometers from the family house. When he was in class (grade) four he was enrolled in Kapasia Minor English School, a distance of five kilometers from Dardoria. His enrollment at this school was due to the encouragement of his mother. While a student at Kapasia M.E. School Tajuddin drew the attention of three senior revolutionary leaders who had dedicated their lives to liberating their country from the British rule. They were impressed by Tajuddin’s merit and planted the seed of patriotism in young Tajuddin’s heart. They recommended to his teachers that their student be sent on to a better school. Accordingly he was admitted into St. Nicholas Institution in Kalinganj. At this school, as well, he so distinguished himself that the headmaster advised that he be admitted into Muslim Boys’ School in Dhaka, and then he went on to St. Gregory’s High School. During his studies in school Tajuddin Ahmad always stood first in his class. In the ME Scholarship exam he won the first place in Dhaka District. Tajuddin Ahmad was also a Hafez (one who is intensely well-versed in the Holy Quran and knows the Holy Quran by heart). In 1942, when the World War II was going on, he received training in civil defense.

In 1944, at the Matriculation exam, he won the twelfth place in the First Division, in Kolkata Board,the only existing board,in Bengal Province, during that period. In 1948 at the Intermediate (equivalent to HSC) exam he won the fourth place in the First Division,in Dhaka Board.He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954 in Economics from Dhaka university. Being a full time political and social worker he could not devote enough time to education.Even so he excelled in academics. He earned a law degree in 1964. A political prisoner,he appeared in law exam while in prison, by obtaining a special permission from the board of education.

Tajuddin was all along associated with the Boy Scout movement.

Since his school days Tajuddin Ahmad had been involved in progressive movements, politics and social work. He had been imprisoned numerous times for his political activities for freedom, democracy and economic justice. In the Provincial Election of 1954 he ran on the ticket of the Jukta (United) Front and defeated the General Secretary of the Muslim League by a wide margin and was elected MLA. As a student of law he attended his classes regularly but took the final examination while in jail and obtained the LL.B. degree. The famine of 1943 and its trail of deaths moved Tajuddin Ahmad deeply. After the famine he organized the people of the village into setting up a storage system called "Dharmagola" which was a novelty at the village level. In harvest season food grain would be collected from the rich and deposited in the storage so that food could be supplied to the hungry in time of disaster. He would work relentlessly for service to the needy. When Tajuddin Ahmad was an MLA, a boy named Abdul Aziz in his village was wounded from a gunshot. He brought the boy to the hospital and he donated 10 ounces of blood with the purpose of saving the life of the victim. Later, on hearing that the boy died, he was deeply grieved.

From the time of his student days Tajuddin Ahmad was connected with the kind of politics which aimed to emancipate the people of Bengal. From 1943 onward he was an activist of the progressive Muslim League. In 1944 he was elected Councilor of the then Bengal Muslim League. In 1947 India was partitioned into two States, namely India and Pakistan. The State of Pakistan was divided into two wings called East Pakistan and West Pakistan, which were separated by twelve hundred miles. After the partition of India, Tajuddin was actively associated with every movement that was organized in Pakistan to resist communalism and to support economic emancipation and the language movement. When East Pakistan Students League was formed on 4th January 1948 he was one of its founders and devotedly discharged his onerous responsibility in this regard. He was an active member of All-Party State Language Movement which aimed to establish Bengali, the language spoken by the majority in East Pakistan as the State Language of Pakistan. When the Awami League was formed on 23 June, 1949 Tajuddin Ahmad was one of its main organizers. From 1953 to 1957 he was General Secretary of Dhaka District Awami League. In 1955 he was elected Social Welfare and Cultural Secretary of Awami League. He visited the United States as a State guest in 1958. The same year he visited the United Kingdom.

Syeda Zohra Khatun (Lily) and Tajuddin were married on April 26, 1959.

Tajuddin found an ideal life partner in Zohra . Their marriage inspired Tajuddin to continue his struggle for freedom and democracy. In 1962 he was actively involved in the movement for restoration of democracy and was imprisoned. In 1964 Tajuddin Ahmad played a key role in the revival of Awami League. In 1964 after being elected Awami League’s Organizing Secretary he, under the leadership of Bangabandhu (the title Bangabandhu which means the Friend of Bengal was bestowed on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by the people of Bangladesh), infused a new vigor into the party. In 1966 he attended with Bangabandhu the conference of opposition parties held in Lahore, (then) West Pakistan. At this conference Bangabandhu declared the Six Points, the charter of liberation of the Bangalees in (then) East Pakistan. Tajuddin was one of the key architects of the Six Points. By dint of his organizational skill and devotion he became a close associate of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the same year he was elected General Secretary of Awami League. While the movement for Six Points was ongoing he was arrested on May 8, 1966. He was released on February 12, 1969 in the face of mass upsurge. In the 1970 general election he was elected member of Pakistan’s National Assembly. In an attempt to deny the popular mandate and to foil by various stratagems, the Bangalees’ struggle to realize their rights, Pakistan’s military dictator President Yahya Khan suddenly declared postponement of the session of the National Assembly on 3rd March, 1971. The unprecedented Non-Cooperation Movement was launched under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In directing the organizational strategies of this movement and negotiating with the military rulers at the discussion table as a trusted associate of Bangabandhu, Tajuddin Ahmad proved his great talent and capabilities. While Bangabandhu could inspire people with hopes and dreams, it was Tajuddin who through his foresight and talent transformed those aspirations into realities. Indeed, Bangabandhu and Tajuddin were complimentary to each other.

On the night of 25 March, 1971 the Pakistani forces went on a genocide and arrested Bangabandhu and took him to West Pakistan the next day. Liberation war of the Bangalees began. The East Pakistan declared Independence from Pakistan and emerged as Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. In the absence of Bangabandhu the responsibility of leadership devolved on Tahuddin Ahmad. On April 10, 1971 the government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was formed and Tajuddin became its Prime Minister by universal consent. This government took a formal oath of office in the presence of hundreds of local and foreign journalists and residents of the area on April 17, 1971. The Proclamation of Independence was read and the Oath took place in the Mango Orchard of Bayddanathtala in Kushtia, Bangladesh. Tajuddin renamed this place "Mujibnagar" which means the ‘City of Mujib’ after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He declared Mujibnagar as the official Capital of Bangladesh. Despite crippling obstacles he organized both the political and the military front within a short time. His abilities, sacrifice, devotion and patriotism inspired all. The successful leadership during the liberation war marked the finest period of Tajuddin Ahmad’s life. During the liberation war the office of the exile Mujibnagar Government was established at No. 8 Theatre Road in Kolkata, India. In two rooms at one corner of No.8 Theatre Road Tajuddin set up his office and his residence. All through the liberation war Tajuddin Ahmad worked day and night in that temporary office of theatre road. He passed night after night in discomfort, ate whatever food was supplied by the mess, even did his own washing. He took a vow that till Bangladesh was liberated he would not lead a family life. As the Prime Minister of a nation ridden in war and its freedom fighters’ away from their families Tajuddin wanted to share their sufferings as well as set an example. It is not possible to express in words the hard work that he did during the nine months of the war. During those months there was no rest for him. It was because of his capable leadership that the nation could win its independence within a record time of 266 days.

His firm resolves and commitment on the question of the country’s liberation had no parallel. He was far from an opportunist. He would never compromise the interest of the nation. It was his unbreakable spirit that helped the nation to wriggle out of the deep crisis into which it was thrown. With his idealism and firmness of resolve and unique qualities of leadership he was able to spurn all inducements and strove single-mindedly towards his goal. He was not willing to settle for anything less than full independence. No one could deflect him in the slightest degree from his firm resolve. Because of his clear pragmatic thinking and courage he could reach the cherished goal in due time. Tajuddin Ahmad possessed the rare ability to make the right decision with intelligence in a moment of crisis.

He was able to create enthusiasm in the 75 million people of Bangladesh across parties and ideologies for freedom. During the liberation war the force of his inspiring leadership and overpowering oratory made the 75 million people of Bangladesh, irrespective of party and persuasion, into determined freedom fighters--an achievement that might not have been possible with any other leader. He knew no nepotism and treated every one, including his opponents and those who caused him harm, with fairness and justice.

After the victory in the liberation war and till Bangabandhu’s return on 10 January 1972, Tajuddin directed the affairs of the state. He handed over the Prime Minister’s position to the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on January 12, 1972. After the transfer of power, he held the portfolios of Finance and Planning.He took great pains to build up a self-reliant and flourishing economy. He left a high mark as the Finance Minister of a newly independent nation. As a member of the constituion framing committee,Tajuddin was one of the key architects in framing the constitution of the newly liberated country. His pragmatic approach to problem solving and stand for truth and justice won him many friends. It also won him enemies who relentlessly conspired to put obstacles in his path.

He resigned as the Minister of Finance on 26 October 1974. On August 15, 1975 Bangabandhu with his family-members were assassinated by the usurpers. Tajuddin was house arrested on the morning of that day. He was taken to the central jail on August 22. On November 3, 1975,while in custody, Tajuddin Ahmad and his three colleagues and national leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam, M Mansur Ali and Kamruzzaman were brutally assassinated in violation of all prison rules and the law of the land. Besides wife Syeda Zohra Tajuddin, eldest daughter Sharmin Ahmad (Reepi), second daughter Simeen Hussain (Rimi), youngest daughter Mahjabeen Ahmad (Mimi) and the only son Tanjim Ahmad (Sohel), Tajuddin has left countless admirers. The Founder Prime Minister and the protagonist of the Bangladesh liberation war, Tajuddin Ahmad, who had dedicated his heart and soul to serving humanity and building Bangladesh into a happy, prosperous and independent nation, left this world as a martyr. He lived his life with highest integrity, and offered his life for the people’s welfare. He never sought publicity nor media attention for himself. This selfless statesman who was endowed with brilliance, humility, courage and respect for people, irrespective of caste, creed or color was mercilessly killed by the enemies of the country’s liberation. Yet, there is no death of an ideal. Tajuddin is immortalized in the history of Bangladesh and Bengalee peoples’ Liberation through his noble works and glorious deeds.-From the article of Simeen Hussain (Rimi)

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

2010-01-13T07:05:00.001-08:00

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
The life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the story of an enormous leader turning peoplepower into a fortified struggle that liberated a nation and created the world’s ninth most populous coumtry. The birth of the ruler state of Bangladesh in December 1971, after a brave war of nine months against the Pakistani colonial rule, was the triumph of his faith in the destiny of his people.

Sheikh Mujib was born on 17 March 1920 in a middle class family at Tungipara in Gopalganj district. Standing 5 feet 11 inches, he was taller than the average Bengalee. Nothing pleased him more than being close to the masses, knowing their joys and sorrows and being part of their travails and triumphs. He spoke their soft language but in articulating their sentiments his voice was powerful and resonant. He had not been educated abroad, nor did he learn the art of hiding feelings behind sophistry; yet he was loved as much by the urban educated as the common masses of the villages. He inspired the intelligentsia and the working class alike. He did not, however, climb to leadership overnight.

His political life was started in his student life. He was lucky to come in early contact with great leaders such as Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and A K Fazlul Huq, both were charismatic Chief Ministers of undivided Bengal. Adolescent Mujib grew up under the gathering gloom of stormy politics as the aging British raj in India was falling apart and the Second World War was violently rocking the continents. He witnessed the ravages of the war and the stark realities of the great famine of 1943 in which about five million people lost their lives. The tragic plight of the people under colonial rule turned young Mujib into a rebel.

This was also the time when he saw the legendary revolutionary Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose challenging the British raj. Also about this time he came to know the works of Bernard Shaw, Karl Marx, Rabindranath Tagore and rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Soon after the partition of India in 1947 it was felt that the creation of Pakistan with its two wings separated by a physical distance of about 1,200 miles was a geographical monstrosity. The economic, political, cultural and linguistic characters of the two wings were also different. Keeping the two wings together under the forced bonds of a single state structure in the name of religious nationalism would merely result in a rigid political control and economic exploitation of the eastern wing by the all-powerful western wing which controlled the country’s capital and its economic and military might.

In 1948 a movement was initiated to make Bengali one of the state languages of Pakistan. This can be termed the first stirrings of the movement for an independent Bangladesh. The demand for cultural freedom gradually led to the demand for national independence. During that language movement Sheikh Mujib was arrested and sent to jail. During the blood-drenched language movement in 1952 he was again arrested and this time he provided inspiring leadership of the movement from inside the jail.
In 1954 Sheikh Mujib was elected a member of the then East Pakistan Assembly. He joined A K Fazlul Huq’s United Front government as the youngest minister. The ruling clique of Pakistan soon dissolved this government and Shiekh Mujib was once again thrown into prison. In 1955 he was elected a member of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly and was again made a minister when the Awami League formed the provincial government in 1956. Soon after General Ayub Khan staged a military coup in Pakistan in 1958, Sheikh Mujib was arrested once again and a number of cases were instituted against him. He was released after 14 months in prison but was re-arrested in February 1962. In fact, he spent the best part of his youth behind the prison bars.

March 7, 1971 was a day of supreme test in his life. Nearly two million freedom loving people assembled at the Ramna Race Course Maidan, later renamed Suhrawardy Uddyan, on that day to hear their leader’s command for the battle for liberation. The Pakistani military junta was also waiting to trap him and to shoot down the people on the plea of suppressing a revolt against the state. Sheikh Mujib spoke in a thundering voice but in a masterly well-calculated restrained language. His historic declaration in the meeting was: "Our struggle this time is for freedom. Our struggle this time is for independence." To deny the Pakistani military an excuse for a crackdown, he took care to put forward proposals for a solution of the crisis in a constitutional way and kept the door open for negotiations.

The crackdown, however, did come on March 25 when the junta arrested Sheikh Mujib for the last time and whisked him away to West Pakistan for confinement for the entire duration of the liberation war. In the name of suppressing a rebellion the Pakistani military let loose hell on the unarmed civilians throughout Bangladesh and perpetrated a genocide killing no less than three million men, women and children, raping women in hundreds of thousands and destroying property worth billions of taka. Before their ignominious defeat and surrender they, with the help of their local collaborators, killed a large number of intellectuals, university professors, writers, doctors, journalists, engineers and eminent persons of other professions. In pursuing a scorch-earth policy they virtually destroyed the whole of the country’s infrastructure. But they could not destroy the indomitable spirit of the freedom fighters nor could they silence the thundering voice of the leader. Tape recordings of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s 7th March speech kept on inspiring his followers throughout the war.

Forced by international pressure and the imperatives of its own domestic predicament, Pakistan was obliged to release Sheikh Mujib from its jail soon after the liberation of Bangladesh and on 10 January 1972 the great leader returned to his beloved land and his admiring nation.

But as he saw the plight of the country his heart bled and he knew that there would be no moment of rest for him. Almost the entire nation including about ten million people returning from their refuge in India had to be rehabilitated, the shattered economy needed to be put back on the rail, the infrastructure had to be rebuilt, millions had to be saved from starvation and law and order had to be restored. Simultaneously, a new constitution had to be framed, a new parliament had to be elected and democratic institutions had to be put in place. Any ordinary mortal would break down under the pressure of such formidable tasks that needed to be addressed on top priority basis. Although simple at heart, Sheikh Mujib was a man of cool nerves and of great strength of mind. Under his charismatic leadership the country soon began moving on to the road to progress and the people found their long-cherished hopes and aspirations being gradually realized.

But at this critical juncture, his life was cut short by a group of anti-liberation reactionary forces who in a pre-dawn move on 15 August 1975 not only assassinated him but 23 of his family members and close associates. Even his 10 year old son Russel’s life was not spared by the assassins. The only survivors were his two daughters, Sheikh Hasina - now the country’s Prime Minister - and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, who were then away on a visit to Germany. In killing the father of the Nation, the conspirators ended a most glorious chapter in the history of Bangladesh but they could not end the great leader’s finest legacy- the rejuvenated Bengali nation. In a fitting tribute to his revered memory, the present government has declared August 15 as the national mourning day. On this day every year the people would be paying homage to the memory of a man who became a legend in his won lifetime. Bangabandhu lives in the heart of his people. Bangladesh and Bangabandhu are one and inseparable. Bangladesh was Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s vision and he fought and died for it.

Global Warming

2009-11-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

How Global Warming Threatens Millions in Bangladesh

I read out this article, this article written By Amju Chopra

Khajura, Bangladesh—In this obscure village perched on the rugged coastline along the Bay of Bengal, climate change exudes a taste. It is the flavor of salt. As recently as five years ago, water from the village well tasted sweet to Mohammed Jehangir. But now, a glassful, flecked with tiny white crystals, is briny. Like other paddy farmers in this southern village, Jehangir is baffled by the change. But international scientists aren't surprised to see such effects, as global warming causes sea levels to rise. It is a sign that the brackish water from the Bay of Bengal is encroaching, surging up Bangladesh's fresh-water rivers, percolating deep into the soil, fouling ponds and the underground water supply that millions depend on to drink and cultivate their farms. Salt is slowly, yet inexorably, making its way to the rice paddies of farmers like Jehangir, destroying their only source of income. Khajura is on the front lines of climate change, and some of the poorest of the world's poor are feeling the consequences of the fossil fuel emissions by industrialized nations half a world away. There is little chance of, literally, turning back the tide. The implications are dire for many millions living here and for others in low-lying areas around the world. Bangladesh tops the 2009 Global Climate Risk Index, a ranking of 170 countries most vulnerable to climate change compiled by Germanwatch, an international nongovernmental organization that works on environment and development issues. The nation is particularly at risk because it is a vast delta plain with 230 rivers, many of which unstably swell during the monsoon rains. This geology, combined with river water from the melting Himalayan glaciers in the north and an encroaching Bay of Bengal in the south, makes the region prone to severe flooding. The situation is made worse by the prevalence of intense storms, a marker of climate stresses. Sidr, the Category 4 cyclone that ravaged southern Bangladesh in November 2007, killed some 3,500 people, displaced 2 million, and wiped out paddy fields. Sidr was followed by two heavier-than-normal floods that killed some 1,500 people and damaged about 2 million tons of food. The United Nations warns that a quarter of Bangladesh's coastline could be inundated if the sea rises 3 feet in the next 50 years, displacing 30 million Bangladeshis from their homes and farms. If that happens, the capital, Dhaka, now at the center of the country, would have its own sea promenade. But beyond the existential peril, an immediate threat comes from soil salinity that jeopardizes food output in Bangladesh, a country where 40 percent of its 150 million people live below the poverty line. In the past few years, because of rising soil salinity, Jehangir has begun noticing a white film of salt that envelops his paddy farm. "These white particles severely impede rice productivity," he complains, darting his finger at a patch of mud covered in traces of white. Paddy husks take on an abnormal red coloration before drying and wilting away, he says. "The poor quality rice doesn't sell much. It's becoming increasingly difficult to feed my family." To boost his declining income, he may follow the example of many of his neighbors, who switched to home-based shrimp farming, monetizing the salty water awash over Khajura's fields. In an occupational shift, shrimp farming is becoming more popular than cultivation. But this has come with its own share of problems. Because it is less labor-intensive, shrimp farming has contributed to unemployment, compelling some residents to migrate to cities.

Recognizing the plight of farmers, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute has increased research efforts on salinity issues. "This is a growing problem in Bangladesh," says Mohammed Firoze Shah Sikder, BRRI's executive director. "This is severely affecting crop production." A 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the production of staple foods could drop steeply by 2050 because of soil salinity. This would be devastating in a country where agriculture is the key economic driver. This sector accounts for about 22 percent of the nation's economic output, with an additional 33 percent derived from the rural non farm economy, which is also linked to agriculture, according to the World Bank. Around 65 percent of the population is employed in agriculture.

Rice is the country's lifeblood. Rice purchases often constitute 30 to 40 percent of the total expenditures of an average Bangladeshi family, according to the International Rice Research Institute. Even a small increase in price can have a serious impact on the household food security of the poor. According to a study by IRRI, a 25 percent increase in the price of rice translates into a 7 to 10 percent drop in the real income of Bangladesh's poor.

In the year of 1971 our friend Hary

2009-08-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Father of the nation

2009-08-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

In the 15 August 1975 father of Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman kield by the terorist who did not want Bangali Nation. They were against party in 1771 fight for the freedom. They are always was coverd in vail of the darkness.

15 August 1975

2009-08-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Why Shying Away?
In an angry response to an adverse remark made a few days ago by an expatriate journalist on the heroic 15th August occurrence and revolution in Dhaka in 1975, some young leaders have asked the septuagenarian to withdraw his remark implicating therein in the matter Begum Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister and now opposition leader in the Bangladesh Parliament, they felt blameworthy to her. The anger though has some value but in terms of the lofty glory of the 15th August, there is nothing to be shying away for the patriots and nationalists that in fact emerged from the great occurrence nearly 34 years ago.
Jubilation In and Out
The 1975 August 15 had been a day of jubilation by the people Bangladesh not staying then only at home alone but in abroad, as well. I myself am a living witness then stayed in London. I had also news of jubilation of the people living inside the country as we had reports from foreign journalists published in various London newspapers. The journalist in mention had then also been in London, but curiously enough as I saw on the day and afterwards many groups joined jubilation in the city of London, and in locations Bangladeshi concentrated as in East London Aldgate area, Oxford Street, Strand, White Hall area including in front of the British P.M.’s famous official residence, 10 Downing Street, etc., but in no place I knew of the mentioned person came out in open not to join jubilation but to show on his part sympathy to the fallen leader, much less protest against those who had brought about the leaders fall in the coup d’etat. He was then well known for accrued favors from the fallen leader not only for himself but also for his grievously ill wife who needed in 1974 treatment not possible in Dhaka but costly one in London.
Knowledge and Information Gap
In the period over three and a half decades that has passed by, and a new generation has grown up in the vacuum of historical facts and realities, it is now only very easy among these new generation having huge knowledge gap about the fallen leader now being presented having full support of the State power and money in an image as if he was a demy–god, if not the Great God.
The 15th August patriotic army coup d’etat had its success not alone by the few bullets (on both sides though) but for all misdeeds and oppression perpetrated by the leader and so he betrayed the people almost in all accounts for about three and a half years.
The Leader’s Bully Boys Inflicted Man Made Famine
As against the promises he made before coming to power, he betrayed the people in matters of minimum provisions of life and living as the man made famine took away lives of thousands, if not millions, while the party goons and leaders had hay days of illegitimate fortune making, a complete betrayal of the promises he made almost in every election propaganda in late 1960s rhetoric before being saddled to power in January 1972.
The Leader Betrayed the people
The leader betrayed the people in meeting democratic aspirations of the people that he had earlier promised but brutally killed the mode of pluralism first by autocratic rule followed by imposing lone party BAKSAL for furthering oppressive rule engineered by the instrumentation of the unconstitutional killer force, the so-called Rakkhi Bahini. The RAKHI BAHINI, it may be recalled, had been planned by the Indians in Delhi, their intelligence agency R&AW trained those forces, motivated and armed them with their own brand of arms and ammunitions not for the security of the country but to protect the leader alone that stood in parallel with the national army the leader had despise for historical reason against the Pakistan Army, and so against the Bangladesh army possibly as a continuum of hatred for the Pakistan Army.
Indian Brahmanism Stood Against Muslim Belief System and so Did the Lackey
The leader had cold shoulder for the historical and traditional Islamic belief system of the overwhelming majority people of Bangladesh, if not that much for his own account but more so imposed by the hegemony of Indian Brahmanism in action, such as they were made in educational goals reset, changes in curricula and syllabuses made, etc. This mode of State action program manifested in including ‘Secularism’ in the basic principle of the Constitution made effective in late 1972 alienated the people further.
India Ditched Bangladesh into Ignominy
In external affairs, as well, Bangladesh faced uphill task to make friends except in conformity with pleasure of Delhi. It was not that only many Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia distanced away to recognize Bangladesh but also communist China shied away from according recognition to Bangladesh as an independent country for their perception of total Indian hegemony that rested safely on the shoulder of the boss of the then Bangladesh.
India Posed Threats to Economy
The pressure of Indian big economy making intrusion from all sides of the border that put internal growth at stake in addition to threats to agriculture and ecology for India’s unduly controlling natural flow of water in the river systems from upstream continued to pose all time threats to normal productivity, economy and dignified existence of Bangladesh.
15th August Enhanced Dignity of Bangladesh
Fortunately for Bangladesh the 15th August of 1975 change paved the way for changes in fortune of Bangladesh for restoration of pluralism and multiparty democracy that enhanced dignity in the advanced world including having had secured recognition from China, Saudi Arabia etc. The notorious Rakkhi Bahini was contained into regular discipline through its absorption in to the regular army. Openness of the economy from evil clutches of India gave way to freedom from the ignominy of INTERNATIONAL BASKET CASE as the immediate post 1972 government had made the fate of the country.
Patriots’ Pride
The patriots and the nationalists thus should all take pride in the occurrence of the 15th August 1975 and in no way has any reason whatsoever to shy away from the victorious coup d’etat but for which there would have been no 7th November, much less the political freedom and the parties banned earlier by the leader’s government in early 1972 in fascistic manner could not have been revived and none born afresh but only for the success of the 15th August heroic coup that received spontaneous support of the people, on the one hand, and despise for the fallen leader, on the other.
Dr. M.T. Hussain

15 August 1975

2009-08-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

Remembering Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

As the Bengali nation observes National Mourning Day with deep sadness, Dhaka Courier recalls the life and contributions of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to the cause of liberty ---

It is time to recall Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman again. Thirty three years after his assassination, he remains the single most dominant factor in the life of the Bengali nation. And for all the right reasons. Those reasons converge on the fact of all that has gone wrong in Bangladesh since the fall of his government and the end of his life in the first of the brutal coup d'etats that were to play havoc with the moral principles upon which the country was founded in 1971.
Suffice it to say that when the Father of the Nation fell on 15 August 1975, it was an entire edifice of politics and social values that went down with him. And the politics had of course been secular, a tribute to the sagacity of a man who had gone into the political arena as a firm believer in the idea that the Muslims of India needed a separate, independent entity for themselves. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in youth was an individual who, like millions of others, was convinced that in Pakistan lay the solution to the problems that the Muslim community faced. He idolized Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as so many of his age and social background did. There is the tale of his bicycling all the way to Delhi, apocryphal as it may seem, to have a glimpse of the man who was to become Quaid-e-Azam. And then came the time when the young Mujib became an ardent disciple of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. That was soon after the partition of 1947. And Suhrawardy, if one must remember, had gained quite some notoriety through the violent observance of Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946. In Pakistan, though, Suhrawardy turned out to be a new votary of democracy when he, in association with Moulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, launched the Awami Muslim League as the opposition to the Muslim League left behind by Jinnah. A precocious Mujib, noted for his organizational abilities, came on board.
That was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, or the early story of the man who ironically was one day to lead the campaign against Pakistan in its eastern province. Like many young men enamoured of the Two Nation theory, he cheerfully welcomed the establishment of Pakistan. Unlike those other young men, though, he was astute enough to realize that the interests of the Bengali people in Pakistan were unlikely to be upheld. His belief in democracy getting the better of his earlier infatuation for Pakistan, Mujib soon pitted himself against what had become an increasingly communal and increasingly parochial Muslim League. His feverish activities during the course of the Language Movement and later in the electoral campaign of the United Front, in 1954, were a highwater mark in his career. The rest is, of course, history.
It was in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s that the politics of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman acquired a distinctive character in the sense that it became a pronounced secular affair. The story might be apocryphal, but those who have told the tale are in little doubt about the way Mujib perceived the future of his fellow Bengalis in as relatively uneventful a year as 1957. It was a time when his mentor Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was prime minister of Pakistan. On a night of no particular significance, as Suhrawardy seemed to be dozing off, Mujib, sitting close by, asked him if Bengalis were at all in need of Pakistan in their lives. The question shook up Suhrawardy, who naturally ended up reprimanding his disciple. But that was the beginning. There are reasons to think that Mujib seriously began to entertain thoughts of Bengali independence by 1961, a pivotal year considering the celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore's birth centenary. Persecuted by the Ayub regime, he nevertheless did not fail to extend his full support to the organizers of the celebrations. It was a watershed year for Bengalis, for the simple reason that they were beginning to assert their secular nationalism within the confines of a communal Pakistan state.
And then, of course, came the Six Points, the defining moment for the Bengali nation. Nothing could be more expressive of Bengali sentiments than that well-articulated statement in defence of Bengali rights. It was a movement that was to bring the whole malevolent weight of the state of Pakistan on Mujib and his people. The future Bangabandhu was undaunted, which resolute state led of course to the institution of the notorious Agartala Conspiracy Case in early 1968. That too failed in time and was to lead to the ultimate triumph --- an absolute electoral victory for the Awami League at the December 1970 elections.
The epic tale of the War of Liberation will remain for all time a fitting tribute to the sagacity and courage of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the heady days of March 1971, as he provided leadership to a rising movement for independence, he proved unfailing in providing the necessary guidelines to his people as they challenged the authority of the Pakistan military junta. It was these guidelines, this strong leadership which served as the foundation of the War of Liberation conducted so ably by Bangabandhu's lieutenants over the course of the nine months between March and December 1971.
And then Bangabandhu came back, in January 1972, to rebuild a nation that had freed itself on the basis of his ideals. In the three and a half years that were left of his life, it was a monumental job he did --- rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed during the war, tackling the issue of the genocide that had left 3,000,000 Bengalis dead and handling the question of the 200,000 Bengali women raped by the soldiers of the Pakistan army. In the diplomatic arena, Bangladesh earned, through the sheer personality of the Father of the Nation, its rightful place in the comity of nations. The country of course lurched from crisis to crisis --- food, the activities of leftist underground forces and the remnants of Pakistani loyalists. And yet, given the contingencies of the times, Bangabandhu and his government did rather well for themselves.
And then came 15 August 1975. The lights went out. Darkness descended on the country. Dreams lay strewn on the ground as nightmares took over. Murder most foul became a gruesome reality and would go on being so for a long, long time.

15 August 1975