[ALOCHONA] Compilation: Our heroes, our pride, our four national leaders

Compilation: Our heroes, our pride, our four national leaders

 

Our heroes, our four national leaders-Syed Nazrul Islam, Acting President, Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister, M Mansur Ali, Finance Minister and AHM Qamruzzaman, Minister for Home affairs, relief and rehabilitation were killed inside Dhaka Central Jail by a section of misguided soldiers inspired by defeated evil forces of darkness and  on this day November 3 of 1975.

 

Dear readers, my humble request to every single reader to rise above partisanship and all trivial differences and read the compilation below. Read to learn about our national leaders who lead the countries liberation to its final victory and made supreme sacrifice to uphold their belief but not giving up their honor.

 

Even if you do not share the same ideological path, share their value of remaining truthful what they believe in and not giving up their dignity when they faced the ultimate, the death.

 

On this day, I pay my homage and salute my fallen heroes of liberation and center of my inspiration along with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the father of the nation. I pray to my almighty creator and seek his divine blessing and forgiveness for all of our national leaders and millions of our loved ones who sacrificed their life for our country to be free and remain free.

 

I found some video link, which is remarkable imaging collection of facts about our national leader Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister of our first provisional government during our glorious independence war. I wish I can collect video presentation about other national leaders who died on fateful night of November 3^rd of 1975.

 

Sincerely yours

Shamim Chowdhury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAJUDDIN AHMED : AN UNSUNG HERO [PART 01]

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpzTCoUvkok

 

TAJUDDIN AHMED : AN UNSUNG HERO [PART 02]

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbblQuf1ODk

 

TAJUDDIN AHMED : AN UNSUNG HERO [part 03]

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3aKLLqjqOI

 

 

 

Syed Nazrul Islam (1925 â€" 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he served as the acting President of Bangladesh in the absence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

 

Early life

Syed Nazrul Islam was born in 1925 at Jamodal Dampara in the Kishoreganj District of the province of Bengal. He obtained degrees in history and law from the University of Dhaka and was an active student political leader in the Muslim League. Syed captained his college's cricket and hockey teams and participated in the Pakistan movement. He entered the civil service of Pakistan in 1949 but resigned in 1951 to work as a professor of history at the Anandmohan College in Mymensingh, where he also practised law.

 

 

Political career

Syed Nazrul's political career began when he joined the Awami Muslim League and participated in the Language Movement in 1952, for which he was arrested by Pakistani police. He would rise to various provincial and central party leadership positions, becoming a close confidante of the party's leader Sheikh Mujib. He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1970, where he served briefly as deputy leader of the majority. Following the arrest of Mujib on March 25, 1971 by Pakistani forces, Syed escaped to Mujibnagar with other party leaders and proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh. Mujib was elected president of Bangladesh but Syed would serve as acting president, with Tajuddin Ahmed as prime minister. Syed played a key role in leading the nationalist cause, coordinating the Mukti Bahini guerrilla force and winning support from India and other nations.

 

After the independence of Bangladesh, Syed was appointed minister of industries, the deputy leader in parliament and a member of the constitution committee. When Mujib banned other political parties and assumed sweeping powers as president in 1975, Syed was appointed vice president and became a chief organiser of the BAKSAL party and Mujib loyalist groups.

 

 

Death

Following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975 Syed fled underground with other Mujib loyalists such as Tajuddin Ahmed, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and Muhammad Mansur Ali, but was ultimately arrested by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad. The four leaders were imprisoned in the Dhaka Central Jail and assassinated on November 3 under controversial and mysterious circumstances. This day is commemorated every year in Bangladesh by the Awami League as Jail Killing Day.

 

 

***************************************************************************

 

Tajuddin Ahmad (1925 - November 3, 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was one of the most prominent leaders of the Awami League. A statesman of a lofty magnitude he successfully headed the government at Mujibnagar during the Bangladesh Liberation War.He was instrumental in forming the first government of Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh on April 10, 1971.

 

Early life

Tajuddin Ahmad was born in 1925 in the village of Dardaria in the Gazipur District of the province of Bengal (now in Bangladesh).He studied the Holy Quran and memorized it with the guidance from his father Moulavi Muhammad Yasin Khan. He passed his matriculation exam in first division while earning a twelfth position in merit list nationwide in 1944.He earned an impressive fourth position in high school exam in 1948 and obtained a bachelor of arts degree with honors in Economics from Dhaka University in 1953. He would also later obtain a law degree. As a student activist, Ahmad became active in the Muslim League and the Pakistan movement. He would later organise the student wing of the Awami Muslim League in 1949, joining Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

 

 

Political career

Tajuddin Ahmad was an active organiser of protests and other activities during the Language Movement of 1952. He was arrested by police and imprisoned for several months. After his release, he was elected to the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly in 1954 but was arrested following the dismissal of the A. K. Fazlul Huq-led government. He would be arrested again following the imposition of martial law by Ayub Khan in 1958 after taking power in a military coup. Ahmed worked actively in the pro-democracy campaign led by the Awami League and other political parties in Pakistan. He organised protests against the arrest of Mujib in 1966 on charges of sedition. He participated at the round table conference in Rawalpindi convened by Ayub Khan to resolve the crisis between the government and the opposition parties. Following the restoration of democracy, he was elected member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1970.

 

Following the arrest of Mujib on March 25, 1971 by the Pakistan Army, and as the genocide of the helpless civilians began in the hands of the pakistan military,Ahmad organised a government-in-exile popularly known as the Mujibnagar government to win his nation freedom. Ahmad named the capital Mujibnagar,after Shaikh Mujibur Rahman.The oath taking ceremony of the first government of Bangladesh took place on the soil of Bangladesh ,in Meherpur,Kushtia on April 17,1971. As the first Prime Minister he led efforts to organise a guerrilla insurgency comprised of Bengali civilians and armed forces and win international support. During this period, Ahmad encounterd vehement intra party strifes led by khandokar Mushataq Ahmad who conspired to harm the national struggle for independence through a failed attempt to form a confederacy with pakistan. Among Ahmad's great diplomatic achievements were to win international support and recognition of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation by the government of India. After the independence of Bangladesh, Tajuddin Ahmad returned to Dhaka on 22 December 1971. In the subsequent cabinet formed under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ahmad was given charge of the ministries of finance and planning. He was also appointed member of the committee in charge of writing the Constitution of Bangladesh.

 

 

Assassination

When Mujib assumed the title of president and banned other political parties in 1975, Ahmad opposed the forming of one party system known as BAKSAL. When Mujib was assassinated in by a group of army officers on 15 August 1975 Ahmad was house arreseted on the very same day.Later on August 22, he was arrested with other political leaders by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed and imprisoned at the Dhaka Central Jail. On November 3, in what became infamously known as the "Jail killings," Ahmad along with Syed Nazrul Islam, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and Muhammad Mansur Ali were killed by a group of army officers, by the direct instruction of Khondakar Mushtaq Ahmed. The recent release(March 25 2007) of a widely acclaimed documentary,Tajuddin Ahmad: An Unsung Hero(directed by Tanvir Mokammel)reflects a growing interest in the life anfd works of Tajuddin Ahmad.

 

 

***************************************************************************

Muhammad Mansur Ali (b. 1919 - d. 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidante of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of the Awami League, Mansur also served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1975.

 

Early life

Muhammad Mansur Ali was born in the village of Kuripara, in the Kazipur Thana of Sirajganj District in the province of Bengal (now in Bangladesh). Mansur pursued his education in Kolkata (then Calcutta), graduating from the Islamia College (now Maulana Azad College). He would pursue a M.A. degree in economics and law from the Aligarh Muslim University, the premier Islamic institution in India. During this period Mansur became an active member of the Muslim League, which under Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded a separate Muslim state of Pakistan. A student leader, Mansur worked actively for the League throughout Bengal. He served as the vice-president of the Pabna District Muslim League from 1946 to 1950. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Mansur settled in what became East Pakistan. He would join the Pakistan Army, receive training at the cantonment at Jessore and attain the rank of army captain. Deciding to practise law, he enrolled in the Pabna District Court in 1951. test

 

Political career

Rising to public prominence, Mansur was widely known as "Capt. Mansur." He left the Muslim League to join the newly-formed Awami Muslim League of A. K. Fazlul Huq and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. He would soon be elected member of the party's central executive committee and president of its Pabna District unit. Mansur was arrested by police in 1952 for helping to organise protests against the declaration of Urdu as the sole official language, in what became known as the Language Movement. Mansur and his party demanded that Bengali also receive recognition and the provinces be granted autonomy. After his release, Mansur was elected a member of the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly in 1954 as a candidate of the United Front alliance of various political parties. In the cabinet headed by Ataur Rahman Khan, Mansur served in different periods as the province's minister of law, parliamentary affairs, food, agriculture, commerce and industry. Mansur was re-arrested in the aftermath of the coup d'etat led by Ayub Khan, who became President of Pakistan and imposed martial law. He would remain incarcerated from 1958 to 1959.

 

 

Political Career

Mansur Ali played an important role in the Six point movement led by the Awami League politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who demanded substantial regional autonomy and opposed the military regime. Mansur was a key party organiser in the period when Mujib was arrested by the army. In the 1970 elections, he was elected a senior member of the legislative assembly. At the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Mansur went underground to organise a government in exile. Declaring the independence of Bangladesh, Mansur became the minister of finance in the Mujibnagar government. In this period, Mansur helped organise the guerrilla movement led by the Mukti Bahini and provide political leadership in the absence of Mujib, who had been arrested by Pakistani forces.

 

After the independence of Bangladesh, Mujib became the prime minister and appointed Mansur as the minister of communications and later home affairs. Mansur became a key political ally of Mujib and rose in importance as criticism and opposition to Mujib's regime increased. After the introduction of a one-party, presidential system in 1975, Mujib became the President of Bangladesh and assumed sweeping powers. Mansur was appointed the prime minister. He helped Mujib organise the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League, the only legalised political party in the nation and served as its secretary-general. Mansur helped Mujib suppress political opposition, implement large-scale programmes under state socialism and organise a militia of political loyalists known as the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini, which was held responsible for the arrests, torturing and deaths of Mujib's opponents.

 

 

Death

On August 15, 1975 Mujib was assassinated along with his family by a group of military officers. It is believed that the plot was masterminded by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, a disgruntled member of Mujib's regime who would become president. Mansur went into hiding immediately after the killing. When Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad invited Mujib loyalists such as Mansur Ali, Syed Nazrul Islam, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and Tajuddin Ahmad to join his government, the trio refused. They were arrested by the army on August 23, 1975. Refusing to support Khondaker's regime, they were murdered while incarcerated in the Dhaka Central Jail on November 3. At the time, Bangladesh was in political chaos as Khondaker's regime was overthrown by Mujib loyalist Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, who in turn was overthrown by Colonel Abu Taher on November 7. Under the Indemnity Act issued by President Ziaur Rahman in 1978, the assassins were given immunity from prosecution. The murder case was finally opened in 1996 by the government of Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the daughter of Mujib. Three fugitive former army per­sonnel were sentenced to death and 12 former army personnel were awarded life term imprison­ment and five persons including four senior politicians were ac­quitted in the judgement of much talked about jail killing case.

 

 

**************************************************************************

Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman (1926 - November 3, 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician, senior government minister and a leading member of the Awami League. A loyalist of Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Qamaruzzaman was murdered along with Syed Nazrul Islam, Muhammad Mansur Ali and Tajuddin Ahmed in the infamous "jail killings" in Dhaka Central Jail on November 3, 1975.

 

 

Early life

Qamaruzzaman was born in 1926 in the city of Rajshahi in the province of Bengal (now in Bangladesh). He obtained degrees in economics from the University of Calcutta in 1946, and a law degree from the Rajshahi University in 1956. He began practising law after his induction in the Rajshahi District bar association. As a student, Qamaruzzaman became active in the Muslim League and worked for the Pakistan movement.

 

 

 Political career

Qamaruzzaman joined the Awami League of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1956. He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1962, 1965 and again in 1970. He rose to national party leadership posts in the late 1960s, becoming a close ally of Mujib. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Qamaruzzaman served as the minister of relief and rehabilitation in the provisional government of Bangladesh formed at Mujibnagar. After the creation of Bangladesh, he won election to the national parliament from Rajshahi in 1973. A minister in Mujib's cabinet, he resigned on January 18, 1974 to serve as president of the Awami League. In 1975, Qamaruzzaman was appointed minister of industries and a member of the executive committee of BAKSAL. He continued to support Mujib despite his assumption of dictatorial powers and a ban on all political parties except BAKSAL.

 

 

Death

After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975 Qamaruzzaman went underground with other Mujib loyalists. He was arrested by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and imprisoned in the Dhaka Central Jail with Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam and Mansur Ali. These four senior Awami League politicians were killed under mysterious and controversial circumstances on November 3, even as a military coup led by Mujib loyalist general Khaled Mosharraf overthrew Khondaker Mostaq's regime.

 

***************************************************************************

Courtesy of Wikipedia

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com __._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] Compilation: Our heroes, our pride, our four national leaders

Compilation: Our heroes, our pride, our four national leaders

 

Our heroes, our four national leaders-Syed Nazrul Islam, Acting President, Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister, M Mansur Ali, Finance Minister and AHM Qamruzzaman, Minister for Home affairs, relief and rehabilitation were killed inside Dhaka Central Jail by a section of misguided soldiers inspired by defeated evil forces of darkness and  on this day November 3 of 1975.

 

Dear readers, my humble request to every single reader to rise above partisanship and all trivial differences and read the compilation below. Read to learn about our national leaders who lead the countries liberation to its final victory and made supreme sacrifice to uphold their belief but not giving up their honor.

 

Even if you do not share the same ideological path, share their value of remaining truthful what they believe in and not giving up their dignity when they faced the ultimate, the death.

 

On this day, I pay my homage and salute my fallen heroes of liberation and center of my inspiration along with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the father of the nation. I pray to my almighty creator and seek his divine blessing and forgiveness for all of our national leaders and millions of our loved ones who sacrificed their life for our country to be free and remain free.

 

I found some video link, which is remarkable imaging collection of facts about our national leader Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister of our first provisional government during our glorious independence war. I wish I can collect video presentation about other national leaders who died on fateful night of November 3^rd of 1975.

 

Sincerely yours

Shamim Chowdhury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAJUDDIN AHMED : AN UNSUNG HERO [PART 01]

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpzTCoUvkok

 

TAJUDDIN AHMED : AN UNSUNG HERO [PART 02]

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbblQuf1ODk

 

TAJUDDIN AHMED : AN UNSUNG HERO [part 03]

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3aKLLqjqOI

 

 

 

Syed Nazrul Islam (1925 â€" 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he served as the acting President of Bangladesh in the absence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

 

Early life

Syed Nazrul Islam was born in 1925 at Jamodal Dampara in the Kishoreganj District of the province of Bengal. He obtained degrees in history and law from the University of Dhaka and was an active student political leader in the Muslim League. Syed captained his college's cricket and hockey teams and participated in the Pakistan movement. He entered the civil service of Pakistan in 1949 but resigned in 1951 to work as a professor of history at the Anandmohan College in Mymensingh, where he also practised law.

 

 

Political career

Syed Nazrul's political career began when he joined the Awami Muslim League and participated in the Language Movement in 1952, for which he was arrested by Pakistani police. He would rise to various provincial and central party leadership positions, becoming a close confidante of the party's leader Sheikh Mujib. He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1970, where he served briefly as deputy leader of the majority. Following the arrest of Mujib on March 25, 1971 by Pakistani forces, Syed escaped to Mujibnagar with other party leaders and proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh. Mujib was elected president of Bangladesh but Syed would serve as acting president, with Tajuddin Ahmed as prime minister. Syed played a key role in leading the nationalist cause, coordinating the Mukti Bahini guerrilla force and winning support from India and other nations.

 

After the independence of Bangladesh, Syed was appointed minister of industries, the deputy leader in parliament and a member of the constitution committee. When Mujib banned other political parties and assumed sweeping powers as president in 1975, Syed was appointed vice president and became a chief organiser of the BAKSAL party and Mujib loyalist groups.

 

 

Death

Following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975 Syed fled underground with other Mujib loyalists such as Tajuddin Ahmed, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and Muhammad Mansur Ali, but was ultimately arrested by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad. The four leaders were imprisoned in the Dhaka Central Jail and assassinated on November 3 under controversial and mysterious circumstances. This day is commemorated every year in Bangladesh by the Awami League as Jail Killing Day.

 

 

***************************************************************************

 

Tajuddin Ahmad (1925 - November 3, 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was one of the most prominent leaders of the Awami League. A statesman of a lofty magnitude he successfully headed the government at Mujibnagar during the Bangladesh Liberation War.He was instrumental in forming the first government of Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh on April 10, 1971.

 

Early life

Tajuddin Ahmad was born in 1925 in the village of Dardaria in the Gazipur District of the province of Bengal (now in Bangladesh).He studied the Holy Quran and memorized it with the guidance from his father Moulavi Muhammad Yasin Khan. He passed his matriculation exam in first division while earning a twelfth position in merit list nationwide in 1944.He earned an impressive fourth position in high school exam in 1948 and obtained a bachelor of arts degree with honors in Economics from Dhaka University in 1953. He would also later obtain a law degree. As a student activist, Ahmad became active in the Muslim League and the Pakistan movement. He would later organise the student wing of the Awami Muslim League in 1949, joining Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

 

 

Political career

Tajuddin Ahmad was an active organiser of protests and other activities during the Language Movement of 1952. He was arrested by police and imprisoned for several months. After his release, he was elected to the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly in 1954 but was arrested following the dismissal of the A. K. Fazlul Huq-led government. He would be arrested again following the imposition of martial law by Ayub Khan in 1958 after taking power in a military coup. Ahmed worked actively in the pro-democracy campaign led by the Awami League and other political parties in Pakistan. He organised protests against the arrest of Mujib in 1966 on charges of sedition. He participated at the round table conference in Rawalpindi convened by Ayub Khan to resolve the crisis between the government and the opposition parties. Following the restoration of democracy, he was elected member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1970.

 

Following the arrest of Mujib on March 25, 1971 by the Pakistan Army, and as the genocide of the helpless civilians began in the hands of the pakistan military,Ahmad organised a government-in-exile popularly known as the Mujibnagar government to win his nation freedom. Ahmad named the capital Mujibnagar,after Shaikh Mujibur Rahman.The oath taking ceremony of the first government of Bangladesh took place on the soil of Bangladesh ,in Meherpur,Kushtia on April 17,1971. As the first Prime Minister he led efforts to organise a guerrilla insurgency comprised of Bengali civilians and armed forces and win international support. During this period, Ahmad encounterd vehement intra party strifes led by khandokar Mushataq Ahmad who conspired to harm the national struggle for independence through a failed attempt to form a confederacy with pakistan. Among Ahmad's great diplomatic achievements were to win international support and recognition of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation by the government of India. After the independence of Bangladesh, Tajuddin Ahmad returned to Dhaka on 22 December 1971. In the subsequent cabinet formed under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ahmad was given charge of the ministries of finance and planning. He was also appointed member of the committee in charge of writing the Constitution of Bangladesh.

 

 

Assassination

When Mujib assumed the title of president and banned other political parties in 1975, Ahmad opposed the forming of one party system known as BAKSAL. When Mujib was assassinated in by a group of army officers on 15 August 1975 Ahmad was house arreseted on the very same day.Later on August 22, he was arrested with other political leaders by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed and imprisoned at the Dhaka Central Jail. On November 3, in what became infamously known as the "Jail killings," Ahmad along with Syed Nazrul Islam, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and Muhammad Mansur Ali were killed by a group of army officers, by the direct instruction of Khondakar Mushtaq Ahmed. The recent release(March 25 2007) of a widely acclaimed documentary,Tajuddin Ahmad: An Unsung Hero(directed by Tanvir Mokammel)reflects a growing interest in the life anfd works of Tajuddin Ahmad.

 

 

***************************************************************************

Muhammad Mansur Ali (b. 1919 - d. 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidante of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of the Awami League, Mansur also served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1975.

 

Early life

Muhammad Mansur Ali was born in the village of Kuripara, in the Kazipur Thana of Sirajganj District in the province of Bengal (now in Bangladesh). Mansur pursued his education in Kolkata (then Calcutta), graduating from the Islamia College (now Maulana Azad College). He would pursue a M.A. degree in economics and law from the Aligarh Muslim University, the premier Islamic institution in India. During this period Mansur became an active member of the Muslim League, which under Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded a separate Muslim state of Pakistan. A student leader, Mansur worked actively for the League throughout Bengal. He served as the vice-president of the Pabna District Muslim League from 1946 to 1950. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Mansur settled in what became East Pakistan. He would join the Pakistan Army, receive training at the cantonment at Jessore and attain the rank of army captain. Deciding to practise law, he enrolled in the Pabna District Court in 1951. test

 

Political career

Rising to public prominence, Mansur was widely known as "Capt. Mansur." He left the Muslim League to join the newly-formed Awami Muslim League of A. K. Fazlul Huq and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. He would soon be elected member of the party's central executive committee and president of its Pabna District unit. Mansur was arrested by police in 1952 for helping to organise protests against the declaration of Urdu as the sole official language, in what became known as the Language Movement. Mansur and his party demanded that Bengali also receive recognition and the provinces be granted autonomy. After his release, Mansur was elected a member of the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly in 1954 as a candidate of the United Front alliance of various political parties. In the cabinet headed by Ataur Rahman Khan, Mansur served in different periods as the province's minister of law, parliamentary affairs, food, agriculture, commerce and industry. Mansur was re-arrested in the aftermath of the coup d'etat led by Ayub Khan, who became President of Pakistan and imposed martial law. He would remain incarcerated from 1958 to 1959.

 

 

Political Career

Mansur Ali played an important role in the Six point movement led by the Awami League politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who demanded substantial regional autonomy and opposed the military regime. Mansur was a key party organiser in the period when Mujib was arrested by the army. In the 1970 elections, he was elected a senior member of the legislative assembly. At the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Mansur went underground to organise a government in exile. Declaring the independence of Bangladesh, Mansur became the minister of finance in the Mujibnagar government. In this period, Mansur helped organise the guerrilla movement led by the Mukti Bahini and provide political leadership in the absence of Mujib, who had been arrested by Pakistani forces.

 

After the independence of Bangladesh, Mujib became the prime minister and appointed Mansur as the minister of communications and later home affairs. Mansur became a key political ally of Mujib and rose in importance as criticism and opposition to Mujib's regime increased. After the introduction of a one-party, presidential system in 1975, Mujib became the President of Bangladesh and assumed sweeping powers. Mansur was appointed the prime minister. He helped Mujib organise the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League, the only legalised political party in the nation and served as its secretary-general. Mansur helped Mujib suppress political opposition, implement large-scale programmes under state socialism and organise a militia of political loyalists known as the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini, which was held responsible for the arrests, torturing and deaths of Mujib's opponents.

 

 

Death

On August 15, 1975 Mujib was assassinated along with his family by a group of military officers. It is believed that the plot was masterminded by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, a disgruntled member of Mujib's regime who would become president. Mansur went into hiding immediately after the killing. When Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad invited Mujib loyalists such as Mansur Ali, Syed Nazrul Islam, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and Tajuddin Ahmad to join his government, the trio refused. They were arrested by the army on August 23, 1975. Refusing to support Khondaker's regime, they were murdered while incarcerated in the Dhaka Central Jail on November 3. At the time, Bangladesh was in political chaos as Khondaker's regime was overthrown by Mujib loyalist Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, who in turn was overthrown by Colonel Abu Taher on November 7. Under the Indemnity Act issued by President Ziaur Rahman in 1978, the assassins were given immunity from prosecution. The murder case was finally opened in 1996 by the government of Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the daughter of Mujib. Three fugitive former army per­sonnel were sentenced to death and 12 former army personnel were awarded life term imprison­ment and five persons including four senior politicians were ac­quitted in the judgement of much talked about jail killing case.

 

 

**************************************************************************

Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman (1926 - November 3, 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician, senior government minister and a leading member of the Awami League. A loyalist of Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Qamaruzzaman was murdered along with Syed Nazrul Islam, Muhammad Mansur Ali and Tajuddin Ahmed in the infamous "jail killings" in Dhaka Central Jail on November 3, 1975.

 

 

Early life

Qamaruzzaman was born in 1926 in the city of Rajshahi in the province of Bengal (now in Bangladesh). He obtained degrees in economics from the University of Calcutta in 1946, and a law degree from the Rajshahi University in 1956. He began practising law after his induction in the Rajshahi District bar association. As a student, Qamaruzzaman became active in the Muslim League and worked for the Pakistan movement.

 

 

 Political career

Qamaruzzaman joined the Awami League of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1956. He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1962, 1965 and again in 1970. He rose to national party leadership posts in the late 1960s, becoming a close ally of Mujib. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Qamaruzzaman served as the minister of relief and rehabilitation in the provisional government of Bangladesh formed at Mujibnagar. After the creation of Bangladesh, he won election to the national parliament from Rajshahi in 1973. A minister in Mujib's cabinet, he resigned on January 18, 1974 to serve as president of the Awami League. In 1975, Qamaruzzaman was appointed minister of industries and a member of the executive committee of BAKSAL. He continued to support Mujib despite his assumption of dictatorial powers and a ban on all political parties except BAKSAL.

 

 

Death

After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975 Qamaruzzaman went underground with other Mujib loyalists. He was arrested by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and imprisoned in the Dhaka Central Jail with Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam and Mansur Ali. These four senior Awami League politicians were killed under mysterious and controversial circumstances on November 3, even as a military coup led by Mujib loyalist general Khaled Mosharraf overthrew Khondaker Mostaq's regime.

 

***************************************************************************

Courtesy of Wikipedia

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com __._,_.___

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] War Criminals of 1971: Time to Take Action

SAN-Feature Service

SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE

November 3,2007

 

War Criminals of 1971: Time to Take Action

 

Dr. Abdul Momen  

 

The International CrimeAct of 1973 of Bangladesh is still active and Article 47, Section 3 of the Act allows trial of war criminals. Therefore, the military-backed government

of Fakhruddin Ahmed that has started many essential reforms can try the war

criminals and punish them provided it has the mindset and commitment.

 

SAN-Feature Service : It is highly misleading that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government pardoned all the war criminals and he did nothing during his 'war ravaged  reconstruction period'. The facts show otherwise.

 

In fact, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government started prosecuting the perpetrators of 'crime against humanity' or 'war criminals' immediately after independence  and he also passed the Collaborators Act (1972) and the International Crime Act of 1973 that barred re-entry of any collaborators to Bangladesh.

 

Sheikh Mujib promulgated the Special Tribunal Order on January 24, 1972 (PO

No 8 of 1972) after 14 days of his return from Pakistani jail to try those

Pakistani collaborators, Razakars, Al-Badrs and other stooges of the

Pakistani army. Under this order he arrested 37,000 collaborators amidst of

strong opposition by left-leaning journalists like Enayetullah Khan [see his

write-up titled '75 million Collaborators', the Holiday, 1972]. Out of them,

26,000 had no grievious criminal charges filed against them; therefore they

were pardoned and released in a general amnesty.

 

However, nearly 800 cases were completed and given jail sentences. Another 11,000 were in jail including Nizami and Abbas Ali Khan of the Jamat-e-Islam Party (JI), and

their prosecution was at various stages of completion. In addition, those

that were involved in 'crime against humanity' and against Bangladesh, were

denied Bangladesh nationality and passports.

 

On November 4, 1972 all religion-based politics were abolished as per

sections 12 and 38 of the Bangladesh Constitution of 1972.

 

Unfortunately, when General Ziaur Rahman, a freedom fighter  emerged as a

'strong man' in 1975, he abrogated the Collaborators Act and released all

the prisoners including those that were sentenced, and those under

prosecution. For political and personal reasons he allowed religion-based

parties to operate and started reinstating and rehabilitating them. No

wonder, those who were guilty of 'crime against humanity' and collaboration

with enemy (Pakistan) state started returning from abroad especially

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and they were given Bangladesh citizenship and

passport. The worst example if this was Golam Azam of the JI Party.

 

On those days I was working for the Bangladesh government and many

individuals and their relatives that had no Bangladesh passport approached

us for consideration. However, once General Zia took over, all of them were

issued Bangladesh passport or 'travel documents' to return to Bangladesh.

 

It is sad that few vested quarters including Abdul Mannan Bhuiya, the ousted

BNP Secretary General  are misleading the public and the nation by stating that Sheikh Mujib pardoned  them or shifting the responsibility by asking why they were not prosecuted before.

 

The fact is, Sheikh Mujib started the prosecution and he pardoned only those

that did not have criminal cases against them. He did not pardon those

(Razakers, Al-badr or Al-Shams) that had 'criminal cases' and those that

committed 'crime against humanity or war criminals' such as rape, murder,

and the like. Thousands of these criminals were in prison during his time

awaiting trail, and many were absconding abroad including Golam Azam, the

leader of the JI party where they were involved in anti-state activities

abroad. He did not get time to complete the prosecution because he was

murdered with most of his family.

 

After the massacre of Sheikh Mujib and his family plus his close associates;

Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, Acting President Syed Nazrul Islam, Secretary

General AHM Qamruzzaman and Home Minister Monsur Ali, the founders of

independent and sovereign Bangladesh in 1975, one after another

civil-military-technocratic or cantonment-based governments ruled the

country. In 1996, when pro-people and pro-liberation government of Sheikh

Hasina came to power after 21 years with marginal votes; it neither could

reinstate the Collaborators Act nor could revive the original constitution

of 1972. Secondly, it followed 'judicial process and rule of law' and

therefore, it did not set up any 'kangaroo court or special tribunal' to

prosecute the criminals. One can debate that as a weakness of the Hasina

government or not.

 

Therefore, it failed to punish the war criminals and the culprits. But that

does not justify that the criminals of 'crime against humanity' or war

criminals should not face justice. It would be unfair if they are allowed to

go free or untouched. Fortunately, now is an opportune moment to revive the

clause that 'no religion-based political party can register or contest in

Bangladesh election' and those found guilty of 'crime against humanity' to

be fully prosecuted. Unless the criminals and murderers are fully

prosecuted, you can neither establish 'rule of law' nor can stop political

killing in Bangladesh.

 

Secondly, Islami activist S. A. Hannan, a retired bureaucrat following the

JI party line of argument tried to mislead the public by stating that there

was 'no genocide' in East Pakistan in 1971.

 

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic,

religious or national group. While precise definition varies among genocide

scholars, the legal definition of it is found in the 1948 United Nations

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

(CPPCG). Article 2 of the CPPCG defines genocide as:

 

Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in

part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing

members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of

the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life,

calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and]

forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

 

In 1971 the Pakistan occupation army plus their collaborators like the

Jamat-e-Islam, the Islami Chatra Sangho (currently renamed Islami Chatra

Shibir) and their militant killing squads--the Al-Badr and the Al-Shams

tried their utmost to apprehend and kill those that demand an 'independent

Bangladesh'. Since majority of Bengali speaking East Pakistanis (Sheikh

Mujib got 167 out of 169 seats in East Pakistan) or ethnic group favored an

independent Bangladesh, they waged a war with intent to destroy that ethnic

group. The Pak army systematically opened fire on unarmed masses of Bengali

ethnic group on the midnight of March 25th, 1971 indiscriminately resulting

which, as per various reports 19,000 to 25,000 Bengali ethnic people died on

that dark night alone and over a period of 10 months, 3 million reportedly

killed, 30 million were dislodged from their homes and 10 million had to

take refuge in neighboring India due to cleansing operation, fear and

repression. In global rankings, the 1971 Bangladesh genocide is second only

to that of Nazi genocide of Jews.

 

In order to cripple the whole 'Bangali nationalism and nationhood' the Pak

army in collaboration with the Jamat-e-Islam and few other such parties and

their affiliates systematically and calculatedly murder the Bengali

intellectuals, writers, doctors, journalists, educators and their political

leadership. In addition, in order to cleanse the society of Hindu

population, the Pak army and its collaborators calculatedly killed and/or

uprooted them. No wonder, over 10 million East Pakistanis (out of 75

million) mostly Hindu minority took shelter in the neighboring India. When

army captured me on April 20, 1971, they tested me whether I could recite

'kolema' (the 1st pillar of Muslim faith) and then they checked whether I

had my circumcision, a symbol of being Muslim in the subcontinent.

 

Anyone not able to recite the Kolema, or males without circumcisn were

killed because they could not show proof of their religious identity. Such

is a testimony of cleansing of a religious group, a clear evidence of

genocide.

 

But Zia's gutting of the relevant laws missed one. The International Crime

Act of 1973 of Bangladesh is still active and Article 47, Section 3 of the

Act allows trial of war criminals. Therefore, the military-backed government

of Fakhruddin Ahmed that has started many essential reforms can try the war

criminals and punish them provided it has the mindset and commitment.

 

It is time to take action.—SAN-Feature Service

 

[The author, Dr. Abdul Momen, is a former senior civil servant for various governments of Bangladesh and  currently a professor of Economics in  Boston.]

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com __._,_.___

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___