Seventy-Five Change: Bangladesh is the BeneficiaryDr.M.T. Hussain The Law Minister of present Bangladesh Government has said recently that the Law Minister of the past BNP Jote Government had been a beneficiary of August 1975 change of the government in Dhaka. Was that so? Was he alone the beneficiary? None else? Or were there only a few with him? Or the whole nation had been and continues to be the real beneficiary of the historic change? 1. Oppression of pre-August 1975 Government Three and a half decades have passed by since the August 1975 change. A new generation has come up in their full youth as of now. These millions of youthful energy are very little aware of the pre-1975 facts of people's lives, their miseries, fears and oppression let loose on them by the government then in power in Bangladesh. In addition, propaganda galore has constantly been pouring in all ears that the man-god had an unwelcome fall in mid August 1975. In reality, the contrary had been true. (i) The absolute dictator trampled democracy The man-god although had all lofty promises previously for democracy, taking on to the State power in January 1972, soon turned a dictator of the worst kind, first without having declared democracy formally banned but then in January 1975 banned all political parties and kept the only one of his own with a little changed name BAKSAL further strengthening his absolute dictatorial power. (ii) Corruption and looting of State property The party leaders and cadres of all levels at the behest of the man-god stooped too low to grab the public and state properties whenever and wherever they could lay their hands on, as if they had acquired all rights to do so as booty of the victory of the independence war of 1971. All law enforcing agencies, not even the army could do anything to stop looting public properties. Smuggling along the 'friendly' Indian border of nearly 42,00 km had been their exclusive privilege that broke the structure of the economy of the country in quick succession so much so that in about two years of the rule of the man-god's man made famine (Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen) took lives of thousands (27,000 government figure, few hundred thousands unofficial count) in 1974. (iii) Rakkhi Bahini's torture and killing of all political opponents From the very inception of the man-god's rule in early 1972, he did raise a Para military force by new recruits from specially motivated youths under the tutelage of the Indian central intelligence agency, the R&AW, outside the control and framework of the Constitution, as a Gestapo style armed force and in parallel to the regular armed force of the country, who were employed at exclusive will of the man-god to capture, punish and kill all the imaginary political opponents, particularly the youths of the country having political views other than the man-god. The figures killed alone by this Bahini in three and a half years until mid August 1975, according to an estimate, rose to about 40,000. Many of such killings had not only been directly ordered by the leader but also shamelessly boasted for as one for example was of killing on the 2nd January 1975 of brilliant Engineer Seraj Sikder, the chief of the Purba Bangla Sarbahara party, a left leaning political party. The boasting immediately after Sikder's killing went in Bengali verbatim, "KOTHAI AJ SERAJ SIKDER (Where is today Seraj Sikder)' at the floor of the otherwise sacred Parliament! (iv) Private Hoodlums The man-god had other private hoodlums privately armed for capture, torture and killing at will anyone taken to be imaginary foes of political groups other than the man-god's own.. Such hoodlum forces amazingly and unbelievably had in the main even been organized by his eldest son Sheikh Kamal, nephew Moni and a very dear one SP (Dhaka) Mahbub. Their casualties remained unaccounted for as ever. 2. Reliefs and Rejoice on the 15th August 1975 from the Inhuman Oppression The people had a relief and rejoiced the fall of the man-god on the 15th August 1975 are well on record. The joy had reasons, (i) prices of essential commodities shot down to people's purchasing power and relief that went sky high and went on higher and higher following unexpectedly the 1971 independence mainly due to man-god's own men fleecing the economy, on the one hand, and exploitation of the evil opportunities by Indian big economy and interests, on the other, in connivance of the man-god's own henchmen. (ii) The country and the people felt immensely relieved at the end of the absolute dictatorship and revert back to pluralism and multi-party democratic government the people had long struggled for to establish in the past. (iii) The overwhelming majority people were also elated that the change of August 1975 promised for return to the Islamic value system that the post 1971 government went on to eradicate in the excuse for 'secularism' that India had imposed in the 1972 Constitution having had no prior clear mandate of the people of the country. (iv) The people felt further relieved when the unconstitutional and killer Rakkhi Bahini was disbanded and some the selected few absorbed into the regular army and the private hoodlums groups naturally disappeared from the social scene immediately after the 15th August change. 3. The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution adopted in April 1979, had just formalized the aspirations of the people of the 15th August 1975 change. The country runs since then on until this time in 2009 what the heroic change right then initiated. 4. That Bangladesh did not go back to the lone party BAKSAL of the pre 15th August nightmare over the last 35 years and certainly do not wish to go back to those dark days are solid proofs that the whole country and not any individual is the big beneficiary of that historic and heroic change. |
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