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Sunday, November 10, 2013

[mukto-mona] Bangladesh: Tracking down the killers by David Bergman, 8 November



Bangladesh: Tracking down the killers

by David Bergman8 November

New Age (Bangladesh) 8 November 2013

FORTY-TWO years ago, on the cusp of Bangladesh winning independence following a nine-month war, gangs of men drove round Dhaka picking up journalists, physicians and academics from their homes.

At least some, if not all, of the 17 men and one woman were taken to a sports centre in Mohammadpur on the western side of the city, where they were detained, and some of them tortured. All of them were killed.

Some bodies were found in a mass grave in Rayer Bazar — but most were never recovered.

All eighteen of those picked up in the four days between the 10th and 14th of December 1971 had one thing in common. They supported Bangladesh's independence and had either spoken out in favour of it or otherwise assisted those fighting to make it a reality.

A few days after these abductions, whilst the rest of the new nation of Bangladesh celebrated its independence after the surrender of the Pakistan military, the families of these men and women could only grieve.

In 1994, 23 years after the end of the war — and 19 years ago today — I came to Bangladesh to investigate whether or not a man called Chowdhury Mueen Uddin was involved in these abductions.

Gita Sahgal, a good friend, had been researching the possibility of making a documentary on the attacks on Taslima Nasreen and on non-governmental organisations in Bangladesh, and its relationship with growing fundamentalism in the United Kingdom. She asked me to read through her research proposal and in it there was a line about a man who was the vice-chairman of East London mosque having been involved in war crimes during the 1971 war. I was intrigued.

She told me that the information had come from a book — and another friend, a teacher in the East End of London, gave it to me: Genocide 71: an account of the killers and collaborators published in 1987. Shahriar Kabir was one of the editors.

The book comprises summaries of press reports published during and immediately after the war, and provides an account of how some of those who were alleged to have committed crimes in the 1971 had managed to escape proper investigation and processes of accountability, with many resuming successful political careers.

In it was the name of Mueen Uddin, a man who had come to England in 1972, become a British citizen, and subsequently an influential person within the Bangladeshi and wider 'Muslim' community as it is known in the UK.

The book alleged that Mueen Uddin was the operation-in-charge of the abduction of the intellectuals. It claimed he was a leader of Al-Badr, a militia set up by the political party Jamaat-e-Islami, which had collaborated with the Pakistan military.

Based on this book, Gita and I then worked on a proposal for a documentary for broadcast on the Uk television station, Channel 4. Working with a team of Bangladesh journalists, we spent many months in Dhaka and Feni talking to people who knew Mueen Uddin during the war, interviewing the families of those whose relatives were abducted, and trying to find eyewitnesses.

Slowly, we were able to piece together a picture of what had taken place.
In 1971 Mueen Uddin was a young journalist, working for the Dainik Purbodesh newspaper - so we first tried to meet journalists who used to work there.

Our first breakthrough came when we were given the name of the then Purbodesh journalist Atiqur Rahman. He told us that he first came to realise that Mueen Uddin was closely linked to Jamaat and the Pakistan army when he became the first Bangladesh journalist to write about the formation of Al-Badr.

Atiqur's initial concerns about Uddin were confirmed by two subsequent incidents.

A few weeks before the war, Mueen Uddin enquired about the number of Atiqur's house in Arambagh in Dhaka. Feeling momentarily uncertain about giving Uddin the correct details of where he lived, Atiqur gave an inaccurate number 7, instead of 111, and the wrong name of the house, Paglavilla.

When the war ended, he was shown a list of names of journalists found in the Fakirapur office of Al-Badr, and on it was written his own name, with the false address he had given Mueen Uddin.

The second, and even more significant, incident was when Atiqur Rahman, sitting in the press club sometime in January 1972, received a call from a freedom fighter who told him to come quickly to a particular address. There he found a man called Khaleq Majumdar, whom Atiqur knew as the office secretary of the Dhaka city Jamaat-e-Islami office, tied down to a table.

Majumdar pleaded with Atiqur that he was not involved in Al-Badr but claimed that Mueen Uddin was the operation-in-charge of Al Badr in Dhaka city. Atiqur questioned him on this, and got Majumder to sign a hand written statement.

Based on this conversation, Atiqur Rahman wrote and distributed a press release, which was published in many newspapers, about Mueen Uddin's alleged role in the Al-Badr and the killings of the intellecutals, a report that was picked up by the New York Times.

Along with these reports, a picture of Mueen Uddin was published. And this turned out to be very significant.

One of the next journalists that we met was Ataus Samad, who subsequently became the BBC correspondent in Dhaka but during the war worked for the West Pakistan based newspaper The Sun.

In December 1971 he had closed up his home, and had moved to a relative's house, and thus had no idea that a gang of men came looking for him.

A few days after the war, one of his tenants, Mushtaqur Rahman, saw Ataus Samad on the veranda of his house and came running to him with a copy of a newspaper.

Samad told us that Mushtaq explained to him that a few days before the war ended, some men had come round to his house, found the gates locked and then come to the door of Mushtaq's house. The face of one of the Bengali men was visible, but at the time Mushtaq had no idea who this person was. However, Mushtaq said the picture of Mueen Uddin in the newspaper was the same as that of the man who had come round to the house.

It was not easy to locate Mushtaq, but when we did, he confirmed the story.
And when we found another of Samad's tenants, Mahmudur Rahman, he also said that he had, immediately after the war, recognized Mueen Uddin from the published picture.

Another person who opened up an important line of inquiry for us was Professor Anissuzzaman, now emeritus professor at Dhaka University, from where seven of the men were abducted.

One of his teachers was Moffazel Haider Chowdhury who was taken from his house on December 14, 1971.

Sometime in the middle of the following month, Anissuzzaman went round to Chowdury's family house. There he met Chowdhury's brother, Lutful Haider Chowdhury, who told him Mofazzel had recognized Chowhdury Mueen Uddin, a student of his, as one of the men who came to abduct him.

Lutful had died by 1995 when we were making the film, but their sister Dolly was also present at the time of the abduction. And when we met, she said she had recognised that a student of her brother was present at the time of the abduction and later came to know that it was Mueen Uddin.

All of this — and more — became the film The War Crimes File, which was broadcast in the UK in 1996 and won the Royal Television Society special commendation award.

Chowdhury Mueen Uddin has always denied the allegations against him.
The evidence collected in the course of the research — much of it subsequently set out in affidavit form — was put together and sent to the New Scotland Yard's War Crimes Unit, which had been set up to investigate war crimes, and was primarily concerned then with allegations that former Nazis during the Second World War, were living in the UK.

The New Scotland Yard responded to the evidence we sent by stating that, in its view, 'primary jurisdiction' for the prosecution of these offences lay with Bangladesh, and sent the material to the Bangladesh High Commission. It never said, as claimed by Mueen Uddin in a recent interview with Al Jazeera, that there was insufficient evidence to initiate investigations.

The file slowly found its way, through the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, onto the desk of Abdul Hannan Khan, a senior police officer appointed under the newly installed Awami League government in 1996.
A first information report was lodged by one of the relatives, and Hannan then initiated his own investigation.

So now, fast forward, another 17 years, and Mueen Uddin's case came up before the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh — with Hannan now its chief investigator.

The prosecution had not sought Mueen Uddin's extradition. Possibly this was because it knew that this would delay any trial in Bangladesh. Or it may have been the government's understanding that it would be difficult or impossible for the UK courts to extradite him as the prosecution in Dhaka would seek the death penalty.

As a result, the trial was held in absentia. This, in my view, was a great pity, as the prosecution case was not able to be been properly tested, and Mueen Uddin was not able to put forward his own defence.

I have always thought that evidence against Mueen Uddin, collected in the making of the film, was compelling. But I also knew that journalistic endeavours are in themselves not sufficient proof of a person's guilt, and an appropriate judicial process was essential.

The moment of conviction was hugely significant for the families of the 18 intellectuals who were abducted and killed.

Immediately after the trial, I met Anirban Mostafa. He is the son of Golam Mostafa, one of the journalists abducted. In the early morning of December 11, Anirban, then a baby, was being walked in his father's arms to get him to go to sleep.

A group of men came and asked Mostafa, 'Are you ANM Golam Mostafa?' He said, 'Yes.' Then they said, 'Please leave the baby for a while and come with us. We have to go to the office for a while.'

That was the last time Anirban saw his father.

I had last met Anirban almost two decades earlier in 1995 when he was a young student and we were interviewing his uncle Dulu Rahman.

It was an emotional moment when we met again in the tribunal. I asked him how he felt now with the conviction of Mueen Uddin. He said that, since his father's death, 'Bangladesh had become his father' and he always had faith in his country.

It was quite a moment.

Whatever questions there may be about this trial process, it is important for people to recognise and understand that it does at least meet the need for justice felt by the families of those abducted and murdered forty two years ago.

David Bergman is editor, Special Reports for New Age.

P.S.

The above article from New Age is reproduced here for educational and non commercial use

http://www.sacw.net/article6146.html

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin

Related:

বুদ্ধিজীবী হত্যাকারী মুঈনকে দেশে আসার সুযোগ করে দেয়ায় 

জিয়া-এরশাদকে আদালতের ধিক্কার


http://bangla.bdnews24.com/bangladesh/article694249.bdnews


বুদ্ধিজীবী হত্যাকারী মুঈন ও আশরাফের ফাঁসির আদেশ

কুন্তল রায় ও মোছাব্বের হোসেন | আপডেট: ১৩:৩৯, নভেম্বর ০৩, ২০১৩

মুঈনুদ্দীন ও আশরাফুজ্জামান খানএকাত্তরে মুক্তিযুদ্ধকালে ঘর থেকে তুলে নিয়ে জাতির শ্রেষ্ঠ সন্তানখ্যাত ১৮ জন বুদ্ধিজীবীকে হত্যার দায়ে মানবতাবিরোধী অপরাধের মামলায় পলাতক আলবদর নেতা মুঈনুদ্দীন ও আশরাফুজ্জামান খানের ফাঁসির আদেশ হয়েছে। ..................

http://www.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/article/64474/মুঈনুদ্দীন_ও_আশরাফুজ্জামানের_ফাঁসির_আদেশ

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শহীদ বুদ্ধিজীবী দিবস

শহীদ শিক্ষাবিদ (বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ছাড়া) ও আইনজীবীদের জেলাওয়ারী তালিকা

জেলা ও বিভাগ শিক্ষাবিদআইনজীবী
প্রাথমিকমাধ্যমিক কলেজ
ঢাকা৩৭ ১০
ফরিদপুর২৭১২
টাঙ্গাইল ২০
ময়মনসিংহ৪৬ ২৮
ঢাকা বিভাগ১৩০ ৫৫১৭ ১০
চট্টগ্রাম৩৯ ১৬
পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম
সিলেট১৯
কুমিল্লা৪৫৩৩
নোয়াখালী ২৬১৩
চট্টগ্রাম বিভাগ১৩৮ ৭৩১৩ ১০
খুলনা৪৮ ১৫
যশোর৫৫ ৩১
বরিশাল৫০২১
পটুয়াখালী
কুষ্টিয়া২৮ ১৩
খুলনা বিভাগ১৮৪ ৮১১৫
রাজশাহী৩৯
রংপুর৪১ ২২
দিনাজপুর৫০১০
বগুড়া ১৪১২
পাবনা৪৩
রাজশাহী বিভাগ১৮৭ ৬১১৪ ১৫
বাংলাদেশ ৬৩৯২৭০ ৫৯৪১
শহীদ শিক্ষাবিদের (বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ছাড়া) মোট সংখ্যা = ৯৬৮
শহীদ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের শিক্ষক সংখ্যা = ২১
শহীদ শিক্ষাবিদের মোট সংখ্যা = ৯৮৯

বুদ্ধিজীবী হত্যা; ২৫ মার্চ থেকে ১৪ ডিসেম্বর, ১৯৭১ - ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়

http://www.somewhereinblog.net/blog/onujibblog/28882040



Previous: 
আলবদর ১৯৭১  - ১        
রবিবার, ২৬ আগষ্ট ২০১২, ১১ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯ 
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - 
সোমবার, ২৭ আগষ্ট ২০১২, ১২ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - 
মঙ্গলবার, ২৮ আগষ্ট ২০১২, ১৩ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - ৪
বুধবার, ২৯ আগষ্ট ২০১২, ১৪ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - ৫ 
বৃহস্পতিবার, ৩০ আগষ্ট ২০১২, ১৫ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ -    
শুক্রবার, ৩১ আগষ্ট ২০১২, ১৬ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১  - 
শনিবার, ১ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ১৭ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
  আলবদর ১৯৭১ 

http://www.dailyjanakantha.com/news_view.php?nc=16&dd=2012-09-02&ni=107855 
রবিবার, ২ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ১৮ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - ৯

সোমবার, ৩ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ১৯ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - ১০

মঙ্গলবার, ৪ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ২০ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - ১১
বুধবার, ৫ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ২১ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ -১২
শুক্রবার, ৭ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ২৩ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ -১৩ : আলবদর ১৯৭১ ॥ বুদ্ধিজীবী হত্যা ... ..
শনিবার, ৮ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ২৪ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ -১৪



রবিবার, ৯ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ২৫ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - ১৫ 


সোমবার, ১০ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ২৬ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯
আলবদর ১৯৭১ - ১৬ (শেষাংশ)
মঙ্গলবার, ১১ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১২, ২৭ ভাদ্র ১৪১৯

Related:
বুদ্ধিজীবী হত্যা; ২৫ মার্চ থেকে ১৪ ডিসেম্বর, ১৯৭১ - ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
http://www.somewhereinblog.net/blog/onujibblog/28882040




মহিলা মুক্তি গ্রুপ


৭১-এর যুদ্ধাপরাধ ও জামায়াতে ইসলামী

২৮ শে জানুয়ারি, ২০১১ সকাল ৯:৪৬

৭১ জামায়াতে ইসলামীর বর্বরতার আরেকটি নৃশংস উদ্যোগ হচ্ছে হিটলারের গেস্টাপো বাহিনীর কায়দায় আলবদর, আলশামস বাহিনী গঠন, বুদ্ধিজীবী হত্যার নীল নকশা প্রণয়ন এবং জামায়াতের ঘাতকদের দ্বারা সুপরিকল্পিতভাবে বিশিষ্ট বুদ্ধিজীবী ও পেশাজীবীদের হত্যা
যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচারএকাত্তরে তাঁরা কে কোন দলে ছিলেন, কী করেছেন

http://dailykalerkantho.com/?view=details&type=single&pub_no=124&cat_id=1&menu_id=13&news_type_id=1&index=4

একাত্তরে গোলাম আযমের বিবৃতি

http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/news/215745

থেমে থাকেনি গোলাম আযমের চক্রান্ত:
"... বাংলাদেশ রাষ্ট্র উচ্ছেদ করে আবারও পাকিস্তানের সঙ্গে একীভূত করতে গঠন করেন 'পূর্ব পাকিস্তান পুনরুদ্ধার কমিটি'। জামায়াতে ইসলামীর এ সাবেক আমির ২০০২ সালে প্রকাশিত তার নিজ জীবনী 'জীবনে যা দেখলাম' বইয়েও তা অকপটে স্বীকার করেছেন । ......."
"...১৯৭২ সালের জানুয়ারি গোলাম আযম যুক্তরাজ্যের লন্ডনে গঠন করেন 'পূর্ব পাকিস্তান পুনরুদ্ধার কমিটি'। ..."

রাজাকার-আলবদর বাহিনী গড়ার হোতা গোলাম আযম:

১৯৭২ সালে গোলাম আযম লন্ডনে 'পূর্ব পাকিস্তান পুনরুদ্ধার কমিটি' গঠন করেন এবং বাংলাদেশ রাষ্ট্র উচ্ছেদ করে আবার এই ভূখন্ডকে পাকিস্তানের অংশে পরিণত করার ষড়যন্ত্র করেন।

থেমে থাকেনি গোলাম আযম:
http://www.news-bangla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8983&Itemid=53
দেশ স্বাধীনের পরও পূর্ব-পাকিস্তান পুনরুদ্ধার কমিটি গঠন করে স্বাধীনতা বিপন্নের ষড়যন্ত্র করেছিল ঘাতক গুরু গো'আযম :
http://www.al-ihsan.net/FullText.aspx?subid=4&textid=2812

মুক্তিযুদ্ধের বিরোধিতা ও গণহত্যার প্রতীক':




আলবদর বাহিনী প্রধানত জামায়াতের কর্মী দ্বারাই গঠিত হয়েছিল
 ইসলামী ছাত্র সংঘ' নাম পাল্টিয়ে 'বাংলাদেশ ইসলামী ছাত্র শিবির' নামে যাত্রা শুরু করে:  
 





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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190




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[mukto-mona] Bonsoir!!



My name is Mrs Simone.E. Gbagbo, I am from Cote d'ivoire , I am a mother of five girls, I am 64 years old, the wife of ex president Laurence Gbagbo who is currently facing charges for a crime he did not commit, they said he committed crime against humanity, but i pray that that the God will set him free because he is innocent, sorry for disturbing you, I came across in contact with you because need your help, please i am planing to relocate to your country due to the kind of problems am passing through here, I and my family are currently residing in Mali but the situation of Mali is not good now, please i would like to know more about your country and also foreign investors? Thank, am looking forward to hear from you soon. Yours sincerely, Mr Simone.E.Gbagbo

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Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration: 
Call For Articles:

http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?p=68

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585

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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190




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[mukto-mona] I am Malala.



পরবর্তী সংবাদ »

পাকিস্তানে প্রাইভেট স্কুলে নিষিদ্ধ 'আই অ্যাম মালালা'

ইত্তেফাক ডেস্ক

পাকিস্তানের বেসরকারি স্কুল-গুলোতে এবার তালেবানের হামলা থেকে বেঁচে যাওয়া মালালা ইউসুফ জাইয়ের লেখা বই 'আই অ্যাম মালালা' নিষিদ্ধ ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে। দেশের ১ লাখ ৫২ হাজার প্রাইভেট স্কুলের প্রতিনিধিত্বকারী অল পাকিস্তান প্রাইভেট স্কুলস ফেডারেশন সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছে, শিক্ষার্থীরা 'আই এম মালালা' বইটি পড়লে তাদের ওপর নেতিবাচক প্রভাব পড়বে। ফেডারেশনের দাবি, এ বইয়ে ইসলামের প্রতি মালালা পুরোপুরি শ্রদ্ধাশীল নয়। তাই স্কুলের পাঠ্যসূচিতে এটি অন্তর্ভুক্ত করা হবে না বা স্কুলের লাইব্রেরিতেও এটি রাখা হবে না।

ফেডারেশনের প্রেসিডেন্ট মীর্জা কাশিফ বলেছেন, ফেডারেশনের পক্ষ থেকে বইটি পর্যালোচনার কথা ভাবা হয়েছিল। এরপর আমরা সেটি পর্যালোচনা করে সিদ্ধান্তে পৌঁছেছি যে, এটা আমাদের শিশু, বিশেষ করে শিক্ষার্থীদের জন্য এটি উপযোগী নয়। তিনি বলেন, পাকিস্তান একটি আদর্শভিত্তিক রাষ্ট্র। এর আদর্শ হচ্ছে ইসলাম। এ বইটিতে অনেক ধরনের বক্তব্য রয়েছে যা আমাদের মূল্যবোধের পরিপন্থি। পাকিস্তানের ২৫ মিলিয়ন শিক্ষার্থী বেসরকারি স্কুলে পড়াশোনা করে। উল্লেখ্য, তালেবানরা হুমকি দিয়ে বলেছিল, যে দোকানে এ বই রাখা হবে সেখানে তারা হামলা চালাবে।



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Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration: 
Call For Articles:

http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?p=68

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585

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

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190




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[mukto-mona] Fwd:



An important document about Sardar Patel on Nehru-click the link at bottom for full text

November 08, 2013

'Only I know how much Nehru toiled for India' | rediff.com

Rediff.com

'Only I know how much Nehru toiled for India'

Last updated on: November 06, 2013 01:53 IST

Suddenly the country has been completely taken over by a storm of discussion over the relationship between India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, largely engineered by some of the major parties in an apparent political move as the crucial general elections draw closer.

Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said last week that "every Indian still regrets that Sardar Patel did not became the first prime minister". The comments that were made in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's presence did not go down well with the ruling Congress, which quickly reacted that Modi was "brazenly trying to usurp Patel's rich legacy for political propaganda", questioning "whether Modi agreed with Patel's view on RSS".

Modi rebutted that "India needed Patel's secularism, not vote-bank secularism" while addressing the gathering at the stone-laying ceremony of the world's tallest statue of Sardar Patel in Kevadiya, Gujarat.

On Tuesday, BJP patriarch L K Advani raked up another controversy when he alleged, quoting a book, that Nehru called Sardar Patel a "total communalist" when the latter suggested that army be sent to take over a defiant Hyderabad State after Independence.

There may certainly have been some differences between the two stalwarts; however, it will be nothing short of trivialisation if we blindly adhere to the theory of single dimensional antagonistic relationship that Patel and Nehru shared, as is being proclaimed by some parties.

It is in this context that we reproduce an appreciation article that Sardar Patel wrote on October 14, 1949, a month before Nehru's 60th birthday for Abhinandan Granth, where he heaped praises on Nehru's merits and also went on to elaborate the deep ties he shared with him.

Excerpts from the article:

"Jawaharlal and I have been fellow-members of the Congress, soldiers in the struggle for freedom, colleagues in the Congress Working Committee, and other bodies of the Congress, devoted followers of the Great Master who has unhappily left us to battle with grave problems without his guidance, and co-sharers in the great and onerous burden of administration of this vast country. Having known each other in such intimate and varied fields of activity we have naturally grown fond of each other; our mutual affection has increased as years have advanced, and its is difficult for people to imagine how much we miss each other when we are apart and unable to take counsel together in order to resolve our problems and difficulties.

…Gifted with an idealism of high order, a devotee of beauty and art in life, and equipped with an infinite capacity to magnetize and inspire others and a personality which would be remarkable in any gathering of world's foremost men, Jawaharlal has gone from strength to strength as a political leader.

...It was, therefore, in the fitness of things that in the twilight preceding the dawn of independence he should have been our leading light, and that when India was faced with crises after crises, following the achievement of our freedom, he should have been the upholder of our faith and the leader of our legions. No one knows better than myself how much he has laboured for his country in the last two years of our difficult existence. I've seen him age quickly during that period, on account of the worries of the high office that he holds and the tremendous responsibilities that he wields.

…As one older in years, it has been my privilege to tender advice to him on the manifold problems with which we have been faced in both administrative and organizational fields. I have always found him willing to seek and ready to take it. Contrary to the impression created by some interested persons and eagerly accepted in credulous circles, we have worked together as lifelong friends and colleagues, adjusting ourselves each other's advice as only those who have confidence in each other can.

…It is obviously impossible to do justice to his great and pre-eminent personality in these few condensed words. The versatility of his character and attainment at once defy delineation. His thoughts have sometime a depth which it is not easy to fathom, but underlying them to all is a transparent sincerity and a robustness of youth which endear him to everyone without distinction of caste and creed, race or religion".

Click HERE to read the full text of Sardar Patel's appreciation article on Jawaharlal Nehru

Image: A 1947 photograph of Jawaharlal Nehru with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Photograph Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Posted by c-info at Friday, November 08, 2013


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Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration: 
Call For Articles:

http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?p=68

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585

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VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190




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