Hasina's Zia Phobia
By A Obaid Chowdhury
In a cabinet meeting on February 15, 2010, the 'mohajote' government led by Awami League decided that anything bearing the name of the late president Ziaur Rahman would be eliminated, be that Zia International Airport or the name Ziaur Rahman in school textbooks. The decision was said to be in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict to void the 5the amendment of the constitution. Earlier, Zia's announcement of independence in March 1971 was nullified by another court order. Yet earlier, Zia's murals and pictures had been destroyed or erased from public places. The people in general did not seem to approve these vindictive partisan behaviors. It was a manifestation of immaturity and politics of hatred, they remarked. One may not be surprised if the Zia Mazaar is destroyed, renamed or reassigned to someone else!
There is an old saying that British Parliament can do anything except making a man a woman and vice versa. Looks like the current mohajote parliament can do even that. If it declares Prime Minister Hasina is a man, the decision will be ram-rolled irrespective of public acceptance. It seems to the parliament, to the government as well as to the judiciary of today, logic or relevance does not matter! If it says Zia did not exist, so be it. If there was no Zia, there should be no Zia Mazaar either. Hasina had already made insinuating remarks to the effect that Zia Mazaar was a fake one; it did not contain Zia's body. Who dares challenge one who has almost 90% ownership of the parliament and who virtually thinks 'I am the law'! However, 70 million voters---majority of whom rejected Awami League in the last elections--will keep counting for their time to come again, nonetheless.
The Zia phobia in Sheikh Hasina and her cohorts can perhaps be explained by a few factors, within and outside.
Zia outdid Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by declaring the independence of Bangladesh on March 27, 1971. Mujib himself never disputed that historic reality, although his grudge against Zia was displayed by appointing Zia's junior K M Safiullah as the army chief. Mujib followers, however, could never digest the fact that an unknown 'Major Zia' stole the show by making that announcement which they thought ought to have come from their supreme leader. Let us revisit our recent past history.
Nobody denies Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's contribution to the independence of Bangladesh. He ascended the position of an undisputed leader in East Pakistan in the late 1960s through his 6-Point program that was primarily crafted for the autonomy of East Pakistan. Never did he say a word about an independent East Pakistan or Bangladesh. Even his famous March 7, 1971 speech fell short of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). That the March 7 speech could not be considered an UDI was borne by the fact that Sheikh Mujib went on to negotiate with the Pakistani military junta from March 15 to 24, 1971 in Dhaka favoring an unified Pakistan. In fact, it was Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani who first hinted of an independent East Pakistan as early as in 1957 and spoke it finally in December 1970.
On March 1, 1971, President Yahya Khan postponed the inaugural session of the new parliament, to be held in Dhaka in two days. The student leaders and a section of Awami League had since been pressurizing Mujib to make the UDI. Mujib refused to do any such thing, not even on March 7, despite generation of much public hype on that day. He finished his 17- minute speech with Joy Bangla and Joy Pakistan, because he still believed in an united Pakistan and wanted to form the next government in Islamabad.
It was, however, strange that being a seasoned politician, Mujib failed to visualize the game plan of the junta that was amassing military power in East Pakistan, ostensibly in preparation for a showdown. A representative from Lt Col M R Chowdhury, Major Ziaur Rahman and others in Chittagong conveyed to him on March 17 about the ominous military built up there and sought immediate advice, further hinting that Bengali elements were ready to strike before they were attacked. As always, Mujib never took military advice seriously and reportedly balked at the representative not to take any preemptive action at a time when he was engaged in 'fruitful' talks with the West Pakistani leaders. A visionary, strategic and timely direction at that crucial time could have saved lives of hundreds of thousand innocent Bengalis.
On March 25, President Yahya quietly left Dhaka, leaving instructions to 'butcher' Lt General Tikka Khan to start Operation Searchlight the same night aimed at 'teaching the Bengalis a lesson' or in other words, annihilating them. Yet on the same day, Mujib retorted at the inquisitive journalists that he was making progress in 'talks' and he had a meeting scheduled with Yahya soon (Please see Ittefaq, Observer, Dawn and many other newspapers of March 26, 27, 1971). Meanwhile, the rumor of Operation Searchlight spread outside the Dhaka cantonment and people started fleeing the city or preparing for resistance. Top political and student leaders were on the run knowing that they would be the immediate targets of the military. Many of them requested Sheikh Mujib to move to a safe location but Mujib did not care. According to a source, a few student leaders led by A S M Abdur Rob went to Mujib around 10 pm with a written declaration of independence. Sheikh Mujib was coerced to sign it. Rob can explain if it was a fact and what happened to that declaration, if any.
There were reports that Mujib talked with the US ambassador Joseph Farland in Islamabad that night. Shortly after midnight on March 25, Sheikh Mujib was taken into custody from his residence and flown to West Pakistan. His family was allowed to stay at his residence under Pakistan military protection and with a fat allowance. Young Sheikh Hasina seemed to have been enjoying the life pretty well then; she conceived Joy during that period.
It is thus not clear when and how did Sheikh Mujibur Rahman make the declaration of independence, other than what we heard of the Rob-version.
Even in the absence of any political direction, the patriotic Bengali elements of the army, Bangladesh Rifles, Police and Ansars gave gallant fights against the Pakistani murderers. Students, teachers, bureaucrats and others also organized their own fights. In such a chaotic and disjointed activities of resistance to the Pak army's wholesale genocide, came an announcement from Chittagong Radio Station on March 27, 1971 declaring Bangladesh an independent country and asking the people to fight the occupation forces. It was Major Ziaur Rahman of 8 East Bengal Regiment. I understand the first announcement was made in his own name, later it was changed in the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. That was the first such announcement people heard and the message spread from mouth to mouth like wild fire, locally and internationally. Even if there was a declaration from Sheikh Mujib, nobody knew of it. Was it an offence on the part of Zia to make that announcement at that critical juncture to give a direction to the people, and more particularly to the fighting forces of Bangladesh? Perhaps, it was 'an unpardonable offence' in the eyes of the Awami League and its sycophants, thus Zia should be punished for his 'audacity'. Ironically, the Supreme Court had to come to the rescue of the Awami League on this controversial issue!
It was President Ziaur Rahman who allowed Sheikh Hasina to return to Bangladesh in 1980 from her self-exile. Well tutored by her mentors during asylum in India, the first thing she worked on was to get rid of Zia, because Zia always reminded her of her father's failures and he was too assertive to the liking of India (Please see "Amar Phansi Chai" by Matiur Rahman Rentu, onetime Hasina's aide). Indeed the fall of Zia came soon; he was killed on May 30, 1981. According to reports, Hasina was caught near Kasba while trying to flee to India at that time. In death, Zia became much larger than life; people understood what the man he was and what a leader Bangladeshis lost!
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the most loved person in Bangladesh on January 10, 1972 when he came to independent Bangladesh after release from Pakistani custody. By the time he died on August 15, 1975, few shed tears, no Innalillah heard. To contrast, hardly anybody knew Major Ziaur Rahman before March 27, 1971, but some 3 million people gathered at his Janaza in 1981 in Dhaka.
Zia was no angel, he might have flaws and perhaps made mistakes, but his mistakes of 6 years, if any, fade before the blunders Mujib committed in 3 and half years' from 1972 to 1975.
Thus, Zia fear in the Awami circle is understandable. However, can it erase Zia from history? In addition, what pains me to note in my limited legal comprehension that the citadel of our judiciary seems to have become part of this partisan political game.
A Obaid Chowdhury
New York, USA
February 16, 2010
E Mail:alaldulal@aol.com
http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=305937
There is an old saying that British Parliament can do anything except making a man a woman and vice versa. Looks like the current mohajote parliament can do even that. If it declares Prime Minister Hasina is a man, the decision will be ram-rolled irrespective of public acceptance. It seems to the parliament, to the government as well as to the judiciary of today, logic or relevance does not matter! If it says Zia did not exist, so be it. If there was no Zia, there should be no Zia Mazaar either. Hasina had already made insinuating remarks to the effect that Zia Mazaar was a fake one; it did not contain Zia's body. Who dares challenge one who has almost 90% ownership of the parliament and who virtually thinks 'I am the law'! However, 70 million voters---majority of whom rejected Awami League in the last elections--will keep counting for their time to come again, nonetheless.
The Zia phobia in Sheikh Hasina and her cohorts can perhaps be explained by a few factors, within and outside.
Zia outdid Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by declaring the independence of Bangladesh on March 27, 1971. Mujib himself never disputed that historic reality, although his grudge against Zia was displayed by appointing Zia's junior K M Safiullah as the army chief. Mujib followers, however, could never digest the fact that an unknown 'Major Zia' stole the show by making that announcement which they thought ought to have come from their supreme leader. Let us revisit our recent past history.
Nobody denies Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's contribution to the independence of Bangladesh. He ascended the position of an undisputed leader in East Pakistan in the late 1960s through his 6-Point program that was primarily crafted for the autonomy of East Pakistan. Never did he say a word about an independent East Pakistan or Bangladesh. Even his famous March 7, 1971 speech fell short of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). That the March 7 speech could not be considered an UDI was borne by the fact that Sheikh Mujib went on to negotiate with the Pakistani military junta from March 15 to 24, 1971 in Dhaka favoring an unified Pakistan. In fact, it was Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani who first hinted of an independent East Pakistan as early as in 1957 and spoke it finally in December 1970.
On March 1, 1971, President Yahya Khan postponed the inaugural session of the new parliament, to be held in Dhaka in two days. The student leaders and a section of Awami League had since been pressurizing Mujib to make the UDI. Mujib refused to do any such thing, not even on March 7, despite generation of much public hype on that day. He finished his 17- minute speech with Joy Bangla and Joy Pakistan, because he still believed in an united Pakistan and wanted to form the next government in Islamabad.
It was, however, strange that being a seasoned politician, Mujib failed to visualize the game plan of the junta that was amassing military power in East Pakistan, ostensibly in preparation for a showdown. A representative from Lt Col M R Chowdhury, Major Ziaur Rahman and others in Chittagong conveyed to him on March 17 about the ominous military built up there and sought immediate advice, further hinting that Bengali elements were ready to strike before they were attacked. As always, Mujib never took military advice seriously and reportedly balked at the representative not to take any preemptive action at a time when he was engaged in 'fruitful' talks with the West Pakistani leaders. A visionary, strategic and timely direction at that crucial time could have saved lives of hundreds of thousand innocent Bengalis.
On March 25, President Yahya quietly left Dhaka, leaving instructions to 'butcher' Lt General Tikka Khan to start Operation Searchlight the same night aimed at 'teaching the Bengalis a lesson' or in other words, annihilating them. Yet on the same day, Mujib retorted at the inquisitive journalists that he was making progress in 'talks' and he had a meeting scheduled with Yahya soon (Please see Ittefaq, Observer, Dawn and many other newspapers of March 26, 27, 1971). Meanwhile, the rumor of Operation Searchlight spread outside the Dhaka cantonment and people started fleeing the city or preparing for resistance. Top political and student leaders were on the run knowing that they would be the immediate targets of the military. Many of them requested Sheikh Mujib to move to a safe location but Mujib did not care. According to a source, a few student leaders led by A S M Abdur Rob went to Mujib around 10 pm with a written declaration of independence. Sheikh Mujib was coerced to sign it. Rob can explain if it was a fact and what happened to that declaration, if any.
There were reports that Mujib talked with the US ambassador Joseph Farland in Islamabad that night. Shortly after midnight on March 25, Sheikh Mujib was taken into custody from his residence and flown to West Pakistan. His family was allowed to stay at his residence under Pakistan military protection and with a fat allowance. Young Sheikh Hasina seemed to have been enjoying the life pretty well then; she conceived Joy during that period.
It is thus not clear when and how did Sheikh Mujibur Rahman make the declaration of independence, other than what we heard of the Rob-version.
Even in the absence of any political direction, the patriotic Bengali elements of the army, Bangladesh Rifles, Police and Ansars gave gallant fights against the Pakistani murderers. Students, teachers, bureaucrats and others also organized their own fights. In such a chaotic and disjointed activities of resistance to the Pak army's wholesale genocide, came an announcement from Chittagong Radio Station on March 27, 1971 declaring Bangladesh an independent country and asking the people to fight the occupation forces. It was Major Ziaur Rahman of 8 East Bengal Regiment. I understand the first announcement was made in his own name, later it was changed in the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. That was the first such announcement people heard and the message spread from mouth to mouth like wild fire, locally and internationally. Even if there was a declaration from Sheikh Mujib, nobody knew of it. Was it an offence on the part of Zia to make that announcement at that critical juncture to give a direction to the people, and more particularly to the fighting forces of Bangladesh? Perhaps, it was 'an unpardonable offence' in the eyes of the Awami League and its sycophants, thus Zia should be punished for his 'audacity'. Ironically, the Supreme Court had to come to the rescue of the Awami League on this controversial issue!
It was President Ziaur Rahman who allowed Sheikh Hasina to return to Bangladesh in 1980 from her self-exile. Well tutored by her mentors during asylum in India, the first thing she worked on was to get rid of Zia, because Zia always reminded her of her father's failures and he was too assertive to the liking of India (Please see "Amar Phansi Chai" by Matiur Rahman Rentu, onetime Hasina's aide). Indeed the fall of Zia came soon; he was killed on May 30, 1981. According to reports, Hasina was caught near Kasba while trying to flee to India at that time. In death, Zia became much larger than life; people understood what the man he was and what a leader Bangladeshis lost!
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the most loved person in Bangladesh on January 10, 1972 when he came to independent Bangladesh after release from Pakistani custody. By the time he died on August 15, 1975, few shed tears, no Innalillah heard. To contrast, hardly anybody knew Major Ziaur Rahman before March 27, 1971, but some 3 million people gathered at his Janaza in 1981 in Dhaka.
Zia was no angel, he might have flaws and perhaps made mistakes, but his mistakes of 6 years, if any, fade before the blunders Mujib committed in 3 and half years' from 1972 to 1975.
Thus, Zia fear in the Awami circle is understandable. However, can it erase Zia from history? In addition, what pains me to note in my limited legal comprehension that the citadel of our judiciary seems to have become part of this partisan political game.
A Obaid Chowdhury
New York, USA
February 16, 2010
E Mail:alaldulal@aol.com
http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=305937
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