Hiren Pandit: Bangabandhu was born on 17 March 1920 in an aristocratic Sheikh family at Tungipara in Gopalganj. He was the third of four daughters and two sons of father Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and mother Saira Khatun. The affectionate name given to him by his parents was Khoka. Bangabandhu’s protesting character was seen as a teenager. His protestant attitude against injustice, his love for the poor and his promise to ease their suffering brought him into politics. He got involved in politics from school. Bangabandhu started his education at Gimadanga Primary School in 1926. He was admitted to Gopalganj Public School in 1929 and studied there till 1934. In 1938 he was admitted to the Gopalganj Mission School. In 1941, he took the matriculation examination with a sick body. His father did not stop him from getting involved in politics. According to the unfinished autobiography, his father told him, “Father, I will not object to politics, we are so happy to be fighting for Pakistan, but don’t forget to study. People cannot be without learning”.
Immediately after the matriculation examination, Kishore Mujib went to Kolkata. The major changes in his political life began when he was a student at Islamia College, Kolkata. He became active in the Pakistani movement and came in contact with leaders like Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and Abul Hashim. When the state of Pakistan was formed in 1947, Sheikh Mujib also moved to Dhaka. He formed the Chhatra League in 1948 with new political thinking. In 1949 he was elected joint secretary of the newly formed East Pakistan Awami Muslim League. Sheikh Mujib’s political activities began with his participation in the movement to make Bangla one of the state languages. He became the undisputed leader of the Bangalis through the great language movement of 1947 to 1952, the anti-military movement of 1956, the education movement of 1962 and the historic six-point movement of 1966.
During the mass uprising of 1969, he was given the title of ‘Bangabandhu’ by the students. In the election of 1970, the Bangalis expressed their unwavering support for Bangabandhu’s six-point. However the Pakistani ruling class did not hand over power to the Awami League and started politics of conspiracy against the Bengals. Bangabandhu in his historic speech on 7 March 1971 called for independence. On 26 March Bangabandhu declared independence when the Pakistani forces started a planned genocide. Responding to his call, the people of the country fought for almost nine months and achieved an independent sovereign Bangladesh.
The happiest day for the people of Bangladesh is the birthday of Bangabandhu. He was the only one born in the thousand-year history of the soil. If he had not been born, independent Bangladesh would not have been born. Bangabandhu will live forever among those who believe in Bangladesh, and hold the ideology and spirit of the liberation war.
Bangabandhu has become a leader to Bengalis through his actions, sacrifices, political wisdom, foresight, bravery, honesty, organizational skills, and above all his incomparable love for Bangladesh and Bengalis.
Bangabandhu is the central essence of our pride, our liberation war, and our independence in national life. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangladesh are built on the same formula. We got our beloved Bangladesh for the brave sunshine children of this country who woke up under the brave leadership of Bangabandhu.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is a charismatic leader, under his strong and courageous leadership, Bangladesh attained independence in 1971. As the father of the nation, the founder of the state, and the leader of the great liberation war Bangabandhu held the place of dignity and respect in the soul of the nation.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the charismatic leader of Bangladesh, because of his visionary leadership, he realized at the beginning of March 1971 that war against the Pakistanis was inevitable. Therefore, on March 7, 1971, he instructed the people of Bangladesh to plunge into the war of liberation.
He said, “This time the struggle is for our freedom, this time the struggle is for our independence.” In this speech, the picture of the killing, oppression, and torture of Bengalis towards Bengalis became concrete. In the face of the enemy, he instructed the Bengali nation, ‘Be ready with whatever you have.’ Inspired by this hypnotic speech of the Father of the Nation, the Bengali nation started preparing to start a liberation war with weapons.
The historic inflammatory speech of this earth-shaking thunderbolt of only 19 minutes on March 7 was a thousand years of passion, a thousand years of dreams, a reflection of a thousand years of aspirations, which was a firm promise to liberate Bengalis. Bangabandhu uttered in a radiant voice, ‘When we have given blood, we will give more blood, we will set the people of this country free, Inshaallah.’
It was the historic speech under the leadership and direction of Bangabandhu that inspired the freedom-loving Bengali nation to plunge into the armed struggle of the great liberation war against the occupying Pakistanis and it was through this speech that the future destiny of the Bengalis became clear.
Bangabandhu gave the speech in a very symbolic style. On the one hand, he told the freedom fighters to be ready for a long struggle, on the other hand, he showed the thumbs up to the Pakistani rulers. Bangabandhu was not only a wise politician, he was a world-class diplomat. In his speech on March 7, he expressed everything like a diplomat. He says the last 23 years are a history of deprivation.
He spoke about the language movement, the elections of 1954, the military rule of 1956, the six points of 1966, the mass revolution of 1969, the elections of 1970, and the deprivation of Bengalis in Pakistan at that time. Gave an unwritten speech.
Many people say Bangabandhu was absent in our liberation war. They never judge, the liberation war of Bangladesh was a war of expulsion of foreign aggressors and enemies from the interior of an independent country led by an elected representative. After independence on March 26, 1971, it took us 9 months to drive out those enemies. December 16 is our Victory Day because we were able to drive them out.
The declaration of independence by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the leader of Bangladesh on 26 March is the basis of the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh. The full constitution of Bangladesh was written based on this declaration. So, the 9-month war that took place in Bangladesh in 1971 was a war to liberate our independent country from the occupying forces.
All the people of an independent country who came through elections fought this war. The country called Independent Bangladesh, which was born on March 26, 1971, is clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence on 26 March as the elected leader of the people of Bangladesh after the beginning of the genocide and the imposition of war on Bangladesh.
He ordered everyone to fight against the aggressors. That is what all the people’s representatives accepted as a valid declaration on behalf of the people of Bangladesh through the Declaration of Independence. Bangabandhu formed the government for the declared independent country. Bangabandhu was appointed as the head of that government i.e. the President and Syed Nazrul Islam as the Vice President.
The legitimate government then got all the rights regarding the country to make all the laws and all the revenue related to that declaration. In other words, the independent state which was declared on March 26, started its journey on April 10 with its constitution and legitimate government. There are only two obstacles for the state to move on. One is Several areas inside the state were then occupied by the Pakistani army. The second one is the state needs the formal recognition of another state.
Two things were urgent for this formal recognition. One is who has formed this state must prove that they are not separatists and two is the state being run by elected representatives. When it comes to recognizing another democratic new state for a democratic state, the first thing to look at is whether those who claim to have formed a new state are separatists. If they do not prove to be separatists, then they meet around 60 per cent of the conditions for recognition.
If Bangabandhu had fled in this war to drive out the Pakistani aggressors in Bangladesh or had gone underground and tried to run the war like the communist revolutionaries, the military ruler of Pakistan would have had ample opportunity to prove himself as a separatist. But after his country was occupied, Bangabandhu declared independence from his residence. He called on his people to resist the aggressors and called on the world to recognize the new state.
The task of seeking this declaration and recognition was public and as an elected leader. So, when the Pakistani army arrested Bangabandhu, they arrested the elected head of government of an independent country. Bangabandhu proved that he or his party was not a separatist. In other words, with Bangabandhu being publicly arrested in this way, he alone did 60 percent of the rest of the victory that this country had to achieve after the declaration of independence. In other words, he proved to the world that he and his party are not separatists, they are fighting for the liberation of the aggressors from their land. Just as he won 60 percent of the war by going to jail in Pakistan in 9 months of 1971, he transformed himself like the Agartala case while in jail; his shape is even bigger. The democratic world says the Pakistani military has no right to arrest an elected leader. Although the American president sided with Pakistan, he repeatedly obstructed his Senate in favour of Pakistan.
Everyone also said that only Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has the right to decide about his country. Not the Pakistani military authorities. Therefore, just as Bangabandhu was everywhere in the liberation war with the rifles, mines, and grenades of the freedom fighters through thunder, so the arrested leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman fought almost alone in the international world.
Just as any liberation war and war for independence are through the sacrifices of the people of the country, so the freedom-loving people of the whole world stand as comrades in arms. The captive independent head of state Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave the freedom-loving people of the whole world the right to stand for Bangladesh that day. Prisoner Bangabandhu defeated Yahya Khan in the diplomacy of the people that day.
In other words, by forming the government through constitutional politics, the Pakistani authorities lost to Bangabandhu’s diplomacy in the battle to resist the aggressors by armed means. Bangabandhu became the winner and transformed from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Father of the Nation. Many mistakenly said that Bangabandhu was absent in the war of liberation.
However, without the support of India, Russia, and the support of the world, it would not have been possible to attain independence in 9 months. Moreover, no one can declare the independence of a country if he wants to. You have the authority to declare independence. Whoever declares, must have the support of his country and the international world. People will not support the call for independence. As the leader of the winning party in the 1970 elections, only Bangabandhu had the right to declare independence.
Bangladesh and Bangabandhu complement each other, one cannot be imagined without the other. History has repeatedly proved that ‘Mujib belongs to Bengal and Bengal belongs to Mujib’ or in other words ‘Bangabandhu is Bangladesh and Bangladesh is Bangabandhu.’
Hiren Pandit is a columnist and a researcher