Hiren Pandit
Our Dream of independence might have been shattered without the leadership of Four leaders
Death could not Detract from their Ideals and Integrity
Our Dream of independence might have been shattered without the leadership of Four leaders
November 3, the day of the jail killing, is a witness to the extreme cruelty and cruelty of humanity.On August 15, 1975, a group of army members assassinated the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family. Four of his close associates, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansur Ali and AHM Kamruzzaman, were later sent to jail.November three of the same year once again, a group of army members broke into the Dhaka Central Jail and brutally killed four national leaders. Since then, the killings in the custody of the state have been celebrated as ‘Jail Killing Day’ in Bangladesh. The plan was to take action in the event of a counter-coup. A five-member assassination team was also formed for the purpose. For a long time, no trial has been held for this brutal murder in Bangladesh. The then rulers shamelessly avoided the issue.However, 23 years after the killings, the Awami League government came to power and launched the case, and on October 15, 1998 charges were filed against 23 people. On October 20, 2004, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court sentenced three of the accused to death and 12 to life imprisonment.
On the night of March 25, 1971, the Pakistani aggressors started wreaking havoc and massacres all over the country. After that Bangabandhu was arrested and taken away from his residence in Dhanmondi. Shortly before his arrest, on the night of March 25, that is, in the early hours of March 26, Bangabandhu declared independence through a small EPR transmitter. The Pakistani military dictatorship thought that the movement would stop after the arrest of Bangabandhu. But no, the believers and allies of Bangabandhu’s ideology came forward to take the helm in that crisis of the nation. Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain M. Mansur Ali, and AHM Qamaruzzaman took charge of the great liberation war.
During the nine-month war of liberation, Bangabandhu was a prisoner in a Pakistan jail. But the warring nations were not without leadership. The four great leaders who successfully filled the void left by Bangabandhu’s absence at that time were Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansur Ali, and AHM Qamaruzzaman. They have taken part in every movement of Bangabandhu shoulder to shoulder with Bangabandhu. They were lifelong companions of Bangabandhu.
The first government of independent sovereign Bangladesh was formed on 17 April at Ambagan in Baidyanathtala, Meherpur subdivision of Kushtia, through a swearing-in ceremony. The expatriate government was formed with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Vice President, Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister, Mansur Ali as Home Minister, AHM Kamaruzzaman as Finance Minister, M Mansoor Ali as Home Minister. Colonel MAG Osmani was appointed Commander-in-Chief. The Declaration of Independence of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh constituted on 10 April was also read out at the swearing-in ceremony. The name of Baidyanathtala was changed to Mujibnagar.If these four leaders had not held the reins firmly then our dream of independence might have been shattered.
On 16 December 1971, the Pak army surrendered. But just two days before that, on December 14, an extremely tragic event took place. Which was a heartbreaking and irreparable loss for the people of this country. Intellectual assassination. It was a blueprint for a vicious plot by the vindictive Pakistanis. The incident was carried out by the Pakistani army with the help of their local subordinate forces.
After his release from prison in Pakistan and arrival in Bangladesh Bangabandhu concentrated on nation-building. The task was not easy. It took a long time to rebuild the infrastructure of a newly independent country, to revive the shattered economy. Before the Pakistanis left, they destroyed many important structures, roads, and bridges. Attempt. During the war of liberation, everyone jumped into the war with great enthusiasm, but there was not much interest in building the country. It seemed as if everyone thought that winning the war would solve all the problems on their own. The young society seemed to be a bit confused. Could not set any specific goal. In between was the negative fuel of an invisible force. Thefts and robberies increased suddenly. Extreme chaos was going on. Bangabandhu had to deal with thousands of such problems.
Bangabandhu took some groundbreaking decisions to bring the newly independent country back to a stable state. His first and foremost goal was to ensure the economic emancipation of the people of Bangladesh. But before implementing the steps taken to achieve that goal, he was removed through a brutal assassination, so that this newly independent country called Bangladesh could never reach a stable state again. The conspirators were desperately trying to make the country back again.
When it comes to discussing the November 3 killings, August 15 inevitably comes up. President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his brother-in-law Water Resources Minister Abdur Rob Serniabat, and one of his nephews, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni, were killed in a military coup on August 15. Understandably, the target of the coup was a family.
The four top leaders of the Awami League were arrested on August 23. Eight days after August 15. No activity was seen for eight days after August 15. At that time there was a government in power under the leadership of Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed, whose cabinet all members were from the Awami League. Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansur Ali, and AHM Qamaruzzaman national four leaders have long been involved in Awami League politics; They led the expatriate government during the war of liberation. The path of an independent Bangladesh state and government started with their hands.
There are many glorious chapters in the history of Bengal. One such chapter is 1971. That is a unique chapter in the thousand-year history of Bengalis. In that year, Bengalis achieved independence as their best asset. Again, some days are considered black days in the history of independent Bangladesh. August 15 and November 3, 1975, were the most brutal days. August 15 Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 3rd November 1975, four senior leaders of the then Awami League – Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali, and AHM Qamaruzzaman were killed in central Dhaka jail. These four leaders were the most important in the party after the founding President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Why were these four leaders killed in jail about two and a half months after the assassination of Sheikh Mujib? After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leadership of the Awami League lost its way. Many, including four senior leaders, were in jail and many were in hiding. The rest of the leaders, openly or secretly, negotiated with the new president, Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed. Many became inactive in politics again.
The army officers who assassinated Sheikh Mujib were then managing President Khandaker Mushtaq. The idea that Khandaker Mushtaq would not stay there for long was also born among the senior officers inside the cantonment. Then again there was a conflict of power among the senior officers as well.In the eyes of observers, the Jail (prison) killings were linked to a series of counter-military coups led by Major General Khaled Musharraf on November 3. Because the army officers who assassinated Mujib thought that the coupled by Khaled Musharraf was in favor of the Awami League or Bakshal. Neither the ruling Mushtaq nor his supporters want another opposition to restoring power. If such a government had existed, the four in jail would have been potential leaders. This possibility could lead to jail (prison) killings. Since the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the assassinating army officers have feared another coup. There was a kind of chaos in the army. There was a conflict of power among senior army officers. Major General Ziaur Rahman on one side and Major General Khaled Mosharraf on the other.
Khondaker Mushtaq was very clever. He was wasting time. He was accompanied by two senior officials – his Security Adviser General (retd) MAG Osmani and Chief of Defense Staff Major General Khalilur Rahman. In their presence, a compromise is reached. The planners of the August 15 coup left the country safely on the night of November 3. The masterminds of the two coups were longtime friends, comrades-in-arms, and neighbors. No one wanted a ‘civil war’.
Khondaker Mushtaq Ahmad resigned on 5 November. In the absence of the President and the Vice-President, the Speaker is supposed to be the President. That is what the constitution says. The Khaled-Shafayats did not call the Speaker but made the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem the President and caused two incidents with him. One. The National Assembly was dissolved. Two. Justice Sayem became the Chief Martial Law Administrator. The chiefs of the three forces were made deputy chief martial law administrators. After Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, for the first time in Bangladesh, the post of Administrator of Martial Law was created. Although martial law was imposed after August 15,
There was a marked anti-independence clique. But another insidious group, much more deadly than them, was working as an evil force inside because soon after independence, a group became active in various destructive activities. Some of them also took part in the liberation war. Again, some were fake freedom fighters. From the very beginning, they carried out activities that were completely contrary to the ideology of Bangabandhu or the spirit of the liberation war. They were spreading chaos and anarchy all over the country.An important role in the conspiracy to assassinate Bangabandhu was played by Khandaker Mushtaq. Some misguided military officers, including Khandaker Mushtaq, were behind the killings. Inside, there was a deep conspiracy, an order of an evil power, which has not been made public yet. But the four leaders hatefully rejected their dirty proposal. They were arrested for not agreeing to this hateful proposal.
Bangabandhu’s assassins entered the jail and killed four leaders. The main objective of this cycle was to work against the spirit of the liberation war. After the fall of the Mushtaq government, they thought that if these four leaders were released, they would be able to reorganize the nation in the spirit of the war of liberation. And in that case, they will not be able to carry out their heinous conspiracy to stop the development of the country. These killings were a deep conspiracy to destroy the spirit of the liberation war forever. And it is undeniable that they have been very successful. This is the purpose and success of the ugly, heinous murders like the assassination of Bangabandhu, and the jail killing. That is November 3 a day of extreme shame as a black day for the nation in the court of the world.
Hiren Pandit is a
Researcher and columnist