Father of the Nation’ is an honorific bestowed on individuals who are
considered the most important in the process of the establishment of a
country or a nation. They are instrumental in the birth of their nations
by way of liberating them from colonial or other occupation. George
Washington is the father of the United
States, Peter
I
of Russia, Sun Yat-sen of China, Sir Henry Parkes of Australia, Miguel
Hidalgo of Mexico, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, William the Silent of the
Netherlands, Einar Gerhardsm of Norway, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Jomo
Kenyatta of Kenya, Carlos Mannel of Cuba, Mustafa Kemal of Turkey,
Sukarno of Indonesia, Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malaysia, Mahatma Gandhi of
India, Don Stephen Senanayake of Sri Lanka and Mohammad Ali Jinnah of
Pakistan. So is Bangabandhu, the Father of the Bangladesh nation.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (19201975) is the architect of our
country and the nation by all implications of the term. As a matter of
fact, what we now call Bangladesh was never independent in the truest
sense of the term before 1971. It was Mujib and only Mujib who gave the
nation a real touch of freedom. It was quite a trek into the long way of
freedom from all-out oppression through autonomy and home rule in which
he gave the active lead. He was the fearless fighter of the Language
Movement of 1952; the pioneer of the democratic movement of 1962; the
architect of the Six-point Movement of 1966; the life-force of the Mass
Movement of 1969; the enviable victor of the election of 1970 and, above
all, the greatest hero of the Liberation War of 1971. He is
undisputedly the founder of independent Bangladesh and, therefore, the
Father of the Nation.
It is really a matter of regret that we are not well aware of this
greatest national leader. But who is to blame for that? As a matter of
fact, there has been a long chain of conspiracy to make people oblivious
of Bangabandhu. It began with his assassination on the inauspicious
August night of 1975. Ever since then the country fell mostly under the
sway of despotic military rule accompanied by the corrupt politicians,
opportunistic bureaucrats, pseudo-democrats and religious
fundamentalists. They had one thing in common i.e. Bangabandhu-bashing.
They tried to indemnify the killers of Bangabandhu, and rewarded them
with lucrative portfolios. They took sustained efforts to erase the
image of Bangabandhu from the minds of the people by distorting history.
They tried to obliterate the memories of Bangabandhu from the pages of
history, inscriptions of monuments and from whatever holds the
recollections of Mujib.
bangabandhu and gen MAG osmani
The anti-Mujib campaigners are not, however, as powerful as history
itself. History takes its own course, maybe after quite a long time. But
this is inevitable. So, the anti-Mujib campaigners have vainly tried to
change the course of history eventually making a mockery of it. What
they had done at best is that they had fooled some people for sometime
or what they can still do is that they can fool some people for all
time, but they can never fool all people into believing a false story
for all time. People must be endowed with a true sense of history today
or tomorrow.
To look into one’s own history and culture and to go for the quest
for national identity and cultural heritage have become an imperative in
these postcolonial days. Ours is not a poor socio-political and
cultural legacy. We fought valiantly a war of independence under the
leadership of Bangabandhu. We can very well come up with this political
legacy and assert ourselves more. We can uphold the ideals of
Bangabandhu to rebuild our nation.
Mujib is really Bangabandhu, friend of Bangladesh. And hence he could
utter: ‘Standing on the gallows, I will tell them, I am a Bengali,
Bangla is my country, Bangla is my language”. On the black night of
March 25, when it was suggested that he go into hiding, he flatly
refused and retorted: “I must share the sufferings of my people along
with them. I must share. I cannot leave them in the face of fire. I
cannot.” Really he did not flee to safety from the war-torn country.
Rather he willingly became the first prey to the marauding force. Love
for the motherland had prompted him to take such a risk. Afterwards,
over nine long months, day after day and night after night in the dark
cell of the prison camp, he longed for the freedom of his country. The
unbearable suffering of the dungeon could not sap the strength of his
patriotism. On his return home on 10 January 1972, addressing a huge
gathering in Suhrawardy Uddyan, Bangabandhu declared: “Bangladesh has
earned independence. Now if anybody wants to seize it, Mujib would be
the first man to sacrifice his life for the protection of that
independence”. His country was all important to him. He believed it was
his calling to do good to his country, not to look forward to anything
in return. He often used to mention the famous quote by President John
F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can
do for your country”.
Such a big man was Bangabandhu! The undisputed Father of independent
Bangladesh. To be unaware of this is sheer ignorance. To deny this is an
offence against history.
Dr. Rashid Askari writes fiction and teaches English literature at Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh. rashidaskari65@yahoo.com
Bottom of Form
Yes it is Bangbandhu ; our unique one. Where it was dark now there’s
light, Where there was pain now there’s joy and that is cause to Mujib.
Our nation builder, our father of the nations, our father. He will be in
our mind till the earth survives.
Today a nation morns and remembers the ‘Father of the Nation’ – A
great man lost in history? Let us not forget himExcellent article on
Bangabandhu. Let me add the following comments:
The restive Bengali-speaking people of then East Pakistan in early
March of 1971 were ready to resist the Pakistani occupation forces, and
they heard what Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had to say in his
historic speech on the tumultuous seventh day of March in Nineteen
Hundred Seventy One: The struggle of this time is the struggle for our
emancipation. The struggle of this time is the struggle for our
independence.
Indeed, Bangladesh’s struggle for freedom and independence was in the
making for a long time. The emergence of Bangladesh on December 16,
1971 was the culmination of a long struggle of our people for gaining
full independence from the colonial rulers of Pakistan.
The
malicious propaganda against Bangabandhu and the selective distortions
of our political history are at sharp variance with most of the
universally accepted facts. Bangabandhu is not only part and parcel of
our political history but he was also the maker of that glorious and
robust history. No amount of selective amnesia of the bashers of our
true history can erase Bangabandhu’s pivotal contribution toward our
struggle for freedom and independence.
Electronic copy available at:
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1143363 HEROES LIVE FOREVER:
SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN (THE FOUNDER OF BANGLADESH)
“Man is mortal”- the universal truth. I want to say that, not only
man of human being is mortal but also all living being is mortal. Nobody
can live forever but ones goodwill or image is immortal. Society never
forgets some ones activities. Human’s activities are universal. Man can
live in his goodwill or positive image forever. Whose who are remarkable
in the world they have done something for society without any personal
profit.
They are heroes of the nations. There activities are immortal. Human
being will remember the mass people will remember their activities
forever as well as their name. For this reasons we can say that, heroes
live forever.
In the same way, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is one of the
national heroes of Bangladesh. He was a symbol fighter politician at the
whole Pakistan period from 1950s to 1971. He has a major part to become
Bangladesh it self as an independent country. Bangladeshi Nationals
were free from the Pakistani unitary rule. At first let’s know some
thing about this great leader.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman & His activities:
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth on March 17, 1920,in the sleepy village
of Tungipara in the then district of Faridpur did not hit the
headlines, nor did any newspaper bring out special supplements to
celebrate the occasion as an event of national importance until the
liberation of Bangladesh in the declining days of December 1971. Nobody
even his happy parents (Sheikh Lutfur Rahman and Begum Sayera Khatun),
could foresee that with him was born a history that would record the
birth and destiny of a nation & that their son will occupy a
permanent place in the gallery of history makers. He was chosen to serve
a divine design and to play a vital role (and suffer in the process) in
sapping the destiny of 75 million people of what was to emerge as a
free Bangladesh.
Even the sunrise days of his life a sense of involvement began to
grow within. It was as he felt in silent prompting inside him to reach
out to others, to fraternize with the people around him and to live
intimately with them, as one of them in weal and woe, in joy and sorrow.
This feeling was however
undemonstrative as the easy and effortless opening of a bud. It grew slowly unconsciously and insensibly.
Once the villagers were hit by a poor harvest. The consequence crisis
in the kitchen became the main topic of discussion everywhere and
everybody wore a distressed and mournful face. Although totally
unaffected, young Mujib’s sympathetic heart felt a stab of pain at the
distress of the co-villagers. But he knew that being sorry for them
would not fill the empty plates; he had to think of doing something
positive about it and the only remedy that he could think of was to urge
his father to distribute paddy from their own “gola” (store house) to
ease the shortage. His anxiety to provide relief to the needy overlooked
the capacity of the stock and the practicability of the proposition.
Schoolboy Mujib met H.S. Suhrawardy during his visit of Gupalgonj.
Surawardy at once recognized the dynamic qualities of Mujib as a
political worker and the promise of leadership, which made him
distinctly difference from the others of his age group. Politically
speaking, Mujib attended adulthood much before his time. The meting
eventually resulted in the development of an intimate and durable
relationship between them, which lasted till the death of Saruwardy.
Mujib’s real political apprenticeship began from that time and in 1943
when he was a mere Intermediate Arts student is became a member of the
All Indian Muslim League Council. Three years later, while still a
student he established his claim to leadership by successfully
organizing and conducting the 1946 election campaign of the Muslim
League in the then district of Faridpur.
At the end of his academic cum political career in Calcutta (1943 –
47) Mujib came over to Dhaka which became the capital of East Bengal
later rename East Pakistan, then eastern wing of Pakistan which was born
in August 14, 1947, the year of his graduation from Calcutta
University. As desired by his father, he got himself enrolled as a
student of law in the University of Dhaka. But the change of place did
not in any way disturb the continuity of his keen interest in men and
matters out side the academic world. Here also Mujib, the law student,
the political activist, and inset for qualify in the Bar; he became
involved in activities that often found him behind prison bars.
An organizer of extraordinary ability blessed also with the vision of
an architect, the Sheikh buildup the Awami League into a real mass
oriented organization giving the people a political life. Not a
political club of the explosive type decorated with notable names of the
urban gentry, but a party of virtual nondescripts and the anonymous
message living or struggling to live in the neglected rural areas. He
made it an organization of the 98 % of the population, so long unaware
of its awesome majesty, pitted against parties of the 2% wealthy
urbanities monopolizing political and economic power. As he foresaw, the
Awami League gradually became a tremendous political force capable of
shaping the future of the country and emancipating the exploited
Bangladeshis.
3. Sheikh Mujib never pursued the shadow of power, which indeed
intoxicates the best hearts, as wine does the strongest heads. The only
intoxicant, which stimulated both his head and heart, was his strong
sense of pride and dignity as a Bangalee, which he also wanted every
Bangalee to possess. He had a mission to fulfill – the mission to
bringing about an order in which Bangalees will be able to enjoy full
political rights, economic justice, cultural and intellectual freedom.
Unlike many another Bangalee political leaders who could be
successfully EBDO – Ed and subdued, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was feared as
an extraordinary courageous adversary, who had to be restrained in order
to keep East Bengal permanently as a colony and an exclusive area of
exploitation. He was the main road – block that had to be cleared to
ensure a smooth passage to that goal.
From October 12, 1958, Sheikh Mujib was kept in detention for about
one year and a half. During that long period half – a – dozen criminal
cases were instituted against him. That he was honorably acquitted of
all the criminal charges showed how false, malicious and politically
motivated those charges were and that despite the regime’s harsh
attitude at least some of the higher count managed to display their
sense of justice by refusing to deliver dictated judgments.
From 1966 to the general election of December 1970, the political
movement in East Pakistan was principally based on the Awami League’s
six-point program officially presented by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The
much discussed, much dissected and much debated program embodied the
specific demands of East Bengal those acceptance alone would end the
social, economic and political injustice done to this province. While
those in power and cheer – leaders read in it a message of Pakistan’s
doom, Bangalees by and large treated it’s a life saving drug containing
all the vital ingredients in a consented form – a drug which would save
Bangalees from the deep rooted economic & political malaise of two
decades without having any adverse effects on other and Pakistan. Sheikh
Mujib’s six points presage the emergence of Bangladesh.
The six – points of Sheikh Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman:
I. “The constitution should provide for a federation of Pakistan in
its true sense on the basis of Lahore Resolution & parliamentary
form of government with supremacy of legislature directly elected on the
basis of universal adult franchise”.
II. “Federal government shall deal with only three subjects, for
example Defense, Foreign affairs & Currency and all other residuary
subjects shall vest in the federating units”.
III. “Two separate but freely convertible currencies for two wings
may be introduced or one currency for the whole country may be
maintained. In this case effective constitutional provision is to be
maid to stop flight of capital
4. from East to West Pakistan. Separate banking reserve is to be made
and separate fiscal and monetary policy to be adopted for East
Pakistan”.
IV. “The power of taxation and revenue collection shall vest in the
federating units and the federal center will have a share in the State
taxes for meting their required expenditure”.
V. A. There shall be two separate accounts for foreign exchange earnings of the two wings.
B. Earnings of East Pakistan shall be under the control of East
Pakistan government and those of West Pakistan under the control of West
Pakistan government.
C. Foreign exchange requirement of the federal government shall be
met by the two wings either equal or in the ratio to be fixed.
D. Indigenous products shall move free of duty between two wings.
E. The constitution shall power the unit government to established
trade and commercial relations, setup trade mission in, and enter into
agreements with foreign countries.
VI. Setting up a military or Para – military force for East Pakistan.
In all his public utterances General Yahya Khan, the President of the
Pakistan that was, put up a show of his unwillingness to remain in
power even a day longer than was absolutely necessary. On every
occasion, and he made a plenty of them, he reaffirmed that his
government was an interim one holding the country together till the
induction of a democratic government under a democratic Constitution to
be framed on the basis of a consensus of all political parties. When
asked if he would himself present a Constitution to the people in case
his search for a consensus continued to prove abortive, he would dismiss
the idea and emphatically assert that he would never repeat the mistake
of his predecessor, giving an impression that he really took a lesson
from that mistake. He was fond of repeating his newly acquired wisdom
about the corruptibility of power never omitting the last part of the
cliché of absolute power corrupting absolutely. From the frequency of
the quotation, meant to reveal his distaste for power, it seemed to some
that he was sincere about it and to others that it was only an attempt
to conceal his power lust.
The latter view gained more credence because while he assured that
his government was not averse to restoration of political activity in
the country and that he was seeking co-operation of political leaders in
bringing about proper conditions for holding elections, he never failed
at the same time to caution everybody that he was the Head of a Martial
Law regime. The implication (and not too indirect) was that proper
conditions were not there and his search for a consensus of all
political parties was yet inconclusive.
The Awami League chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman held that all Martial
Law regimes are alike and all military heads of state arc equally
5. susceptible to the lust of power although their methods of
acquiring and clinging to power may be different. The same power greed
activated both Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan. Only the latter was trying to
cunningly exploit the pain of frustration inflicted by the former.
Considered in practical terms, it was not easy to get the kind of
consensus Yahya Khan insisted upon, because all the parties were not
similarly motivated. For instance, while the Sheikh was for maximum
autonomy on the basis of the Six-Point Program, the demands of the other
political leaders were quite modest. Contrary to the belief of the
others that anything would be better than nothing, the Sheikh was firmly
convinced that it would be a poor political strategy to betray the
weakness of a supplicant anxious to take anything that the rulers were
pleased to grant. Such an attitude of helplessness would indefinitely
postpone realization of rights. A correct understanding of the situation
created by the mass upsurge should, he thought and argued, establish
the truth that it was for the regime to appease the Bangalees and not
for the Bangalees to solicit favor. If a consensus was necessary, it
should be the consensus of the people, and not that of some politicians.
As a doughty organizer of mass movements, a courageous crusader for
justice and a lifelong sufferer for espousing a cause, Sheikh Mujib knew
that the cumulative effects of the events of 1948, 1952, 1962, 1966,
069 that took an appalling toll of lives and left an indelible imprint
on the minds of conscious Bangalees could not be lost. The Bangalees had
paid the price for there legitimate rights and the goods had now been
delivered. He had no doubt that it was impossible for Yahya Khan to
check the course of the people’s movement which brought about the fall
of Ayub Khan. As Ayub Khan’s successor Yahya Khan was equally vulnerable
and his performance alone would determine whether his exit would be as
painful. Whether he would leave the political scene with or without the
stigma of a villain would depend on his ability to make an objective
appraisal of the situation and the past events leading to it.
In spite of the military strength at his disposal, Yahya Khan
realized, or seemed to realize, that it would no longer be possible to
govern the people without their consent or at least a semblance of it.
So at long last he permitted resumption of political activity in the
country from January 1970 and declared that general elections would be
held on December 10, 1970 and the first session of the Constituent
Assembly would commence on March 3, 1971.
There were some attempts to postpone the elections to a later date on
the ground that the turnout of voters might be poor in December after
the widespread devastations in the wake of a severe cyclone and tidal
bores in a vast area of the then East Pakistan killing several hundred
thousand of people besides causing colossal loss of property. Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman saw that the move for deferring the polls was part of a
conspiracy to delay
6. transfer of power to the people’s representatives. He strongly
opposed it and demanded that the devastations provided a stronger reason
for holding the elections on the scheduled date rather than for
postponement. He said that the indifference of the Central Government in
Islamabad to the distressed people in the affected areas showed beyond
any doubt that the salvation of Bangalees lay in their own efforts,
which would be possible only if they had their full share of control
over the administration of their affairs. It was apparent to the Sheikh
that if the elections were put off, they would continue to be the
victims of natural, political and economic calamity. So, with the full
backing of the people, he declared that the government would be
responsible for a major disaster if the elections were not held as
promised. Yahya Khan was obliged to decide against any change in the
election schedule.
In all his public meetings Sheikh Mujib said that the election would
be treated as a referendum on the Awami League’s Six-Point Program. Each
vote cast in favor of an Awami League candidate would be a mandate for
implementation of the Six-Point. The Six-Point Formula was the only
election issue of his party and having known the people more intimately
than any one else, he was sure that his party would win by an
overwhelming majority.
The results showed that it was an understatement. The victory of the
Awami League was sweeping and complete. In the then East Pakistan his
party bagged all but two seats that gave it
A very comfortable majority over the combined strength of all the
parties of East and West Pakistan. The Sheikh emerged as the topmost
political figure in the country and the leader of the single largest
party to which power was to be transferred.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a Prime Minister:
Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the inevitable
successor to the revolutionary leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. As a
logical sequence and consequence the pre-liberation hero has reappeared
in the principal role of the post-liberation drama of Bangladesh. No
other order of succession would suit and serve the nation.
The independent arid sovereign State of Bangladesh is his
masterpiece, his self-fulfillment. Therefore, to know Bangabandhu is to
know Bangladesh and vice versa. In him one can have a heart’s eye view
of Bangladesh.
Although he epitomizes the body and soul, the hopes and aspirations
of the Bangalee nation, it is alien to his democratic character to
indulge in imperial self-glorification by identifying the State with
himself. A great commoner, he has nothing but unqualified contempt for
Louisiana vanity pronounced 1′etat c’est moi (the state, it is I).
7, It has been said, and quite aptly, that if the Bangalee nation was
to take a human form, it would look like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman. Seventy-five million people of Bangladesh were rolled into one
man and the history of the nation was wrapped up in him. It will not be
an overstatement to say that his life was the nation’s biography.
It is not easy to fully represent the spiritual vigor of this nearly
six-feet of solid manhood, of this tall, imposing and wonderfully
animated human statue, who has changed the course of history and
reversed the trends and forces that seemed irreversible. Nor is it
possible to faithfully portray in a few words this big size character
already vividly projected on the wide screen of modern history.
Resurgent Bangladesh of seventy-five million inspired people was the
real measure of his greatness.
Bangladesh was not built in a day. For centuries it existed as an
idea and an ideal in the unfulfilled dream of the ancient heroes of
Bengal who carried it to their graves. Bangabandhu, who inherited this
legacy, reared and nourished the dream into a strong and abiding passion
and gave the passion a shape, that is, the map of Bangladesh, which was
engraved on his heart.
How he turned this sentimental map into a territorial reality is history. This history covers a period of twenty-four. Years
from virtually the birth of Pakistan to its partial death. He built the
castle of Bangladesh in his mind and then started to lay a solid
foundation, which took nearly a quarter of a century to complete. He did
it by hard labor and personal suffering and sacrifice all reinforced by
his immense love for the people and his intense conviction that he is
on the side of justice.
Love has been the legit-motif of his politics. He was never just a
professional politician. His entry into politics was not the result of a
search for a career but was necessitated by the pursuit of a purpose,
namely, the emancipation of Bangalees from age-old exploitation through
the establishment of a free and fully autonomous Bangladesh. His
unwavering moral conviction was the élan vital the life force that has
made him a man of action among fumblers.
Soon after the establishment of Pakistan he found that it was
something different from the Pakistan which the Lahore Resolution of
1940 intended it to be and that instead of being treated as an
autonomous federating unit, East Bengal was being condemned as a
politically dominated and economically exploited colony of West
Pakistan. As a proud Bangalee it was impossible for him to accept the
position of East Bengal rapidly becoming a political backyard of the
western wing and an economic graveyard of the Bangalees.
He sowed the seeds of Bangalee nationalism in the hearts of the
people, which nurtured, nourished and fertilized with his immense love
and his personal suffering eventually sprouted into
8. A banyan tree of a mighty movement against the despots of West
Pakistan. The latter’s policy of persecution stimulated and spurred the
movement to a constitutional struggle, then a long-drawn-out crusade and
finally a successful revolution.
Fearless of the future and heedless of his own fate, he had been
driven by his intense determination to carry on the crusade for the
honor, justice and freedom of Bangalees. The intensity of his conviction
was tested by his long rigorous struggle and the trials of his
political life that included over a decade of detention in prison and
grave charges that could cost him his life, all of which he could easily
avoid and substitute by a comfortable life only if he agreed to
conform.
Unlike many other leaders, he always initiated and guided a movement
rather than be drawn into one. And unlike the indoor type of political
theorists far removed from the people, he had provided what may be
called an applied leadership, which reflects the characteristic vitality
of a passionate nationalist that he is. As a political organizer he had
no peer. The strength of his party, the Awami League, the most
widespread political network, bears testimony to it. When he used to go
out proselytizing for his party, he was invariably greeted with
full-throated slogan of “Long live Bangabandhu” and a pledge of
allegiance.
An advance notice of his public meeting invariably created a spatial
problem. The venue was transformed into a sea of humanity spilling all
over. h was an audio-visual treat to sec and hears him speak. The people
were madly in love with his voice, which produced a kind of compulsion
that the listeners simply could not resist. They were enthralled,
spellbound and inspired by the sweet and fiery music of his dramatically
delivered speeches. When he was awaiting almost certain death in prison
in West Pakistan during the nine months of 1971 his tape-recorded voice
repeating his public speech of March 7, 1971 in the course of which he
declared “the struggle this time is the struggle for liberation, this
struggle is the struggle for independence” inspired and guided the
freedom fighters throughout the war. The `Bajra-Kantha’ (the thundering
voice) gave the command and they obeyed and fought. From prison he led
the country to victory.
He had a talent for turning disasters into triumphs, which enabled
him many a time to borrow life from death in order to stake it again and
again for the people’s cause. This talent or moral strength emanate
from his enduring loves for the people and from his abiding faith in
them. So he was a confirmed democrat, a benign socialist, a liberal
secularist, an uncompromising nationalist and after all and above all, a
humanist and lover of peace. To many this was a difficult combination.
With no pretension to infallibility, he loves to experiment with what
seems incomprehensible to others. Because of this Bangladesh, which was
Utopia to many, became a reality.
Sheikh Mujib strongly believed that power came from the love and
loyalty of the people and not from the barrel of a gun. The emergence of
9. Bangladesh, he proudly asserted and reasserted, provided an unassailable proof of this truth.
Bangabandhu at a glance:
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born at Tunggi para at Gopalgong in the 27th March
1920. His fathers name is Lutfar Rahman & mothers name is Saira
Khatun. He passed matriculation in 1941 from Gopalgong Mission School.
He passed HSC & BA from Calcutta Islamia College respectively in
1944 and 1946. He starts his political career as an active student
leader at Calcutta respectively “Muslim Chatro Andolon & Banggio
Pradesik Muslim League” under the supervision of Hosain Sahid
Sohrawardi.
He has admitted himself at Dhaka University as a student of law in
1987. He established “East Pakistan Muslim Chatro league” at 4th January
1948. He was the founder chairman of that party. He attended in the
language movement at 1952 from Prison (as Anasan Dormogat). At 1953 he
became the General Secretary of Awami Muslim League. He was elected an
East Bengal parliament member from Tunggipara in the election of 1958 as
a leader of “Jukta Front”. He was elected a member of Pakistan general
assembly by the East Bengal parliament members in 1955.
In 1956 he was appointed the labor, industry, commerce & anti –
corruption minister of the East Pakistan provincial government. In 1966
he declared six –point in Lahore conference as the guidelines of Bengali
independence. Pakistan government charged him the main actor of
Agartala conspiracy case in 6th June 1969. He got title The Bangabandhu in the Raisecourse field in 23rd February1969 by “Chatro Songram Parisad”.
Awami League got single majority in East Pakistan in the election of
1970 under his leadership. This victory was the first declaration of
independence under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
General Yahea Khan postponed the national assembly for unlimited time.
At the same time Bangabondo declared strike and revolution. He says
that, “This revolution is the revolution of our independence” at a
meting in Raiscourse field in 7th March 1970.
He was arrested by the Pakistani military in 25th March 1970 at his house. He was in jail during the whole liberation war of Bangladesh. He came to Dhaka at 10th January 1972. He took the position of the Prime minister of Bangladesh in 12th January
1972. In his period Bangladesh got approval from 104 countries.
Bangladesh became a member of Commonwealth, UN, NAM, and OIC in his
ruling period. The constitution of Bangladesh was edited in his period.
He got the Jolly & Kuri medal from world peace council. In his
period Farakka agreement was sign under his leadership in 1974.
In his leadership the fourth amendment of the constitution was passed in 25th January
1975. This amendment changed the system of government from
parliamentary to presidential. By dissolving all political parties of
the country he established one party “BAKSAL” government. He was the
chairman of the
10. “BAKSAL”. In the same year, some Army personnel killed him in the 15th August.
Three-and-a-half-year Rule of Bangabandhu’s Government: An Era of
Reconstruction and Institution-building Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, founding father of Bangladesh, was in power only for
three-and-a-half year. The anti -independence and anti-national forces
that seized power after his brutal killing on 15 August, 1975 have since
then unleashed a campaign of lies and vilification about B angabandhu
and his government. The people were not allowed to know the facts. They
were kept in darkness about the reality following the liberation war and
devastation caused by it. There was still then a conspiracy against our
hard-craned independence being hatched by anti -independence
forces-both local and international-that were out to sabotage all the
achievements of Bangabandhu despite tough challenges and odds. Yet,
Bangabandhu’s Government achieved commendable successes in the
reconstruction of the war-divested nation.
The first meeting of the Council of Ministers was held on 13 January,
1972. The meeting approved the design of our national flag, national
anthem Amar Sonar Bangla and the marching-song chal chal. The meeting
also formed a committee on postal stamps and sanctioned funds for
reconstruction of the Shahicl Minar. On the same day, Bangabandhu took
some more important measures including the writing off all Khazna (land
tax) for that year, distribution of 250 million taka loan among the
farmers, steps to restore the telecommunication system within the
country in six months, actions to start production in the Raj shahi
Sugar Mill and an announcement that telecommunication between Dhaka and
Comilla will be restored without any delay.
Rehabilitation / Reconstruction / Building of Infrastructure:
During the liberation war the economic infrastructure and production
process were destroyed. The defeated Pakistan army left the country’s
two seaports-Chittagong and Mongla-totally inoperative. There were mines
planted along the ports’ channels and ships capsized. A total of 291
rail bridges, including the Hardinge Bridge, were affected because of
the war. In addition, 274 highway bridges were damaged. The new
government found 10 per cent of rail-lines uprooted throughout the
country. At least, 66 ferries, 5,000 trucks and 2,500 buses were
destroyed. The Pakistan army also destroyed tens of thousands of houses
across the country. Not a singe seagoing vessel was left. There was no
reserve of any foreign exchange and no gold. The food godowns were
empty. But Bangabandhu tackled the situation with courage and great
statesmanship and earned respect of the international community.
11. Education:
During the war, Pakistani soldiers and their collaborators the
Razakars and Al-Badrs-tumed nearly all schools of the country into
military camps. The defeated and departing army either destroyed the
schools or set them afire. Education received top priority with
Bangabandhu. So, he nationalized the primary education. The primary
school teachers, who have so long been neglected, received the status of
government employees. The government opened 11,000 new primary schools
and about 100,000 new teachers were employed. Primary education was made
compulsory. Other measures included Tiffin for students, free education
for girls unto class VIII and free supply of educational materials such
as books, writing paper and pencils. The government started
implementing the recommendations of Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda Commission, which
sought to make education universal, modem and scientific with emphasis
on vocational and technical training. Text Book Board was set up.
Madrassa education was modernised and an Islamic Foundation was created.
The government arranged massive student scholarships and training
facilities. All `black laws’ regarding universities were repealed and
the universities received autonomy. Bangla Academy was reorganized and
it was decided that Bangla would be introduced in all spheres of the
state. Shilpakala Academy was created. Democratic reforms were
introduced in the cultural field; censorship system for theatre was done
away with. A set of principles was drawn to run the mass media in the
public interest. The government at the college and university hostels
subsidized food. Free distribution of shirts, trousers, paper, books,
pens and pencils covered students from university down to primary
schools.
Health: The government started work on construction of health centers
at each Thana and union of the country. In each of the 365 thanas a
31-bed hospital was set up with modem facilities. Medical colleges were
established indifferent parts of the country, hospitals were set up and
the jobs of many temporary health workers were made permanent. Family
planning was given a priority and projects were taken up to achieve this
goal. Registration schemes were introduced for fertile couples. Pilot
projects in this field were given free nutritious food and 45 per cent
of the population was brought under rationing network. Tube-wells were
sunk in each village to supply pure drinking water. Women Rehabilitation
Board was formed and measures were taken for women’s employment.
Agriculture: Bangladesh is an agrarian country, agriculture being the
main source of national income. After the independence, the government
rehabilitated more than 2.2 million peasant families. In addition to
building a modern agricultural infrastructure for them, the government
had to supply agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and
pesticides either at subsidized prices of free of cost. The government
installed 40,000 powered low-lift pumps, 2,900 deep and 3,000 shallow
tube wells within 1973. In
12 . 1972, the government distributed 16,125 tons of high-yielding
rice seeds and 1,037 tons of wheat seeds. Besides, certificate cases
against one million farmers were lifted and all their arrear loans were
written off. Land tax unto 25 bighas of land was waived forever.
Arrangement was made for price support to crops like paddy, jute,
tobacco and sugarcane meaning that minimum price for purchase of these
agricultural products by the government was introduced. Rationing system
was introduced for poor farmers. Their children were given free
education supported by the government.
Until 15 August, 1975 the share of landless peasants accounted for 35
per cent of the population. The government arranged distribution of
Kha,s land among these landless peasants. Ceiling was introduced upto
100 bighas of land. Food deficit was 3 million tons a year until the
independence. One-third of the cultivable land was fallow. The
Government of Bangabandhu launched a series of measures to reduce the
food deficit and encourage the farmers in various ways. The government
took some speedy measures to solve the problems of farmers and
agriculture and adopted village-based programs. Bangladesh Agricultural
Development Corporation introduced three types of irrigation: (a) Power
pumps, (b) Deep tube wells and (c) Shallow irrigation pumps. The power
pump project was strengthened and promoted. In 1968-69, the number of
power pumps was 11,000 while in 1974-75 this increased to 36,000. As a
result, the acreage of irrigated land rose from 2.6 million acres in
1970 to 3.6 million acres in 1975. Naturally, the food production
increased.
The use of chemical fertilizer increased by 74 per cent, pesticide by
40 per cent, high-yielding seed by 25 per cent in 1973-74, compared to
1969-70. Special emphasis was put on agricultural research. Even though
the price of chemical fertilizers increased manifold in international
market, no price-hike took place in Bangladesh. In 1972, the price of
urea, potash and TSP were respectively Tk. 20, Tk. 15 and Tk. 10 per
maund Industry:
In the face of imminent defeat in the war, the Pakistani army, non-Bengalese industrialists and administrative staff transferred
Capital money and valuable equipment and spares to Pakistan. At the
same time, they left their property in Bangladesh destroyed, including
machinery and factories, Moreover, the non-Bengalese workers were more
in number in these factories, so, there was heavy dislocation and crisis
erupted rendering factories out of production. But the government took
speedy measures and production in these factories resumed under the
government’s supervision. The trend of substantial rise in the
production of sugar, yarn and engineering products noticed in 1973
continued during 1974-75 and production rose by 12 percent.
The production of manufactured yarn and clothes increased by 11 per
cent and 3 per cent respectively in the first nine months of that year.
Production
13 of certain commodities increased encouragingly, including food
grains, newsprint, tea, cycles, electric cables and bronze wares etc.
Price situation:
Inflation was running critically high in global economic system in
1974. The impact was felt all over the world and as a result prices
started rising in developed as well as developing countries. Compared
with 1970, the prices of all consumer goods increased by 11 per cent in
Argentina, 26 per cent in Chile, threefold in Korea and it doubled in
Britain in 1975. Food prices increased 10 times in Argentina, 30 times
in Chile, three-fold in Korea and double in Britain. The price of wheat
in international market increased by 400 times in 1974 than in 1972. For
example, in 1971 Thailand used to sell rice at $ 130 per ton and this
hiked to $ 600 by March, 1974. It was very natural for price to rise
also in Bangladesh, whose economy was already shattered by the war. But
prices of consumer goods increased only from June, 1974 until January,
1975. Then the prices started falling.
Bangabandhu was leading the country boldly and with great
determination despite floods, shortage, treachery, bank robberies,
chaos, disruption, sabotage and all kinds of odds. It was amazing how
neatly he rebuilt the economy out of ashes. He created a history of
reconstruction of war-crippled economy, which did not occur in many
Western countries. The governments in these
Countries told their peoples that they would not entertain any new
demands in five years. America did not raise the salary of government
employees for five years after the war. 1Vlilions of people died of
famine after revolution in Russia and China.
But Bangabandhu moved forward overcoming all obstacles. In just three
years he built an edifice of development worth 130,000 million taka on
the ruins of 110,000 million taka. Because of his dynamic leadership,
Bangladesh got the membership of U.N., Commonwealth, OIC and 14 other
international organizations and recognition from most of the countries
by August, 1975. He restored balance in industrial and agricultural
production, introduced new education policy.
The world was amazed to see how quickly Bangladesh achieved
development in power, energy and communications under Bangabandhu’s
leadership. During 1974-75 Boro season, 2.249 million tons of rice was
produced, which is 29 thousand tons up from production the previous
year. Bangladesh was virtually flooded with food production. Bangabandhu
decided that he would announce by December that Bangladesh achieved
self-sufficiency in food. The conspirators launched their final blow at
this stage with great calculation.
The following achievements speak for themselves:
Five hundred sixty-seven bridges, including Hardinge and Bhairab
bridges, were built or repaired; seven new ferries were pressed into
14 service, 1,851 rail-wagons and passenger-bogies were put into
operation; 460 buses, 605 motor river-vessels were introduced and three
old airports put back in operation in restoration of domestic
communications network. In addition, mines were swept from the ports of
Chittagong and Mongla and they were made operative. The government
nationalized 580 banks, insurance and industrial units abandoned by the
Pakistanis and thus millions of workers got jobs.
Writing a progressive Constitution, ban on liquor, gambling, housie,
horseracing and such other anti-Islamic activities, founding of Islamic
Foundation, Madrassa Board, and Hajj Pilgrimage
Board and Bangladesh’s membership of OIC were among some important achievements of Bangabandhu.
Rehabilitation of 10 million people, who returned from India and
another 30 million who were displaced within the country, provision of
food to them, pulling out of Indian troops within three months of
independence, surrender of arms by freedom fighters, financial support
to the families of 3 million martyrs of independence, taking up the
responsibility of 200 thousand oppressed women, setting up of Freedom
Fighters’ Welfare Trust, Women Rehabilitation Board, government employee
status to teachers, introduction of democratic ordinance for
universities, formation of Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission,
introduction of Bengali in all official work and at all national levels,
establishment of 11,000 new primary schools, setting up of madrassas,
mosques and Islamic Foundation, establishment of health centers in each
thana and union of the country, absorbent of medical workers, opening of
medical college and hospital, reorganization of defense forces with
national honors including the National Army, Air Force and Navy,
establishment of country’s first military academy in Comilla, creation
of infrastructure for Police, BDR, Ansar and civil administration,
repatriation of 400,000 Bengalese from Pakistan, return of several
hundred thousand Pakistanis to their country, enhancement of honor of
the Bengali nation and its language, Bangabandhu’s first U.N. speech in
Bengali, recognition of Bangladesh by nearly 200 states, signing of
border agreement with India and ensuring 44,000 cusec of water for
Bangladesh under agreement with India-these were among the achievements
of the Government headed by Bangabandhu.
In fine, based on above discussion we can say that, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has many contributions in
i. To established Bengalese rights in Pakistan period.
ii. The founder of independent Bangladesh.
iii. To emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country.
iv. To reconstruction of war affected Bangladesh after the liberation war.
v. To established friendly relations with foreign countries.
vi. To be a member of UN and other international agencies.
15
All Bangladeshi as well as world history never forget him. Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman is a golden character in the history of Bangladesh as
well as in the mind of Bangladeshis. He never is died from the heart of
Bangladeshis as well as from the world history. So is immortal. Thus we
can prove that, Heroes live forever. As well as Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman lives forever in the mind of Bangladeshis as well as in
the world history.
Bibliography
i. The class notes provided by our honorable course teacher Mr. Dr. Safar Ali Akanda.
ii. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (A Leader with a Difference) – by Obaidul Huq.
AUTHOR:-
SHIPON BARUA (SHIPU)
MOBILE NO +88-01812895812
E-mail: shipon2010ctg@hotmail.com
The Folk Music of Bangladesh
