Golam Sarwar :
I have come to speak about
The greatest Bangali of all ages
Whose heart had tremendous love for humans;
I have come to speak about a courageous sailor
who was a roaring wave in the surging sea
Overcoming the burning heat of summer
Intense rain of Shraban
And piercing the fog of winter
He had moored the boat on the bank.
-Mahbub-ul-Alam Chowdhury
We utter the name of the greatest Bangali of all times, the most outstanding Bangali in a thousand years-Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-in one breath with utmost reverence and deepest emotion. It is not possible to adorn him with any lesser adjective. Bangabandhu’s ascension to the lion’s chariot of infinite love of the Bangali nation was not done easily without any effort. He could dock his golden boat of dream on our shore as a triumphant hero by ignoring the turbulent sea ravaged by storms and surges and by relegating ‘life and death’ to the position of a servant in his stride.
Bangabandhu did not show us the mere dream for a piece of separate habitat. He did not engage himself in a life-or-death struggle for only creating the boundary line of an autonomous landmass. Side by side with geographic independence, Bangabandhu also set the goal of achieving economic freedom. He dreamt of building such a state, which would one day assume a position of honour in the comity of nations’ in terms of wealth and prestige. The brutal hyenas had taken away his life while his dream remained unfulfilled. Most of his family members were also killed with savage cruelty. How did the picture of that deadly night look? In the language of the poet : ‘There were clouds of Shraban on that night, moon-there was none.’ The darkness of that lethal black night spread not only in that house number 32, it spread throughout Dhaka and Bangladesh. That blood-drenched August 15 falls today; it is the fortieth anniversary of the martyrdom of our Father of the Nation.
In front of a sea of people at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan on 7 March 1971, the most inspiring line in the briefest epic of the world was uttered by an epic poet : ‘This time the struggle is for our freedom, the struggle this time is for independence.’ The heroic Bangalis launched themselves against the enemy with infinite courage following this singular call by Bangabandhu. The subsequent nine months was a history of war and triumph. Bangabandhu was the greatest hero in it.
The dreamlike journey of independent Bangladesh led by Bangabandhu had commenced in January 1972. He not only demonstrated farsighted pragmatism in all areas including the state and foreign policies, the governance structure, infrastructure development, education, health, agriculture etc. within three and a half year of running the country, he also established the philosophical foundation of the new land. The huge task of building a modern Bangladesh under the leadership of Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now being carried forward in the light of that philosophy.
What lay in that political philosophy of Bangabandhu? In his personal notebook, Bangabandhu had written on 30 May 1973, ‘As a human being, I contemplate about the entire mankind. As a Bangali, whatever is related to Bangalis touches me deeply. The source of this eternal bondage is love, unremitting love; a love that makes my politics and existence meaningful.’
Bangabandhu’s political philosophy included-socio-economic emancipation of the general masses and the establishment of their political rights; an end to all kinds of discrimination and impunity; democracy and secularism; putting the Bangali nation on a seat of honour in the comity of nations; improving Bangla language and the culture of Bangalis; friendship with all and malice towards none in the international arena; far-reaching and sustainable development; above all, a poverty-free Bangladesh.
Bangladesh was made a breeding ground for anti-liberation war spirit, undemocratic communalism, and militant forces for some time by the hyenas coming out of the darkness of 15 August 1975, who tore apart our progressive ideologies. Dishonesty, corruption, nepotism, and wanton acts spread throughout the country then. The struggle to re-establish Bangabandhu’s ideals was started since the establishment of a government led by Sheikh Hasina after long 21 years. The deep conspiracy to distort the history of liberation war and uproot Bangabandhu from our history through two decades of military rule and reactionary autocracy was ultimately foiled. The Father of the Nation now has a luminous presence in the minds of the young generation.
Socio-economic Freedom
Not only in freeing the country from enemies, the manner in which Bangabandhu rebuilt the war-ravaged country was also amazing. After returning from the scaffolds in Pakistan, he found his “Bangla of Gold’ turned into a devastated and shattered ‘Bangla of Sorrow’. Half her assets were destroyed, trade and commerce were in shambles, and all links to foreign trade were cut-off.
Bangabandhu took up the arduous task of growing flowers in a wrecked garden. A farsighted man, he took many emergency decisions at the very outset.
Bangabandhu formulated around 150 laws in the first year. Notable among these was the ‘Bangladesh Collaborators’ Ordinance’. Within three days of forming the government, Bangabandhu banned drinking, gambling and horse-racing in the country. Small-scale institutions, banking and insurance were nationalised. The agriculture sector as well as trade and commerce, where the largest segments of the population were engaged, were kept in the private sector by Bangabandhu. The highest priorities in his economic policies were agriculture and rural development. He presented to the nation a massive program for agriculture and water resource development as early as in March 1973. In his address to the nation on 26 March 1972, he informed that 61 subdivisions of the country would be upgraded into districts and elected authorities would be set up in all districts. At the root of Bangabandhu’s belief glowed the conviction that people were the source of all power. Therefore, empowerment of the people was his ultimate goal. The Bangabandhu Bridge that we built in the decade of 1990s was conceptualised by Bangabandhu more than two decades earlier.
Pragmatic Foreign Policy
While returning to his native land from Pakistan via London, Bangbandhu had said that Bangladesh would be the ‘Switzerland of the East’. The foreign policy of Bangladesh based on ‘Friendship with all, malice towards none’ was framed in that light. Bangabandhu presented an outline of the country’s foreign policy in his very first press conference after returning home. He declared, ‘We want good relations with all our neighbours; it is true that our link with Pakistan has been severed, but there is no scope for enmity now.’ He extended his hands of commercial cooperation to countries like China and Egypt, who had not recognized Bangladesh till then. He entered into an agreement with Saudi Arabia for sending Haj pilgrims. He was able to send back the Indian army to their soil from Bangladesh within three months.
It seems amazing that Bangabandhu could think of bolstering the defence of Bangladesh’s borders as early as in 1974. He took the initiative to finalise the maritime boundary with Myanmar at a time when even the United Nations was not concerned about maritime borders. He finalised the land boundary with India and signed the Indira-Mujib Agreement for exchanging enclaves. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has demonstrated her diplomatic sagacity by adhering to the main planks of her father’s foreign policy.
Trial of War Crimes
After assuming office for running the country for the second time in 2009 following her election victory, Sheikh Hasina’s government took the initiative to hold the trial of war-crimes and crimes against humanity committed during 1971 in accordance with her election manifesto. But it was Bangabandhu who had initiated the trial of war-crimes. Not only did he throw the war-criminals and collaborators into jails, it was he who formulated the International Crimes Tribunal Act. At a huge public meeting in Tangail on 15 February’ 1972, Bangabandhu declared : ‘The trial of war-criminals will be held on the soil of Bangla.’ Ignoring various domestic and international pressures, the Awami League government is now carrying forward the task of trying war crimes after overcoming all challenges. The punishments of some top war criminals have now materialised.
Education and Culture
The unprecedented progress achieved in the education sector during the past few years also owes its philosophical origin to Bangabandhu. It was Bangabandhu who was the first to nationalise primary education. He knew that the structure would not be strong if the foundation was not robust. Bangabandhu nationalised primary schools immediately after independence. During the current rule of Sheikh Hasina, over 26 thousand primary schools of the country as well as the jobs of over 100 thousand teachers working there have been nationalised. New posts for around 45 thousand teachers have been created. The status of secondary school teachers have been upgraded from class three to class two. The Awami League government is now distributing around 200 million textbooks free of charge among 35 million pupils up to secondary level on the fust day of the year. This program was not halted even when the horrendous acts of ‘fire terrorism’ were carried out. Bangabandhu established Islamic Foundation for the majority population of this country. He could establish the truth that secularism did not imply absence of religion. The attributes shown by Netaji Subhash Chandra Basu, poet Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Shere Bangla A K Fazlul Haque and Huseyn Shahid Suhrawardy-could be observed in his character.
Agriculture
We can now say with pride that we are self-sufficient in food. Our farmers have made this impossible possible. Our storages are now full with the crops produced by them. The farmers have now found a way to lead a comfortable life. The lifeblood of rural’ Bangla, the peasants’ joy has now spread among the ‘shadowed and peaceful abodes’ of our small villages. The picture of the villages has undergone transformation. The farmers have been given loans of Taka 300 billion. Around 14.4 million Agricultural Input Assistance cards have been distributed among them. They are provided fertilizers at a subsidised rate. The inspirations of the farsighted statesman Bangabandhu also contributed to this green revolution. Bangabandhu played a powerful role in favour of the farmers in National Assembly of Pakistan during the mid-1950s. At the biennial council of the Awami League on 18 January 1974, Bangabandhu had uttered in an emotion-choked voice : ‘If I cannot bring smiles to the faces of the people of Bangla, if I see that the people of Bangla are sad, and if see that the people of Bangla do not fill their stomach with food, then I cannot die in peace, I cannot, I cannot.’ Bangabandhu took steps for raising the living-standard of distressed farmers and waived their loans at the very inception of the journe’y of independent Bangladesh. Immediately after assuming office, he took the initiative for agricultural reforms. He waived taxes for up to 15 bigha of land, freed the farmers from I million certificate cases lodged against them, and also waived interests on outstanding loans.
Bangabandhu and Bangladesh
Bangabandhu and Bangladesh are synonymous, as he was linked to the people of Bangladesh through an umbilical cord. Bangabandhu was an eternal love for the soil and people of this country, which was termed as an ‘extraordinary tale of love’ by the famous TV personality David Frost. In his ‘The Unfinished Memoirs’, Bangabandhu had written ‘I am not a communist. But I believe in socialism. I don’t believe in the capitalist economy. I consider it as a tool of exploitation. As long as this economy of creating capitalists last, the exploitations of the people of this world cannot be stopped.’
The political philosophy of Bangabandhu sprang from Bangladesh, Bangali, Bangla language, and Bangali culture. Its main themes were-democracy, non-communalism, international amity, development, and the rights of the poor. At present, the non-communal and democratic spirit of Bangladesh, independent foreign policy, loyalty towards culture and roots, infrastructure development and economic growth-all are being run in the light of Bangabandhu’s outlook and ideals. The torch of development, modernism, heritage, culture, freedom and prestige that Bangabandhu lit through establishing Bangladesh now lay in the hands of his daughter Sheikh Hasina.
Modern and Digital Bangladesh
Bangabandhu is the inspiration for the massive programs initiated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for erecting the base of a modern Bangladesh. Not only the present, we should also cast our eyes to the future-this farsightedness of Bangabandhu inspired Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to adopt ‘Vision-2021’. She painted the ‘watercolour’ painting of Bangladesh while standing on the pedestal of 2009. This ‘Vision’ looks at Bangladesh as bereft of hunger, poverty, corruption, illiteracy and backwardness; it aspires for a developed, prosperous, knowledge-based modern-in one word, a Bangladesh where everybody has work, income, earnings, shelter, education and healthcare.
The Prime Minister has taken advantage of ‘the opportunity for flourishing information technology in a big way. She regularly converses with and provides directions to different levels of officials in administration through video conferencing. Even ordinary people from far-flung areas can let the Prime Minister know about their wants and difficulties. Distant places have now come closer due to the successful application of information technology. We have noticed that information and service centres have been established in each union of the country. The rural people are receiving 220 services from these centres including government forms, notices, information about passports and visas, information about agriculture, education and different services, job-related news, citizenship certificates, results of public examinations and registration for traveling abroad. Notable successes in this sector during the first five years of the current Sheikh Hasina government include mobile banking, life insurance, soil testing and prescribing fertilizer, payment of electricity bill and scope for obtaining land-related services. In addition, computer laboratories have been set up in around 4 thousand educational institutions; mobile healthcare and telemedicine system have been installed in upazila and district level hospitals.
Let me return to the theme of Bangabandhu again. Rabindranath occupies all our spirit and awareness. He is always present in our mental world. And Bangabandhu reigns in all our realities, as a constant companion of the soil and its people. It is not possible to properly outline the deeds of the Father of the Nation within a limited space like this. In pages after pages of his ‘The Unfinished Memoir’, we discover a great hero whose lifelong dream was centred on his dearest countrymen.
‘This country is my pride
This soil is to me like gold
For freedom blooms here
My thousand aspirations
Thousand cravings.’
These cravings were not that of the poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay alone; these were Bangabandhu’s as well.
Translation : Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed
