Those who fled the country to remain alive provoking danger for others to die must not feel free to call the students engaged in the movement against unjust quota system children of Rajakars.
The audacity of Matia Chowdhury to call the students demanding reform in quota system Rajakars explains why some are not yet happy with Bangladesh. They want to make Bangladesh once again an occupied country and already feel like rulers of an occupied country.
According to the government some thirty lakhs of our people died helplessly with no leaders including Matia Chowdhury available in the country to “build fortress of resistance” desired by Bangabandhu against the attacking Pakistan army.
Those who used words of war and provoked Pakistan military for action, must remember their promise to the people. They had no preparations of their own and misled the people as well as Bangabandhu.
The Pakistan army butchered our people freely because those talked bravely deserted our people when risks came. We did not see their heroism.
Thirty lakhs of their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters laid down their lives most pathetically during the liberation war for their unpreparedness. Nobody should think this part of history will remain hidden.
They went to India in the darkness of night without letting our people know of it. Our people did not ask when they returned why they had left them to die without them on their side. Our people did not get much sympathy either for our dead ones as if they were to be condemned to die.
Our people made huge sacrifices attracting international help including from India. Without our people’s resistance and sacrifice Matia Chowdhury and her likes who are now too eager to call our people Rajakar would have nothing to boast of. They should know that other people’s lives and patriotism matter. Don’t feel too easy to condemn others as traitors because you enjoy police protection.
They did not take up arms but left the country. It was not necessary that they would go to India to be armed and seek India’s leadership and protection.
They did not wait to build fortresses of resistance as Bangabandhu said from within. They rushed to India forgetting all about us. Our people were butchered finding them without leaders.
Our people were too generous in not being critical of those who promised to fight along with the people but disappeared leaving our people unarmed and alone to face Pakistan army’s fury and brutality.
India did not enter into war against Pakistan because of those leaders left for India disobliging Bangabandhu. The last visitors to him that night were Tajuddin Ahmed, Dr Kamal Hossain and Barrister Amir-ul Islam. Bangabandhu’s clear advice to them was to spread out in the country.
The international community did not come to support the cause of our independence for the leaders who went to India. The inhuman brutalities of Pakistan occupation army on our people aroused international support. They found in our plight for democracy a noble cause.
Even those freedom fighters will admit they had no preparations for waging war against Pakistan. When our armed forces wanted to revolt before they were stopped. Brig. Majumdar was a suspect and he was immediately bundled off to West Pakistan.
Finally, Indian army directly engaged in war against Pakistan and thus the war became a war between India and Pakistan. When Pakistan army surrendered to Indian army in Dhaka there was no presence of anybody from our freedom fighters. The Pakistan soldiers became war prisoners of India and not of us. We failed to put on trial Pakistani military officers for their crimes against our people.
We are stating these facts about our liberation war not to undermine the hard efforts of our freedom fighters in India but to make clear that the unprepared liberation war turned into a people’s war. Those who went to India cannot claim any monopoly for the liberation war.
Those who want to use the freedom fighters as a special class isolated from the people to create a dangerous division among the people for the leftist political class struggle are playing with fire. Fake freedom fighters will be of no use. The genuine freedom fighters are quiet, refusing to be part of any unwelcome political design.
The movement of the students against the government quota system has proved that without political leaders our young ones can rise together in a disciplined way and maintain discipline despite vicious odds.
The police action on the peaceful students call for impartial investigation. The police must not be a political arm of the government. They must preserve their own image as impartial law enforcers.
Our party politics has become deeply conspiratorial and divisive. Our party politics is based on distrust of each other and treat each other as enemy.
Not only the quota system but the system of our politics itself needs reforms badly and urgently. In view of the recent disciplined non-violent student movement we hope to see emergence of new leadership with character and courage from our younger generation.
