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Thursday, December 24, 2009

[chottala.com] Other Aug 15 killings pushed into oblivion



Published On: 2009-12-24
 
Other Aug 15 killings pushed into oblivion
Chaitanya Chandra Halder

Criminal Investigation Department in 2002 gave final report in Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni murder case and had it dismissed in secrecy, ignoring the legal bindings.

Two more cases that were filed aside from Bangabandhu murder case for the August 15 killings in 1975 were treated no better either during the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance rule in 2001-2006.

Of them, proceedings in Abdur Rab Serniabat murder case have been stayed by the High Court since 2002. The first additional metropolitan sessions judge's court framed charges against 18 persons in the case towards the end of the previous AL rule in 2001.

The other one, filed for death of 14 people in Mohammadpur, is pending with the fourth additional metropolitan sessions judge's court in Dhaka.

In Sheikh Moni murder case, neither the investigation officer nor the court concerned informed the complainant of the probe's fate.

The law says the IO in a case must notify the complainant before submitting the final report or charge sheet. On receipt of the report, the court shall ask the complainant to appear before it and say if he has any objections to the findings.

Moni, nephew of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and founding chairman of Awami Jubo League, was killed with his wife Arzu Moni in their Dhanmondi residence on August 15, 1975, the day a band of army men murdered Bangabandhu and most of his family.

His two sons--Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, now a ruling Awami League lawmaker, and Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash--survived the attack by hiding under bed.

Taposh was three years and eight months old and Parash around seven years.

The same day, Abdur Rab Serniabat, a cabinet member and Bangabandhu's relative, was killed in his Minto Road residence. Besides, 14 people died in mortar fire in Mohammadpur.

Four separate cases were filed for the August 15 bloodbath as the places of occurrence were different.

When AL left office in 2001, Bangabandhu murder case was awaiting the Supreme Court's judgment and Moni murder case under investigation.

The BNP-led four-party alliance, which came to power in October 2001, took no initiative to complete the cases during its tenure.

Things were particularly grim for Moni killing case. Within 10 months in office, the BNP government had it dismissed with the CID turning in final report.

Munshi Atiqur Rahman, former CID official and IO of the case, recently told The Daily Star he had informed the complainant about the final report.

Mohammad Shahabuddin, the complainant and a close aide to Sheikh Moni, however outright rejected the claim.

"I came to know about it after the pronouncement of the final verdict in Bangabandhu assassination case on November 19," he added.

He said he was ready to file a petition with the home ministry for reviving the case. He will decide on it after consultation with AL lawmaker Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Moni's son Taposh.

Munshi Atiq, then an assistant superintendent of police in CID, submitted the probe report on August 22, 2002. He dropped charges against all 30 accused in the case.

On December 30 that year, the chief metropolitan magistrate's (CMM) court in Dhaka accepted the final report and acquitted all the accused, without notifying the complainant, said sources.

In his report, Munshi Atiq said he had submitted it in consultation with the "higher authorities" and the public prosecutor.

He said he did not see any logic in continuing the investigation and pressing charges, as 18 of the 30 accused had already been convicted in Bangabandhu murder case.

Besides, three had died, and evidence had not been enough to bring charges against the rest nine.

The 18 were Lt Col Syed Farooqur Rahman, Lt Col Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Major Bazlul Huda, Major (lancer) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Lt Col (artillery) Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lt Col Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col Shariful Haque Dalim, Lt Col SHMB Nur Chowdhury, Lt Col AM Rashed Chowdhury, Captain Abdul Mazed, Risaldar Moslehuddin Khan, Lt Col Abdul Aziz Pasha, Captain Kismat Hashem, Captain Nazmul Ansar, Major Ahmed Sharful Islam, Dafadar Marfat Ali Shah, ex-LD Abul Hashem Mridha, and former state minister for information Taher Uddin Thakur (died in February 2009).

Captain Mostafa, Risaldar Syed Sarwar Hossain and former president Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed were the three who died during the course of the investigation.

The other nine were Major Firoz, Captain Shahid, Captain Naqib, risaldars Anwar and Jalil, Major Zobayer, Captain Nurul Haque, Captain Jahangir and Lt Hasan.

In the report, Atiq said the charges against 21 of the 30 accused including Khandaker Moshtaque were primarily proved. But he submitted the final report clearing them, as they had already been convicted in Bangabandhu murder case.

All the accused in Moni murder case were not indicted in Bangabandhu murder case. And only 12 of them were found guilty in that case.

The IO got evidence against the 21 (excluding the three deceased), but he cleared at least six of them of the charges through the final report.

When he submitted the final report, Bangabandhu murder case was pending with the apex court for final verdict.

It raises the question how he could clear Moni's killers, citing their conviction in Bangabandhu murder case over seven years before the final verdict.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=119028
 
 


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[chottala.com] Re: Zia vs Zafar - Revelations by MBI Munshi [in 2005]



Dear All
 
On a point of order, I must tell you that Barrister MBI Munshi, ( who is frequent contributer to Pakistan Defence Forum  ) denies authoring the "piece".
 
In his denial he says: "That is a fake and fabricated write-up. I never wrote such an article. This is the third time in 4 years that this article has appeared in my name. It has been circulated by RAW to discredit me and the BNP. I disown it and its contents and reject any association with it. Regards. MBI Munshi ....."
 
However, many points contained in the article is very much
plausible and thought-provoking ....

Thanks for everyone's patience.
 
Syed Aslam

 
On 12/24/09, Syed Aslam <syed.aslam3@gmail.com> wrote:
Zia vs Zafar

Thursday May 05 2005 15:31:55 PM BDT

MBI Munshi from Bangladesh

Nabab Siraj was not an excellent ruler; East India Company and their collaborators publicized him as an eccentric autocrat. He could not save his grandfather's kingdom from the British merchants. He was too lenient to the merchants and too naïve about their intention. Ultimately, his naiveté and lenience paid off. He lost his kingdom and life; Bangla lost its independence.

After 100 years of bad publicity by British and their local collaborators he cam back in the pages of history as a symbol of our independence; a symbol of our lost pride.

Modern propaganda ministers and pet historians also publicized Sheikh Mujib as a bad ruler too. People thought everything would be solved automatically after the independence, denying the fact that nation building is a long term tedious job. No nation has been developed until several decades of independence. Modern day Robert Clive, Jagat Shetth, Rajballav, etc. were working behind the scene. Eventually Mujib was pushed to establish a totalitarian system BAKSHAL; even though he said,
"if my people don't like it, I will revert" in a speech.

General Zia wrote an article in Daily Bichitra supporting BAKSHAL.
Despite being a lenient ruler he will be in the pages of history as he led the nation to independence. His vigorous stance for Bangalee rights amidst Paki generals' red eyes will keep in the pages of history as a super hero.

The independence lost through Siraj's defeat in 1757 was gained back by Mujib's rigid struggle for "six-point demands," win in 1970 election, unbending negotiation tactics with Paki dictators and finally the Liberation War.

Siraj's death led to a dark era of colonial rule. Mujib's death prompted a U-turn from the spirit of liberation and eventually brought the War Criminals and religion traders to power. From a plural secular nation the U-turn took us back to a backward nation that is longing for 7th century style theocracy; that is intolerant to minorities (Hindus, Kadianis, etc.).

Now the country is heading for a Taleban style revolution. The British merchants and their local collaborators like Jagat Shetth, Raj Ballabh gong and their successors, denigrated Siraj for a century after 1757. Mustaq-Zia- Ershad-Golam gong blacked out Mujib from Bangladesh for a long time after 1975. Siraj's killer Miran, backed by British and Mir Zafar, never faced justice for killing the Nabab. Mujib's killers, backed and rewarded by Mustaq- Zia- Ershad-Khaleeda gong escaped justice too.


There are several analogies between Mir Zafar Ali Khan and General Ziaur Rahman.

1. Mir Zafar acquired the Army Chief position by his good service to Murshid Kuli Khan. General Zia acquired Army Chief of Staff position by good job, as a sector commander, announcer of independence in liberation war, and afterwards serving Sheikh Mujibs government. Even appraising BAKSAL.

2. Mir Zafar was personally a religious and honest man and was popular at his time. But, he let the British and Hindu merchants virtually loot the country. Ziaur Rahman was a financially honest man and popular, but was dishonest in every other respect. All his ministers were corrupt and some patronized dacoits like Imdu, Galkata Kamal; they virtually looted the country.

3. Mir Zafar was the chief of Siraj's army. General Zia was a senior general at Mujib's time and Chief of Staff at the time of 1975 carnage.

4. Mir Zafar remained inactive when Jagat Shetth, Raj Ballabh, and British merchants defeated Nabab. Ziaur Rahman remained inactive when Faruk-Rashid-Mushtaq gong killed Mujib, his family, and the leaders of liberation war. [killer Farooq's clime, Bangladesh a Legacy of Blood. Zia's response was "don't come to me if you fail" (what a subidhabadi!)].

5. Mir Zafar awarded the Jagat Shetth, Raj Ballabh, and British merchants afterwards, when he came to power. General Zia awarded Farooq and Rashid Bangladesh Embassies in different countries after he came to power. He rewarded the razakars and gong for their loyalty to Paki colonialists and war criminals.

6. Mir Zafar kept silent when Miran killed Siraj. General Zia kept silent when his officers (later he made them ambassadors) killed Sheikh Mujib and leaders in the Jail.

7. Mir Zafar let Miran escape punishment. General Zia let Farooq-Rashid gong escape justice. Zia amended the constitution to save the killers (the black Indemnity Ordinance).

8. Mir Zafar's treason led the death of liberation itself leading to a colonial rule for centuries. Zia's treason led the death of spirits of liberation finally taking War Criminals and traitors to power. The country is now heading towards being a black shadow of Pakistan and Talebans.

9. Siraj was hated by the subsequent regimes like Mir Zafar and British rulers. Mujib is also blacked-out by the subsequent regimes like Zia, Ershad, Khaleda.

10. Mir Zafar demolished "monarchy" and promoted "colonialism", both existing in many underdeveloped countries then. General Zia demolished totalitarian BAKSHAL and promoted "militarism", both existing in many underdeveloped countries at his time. His election fiasco made world records.

11. Mir Zafar promoted treason, letting the Englishmen take power. He was finally hunted down by his own creation- treason. General Zia promoted killing and assassination by adopting "Indemnity Ordinance" in the constitution, freeing the punished war criminals from jails, freeing "seven murder" convict from jail, taking 11 murder convict to Hizbul Bahar, appointing the killers of Mujib in different Embassies, creating musclemen on campus. He was finally hunt down by his own creation – treason and killing. The brutality of his killing reflected his own ruthlessness towards any dissent.

12. Mir Zafar let East Indian Company loot the country. Zia let goons and thugs loot the country. He created hundreds of bank loan defaulters by forcing banks to lend money to his party goons. He took young talents and notorious killers in the same ship "Hizbu Bahar" together and taught them evade taxes. He also freed 2 thousand criminals from jails who were not only collaborators of Paki Junta, but also took part in killing, raping, looting, and torching freedom fighters.

******** Here are some highlights of Zia's Misdeeds ***********

1. In 1975, Zia imposed the concept of Bangladeshi Nationalism in order to accommodate the Muslim Leaguers, Islamic fundamentalist groups, pro-Chinese leftists (all anti liberation forces) in national politics so as to subvert the mainstream secular political trends achieved through the liberation war.

2. Literally made politics difficult by investing large amount of foreign aids to buy over opposition political leaders in order to form his own political party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He made the nation too much dependent on foreign aid.

3. As a part of his political scheme, Zia rehabilitated all the returned Bangladeshi (from Pakistan after 1975) civil and military bureaucrats in top administrative positions to change the orientation of the state machineries. In 1975, Zia formed an administrative reorganization committee to rehabilitate the anti liberation forces in administration. The convener of the committee was Kazi Anwarul Haque, (later Zia's personal adviser). All the members of the committee were well-known pro-Pakistani civil and military bureaucrats: Commodore MH Khan, Air Vice Marshal MG Towab, Dr MN Huda and Zia himself.

Prof Emajuddin Ahmed pointed out that out of 31 top advisers /ministers of Zia 19 were strongly anti Bangladesh. In this regard a comment by Prof Musharaf Hossain is relevant: "......the most distinguished people Zia invited to join his government, after his r! ise to power in 1975, were Justice Sattar, Kazi Anwarul Huq, Hafiz Uddin, Mirza Nurul huda, Mohd Shamsul Haque, Shafiul Azam, Azizul Huq, Zahirul huq and so on. All of them worked as loyal associates of General Ayub /Yahyah during Pakistan period. They were famous for their so called "honesty and "efficiency". They were experts on "Pakistan Model" and did not have any qualms about the methods of realizing "Pakistani Development Model" in Bangladesh. But it was difficult to know about their attitude to an event called liberation war..."

4. Zia ruthlessly eliminated the remaining Muktijoddha (pro liberation) officers in the army, navy and air force (in 1977, a total of 1143 air force officers and soldiers, former freedom fighters, were killed in firing squad under Zia's instruction ).
5. Zia removed secularism from Bangladesh constitution and replaced it with Islam (Bismillah).

6. Zia corrupted the youths through greed. He established "youth complex" to lease the "khaas" lands to youths. He bought musclemen on campus and ruined young talents like Golam Farooq Ovi. He took the young talents to Hizbul Bahar to give them a chance for tax-free shopping and attract them by greed. In Hizbul Bahar young talents were kept in the same cabin with notorious murderers in parole.

7. Zia ruined the system crucial for democracy: the election system. He was first to use bureaucratic machinery to manipulate votes: in the referendum of 1977 Zia got 98.88% votes (88.5% registered votes) whereas in the 1970 election, at the height of the nationalist movement, Sheikh Mujib received only 55.09% of the registered votes.

8. On November 9, 1975 Zia dissolved the commission for investigation of the murder of four national leaders in Dhaka central jail. The aftermath was more political killings.

9. During Zia's regime the size of the defense forces was increased by 300 times.

10. By May, 1976, Zia conferred the war criminals constitutional rights to vote and involve in political activities in Bangladesh. General Zia's:
a. Second proclamation order no.3 of 1976 overwrote section 38, which had abolished religion based politics.
b. Second proclamation addressing section 122 reestablished the right of war criminals to vote
c. Proclamation order no.1 of 1977 overwrote certain points in section 66, which addressed the rights of war criminals to contest elections.
d. On 18 January, 1976, the war criminals were asked by the ministry to apply for citizenship
e. Proclamation Order no.1 of 1977 eliminated section 12 of the constitution

11. Zia let the killers of Sheikh Mujib escape from Bangladesh and rewarded them with diplomatic posts and status in various foreign missions of Bangladesh.

12. Under Zia's instruction the history text books in schools and colleges were altered and the political events between language movement and 27 March, 1971 were deleted. Sheikh Mujib was portrayed as the agent of the Hindus, a tyrant and an anarchist (same perception by Yahyah and his cronies).

13. Zia's pretext for taking over the political power was to declare war against the corruption by the politicians. Stamp corruption out was his slogan, but ironically Zia regime took the least actions against corruption as the following table shows:
Cases of corruption and punishment in four regimes (1972-94)
year regime case
c'sheet
charge
Case c/s
Punishment against ch'ge sheet %
Punishment against cases %
72-75
Mujib
2857
1957
938
68.5
47.93
32.83
76-81
Zia
6791
4369
735
64.34
15.82
10.82
82-90
Ershad
11102
7176
3349
64.64
46.67
30.17
91-94
Mrs. Zia
4746
4403
989
92.46
22.46
20.84

14. Zia turned the historical racecourse ground where Sheikh Mujib organized one of the largest protest rallies of human history, into a children's park (financed by Saudi Arabia) in his process to distort the history of Bangladesh.

15. In 1977, all the recorded (celluloid ) documents on liberation war (1952-1971) were destroyed from the FDC archive under the express order by the then president, General Ziaur Rahman

16. Zia set the trend of cutting trees and concretization of Dhaka city. This urban jejuneness is the projection of Zia's inner void.

17. Like a tin soldier Zia was a coward despite his outward appearance of a military mucho man. Inspired by the spirit of the liberation war, many freedom fighters married helpless, socially rejected Bangalee women, victims of the war. But being a self proclaimed captain of the war, Zia refused to accept his wife as she was confined in Dhaka cantonment during the war. After the war Sheikh Mujib had to convince Zia to accept his wife. But Zia never accepted his wife wholeheartedly and maintained a palsied relationship with her until his death.

Some critiques argue that General Zia was the 20th century version of Mir Zafar. Recent BBC survey on the best Bangalee of all times conforms Mujib's come-back like Siraj.
Reference:

1. Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts, compiled and published by the Center for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War

2. Commission on War Criminals of Bangladesh
3. Saiduzzaman Raushan: Speeches and Statements of Killers & Collaborators of 1971
4. Muyeedul Hasan: Muldhara: '71
5. Major Rafiqul Islam: Tales of a Million
6. Muntassir Mamoon: Democracy in Bangladesh: Elements of Consensus and Process.
7. Muntassir Mamoon: Je deshe Razakar Bara
8. Mujiber Atmajibani: Dr Mazharul Islam

MBI Munshi,
Tikatuli, Dhaka
*************************
 
Thursday May 05 2005 15:31:55 PM BDT
 
Also see:

Monday October 24 2005 23:08:53 PM BDT
 
 



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[chottala.com] A futile attempt to demean Bangabandhu, verdict





Shabbir Ahmed

A futile attempt to demean Bangabandhu, verdict

December 21, 2009

sabbir_ahmed3By scanning the news dailies published from Dhaka, I came to the conclusion that there is a sense of great relief in the minds of the people of Bangladesh after the delivery of the judgment on Bangabandhu murder case by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on November 19, 2009. People irrespective of their political ideology welcomed the verdict without trying to bring in the issues of governance, administration, and economic condition during the days after the independence of a war-torn country. It can be said that old habits die hard for a tiny few, who wholeheartedly support the killers/conspirators of Bangabandhu and his family members.

At different times in the past, these caviling characters tried their best to bring up issues that were not fixable so easily in a country that underwent a long nine months of destruction because of a war against the Pakistani occupation force. The difficult condition caused by the destruction and killings of the brutal Pakistani force and their pet Razakars and Al Badars are seldom highlighted by these deceptive writers, some of whom claim themselves to be researchers. A section of the censorious fault-finders has started again to pick holes in Bangabandhu's coat even at a time when the whole nation has breathed a sigh of relief and is eagerly looking forward to hearing the news of the execution of the killers.

Unfortunately, the detractors are not allowing the people of Bangladesh to have the sense of relief that they deserve after a long wait since the trial began in 1997. The esoteric "research-based" essays on the issues centering the killing of Bangabandhu are intended only to misguide and create miasma among gullible segment of the civil society of Bangladesh. They used this futile and worn-out technique for a long time since August 1975. A few of them are trying again to create confusion by soft selling the killing actions of a few criminals. One of such researchers named Mr. Taj Hashmi wrote his distorted views at bdnews24.com ( http://opinion. bdnews24. com/2009/ 11/25/1975- the-crime- and-verdict- in-retrospection/) on the killings in August 1975 and the subsequent trial of the killers after long 34 years.

In his write-up, he highlighted a few of the issues: (i) declaration of one-party (BKSAL) government, (ii) events of 1975 was a mutiny or a random instance of killings by a few criminals, and (iii) establishment of rule of law as an outcome of the trial of the killers of Bangabandhu. Critics like Mr. Hashmi bank on the declaration of BKSAL frequently in their writings. They do not want to consider that the aim of BKSAL was to unite all the people of Bangladesh in one platform in a country where armed terrorists were out to establish various forms of socialism (e.g. scientific and Maoist forms). The defeated pro-Pakistani Razakars, Al-Badars and the conspirators were also active to destabilise the government and finally to undermine the independence of the newly born country. Under a desperate and critical scenario, Bangabandhu wanted to unite all including the academicians and government officials.

I read many times that Bangabandhu wanted to welcome educated people in politics for getting input from them for the development of the new-born country. It is relevant to mention that in the USA, a government employee can be a member of a political party and can take part in political activities to a great extent. As a pragmatic leader, Bangabandhu envisioned that the progress of Bangladesh lied with the contribution of all including the educated mass of the country. Unfortunately, researcher Mr. Hashmi did not want to go deep into the context and condition prevailing at the time in a war-ravaged country. It was not a mandatory but a voluntary option to join BKSAL. Even in my wild imagination, I cannot fathom out how Mr. Hashmi was humiliated and frightened on the question of joining BKSAL.

The second issue of interest for Mr. Hashmi is the one of calling the killings of August 15, 1975 a mutiny. What he is trying to achieve by bringing the issue of mutiny vs. random killing is not clear. Let's agree, for the sake of argument, that the killing of August 1975 was a "Sepoy (soldier) Mutiny." Was there a provision in the constitution for the soldiers to go for a mutiny if they decided at a certain point of time to do so for any reason whatsoever? In any civilised country, any such unruly acts would be treated as treason and severely dealt with. There is no room for the disciplined soldiers/officers to become unruly and kill the President, his wife, sons, daughters-in-law, and many others. It is sad that a former faculty of Dhaka University can go so low and try to portray the cowardly killings of unarmed individuals (including pregnant women and children) as a mutiny.

There is no denying that the economic condition in 1974 was precarious due to countrywide flood, oil embargo, and international/ national conspiracies against new-born Bangladesh. Despite all these, the people of Bangladesh had confidence in Bangabandhu and in his vision for the progress of Bangladesh. There was no mass demonstration to topple his government like the ones in 1969, 1990, 1996, and more recently in 2006/2007. So, the portrayal of the killings in 1975 as a mutiny is just a disinformation campaign by a few, who supported martial democracy as practiced for a long time in Pakistan. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court did not accept the arguments of the lawyers of the killers on mutiny, as echoed also in Mr. Hashmi's write-up.

Mr. Hashmi is skeptical about the establishment of the rule of law with the final verdict from the Supreme Court on Bangabandhu murder case. I think no-one believes that the law and order will improve sharply following the execution of the killers. This trial and execution will act as a stern warning to the potential killers and their patrons about the consequence of the heinous crimes. It is my understanding that the trial of Bangabandhu murder case itself is a demonstration of the rule of law. To establish and enhance the rule of law, all the killings including the killing of Siraj Sikdar should be investigated and tried. One should not forget that Siraj Sikdar believed in, practised, trained, and provoked his followers to kill people (including police and other armed forces) by labeling them as an enemy-class for establishing socialism. No-one can deny that these were basically the acts of terrorism. In fact, those who lost their near and dear ones in the hands of Siraj Sikdar's party cadres should come forward and seek justice. I hope Mr. Hashmi would support all the victims of the terror acts done by Siraj Sikdar's disciples.

A group of captious intellectuals tried hard to undermine the emergence of civilian rule in Bangladesh under the leadership of Bangabandhu. The cynicism of these intellectuals caused a bit of confusion among a group of young men and women in the 70s and 80s. In all probability, these intellectuals did not like the civilian rule that was established as a consequence of the break-up of military dominant Pakistan. So, they tried to create doubt about the leadership of Bangabandhu in terms of governance, administration, and foresightedness. It is my belief that many researchers will appreciate his vision and policies at present and in years to come. Certainly, we are indebted to him as a nation for leading us out of a 'mullah-military-based country' called Pakistan.

The signs are clear that Bangabandhu will be portrayed quite positively for his dedication, love, and sacrifice for the people of Bangladesh. A few detractors are trying on the Internet to create some controversies with their ad hominem write-ups but without any noticeable success. Their esoteric write-ups are definitely destined to the recycle bin of history. These intellectual charlatans cannot fool all the people all the time.

Source:   http://opinion.bdnews24.com/2009/12/21/a-futile-attempt-to-demean-bangabandhu-verdict/

Related:

http://opinion.bdnews24.com/2009/11/25/1975-the-crime-and-verdict-in-retrospection/

Taj Hashmi

Tags:
Posted in Politics | 55 Comments »

 

 



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[chottala.com] Zia vs Zafar - Revelations by MBI Munshi [in 2005]



Zia vs Zafar

Thursday May 05 2005 15:31:55 PM BDT

MBI Munshi from Bangladesh

Nabab Siraj was not an excellent ruler; East India Company and their collaborators publicized him as an eccentric autocrat. He could not save his grandfather's kingdom from the British merchants. He was too lenient to the merchants and too naïve about their intention. Ultimately, his naiveté and lenience paid off. He lost his kingdom and life; Bangla lost its independence.

After 100 years of bad publicity by British and their local collaborators he cam back in the pages of history as a symbol of our independence; a symbol of our lost pride.

Modern propaganda ministers and pet historians also publicized Sheikh Mujib as a bad ruler too. People thought everything would be solved automatically after the independence, denying the fact that nation building is a long term tedious job. No nation has been developed until several decades of independence. Modern day Robert Clive, Jagat Shetth, Rajballav, etc. were working behind the scene. Eventually Mujib was pushed to establish a totalitarian system BAKSHAL; even though he said,
"if my people don't like it, I will revert" in a speech.

General Zia wrote an article in Daily Bichitra supporting BAKSHAL.
Despite being a lenient ruler he will be in the pages of history as he led the nation to independence. His vigorous stance for Bangalee rights amidst Paki generals' red eyes will keep in the pages of history as a super hero.

The independence lost through Siraj's defeat in 1757 was gained back by Mujib's rigid struggle for "six-point demands," win in 1970 election, unbending negotiation tactics with Paki dictators and finally the Liberation War.

Siraj's death led to a dark era of colonial rule. Mujib's death prompted a U-turn from the spirit of liberation and eventually brought the War Criminals and religion traders to power. From a plural secular nation the U-turn took us back to a backward nation that is longing for 7th century style theocracy; that is intolerant to minorities (Hindus, Kadianis, etc.).

Now the country is heading for a Taleban style revolution. The British merchants and their local collaborators like Jagat Shetth, Raj Ballabh gong and their successors, denigrated Siraj for a century after 1757. Mustaq-Zia- Ershad-Golam gong blacked out Mujib from Bangladesh for a long time after 1975. Siraj's killer Miran, backed by British and Mir Zafar, never faced justice for killing the Nabab. Mujib's killers, backed and rewarded by Mustaq- Zia- Ershad-Khaleeda gong escaped justice too.


There are several analogies between Mir Zafar Ali Khan and General Ziaur Rahman.

1. Mir Zafar acquired the Army Chief position by his good service to Murshid Kuli Khan. General Zia acquired Army Chief of Staff position by good job, as a sector commander, announcer of independence in liberation war, and afterwards serving Sheikh Mujibs government. Even appraising BAKSAL.

2. Mir Zafar was personally a religious and honest man and was popular at his time. But, he let the British and Hindu merchants virtually loot the country. Ziaur Rahman was a financially honest man and popular, but was dishonest in every other respect. All his ministers were corrupt and some patronized dacoits like Imdu, Galkata Kamal; they virtually looted the country.

3. Mir Zafar was the chief of Siraj's army. General Zia was a senior general at Mujib's time and Chief of Staff at the time of 1975 carnage.

4. Mir Zafar remained inactive when Jagat Shetth, Raj Ballabh, and British merchants defeated Nabab. Ziaur Rahman remained inactive when Faruk-Rashid-Mushtaq gong killed Mujib, his family, and the leaders of liberation war. [killer Farooq's clime, Bangladesh a Legacy of Blood. Zia's response was "don't come to me if you fail" (what a subidhabadi!)].

5. Mir Zafar awarded the Jagat Shetth, Raj Ballabh, and British merchants afterwards, when he came to power. General Zia awarded Farooq and Rashid Bangladesh Embassies in different countries after he came to power. He rewarded the razakars and gong for their loyalty to Paki colonialists and war criminals.

6. Mir Zafar kept silent when Miran killed Siraj. General Zia kept silent when his officers (later he made them ambassadors) killed Sheikh Mujib and leaders in the Jail.

7. Mir Zafar let Miran escape punishment. General Zia let Farooq-Rashid gong escape justice. Zia amended the constitution to save the killers (the black Indemnity Ordinance).

8. Mir Zafar's treason led the death of liberation itself leading to a colonial rule for centuries. Zia's treason led the death of spirits of liberation finally taking War Criminals and traitors to power. The country is now heading towards being a black shadow of Pakistan and Talebans.

9. Siraj was hated by the subsequent regimes like Mir Zafar and British rulers. Mujib is also blacked-out by the subsequent regimes like Zia, Ershad, Khaleda.

10. Mir Zafar demolished "monarchy" and promoted "colonialism", both existing in many underdeveloped countries then. General Zia demolished totalitarian BAKSHAL and promoted "militarism", both existing in many underdeveloped countries at his time. His election fiasco made world records.

11. Mir Zafar promoted treason, letting the Englishmen take power. He was finally hunted down by his own creation- treason. General Zia promoted killing and assassination by adopting "Indemnity Ordinance" in the constitution, freeing the punished war criminals from jails, freeing "seven murder" convict from jail, taking 11 murder convict to Hizbul Bahar, appointing the killers of Mujib in different Embassies, creating musclemen on campus. He was finally hunt down by his own creation – treason and killing. The brutality of his killing reflected his own ruthlessness towards any dissent.

12. Mir Zafar let East Indian Company loot the country. Zia let goons and thugs loot the country. He created hundreds of bank loan defaulters by forcing banks to lend money to his party goons. He took young talents and notorious killers in the same ship "Hizbu Bahar" together and taught them evade taxes. He also freed 2 thousand criminals from jails who were not only collaborators of Paki Junta, but also took part in killing, raping, looting, and torching freedom fighters.

******** Here are some highlights of Zia's Misdeeds ***********

1. In 1975, Zia imposed the concept of Bangladeshi Nationalism in order to accommodate the Muslim Leaguers, Islamic fundamentalist groups, pro-Chinese leftists (all anti liberation forces) in national politics so as to subvert the mainstream secular political trends achieved through the liberation war.

2. Literally made politics difficult by investing large amount of foreign aids to buy over opposition political leaders in order to form his own political party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He made the nation too much dependent on foreign aid.

3. As a part of his political scheme, Zia rehabilitated all the returned Bangladeshi (from Pakistan after 1975) civil and military bureaucrats in top administrative positions to change the orientation of the state machineries. In 1975, Zia formed an administrative reorganization committee to rehabilitate the anti liberation forces in administration. The convener of the committee was Kazi Anwarul Haque, (later Zia's personal adviser). All the members of the committee were well-known pro-Pakistani civil and military bureaucrats: Commodore MH Khan, Air Vice Marshal MG Towab, Dr MN Huda and Zia himself.

Prof Emajuddin Ahmed pointed out that out of 31 top advisers /ministers of Zia 19 were strongly anti Bangladesh. In this regard a comment by Prof Musharaf Hossain is relevant: "......the most distinguished people Zia invited to join his government, after his r! ise to power in 1975, were Justice Sattar, Kazi Anwarul Huq, Hafiz Uddin, Mirza Nurul huda, Mohd Shamsul Haque, Shafiul Azam, Azizul Huq, Zahirul huq and so on. All of them worked as loyal associates of General Ayub /Yahyah during Pakistan period. They were famous for their so called "honesty and "efficiency". They were experts on "Pakistan Model" and did not have any qualms about the methods of realizing "Pakistani Development Model" in Bangladesh. But it was difficult to know about their attitude to an event called liberation war..."

4. Zia ruthlessly eliminated the remaining Muktijoddha (pro liberation) officers in the army, navy and air force (in 1977, a total of 1143 air force officers and soldiers, former freedom fighters, were killed in firing squad under Zia's instruction ).
5. Zia removed secularism from Bangladesh constitution and replaced it with Islam (Bismillah).

6. Zia corrupted the youths through greed. He established "youth complex" to lease the "khaas" lands to youths. He bought musclemen on campus and ruined young talents like Golam Farooq Ovi. He took the young talents to Hizbul Bahar to give them a chance for tax-free shopping and attract them by greed. In Hizbul Bahar young talents were kept in the same cabin with notorious murderers in parole.

7. Zia ruined the system crucial for democracy: the election system. He was first to use bureaucratic machinery to manipulate votes: in the referendum of 1977 Zia got 98.88% votes (88.5% registered votes) whereas in the 1970 election, at the height of the nationalist movement, Sheikh Mujib received only 55.09% of the registered votes.

8. On November 9, 1975 Zia dissolved the commission for investigation of the murder of four national leaders in Dhaka central jail. The aftermath was more political killings.

9. During Zia's regime the size of the defense forces was increased by 300 times.

10. By May, 1976, Zia conferred the war criminals constitutional rights to vote and involve in political activities in Bangladesh. General Zia's:
a. Second proclamation order no.3 of 1976 overwrote section 38, which had abolished religion based politics.
b. Second proclamation addressing section 122 reestablished the right of war criminals to vote
c. Proclamation order no.1 of 1977 overwrote certain points in section 66, which addressed the rights of war criminals to contest elections.
d. On 18 January, 1976, the war criminals were asked by the ministry to apply for citizenship
e. Proclamation Order no.1 of 1977 eliminated section 12 of the constitution

11. Zia let the killers of Sheikh Mujib escape from Bangladesh and rewarded them with diplomatic posts and status in various foreign missions of Bangladesh.

12. Under Zia's instruction the history text books in schools and colleges were altered and the political events between language movement and 27 March, 1971 were deleted. Sheikh Mujib was portrayed as the agent of the Hindus, a tyrant and an anarchist (same perception by Yahyah and his cronies).

13. Zia's pretext for taking over the political power was to declare war against the corruption by the politicians. Stamp corruption out was his slogan, but ironically Zia regime took the least actions against corruption as the following table shows:
Cases of corruption and punishment in four regimes (1972-94)
year regime case
c'sheet
charge
Case c/s
Punishment against ch'ge sheet %
Punishment against cases %
72-75
Mujib
2857
1957
938
68.5
47.93
32.83
76-81
Zia
6791
4369
735
64.34
15.82
10.82
82-90
Ershad
11102
7176
3349
64.64
46.67
30.17
91-94
Mrs. Zia
4746
4403
989
92.46
22.46
20.84

14. Zia turned the historical racecourse ground where Sheikh Mujib organized one of the largest protest rallies of human history, into a children's park (financed by Saudi Arabia) in his process to distort the history of Bangladesh.

15. In 1977, all the recorded (celluloid ) documents on liberation war (1952-1971) were destroyed from the FDC archive under the express order by the then president, General Ziaur Rahman

16. Zia set the trend of cutting trees and concretization of Dhaka city. This urban jejuneness is the projection of Zia's inner void.

17. Like a tin soldier Zia was a coward despite his outward appearance of a military mucho man. Inspired by the spirit of the liberation war, many freedom fighters married helpless, socially rejected Bangalee women, victims of the war. But being a self proclaimed captain of the war, Zia refused to accept his wife as she was confined in Dhaka cantonment during the war. After the war Sheikh Mujib had to convince Zia to accept his wife. But Zia never accepted his wife wholeheartedly and maintained a palsied relationship with her until his death.

Some critiques argue that General Zia was the 20th century version of Mir Zafar. Recent BBC survey on the best Bangalee of all times conforms Mujib's come-back like Siraj.
Reference:

1. Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts, compiled and published by the Center for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War

2. Commission on War Criminals of Bangladesh
3. Saiduzzaman Raushan: Speeches and Statements of Killers & Collaborators of 1971
4. Muyeedul Hasan: Muldhara: '71
5. Major Rafiqul Islam: Tales of a Million
6. Muntassir Mamoon: Democracy in Bangladesh: Elements of Consensus and Process.
7. Muntassir Mamoon: Je deshe Razakar Bara
8. Mujiber Atmajibani: Dr Mazharul Islam

MBI Munshi,
Tikatuli, Dhaka
*************************
 
Thursday May 05 2005 15:31:55 PM BDT
 
Also see:

Monday October 24 2005 23:08:53 PM BDT
 
 


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