Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman's Secret Visit to Agartala
Sheikh Hasina's visit to Agartala on Wednesday will occasion a trip down memory lane for three elderly men who can still remember how fifty years ago her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman made a secret foray into this city after crossing over to Khowai in West Tripura district-for the first and the last time to meet the then Chief Minister Sachindra Lal Singha. Only a few top-notch in the administration knew about the secret visit and fewer still knew that he spent a full November night in Agartala Central Jail. And that visit was five years before famous Agartala Conspiracy Case of 1968 which ultimately set the stage for the Bangladesh Liberation War. Of course, Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman was not involved in the Agartala Conspiracy Case-though he was implicated and made Accused No-1 – but at that time he did not come to Tripura. He came only once and that was in 1963. Though the specifics of his meetings with Sachindra Lal Singha will never be known because both Singha and Mujib are long dead and gone, there is no doubt that the "Bangabandhu" was testing the waters to secure Indian help for his cause. "Yes, of course I have seen Sheikh Mujib when he came to Khowai. But that was long ago, perhaps 50 years ago. I was then employed in the SDO office and I saw Sheikh Saheb entering into the SDO Sir's residence, part of which was his office then", said the 86 years old man as he sat straight on his bed. Satya Deb, a former Class IV staff of Smarajit Chakrabarty, the then Sub Divisional Officer of Khowai, West Tripura is among the three living men who had seen Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman during that secret trip to Tripura."It was if I correctly remember in November 1963-according to some it was cool November 3 afternoon-when Sheikh Mujib crossed over the border", said Arun Bhattacharjee, then a clerk at the SDO Khowai office.
"The way all involved maintained hush-hush and the alacrity in which the entire visit was handled it became clear to us that it was a top secret visit by Sheikh Mujib. Then SDO was Smarajit Chakrabarty and evidently he was alerted by the higher ups. Sheikh Mujib crossed the border through tea estate in the afternoon along with three persons. Then we did have only two jeeps, one belonged to SDO and one to BDO." It was indeed a top secret visit of Sheikh Mujib to India believed to have been for seeking New Delhi's help for some sort of movement that Bangabandhu was planning even as early as in 1963. He had met the then Chief Minister Sachindra Lal Singha, who was his friend, and had asked him to help in this regard. "I remember SDO Sir asked the then Khowai police station OC Sudarshan Kar to remain alert and then went off to receive him in the border without saying anything to anyone. Within half an hour the SDO came back with his jeep TRA 54. And he was accompanied by three others, one among them was Sheikh Mujib", said Bhattacharjee, who can still clearly remember the visit.The jeep went straight to Chakrabarty's office and they just slipped hurriedly into first the SDO office and then at the back of the office in his Chakrabarty's drawing room. "It was then I saw Sheikh Saheb. He was wearing Punjabi Pyjama and a shawl was wrapped around his upper part. He was a tall man. I saw three others but did not recognize them", said Satya Deb. Some sources said, Mujib was then accompanied by editor of Ittefaq newspaper of the then East Pakistan Tofazzul Hussain and two other reporters. Abhijit Chakrabarty, youngest son of the SDO said, "my mother Rama Chakrabarty told me she had prepared coffee for them".Soon Sachindra Lal Singh's younger brother Umesh Chandra Singh arrived Khowai as speacial emmisery of the Chief MInister and immediately all of them in two jeeps – one of them of the SDO and one of the BDO sped towards Agartala.
"Interestingly driver of SDO's jeep Haripada Das came to our headclerk Birendra Kumar Bhattacharjee and requested him for some money as he would need to buy petrol as he would have to take 'some Bangladeshi VIPs' to Agartala. 'God knows how many times I have to run. so I need some money for petrol, Haripada told the head clerk who in turn told the cashier to give him the money, said Bhattacharjee. "I still remember soon after Sheikh Mujib crossed over there were hectic military movements in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) border. We could see Pakistani military and para-military jeeps wildly moving and deployment being done. Obviously they came to know Mujib would be crossing over to Tripura on some secret mission but they were late. Mujib and his three associates arrived Agartala and went straight to Chief Minister's residence at 12'30 am at night. Within a day seven more close associates also arrived in Agartala. In Agartala while Mujib was made a guest of Singh's sister Hemangini Devi in Arundhuti Nagar. Others were housed in two other places- one being the Colonel Bari at the city heart. According to veteran journalist JItendra Paul, who was a close associate of Singh said the Chief Minister had got a call from Prime Minister Jawhar lal Nehru not to keep Mujib and others in his official residence and they might all have been 'armed' and that they 'sneaked; into Indian territory illegally. It was after a series of discussions with Mujib, Tripura Chief Minister Sachindra Lal Singh accompanied by Chief Secretary B Raman flew to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Jawhar Lal Nehru."I met the Prime Minister personally as Chief Secretary stayed at the Foreign Secretary's office chamber. We discussed Indian helps for Mujib's movement. But Nehru was not ready at that moment since only one year ago we had Indo-China war", according to a written statement given to a Bangladeshi reporter by Singh some months before his death. As the talks failed Mujib was visibly sad. But the problem arose as to how they should return home. Decision was taken that they would be pushed back. "I was then SDO Sadar (Agartala). At the instruction of the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary I received Mujib at a city area and took him Agartala Central Jail", said KP Chakrabarty over telephone last year to this writer last year. As Mujib went to jail and a case for 'intrusion' was registered against him, the then District Magistrate and SP met Mujib in jail.
"My father Nani Gopal Kar Bhowmik was the Superintendent of Jail and according to Jail code he was also present during the meeting. But he did not divulge me what transpired in the meeting", said Manish Kar Bhowmik, and eminent senior layer of Gauhati High Court. "Chief Minister also came to meet Mujib in jail. But that at that time my father was not there. Mujib stayed a full night in Agartala Central jail and a sentry by the name of Abu Taher was posted to attend him", Kar Bhowmik added. Next day Mujib and three of his companions were 'officially' pushed them back to East Pakistan through Kamalasagar border crossing the Salda river. This was the only time Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman came to Tripura. And it still remains a top secret and not many were at all aware.
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