“His strolls around the corridor of power at times drew pity; he frowned at straight talk; he tried to destroy dissidents with his wrath. He loved the nation, yet he betrayed it. He had to pay with his life.” — Enayetullah Khan, a former minister, ambassador and journalist. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first authoritarian leader, fell on […]
(Borrowed from the writer’s new book, FACTS, NOT FICTION: Bangladesh in Perspective, Volume 3, to be published soon) Come August, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh tries to bring her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who fell out of grace 49 years ago, to life with unprecedented fanfare. Amidst the ongoing national crisis generated by the aggrieved students against her administration, there was no exception. Prelude After […]
Low Turnout in Bangladesh Elections Amid Boycott and Violence—The New York Times. A Textbook Drama It was no secret who played the doll-dance that led to the unmandated and unpopular fascist governance in Bangladesh for decades. However, from 2021, the US led West infused a hope that the country would see a free, fair and participatory election in January 2024. That was not […]
November 7 is Inseparable from November 3 and August 15 Events Those who lived in Bangladesh during the latter part of 1975, will recall what they have seen and experienced. A nation was reborn, only to be disturbed slightly by a vicious coterie in between. Let us revisit the events. August 15, 1975 A military […]
Which nation? Has anyone ever heard Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ever uttering the term “Independent East Pakistan/Bangladesh” before 1971? Not that I know of. The closest he came to independence was on March 7, 1971 when he said, “এবারের সংগ্রাম, স্বাধীনতার সংগ্রাম …the struggle this time is for independence…” It was not a call for independence. The […]
(A translation from the original Bangla of Enayetullah Khan) “His strolls around the corridor of power at times drew pity; he frowned at straight talk; he tried to destroy a dissident with his wrath. He loved the nation, yet he betrayed it. He had to pay with his life. August 15 was the accumulated wrath of […]
Little is known about the 1971 jail life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Pakistan. It remained shrouded in mystery amidst various rumors and narratives. The Awami League never talks about it. But Raja Anar Khan spilled the beans at a Naqta-e-Nazar television interview aired in December 2015. Khan served Sheikh Mujib in the jails in […]
(This is what I collected from various sources about the events that took place inside the Mujib residence at that moment (In the morning of August 15, 1975). For 21 years, nobody talked about August 15. The coup leaders themselves remained mum, for whatever reasons. The only document is an interview given by Colonels Farook […]
The reasons are not far to seek. M M Azizul Haq wrote “Indemnity Rohit: Kar Sarthey? (Repeal of Indemnity: In Whose Interest?)” in the Daily Inqilab on November 1, 1991. It was written in the backdrop of then opposition Awami League’s pressure for the repeal of the Indemnity Act. The new president (Khandokar Mushtaq Ahmed) […]
“He thought he had asylum. Now, he could face a death sentence” ran a story by US’s influential POLITICO on July 24, 2020. “Rashed Chowdhury was a bit player in a years-old coup. His home country wants him back.” (He thought he had asylum. Now, he could face a death sentence. – POLITICO). With that […]