Published: 12:37 AM, 30 July 2018
Down memory lane: 15 August 1975
The lachrymose month of August is knocking on our door. Bangabandhu Mujib, Founding Father and President of Bangladesh, would visit Dhaka University on 15 August 1975, from where he was once expelled for a life time in an illegal manner by the Pakistani rulers.
In August 1975, I was a senior student of Dhaka University and stayed at Sergeant Zohurul Hoque Hall. Although I had always been apolitical, I, along with many friends, felt very excited on his 'would-be visit'.
University of Dhaka was adorned attractively. The whole area adjacent took a festal look. To me it seemed youth was like spring, an over-praised season greatly pleasing or entertaining if it happened to be a favored one, but in practice it didn't happen as a general rule, for biting vile winds, than genial breezes, of northern area of Dhaka military cantonment.
At the pre-dawn hour on that day, my roommate and close friend Abdus Sobhan Khan Arif burst into terrified voice and woke me up to give the horrendous news about Bangabandhu's brutal murder.
He almost dragged me out to a room nearby to ours where a one-band Radio was tuned on, and with our frightening heart, we got a line about the voice marked by deep ill will; deliberately harmful of Major Dalim sounding out, "Sheikh Mujib is killed. The army has captured power.
The martial law is imposed on throughout the country…" We were tremendously shocked, appalled and at the same time, very rancorous to have heard of this cowardly and horrific act.
The blowing winds came to a sudden halt. The leaves of trees didn't move. What TIME magazine, in August 1971 edition, said peeped into my mind, "A man of vitality and vehemence, Mujib became the political Gandhi of the Bengalis, symbolizing their hopes and voicing their grievances.
Not even Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, drew the million-strong throngs that Mujib has attracted in Dacca. Nor, for that matter, has any subcontinent politician since Gandhi's day spent so much time behind bars for his political beliefs."
A few minutes later, suddenly a prevarication of news was spread that the dead bodies of Bangabandhu and his family members were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) morgue.
We immediately ran to DMCH through the path of Polassey area to see his mortal remains and pay our deep honor to this sky-high figure of our history.
But that was a bootless exercise for us. Instead, we found some murdered dead bodies brought in there by some naval officers in their vehicles. We desperately tried to get to know of those dead bodies, but to our intense despair, we came to know that there was no verity of truth to that news.
In fact, those were the dead bodies of Bangabandhu's dear and dear ones. All at once, a police contingent upon receiving instruction from the killer army officers, stormed there with rampant arch, used truncheons to unmercifully disperse the mob standing there. Conking out their baton charges, we ran down, cut and ran away quickly from that place.
We then walked up to Gulistan and adjacent areas to Bangabhaban building, and found some armored tanks moving there. The faces of armed personnel were found marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences.
While we were passing by the Suhrawardy Udyan, we found several armored tanks parked inside and with some hawkish eyes, the operators appeared to tactical maneuver to act in order to achieve a certain roughshod goal.
From there, we went in front of Bangladesh Betar Bhaban at Shahbagh, which was surrounded by some armored tank contingents with soldiers in violent mood. It was learnt that Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed, the mastermind of the killing of his leader, was inside the Betar Bhaban.
He was preparing a speech to be broadcasted to the nation in consultation with Taheruddin Thakur, a former journalist and state minister for Information of Bangabandhu's Cabinet, Mahbub Alam Chasi, DG of Comilla BARD Academy and a long time known Moshtaque loyalist, Tajul Islam, Press Adviser to the self-declared President Moshtaque with an agreement on a secret plot under the passed night's deep darkness.
Being dog-tired, we were coming back to our residential hall in the afternoon. While crossing by the Arts Faculty Building, we found some armored tanks rolled through this road to ravage the DU campus at the wee hours of 15 August. In some places the roads were found cracked and the potholes occurred on the roads because of the tanks' movements.
We advanced a little further and got the wind about another notorious incident that the renowned scholar and scientist, VC of Dhaka University Prof Dr. Abdul Matin Chowdhury was taken into confinement by those ill-famed foxes of Bangladesh army on some cooked up and folderol heraldic bearings or charges.
We were mentally devastated and standing in front of our hall. At about 4pm, Colonel Rashid, one of the most notorious brainpans, came to our dormitory in warlike surliness by an army jeep.
At one time, Colonel Rashid burst into extreme anger and exasperatedly made a short speech, "Don't try to balk us, and you will be perished from this earth in no time." We, as general students, heard him only. Immediately thereafter, he left the place along with his changeling and arrogant soldiers.
At evenfall time, we entered our Hall's TV room to watch news programs being aired then. A meeting conducted by execrable President Moshtaque at Bangabhaban was demoed where this offender was seen in pallid faced.
In the frontline, we saw sitting with the killer soldiers some flunkies namely Gen Osmani, a newly appointed Defense Adviser to Moshtaque, Gen Shafiullah, Gen Zia, Gen Khalil, Naval Chief MH Khan, Air Chief AK Khondokar and many more morally reprehensible personas.
To our utter shame, a news item was read out citing Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani's support to wrongful Moshtaque government displaying his still photograph.
But we remember what Annada Shankar Ray wrote on hearing the sad news of Bangabandhu's beastly killing, "As long as Padma, Meghna, Gouri, Jamuna flows on, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, your accomplishment will also live on."
Before 5am on the next day, suddenly our hall was heavily stormed by a large Lancer Unit of Army mostly wearing black attires equipped with heavy guns. A large group of Lancer forces cordoned-off the entire area taking positions in its different locations with guns pointed at us.
A group of soldiers went inside the hall and pounded in our rooms. They angrily shouted to come out from our rooms with hands-up position. They forced us to vacate all rooms and then we were made stand up in hands-up position nearby the Hall's playground; lined us up; and then they used vulgar words against us mostly in Urdu and English languages.
They imperiled us in a very harsh language, "We shall take you all to an unknown location; and we are not sure whether someone of you may come back to this dormitory or not." Two of our friends were mercilessly beaten by them to create an unwanted panic among us and those two friends of us got wounded and they were then bleeding. We were then feeling affrighted.
Suddenly we found a senior most and brilliant scholar teacher Prof Dr. Khosh Mohammed, Chairman of DU's Mathematics Department and our hall Provost was escorted by some rogue junior army officers at hands-up position and forced him to pass walking in front of us to the Hall's TV Room. Provost Sir was thrown into a state of intense fear or desperation because his face then looked very depressed and dispirited.
Some students were forced foregather at the TV Room along with our Provost Sir. On the podium of this room, a few army officers climbed up and used plebeian and unwashed language against everybody present there and in a vehement outcry, they hollered, "All students, deposit to us in no time whatever arms and ammunitions you have in your possession. Otherwise no one will be spared."
A pall of gloom descended upon the TV Room. Prof Dr. Khosh Mohammed paused momentarily and said in a very cool voice, "I know for sure, my students do not have any arms and ammunitions in their possession." The unpleasant army persons then angrily shouted to obey their orders.
Provost Sir requested them to give his students for a time up to 10.00 O-clock on 17 August 1975 and he said, "If my students have any arms and ammunitions in their self-possession, they will do so at this TV Room within that time-frame."
They then reluctantly agreed to this proposal and then these poseur military-men pulled-out their troops exasperatedly from the SZHH Hall and left the place foul-mouthed along with their army convoys. They didn't turn up again. This was the solitary Hall only of DU that these savage wildcats rampaged during that time.
Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed was the lone Punic character of Bangabandhu's cabinet adopting a despicable scheme kissed publicly on the cheek of Mujib to prove his allegiance to his leader (this picture was released in the-then Newspapers).
In order to cozen, he was so jerry-built that he gained ground to receive Bangabandhu's fond touching on his face. But look how Bangladesh was made as one of the dark places of the earth "on 15 August 1975 and after" by Moshtaque and his gangsters.
15th August 1975 truly paints the heart of darkness of some wretched men's execrable dissembles, and posits in the body of the work unleashed by some ugly and horrifying characters. But Moshtaque and those morally reprehensible men have no place in our lives.
In fact, these ruffians' place must be the outfall at a grime place. Eminent journalist and columnist Syed Badrul Ahsan has aptly said, "Forty two years after the assassination … it is time to plumb the depths of the tragedy which took hold of our collective life in that sad summer…" Yes, it has to be. To dig out the key foxy players both local and foreign, who acted behind the screens for all these felonious crimes, their faces must be brought to light.
Rise up and salute the sun. Because Bangabandhu was almost a sky-touching figure because of his attributes of leadership. We should imitate him in all glory and dignity. If we choose to, we will not be second to him in anything.
To finish-off today, we wish to remember the words of Journalist Cyril Dunn, "In the thousand year history of Bengal, Sheikh Mujib is her only leader who has, in terms of blood, race, language, culture and birth, been a full blooded Bengali.
His physical stature was immense. His voice was redolent of thunder. His charisma worked magic on people. The courage and charm that flowed from him made him a unique superman in these times."
The writer is a political
commentator and an author
