In Memory of Our First PM Tajuddin Ahmad

 

There is so much more I would like to tell you about Bangladesh’s First Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad (23 July 1925 - 3 November 1975), but suffice it to say, we will never see his likes again and we are poorer for it. He was the real deal. A great statesman. His 98th Birthday passed by silently on 23 July, 2023.

Bangabandhu played the critical role in institutionalizing the growing sense of separateness between East and West Pakistan by presenting the historic Six-Point Program in 1966. And Tajuddin Ahmad played the key-role in materializing Bangabandhu’s dream.

‘By March 15, 1971 for all practical purposes, a functioning de facto administration was projected to the world through a large contingent of the international press who were present to cover what appeared to all as the emergence of a new state in Bangladesh.’

‘During March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assertion of the right to self-rule made him one of the most globally visible personalities of the Third World. Not only were Bangalis ruling themselves for the first time since the Battle of Plassey, but they were also doing so through freely elected representatives.’

Great leaders like Tajuddin Ahmad could make significant, positive, and permanent differences in the lives of people and institutions, and stand as symbols of justice, fairness, strength, honesty, integrity and courage.

No one would deny Tajuddin Ahmad and his cabinet colleagues except the Punic charactered Moshtaq Ahmed, the major share of the credit for devising the pattern of struggle based on guerrilla warfare by our freedom fighters leading to the Indian government’s involvement in the monumental war with Pakistani military junta in the land of Bangladesh that ultimately predated to our victory and Bangladesh was born in 1971.

One of the most remarkable personalities of the 20th century, Tajuddin was an infinitely fine gentleman man — by turns an individualist but also a strict disciplinarian.

A statesman, above all, he was a moralist who deeply believed that man’s goodness must come ahead of his mere economic progress.
The two great men – Bangabandhu and Tajuddin had a close personal and political relationship between them.

I feel that his style owed much to the simplicity. He was fundamentally a character from a Bengali novel or opera.

‘Tajuddin’s departure from the Bangabandhu’s cabinet was as heart-breaking as it was tragic.… In the second, Tajuddin’s resignation was soon to open the floodgates to disaster for the country.’

‘It was this intellectual aspect of the Tajuddin personality which brought him close to Bangabandhu, to a point where the civil-military establishment based in Rawalpindi knew full well…the Bengalis was an astute political associate unwilling to take any nonsense in politics and this line is of important in effect or meaning – having a proud and unbroken spirit!”

We can so potently spell-out, ‘After Oct 26, 1974, Bangladesh’s detractors, the enemies of its nationalistic spirit, went cheerfully into the job of undermining the state. The distance between Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Tajuddin Ahmad damaged this nation irreparably. We are yet paying the price.’

It is ‘essential to build a society where common people are given a sufficient material stake in the rewards of independence and a commensurate democratic stake in shaping a modern Bangladesh.’

Though Tajuddin and Sheikh Mujib were men of different dispositions, they developed a highly fruitful political rapport between themselves, which proved to be crucial for the birth of Bangladesh. Mujib's biographer S. A. Karim contrasts between the two:

Mujib and Tajuddin were complete opposites in many ways. Mujib was a powerful orator and had an uncommon ability to win the trust and loyalty of the people by voicing in simple language their inner thoughts and longings ... Tajuddin was a man of different temperament and talents. He had a lively intellect and an orderly mind. He was no demagogue and he was most persuasive in smaller circles. He had a strong sense of duty and was extremely hard-working.

Mujib deferred to Tajuddin on many critical matters. As the PPP leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto called for a public debate on the six points, which never took place, Mujib nominated Tajuddin to defend his case. During the constitution drafting discussions, after the 1970 elections, Mujib considered sending Tajuddin or Syed Nazrul Islam to lead the central government if such necessity would arise.

Sheikh Mujib used to be the key figure in the Awami League; most major decisions came from him. His arrest in the beginning of the liberation war created a critical leadership void that put Tajuddin in a difficult position. However, Tajuddin quickly earned Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi and her officials' trust. P N Haksar, Gandhi's secretary and adviser to her on Bangladesh affair in the early months of the Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971, explains the reason behind Indian government's preference to Tajuddin over other Awami League leaders as prime minister:

“Tajuddin was found to be the only person who had right political ideas for the task Bangladesh had set before itself. The Government of India also realized that Tajuddin was irreplaceable in the sense that things have been even more chaotic if somebody else other than him took over. These two considerations decided the issue of continued Indian support to Tajuddin despite numerous representations from his opponents within Awami League.”

“India's unwillingness in recognizing Bangladesh as a state and no direct military intervention in the early months caused frustration among the Awami League leadership; Tajuddin appreciated the difficulties involved in the matter.D P Dhar, who later replaced Haksar, remarks that Tajuddin was the only capable leader to lead the war: “Only Tajuddin was mentally equipped to lead Awami League out of a situation like this (liberation struggle). That was his biggest strength. He displayed all the initiatives, while his rivals (within Awami League) failed to formulate that else to look for apart from Indian recognition, followed by military attacks.”

The split between Mujib and Tajuddin started just after Mujib's return to Bangladesh after independence. S A Karim maintains that the enemies Tajuddin had earned during the war caused his downfall. Tajuddin's distance with Mujib frustrated him deeply. 

Economist Nurul Islam who had been the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of Bangladesh with Tajuddin as its chairman describes their split as 'a great tragedy and bode ill for the future'.

He observes, “It seemed to me that Tajuddin was frequently too outspoken in public. He was deeply frustrated that he had lost the full confidence of Sheikh Mujib, which he had enjoyed in the pre-1971 days. He occasionally gave expression to his frustration in public and was not very tactful.”

After his rise to the senior ranks of the Awami League leadership, Tajuddin had been involved in most major party and government policy decisions. He was an important bridge between the political leadership and the technocrats supporting them. His prominent paisanos include economists Nurul Islam and Rehman Sobhan; lawyers Kamal Hossain and Amir-ul Islam; author Anisuzzaman and journalist Muyeedul Hasan.

Economist Nurul Islam said of him, “I had known and worked closely with Tajuddin before and after independence. He was not only a patriot but also in my view the most serious minded, conscientious and competent as well as the most hardworking among the Ministers. Tajuddin usually took the views of the Planning Commission seriously and, if convinced, strongly supported them during Cabinet discussions. The entire Planning Commission had great respect for him.”

Economist professor Rehman Sobhan, recalls his experience of working with Tajuddin in drafting the constitution after the 1970 election, “... Tajuddin Ahmad was quite as fertile in his contributions as any of the academic’s demonstration deep political insight dialectical skill and an extraordinary capacity to absorb and break down complicated technical issues to their basic essentials.”

Just after independence, Time Magazine described him, “Tajuddin Ahmed, 46. Prime Minister, a lawyer who has been a chief organizer in the Awami League since its founding in 1949. He is an expert in economics and is considered one of the party’s leading intellectuals.”

Tajuddin used to be a regular and meticulous diarist. An active participant of the Bengali language movement, his diaries during the late 1940s and early 1950s chronicled first-hand accounts of the political activities and events of that time. Those diaries provided material for later researchers on the movement.

Our mission, unfinished, may take some more days. The struggle has tired us, and our hair is gray. You and I, old friends, can we just watch our efforts be washed away? No, not, at all.So, join me in giving Tajuddin Ahmadlike a great statesman – a man pure in heart,a round of applause and a big thank you to him on his 98th birthday.
 

Anwar A. Khan is a freedom
fighter who writes on politics
and international affairs.