A Year Of Optimism

The sun sets --- as it has set for ages, moments before twilight --- since the beginning of time. Yet this sinking of the sun behind the horizon had a poignancy of its own. It was taking a year with it into the chronicles of time. The dawn to follow would have the sun rise in new splendour, with newer optimism defining its rays through the mist of a New Year.

Trying collaborators
Bengali nationalism went through a certain rebirth, or rekindling, with the war crimes trials of the collaborators of the Pakistan occupation army of 1971 getting under way. Forty two years after liberation, the trials were seen not merely as a fulfillment of the ruling AL's pre-election promise but also an opportunity for the nation to have the wheels of justice work so as to bring a closure to one of the most sordid of episodes in Bangladesh's history. Of course, a fairly good number of critical comments about the modalities and standards applied at the trials came from human rights activists, especially abroad. Even so, the trials were an act which enjoyed the broad support of citizens.
Linked to the trials was the emergence of the Ganojagoron Mancha in February of the year, significantly as a protest against the life sentence passed on Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah. The protest rippled out into nationwide outrage, compelling the authorities to seek a review of the judgment. Mollah was eventually sentenced to hang, which sentence was carried out at the end of the year.  Among other collaborators on whom sentences of death were passed were Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Muhammad Kamruzzaman, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan. Ghulam Azam was sentenced to 90 years in prison; Abdul Alim, once a minister in General Ziaur Rahman's regime, was sentenced to a jail term till his death.

New man at Bangabhaban
President Zillur Rahman's death earlier in the year led to the election of Abdul Hamid, speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, as the new head of state in April. Much hope was pinned on him by large sections of society regarding his role in bridging the gap between the ruling alliance and the opposition. The hope turned out to have been misplaced.
With Hamid's elevation to the presidency, it was for Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury to become the first woman to be elected speaker of parliament.

Happy deals
In January, the government reached an agreement to the tune of $1 million with the Russian Federation, under which it planned to procure military equipment --- armoured vehicles, infantry weapons, air defence systems and Mi-17 transport helicopters --- from Moscow.
In the same month, Bangladesh and India concluded an extradition treaty, considered a major move towards apprehending and handing over criminals lying low in each other's territory.

Flying high
Early in January, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the much talked-about Hatirjheel-Begunbari integrated development project, adding a new dimension to the beautification of the nation's capital.
In January, the government nationalized 26,193 non-government primary schools. The nationalization was the largest since the government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman nationalized more than 37,000 schools in the early 1970s.
In March, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 1.8 km Mirpur-Airport Road flyover. In October, she opened the Jatrabari flyover.
Spirit of 1971
On Victory Day, patriotism was on display all over the country. Altogether 27,117 citizens linked themselves one to the other to form the largest national flag in recent times at Suhrawardy Udyan in commemoration of the surrender of the Pakistan army at the same venue on the same day forty two years earlier. The national anthem was sung, at the Udyan and at homes throughout the country.