The shame of August 15, 1975: A personal account
My moral stand is clear: if killing a human being is unacceptable, then killing someone who sacrificed so much for his people is an abominable crime. What ethical position can condone, let alone justify, such heinous acts of killing a nationalist father figure, innocent women and children, and close relatives and associates?
RECENTLY, I was showing a Tk 500 bill to my daughter, telling her I found it quite odd that I met -- in fact, knew -- the person whose picture was on this bill. "It would be like knowing George Washington," quipped my daughter. She was born 13 years after the gruesome murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family on August 15, 1975.
I told her that I had the rare privilege of shaking his hand, and had an informal conversation at his residence. This is definitely not a big deal because there are many around us who had much closer ties with this man, worked with him closely, and could write volumes about him. I am only thinking of a future generation -- say, the one of my children who would grow up to tell stories to their children about my own generation's tryst with history.
I have a simple gauge for someone's moral, and not just political, position. It is revealed in his or her evaluation of the murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. Those who fail to condemn this murder are people to whom I give a wide berth.
Political figures, however great, are not immune to criticism. In Kolkata, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi was defaced once. Of course, there are people who can be very critical of Gandhi's politics. Bangabandhu was by no means above criticism; he made his share of mistakes, errors in judgments and what political pundits call these days, "misspoken" statements.
But my moral stand is clear: if killing a human being is unacceptable, then killing someone who sacrificed so much for his people is an abominable crime. What ethical position can condone, let alone justify, such heinous acts of killing a nationalist father figure, innocent women and children, and close relatives and associates? The crime, in its lowness, is comparable to the morally reprehensible crime of killing four other founding leaders of Bangladesh inside the Dhaka central jail in early November 1975.
During an afternoon in December 1975, I was taking a rickshaw back to Tajmahal Road where we lived from Dhaka University after I went to see the results of our MA final examination, I looked at the Bangabandhu residence on Road 32, and memories flashed back.
Not too long ago, it was in that house that Sheikh Kamal, whom I used to coach once in a while on sociological theories and issues, had introduced me to Bangabandhu. I was having lunch with the Bangabandhu family in their first floor dining room. Kamal took certain pride in introducing me to Bangabandhu, saying: "Abba this is Habib, he is the first boy in our class. He will also secure first position in the MA final exam."
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