TRIBUTE - MINTU BHAI

Time flies. This November 10th was the tenth death anniversary of Enayetullah Khan ("Mintu Bhai" to his younger friends and admirers), the founding editor of weekly Holiday and daily New Age. I knew Mintu Bhai quite well, even before I met him face to face about a decade after my first exposure to his powerful writing in the mid-1960s. I am from that generation, who as teenagers used to admire good prose and poetry, movies and fiction in the turbulent 1960s. I came to Dhaka College from Sirajganj, a sleepy North Bengal town. As I did relish reading Mintu Bhai's editorials and articles in his weekly Holiday in the Common Room of the South Hostel (of Dhaka College), so did several other friends.

What I personally liked about his writing most was his style, his lucid prose albeit (quite often) garnished with "unheard of" English words. I personally learnt some new expressions from his editorials. Now, fifty years after my first exposure to his writing, I realise he was a post-modern man, a unique blend of boldness and courage, uncompromising attitude and integrity. He questioned every move and challenged every assertion made by some of the most powerful men in the world, from the American President to his Pakistani counterpart, Ayub Khan.

To be honest, I mostly disliked his stand against America and Ayub Khan, because I admired both Johnson and the "tall and handsome" Field Marshal of Pakistan. I also did not like Mintu Bhai's love and devotion for Maulana Bhashani and Leftism. Nevertheless, I admired his courage, loved his prose, and envied his style of writing.

However, I re-discovered Mintu Bhai as a great man after reading one of his best editorials that he wrote in 1972, not long after the Liberation of Bangladesh. He boldly defended our renowned radio-TV artists (singers and actors) who had to sing and act for the Pakistani military controlled media during the Liberation War. His famous editorial, "Sixty-five Million Collaborators", was simply a slap in the face of all those hyper-and ultra-patriotic politicians, officials, and artists, who crossed the border and stayed in India during the Pakistani occupation period. Since around ten million Bangladeshis out of the total population of 75 million fled to India after 25 March 1971 - and most became "freedom fighters" by default - Mintu Bhai's editorial was very sarcastic and convincing, at the same time. As if there were only ten million patriots and the rest 65 millions were nothing but Pakistani collaborators and traitors to Bangladesh!

I first saw him (can't say "met him") at a rally at the open space in front of the South Gate of the Baitul Mukarram (which dictator Ershad fenced up for the "obvious reason") in 1974. I was then a young lecturer at Dhaka University, and was a big fan and admirer of the late Professor Ahmed Sharif, Professors Serajul Islam Chowdhury, Muniruzzaman Miah and other left-leaning colleagues at the University. During the 1974 Famine, progressive writers, academics, journalists and intellectuals and students organised a protest rally in front of Baitul Mukarram. They were protesting the mismanagement, corruption and failure of the Government to give adequate support to the famine-stricken millions. Tens of thousands of hungry and malnourished men, women and children came to Dhaka from the interior of Bangladesh, and hundreds of them were dying everyday around Baitul Mukarram, Dhaka Stadium, Gulistan, Motijheel and Kamlapur Railway Station.

I remember, among others Ahmed Sharif, Poet Sikandar Abu Zafar, and (possibly) Badruddin Umar besides Mintu Bhai who addressed the rally. I saw Mintu Bhai for the first time in front of Baitul Mukarram on a hot and humid afternoon in 1974. My first and lasting impression about him was that he was extremely good looking, and a brilliant speaker. His Bengali was as good as his English. He was simply enchanting. I still remember him saying: "I wish I could convert the words I write in my paper into bullets and missiles!" A fiery speech indeed!

Meanwhile, I continued reading Holiday - his articles and editorials remained the main attractions. Soon after watching him speak very sensible things, with the zeal of a high school debater, eloquence of a literature or history professor, and confidence of a popular leader, I started admiring him as one of my heroes. He still is a hero to me. I miss the bold and brave, outspoken and witty, intelligent and well-read, humourous and sincere, helpful and humble Mintu Bhai. Soon afterwards, Mintu Bhai was in the forefront of the Anti-Farakka Dam Long March, under the leadership of the Great Maulana Bhashani. Some of his best articles and editorials were on the evil effects of the Farakka Dam on Bangladesh's ecology, economy and agriculture. I personally learnt a lot from Mintu Bhai about India's vicious hegemonic policy towards Bangladesh and its other smaller neighbours in the Subcontinent.

I first met him in 1995. I was visiting Dhaka from Singapore, where I was a teacher at the National University. My very good friend Luthfur Rahman Choudhury took me to Dhaka Club, and introduced me to Mintu Bhai. Since I used to write op-eds for the Straits Times (Singapore daily), Mintu Bhai asked me within five minutes of our first meeting: "Why don't you write for Holiday"? And the rest is history. He never ever edited a single expression or title of my articles, and never declined to publish whatever I used to send him almost on a regular basis. While others were hesitant to publish my critique of the Grameen Bank, in early 1997, Mintu Bhai published it in his weekly. He was one who would disagree with you, and would be still friends with you. Despite our age difference, he was always very respectful to me, and to others too. He was simply an exceptionally civil, urbane and tolerant person.

I was fortunate enough to be in Toronto while Mintu Bhai was there during the last year of his life. Despite his suffering, he always looked cheerful, and never ever complained about his pain and suffering. Whenever we met socially in Toronto at Shuchi-Arshad's (his daughter and son-in-law) house or elsewhere, Mintu Bhai would always talk about Bangladesh politics, society, corruption/plunder, misrule and most of the time he would be optimistic. He would always say, the next generation of leaders would be very different, in the positive sense of the expression.

Now, I believe Bangladesh needs scores of bold and brave, honest and patriotic people like Mintu Bhai. One renowned editor of an English daily in Bangladesh aptly said after his passing: "He was the best among us". I could not agree more with the assertion. Had he lived for another ten years - one of the worst periods in the history of modern Bangladesh - I know how he would have reacted to the bizarre, brutal, and barbaric things that have taken place since 2006. His editorials and bold statements in favour of democracy, the rule of law and accountability would have emboldened many others to speak the truth. I can visualise what would have been his reaction to the ridiculous role the BNP-Jamaat Government played during 2006 and 2007, and the illegitimate takeover of the country by the Muinuddin-Fakhruddin gang in 2007.

I, however, cannot visualize as to how he would have reacted to the 2008 Elections; the brutal BDR Massacre of February 2009; total unaccountability, stupid and partisan behaviour of responsible people; the Padma-Bridge Scandal; Hallmark, mega share scams, land grabbing, and systematic plunder of banks by politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats; the Rana Plaza tragedy; the hasty amendments of the Constitution; mass arrests of politicians, journalists and intellectuals; mass "disappearances" of people; the farcical elections of January 2014; and last but not least, the ongoing mysterious killing of ordinary people and freethinking bloggers and writers. 

The overpowering and unprecedented state of terror and anarchy by both state and non-state actors would have simply turned Mintu Bhai mad. He would have possibly become religious for the first time in his adult life, and would have possibly asked God Almighty to end his life! May God give him eternal bliss, which he deserves most for his extra-ordinary service to his nation!

The writer teaches security studies at Austin Peay State University. Sage has recently published his latest book, Global Jihad and America: The Hundred-Year War Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.