Probe Magazine Vol 13 Issue 2 (1-15 Nov 2014)

The Politics of death and demise in Bangladesh
- Afsan Chowdhury
DIVORCES ON THE RISE
The November 7 uprising of soidiers that
changed the fabric of the nation
Interview
Issue Exclusive
The spirit of the
liberation war has
been made into
a commodity
What Piyash
Karim said
Alliance Franaise
violates laws for
a multi-storeyed
building
-Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed
2 November 1-15

c an d
e be v h N T

e f ric f t
e 7 u is of soidiers tha

on na
t oidiers tha

he P T

t
-
olitics of dea P

th and demise
y urry dh w fsan Cho A

e in Banglades

sh

Interview

Issue
o N 2
ORCE DIV

er 1-15 emb v
TH ES ON

Exclusive
HE RISE

Ahmed -Major (retd) Hafizuddin
a commodity
been made into
has liberation war
The spirit of the

Karim s
What Pi

said
iyash

building
eyed a multi-stor
violates laws for
Alliance Franaise

Edi#o!ial
Issue: 2 I Nevember 01 - 15, 2014 I Vol: 13 I Page: 1
Editnr in ChicI
Irliza Nasim AIi
Editnr
Ayesha Kabir
Exccutivc Editnr
Ahmed Hasan
5pccia! Cnrrcspnndcnt
Anvar Iarvez HaIim
5cninr Cnrrcspnndcnt
Shafiq Rahman
5taII Cnrrcspnndcnts
Md. eIayel Hossain
Arilra Ankan Milra
Cnntributnrs
adiuI AIam, KamruI Hasan
AIlaf Iarvez, Taib Ahmed
Harunur Rashid
Ovcrscas Cnrrcspnndcnts
Irof Moonish Ahmar (Iakislan)
Iarilosh IauI (India)
Irances uIalhasinghaIa (Sri Lanka)
R Shresla(NeaI)
Sandra Kabir(UK)
Shehabuddin KissIu(USA)
ChicI Phntngraphcr
abIu Chovdhury
Cnvcr and Graphic Dcsign
Advenlure Communicalions
Managcr
Debashish Sarkar
Addrcss
House: 10/, Road: 9
Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka: 1205,
angIadesh
TeI: 8119897
ImaiI:
robenevsmagazine+yahoo.com
vvv.robeveekIy.com
Pricc: TK 20
When c!ime c!o""e" all limi#"
The daiie& %ead ike chea$ c%i!e a"d h#%%#% fic'i#"
"#*ada,&, b(' 'he fa(' ie& "#' i" 'he !edia #%
j#(%"ai&'&. The fa(' ie& i" 'he fac' 'ha' *e a%e i)i"g i"
a *#%d aki" '# 'ha' #f chea$ c%i!e a"d h#%%#% fic'i#".
E)e%, &i"ge da, *e hea% #f 'he !#&' g%(e&#!e !(%de%&,
high*a, %#bbe%ie&, g#%, &'%ee' accide"'&, !(ggi"g&, %a$e
a"d c%i!e& !#&' hei"#(&. The !#%e c%i!e& 'ha' 'ake
$ace, 'he 'hicke% 'he &ki" *e g%#*. Whe%e ha& h(!a"i',
g#"e?
Wha' ha& b%#(gh' 'hi& &#cia dege"e%a'i#" ($#" (&? I& i'
'he ack #f g##d g#)e%"a"ce *he%e 'he i"&'i'('i#"& #f
&'a'e ha)e faied '# $e%f#%!? Whe" 'he a* e"f#%ce%&
bec#!e $e%$e'%a'#%& #f c%i!e, '# *h#! *i 'he c#!!#"
$e#$e '(%"? Whe" 'he j(dicia%, #&e& 'ha' j(dici#(&
bi"df#d, h#* ca" #"e e+$ec' j(&'ice?
S(%e, 'he%e i& e)e" !#%e '# 'he b%eakd#*" #f ba&ic
&#cia e'hic& 'ha" j(&' bad g#)e%"a"ce. I' i& high 'i!e 'ha'
'he d%i)e%& #f &#cie', -- 'he $#i'icia"&, ci)i &#cie',
eade%&, c%i!e e+$e%'&, 'he !edia, $&,ch##gi&'&,
&#ci##gi&'& a"d a %ee)a"' ac'#%& -- $(' 'hei% head&
'#ge'he% a"d ge' '# 'he %##' #f 'he $%#be!. The "a'i#"
ca""#' c#"'i"(e ike 'hi& *he%e h(!a" ife i& %a$id,
bec#!i"g a di&$#&abe c#!!#di',.
If 'hi& i& a g##!, deibe%a'i#", i' i& !ea"' '# be &#.
Facade& #f g##d chee% ca""#' &a)age 'he "a'i#". Le' (&
*#%k i" ("i&#" '# cea% #(% &kie& #f 'he da%k c#(d #f
!#%a dege"e%a'i#" 'ha' ha& &e' ($#" (& &# *e ca" #"ce
agai" %i&e a"d h#d #(% head& high i" a &afe a"d &ec(%e
Ba"gade&h.
PROBE-Link Time"
We a%e ha$$, '# a""#("ce 'ha' PROBE Ne*& Maga-i"e
#f Ba"gade&h a"d Li"k Ti!e& #f Chi"a ha)e c#!e '# a"
("de%&'a"di"g #f c##$e%a'i#". Th(& f%#! "#* #" #(%
)a(ed &(b&c%ibe%& *i %ecei)e a f%ee i&&(e #f Li"k Ti!e&
*i'h e)e%, '*# i&&(e #f PROBE.
Li"k Ti!e& i& Chi"a'& fi%&' !#"'h, E"gi&h "e*&
!aga-i"e #" c(%%e"' $#i'ic#-c('(%a i&&(e& f#% A&ia"
%eade%&.
Con#en#"
Issue: 2 I November 01 - 15, 2014 I Vol: 13 I Page: 02
B!-'!"!-$(3 .-
JP MP;1 ")++".!0$
}
aliyo Iarly members of arIiamenl
are serving Avami League,
aarenlIy. They are Iacing more
imorlance on lhe governmenl's
inleresls ralher lhan lheir arly's
inleresls. Irshad has been eeved
aboul lhis for Iong. The oosilion is
oflen |okingIy referred lo as Avami-
}aliyo Iarly. And lhe aclivilies of
cerlain Ieaders |uslify lhis name. Irshad
cerlainIy has reason lo be irale vilh lhis
lrend in lhe arly and Liaqal Hossain
Khoka MI of lhe Narayangan|-3
consliluency is a gIaring examIe of
roensily lo Iease lhe governmenl.
He is a cIose friend of Narayangan|'s
ruIing arly MI Shamim Osman.
}aliyo Iarly }oinl Secrelary GeneraI
Liaqal Hossain Khoka recenlIy erecled
huge biIIboards and oslers in his
consliluency. On lhese biIIboards and
oslers vere iclures of Irshad,
Raushan Irshad, Khoka himseIf and
angabandhu. InlereslingIy, lhough he
urorledIy uhoIds Irshad's ideaIs,
Khoka made sure lhe iclure of
angabandhu vas huge and Iaced
righl u fronl. The iclures of Irshad,
Raushan and Khoka vere much
smaIIer, bIalanlIy overshadoved.
Khoka MI leIIs P|OB| lhal he has
ul u biIIboards and oslers vilh
angabandhu's orlrail in aII 108
vards of his consliluency.
LocaI }aliyo Iarly Ieaders and
aclivisls are angry vilh Khoka for
fealuring angabandhu on lhe
biIIboards and oslers and giving Iess
imorlance lo Irshad.
Liaqal Hossain Khoka doesn'l lhink
he's done anylhing vrong. He says,
Our arly chairman himseIf
acknovIedges angabandhu as lhe
falher of lhe nalion. angabandhu does
nol beIong lo one arly, he beIongs lo
lhe enlire counlry. So lhere is nolhing
vrong in ulling his iclures u on lhe
biIIboards and oslers. n
B!-'+!$%1(
%+%#2%$ 2. UN'1 T./
H3,!- R)'(21 B.$7
angIadesh has been eIecled lo

UN's lo human righls body, lhe
47-member UN Human Righls
CounciI based in Geneva for lhe lerm
2015-2017, al an eIeclion heId al Nev
York recenlIy al lhe 69lh UN GeneraI
AssembIy,
This is lhe lhird lime angIadesh vas
eIecled securing 149 voles lo lhis
counciI crealed in 2006 lhal oversees
gIobaI human righls slandards,
mechanisms and normalive
deIiberalions on romolion and
roleclion of human righls.
angIadesh served on lhe Human
Righls CounciI during 2007-2009 and
2010-2012 for lvo conseculive lerms. n
Ne&"bea#
W()2% /!/%0 .- 2(% '3-5!-2%$'!
T
hose vho had resisled lhe move lo lake lhe body of Dr. Iiyash Karim lo
lhe Shaheed Minar have nol |usl ended lhe maller lhere. Afler decIaring
lhe ersons vho vanled lo lake Dr. Iiyash Karim's body lo Shaheed
Minar as pcrscna ncn graiac, lhey have nov announced lhal lhey viII ubIish a
vhile aer in lhese 'unvanled' ersons.
They have aIso decided lo add lvo more names lo lhe 'unvanled' Iisl. They
are founder of Gono Shaslhya Kendra Dr. ZafruIIah Chovdhury and Secrelary
of SU}ON Dr. adiuI AIam Ma|umdar. This vas slaled by Mehdi Hasan,
Iresidenl of Mukli|oddha Sangsad Shonlan Command.
rac Universily Irofessor Dr. Iiyash Karim assed avay on 13 Oclober lhis
year. His famiIy and veII-vishers exressed lheir vish lo lake his body lo
Shaheed Minar vhere eoIe couId come lo ay lheir Iasl resecls. This
enraged lhe sludenl aclivisls of lhe maha|ole aIIiance arlies. They announced
lhal lhey vouId resisl lhe move.
Chhalra Sangram Iarishad and a number of olher organisalions look u
osilion on 17 Oclober, vilh oIice guard, al Shaheed Minar. Irom lhis
Ialform, Mehdi Hasan, Iresidenl of lhe unknovn organisalion Mukli|oddha
Sangsad Shonlan Command, announced nine eminenl cilizens as pcrscna ncn
graiac al lhe Shaheed Minar. There are Mana|janin Idilor Maliur Rahman
Chovdhury, senior |ournaIisl Mahfuz UIIah, Ncus Tc!aq Idilor NuruI Kabir,
oel Iarhad Mazhar, Dr. Asif NazruI, Irof. DiIara Chovdhury, Amena
Mohsin, |ournaIisl GoIam Morluza and Iavyer Dr. Tuhin MaIik.
These ersons are aII veII-knovn TV laIk-shov ersonaIilies. The generaI
aoIilicaI TV vievers vere shocked al lhis announcemenl.
Il vas Iearnl lhal lhis Mehdi Hasan, Ieader of lhe Mukli|oddha Sangsad
Shonlan Command is from GoaIgan|. His falher AbduI Kuddus look arl in
lhe Iiberalion var al GoaIgan|, cIaims Mehdi Hasan. n
I1+!,!"!$ !)0/.02 4.2%$
2(% 5.012 )- 2(% 5.0+$
T
he enazir hullo InlernalionaI
airorl in IsIamabad has been
voled as lhe vorsl in lhe vorId,
knocking ManiIa off lhe lo of lhe
unenviabIe Iisl.
According lo a oII by lhe Guide lo
SIeeing al Airorls vebsile, lhe
IsIamabad airorl vas voled as lhe
vorsl based on comforl, faciIilies,
cIeanIiness and cuslomer service.
The Worsl Airorls of 2014 reorl
incIuded a quole from a lraveIIer vho
comared lhe airorl lo a cenlraI
rison because of aggressive securily
checks, crovds and dirl.
TraveIIers have aIso comIained
aboul lhe airorl's inabiIily lo handIe
assengers for over a decade and
lhankfuIIy, il seems lhe end of IS is
near, lhe sile said.
A nev airorl is sIaled lo be
comIeled for mid-2016, vhich shouId
dramalicaIIy imrove air lraveI lo lhe
cily.
}eddah's King AbduIaziz
InlernalionaI Airorl, in Saudi Arabia
foIIovs IsIamabad in lhe Iisl al second
Iace, vhiIe Kalhmandu Tribhuvan
InlernalionaI Airorl, in NeaI cIocks
in al lhird. ManiIa, vhich vas knocked
off lhe lo sIol, nov occuies fourlh
Iace on lhe Iisl.
WhiIe lhe aearance of airorls
from deveIoing counlries can be
execled, lhe Iisl aIso fealures a number
of airorls vilh counlries from lhe
Iuroean Union and lhe USA.
Irom lhe Iuroean
conlingenl, Iaris's eauvais-TiIIe
InlernalionaI Airorl is Iisled al
number six oving rimariIy lo ils
Iocalion, nearIy 88 kiIomeler from lhe
cily cenlre and access reslricled lo
rivale lransorl or lhe airorl shullIe.
The eauvais-TiIIe shares lhe sIol
vilh Germany's Irankfurl Hahn
InlernalionaI Airorl. Il one-us ils
Iarisian counlerarl, Iocaled 120 km
avay from Irankfurl cily cenlre.
ergamo Orio aI Serio InlernalionaI
Airorl in IlaIy and lhe erIin TegeI
InlernalionaI Airorl in Germany come
in al eighl and nine on lhe Iisl
resecliveIy.
Nev York's LaGuardia InlernalionaI
Airorl comIeles lhe Iisl al 10 for
ils securily Iines, drab decor, oor
reslauranl seIeclion, IackIusler
cIeanIiness, counler inluilive Iayoul
and lhe noloriousIy unheIfuI slaff. n
So$#h A"ia De"k
T
he Ian is lo make osl-
secondary schooIing more
accessibIe lo residenls of }ammu
and Kashmir.
Sludenls in }ammu and Kashmir are
veIcoming a slale governmenl
decision lo invesl Rs. 10.4 biIIion
($170m) in buiIding nev higher
educalionaI faciIilies and rogrammes
in lhe slale.
"Sludenls vho come from far-fIung
areas of Kashmir had lo ol for
coIIeges in Srinagar lo sludy various
rogrammes," urhan Khan, a finaI-
year sludenl al lhe Governmenl
Degree CoIIege in Srinagar said. "If lhe
nev universilies and coIIeges are
eslabIished in lhe slale, lhey vouId gel
lo sludy in lheir ovn dislricls."
}ammu and Kashmir Chief Minisler
Omar AbduIIah aroved lhe Ian lo
eslabIish nev universilies, lechnicaI
coIIeges, degree coIIeges and
oIylechnics lhroughoul lhe slale in
Iebruary.
The Union governmenl viII
disburse money for lhe ro|ecl under
lhe NalionaI Higher Iducalion
Mission (RUSA), officiaIs said.
The federaI governmenl viII cover
mosl of lhe cosls, iniliaIIy roviding
Rs. 9.35 biIIion ($155m), vhiIe lhe slale
viII cover lhe remaining Rs. 1.03
biIIion ($17m), according lo media
reorls. The rogramme viII move
forvard vilh no lime deIays or
financiaI ad|uslmenls due lo recenl
monsoon-reIaled fIood damage in lhe
slale.
"ImIemenlalion of lhis scheme in
Kashmir is IikeIy lo be slarled belveen
2014 and 2015," Manohar LaI Sharma,
Minisler of Slale for Higher Iducalion
in Kashmir , said. n
S0) L!-*!- ,)+)2!07 2.
0%230- T!,)+ '.+$
T
he miIilary announced
Oclober 14lh il vouId
relurn unsecified
quanlilies of goId |eveIIery
recovered from a ballIe sile near
lhe end of lhe counlry's civiI var.
Securily forces have idenlified
2,377 "Iegilimale cIaimanls", 25 of
vhom vere given back lheir goId
ornamenls by Iresidenl Mahinda
Ra|aaksa, a miIilary slalemenl
said.
The miIilary asked norlhern
residenls lo Iodge cIaims and said
avning receils issued by lhe
TamiI Tigers vouId aIso be
acceled as roof of ovnershi.
UncIaimed vaIuabIes viII be
handed over lo lhe CenlraI ank
of Sri Lanka, lhe miIilary said. n
I-$)! 2. /3,/ ")++).-1 )-2. "3)+$)-'
-%5 #.++%'%1 )- K!1(,)0
I
M Navaz Sharif has been inviled
by Iresidenl Xi }ining lo allend
lhe Asia-Iacific Iconomic
Cooeralion (AIIC) InformaI Leaders'
meeling in ei|ing lhis monlh.
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong
caIIed on IM Navaz Sharif and
conveyed Xi's invilalion lo him, said an
officiaI handoul.
The IM exressed his gralilude on
receiving Iresidenl Xi's invilalion,
saying he Iooked forvard lo his visil lo
Iakislan, vhich he beIieved vouId lake
Iak-China reIalions lo a higher IeveI.
Weidong said lhe Chinese residenl
veIcomed lhe rime minisler lo allend
lhe hosl-arlners diaIogue lo be heId in
AIIC meeling in ei|ing lhis monlh,
and viII visil Iakislan al an earIy and
muluaIIy convenienl dale.
Mallers of muluaI inleresl vere
discussed, vhiIe IM Navaz aIso
arecialed Chinese efforls in
rehabiIilalion of fIood viclims and lhe
IDIs.
According lo officiaIs, IM viII visil
China in lhe firsl veek of November lo
sign various ro|ecls incIuding energy
reIaled ro|ecls vorlh $34 biIIion.
The Chinese residenl vas suosed
lo visil Iakislan in Selember bul couId
nol gel a securily cIearance oving lo
lhe anli-governmenl rolesls in lhe
federaI cailaI.
An annuaI AIIC Iconomic Leaders'
Meeling is allended by lhe heads of
governmenl of aII AIIC members. The
Iocalion of lhe meeling rolales annuaIIy
among members, and lhis lime il's
going lo be heId in ei|ing. n
N
eaI recorded a Rs. 10.5 biIIion
deficil in lhe baIance of
aymenl in lhe firsl lvo
monlhs of lhe currenl fiscaI year in lhe
conlexl il had Rs. 33 biIIion surIus in
lhe Iasl fiscaI year.
According lo lhe reorl unveiIed by
lhe NeaI Raslra ank (NR), in lhe
revieved eriod, lhe currenl accounl
has a deficil of Rs. 9.98 biIIion. In lhe
revious year, il had a surIus of Rs.
18.35 biIIion.
There vas deficil in
governmenl accounl in lhe
eriod due lo high increase
of imorl of goods and
services, and decrease of
remillances and granl
infIov, lhe NR said.
The monlhIy remillance
infIov has increased by 0.2
ercenl in
Augusl/Selember, as
comared lo lhe
}uIy/Augusl of lhe currenl
fiscaI year. In lhe eriod,
Rs. 341.5 miIIion has been broughl in as
foreign inveslmenl under financiaI
accounl.
The lolaI foreign exchange reserve by
mid Selember vas Rs. 660.8 biIIion
vilh a decIine of 0.7 ercenl from Rs.
665.41 biIIion.
In lhis eriod, lolaI exorl had come
dovn lo 14.43 biIIion vilh a decIine of
4.8 ercenl. The annuaI infIalion in lhe
eriod is 7.6 ercenl, vhich, in lhe same
eriod in revious fiscaI year vas 8.0
ercenl. n
So$#h A"ia De"k
C()-%1% )-4%12.01 )- P!*)12!-
A
Chinese deIegalion Ied by ank of China InlernalionaI CIO Li Tong
caIIed on Minisler for IelroIeum and NaluraI Resources Shahid Khaqan
Abbasi. The Chinese deIegalion is on a four-day visil lo Iakislan lo Iook
inlo inveslmenl oorlunilies avaiIabIe in lhe counlry. Abbasi briefed lhe
deIegalion on lhe energy seclor and ongoing ro|ecls. The minisler informed
lhal lhe resenl governmenl vas commilled lo coe vilh lhe energy crisis
being faced by lhe counlry. The governmenl has inilialed a number of nev
ro|ecls in lhe energy seclor, Iike LNG imorl, inslaIIalion of re-gasificalion
lerminaIs and Iaying dovn nev ieIines for lransorlalion of lhe fueI from lhe
soulhern orls lo norlhern arls of lhe counlry, he added. n
PM N!5!8 2. !22%-$
APEC ,%%2)-' )- C()-!
-%62 ,.-2(
R1. 10 ")++).- !1 $%&)#)2 )- BOP: NRB
A
fler a ga of four years, a 201-
member fuII-fIedged commillee
of Chhalra DaI has finaIIy been
formed bul lhe generaI sludenls are
queslioning lhe age, quaIificalions,
sludenl slalus, asl erformance and
olher crileria of lhe commillee's lo
Ieaders. This has crealed confIicl vilhin
Chhalra DaI. Again, lhe aclivilies of lhe
rolesling Chhalra DaI grou has aIso
being eyed vilh susicion. Over lhe
Iasl lvo years oIice haven'l been
aIIoving any galhering near lhe NI
office in Naya IaIlan, yel lhey sal back
in siIence vhiIe lhis rolesling faclion
venl on a ramage lhere. AnaIysls see
lhe governmenl's hand behind lhe
roleslors.
NON-5TUDENT5 IN
CHHATRA DAL
The names of 155 members of lhe 201-
member nev commillee of Chhalra DaI
have been announced. InlereslingIy,
many of lhem are non-sludenls and
married. (See box: Hooked, ooked and
Cooked) Many of lhem are facing
oIilicaI cases. Some are even aIIegedIy
invoIved in Chhalra League oIilics.
Ra|ib Ahmed, Iresidenl of lhe nev
commillee, vas admilled lo lhe ubIic
adminislralion dearlmenl of Dhaka
Universily in lhe 1994-95 academic
year. He is nov around 37-38 years oId.
The Senior Vice Iresidenl Mamun
assed lhe SSC exam in 1994. GeneraI
Secrelary AkramuI Hasan Akram
assed SSC in 1995. He loo is around
35-36 years oId. Organising Secrelary
Ishaq Sarkar assed his SSC in 1993.
Among lhe vice-residenls of lhe
commillee, 14 of lhe 33 are married. Of
lhe 35 |oinl secrelaries, 10 are married.
Of lhe 28 deuly secrelaries, eighl are
married. Of lhe 155 members of lhe
commillee, 35 are married.
Iresidenl Ra|ib Ahsan is lhe son of an
Avami League famiIy. He himseIf had
been invoIved in Avami League's
Reo!#"
C((!20! D!+: S23$%-2
&0.-2 .& -.--123$%-21
B#%I? :1C ?@A01:@ 2>;:@ 5? >500810 C5@4 /;:@>;B1>?E
by AH NAYEEM
H..*%$, "..*%$
!-$ #..*%$
A
considerabIe number of lhe
Ieaders aoinled lo lhe
nev Chhalra DaI commillee
are married. |See Iisl beIovj
Vice Iresidenl AbuI Mansur
Khan Deeak, AIamgir Hasan
Sohan, IeisaI Ahmed Sa|aI, MoniruI
IsIam Monir, Mamun iIIah, Niaz
Makdum Masum iIIah, ZahiruI
IsIam iIob, }oinl Secrelary
ShafiquI IsIam Shafiq, GoIam
Muslafa, Habibur Rahman DaIim,
MiIlon adya, Assislanl GeneraI
Secrelary }ahangir AIam,
IhleshamuI Huq, Mahbubur
Rahman IaIash, IsmaiI Hossain
Khan Shaheen, Arifa SuIlana
Ruma, Ralan aIa, ShafiquI IsIam
Milhu, Anisur Rahman Su|an,
Organising Secrelary Suman
Devan, Mizanur Rahman Suman,
GoIam Azam Shaikal, Assislanl
Organising Secrelary Shahinoor
egum Sagar, }oinl Secrelary Miah
Mohammed RusseI, AbduI Karim
Sarkar
Mizanur Rahman Sohag, NuruI
Huda abu and IubIicily Secrelary
MahmuduI IsIam.
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sludenl fronl Chhalra League in lhe
asl. He Iayed no roIe in NI's
slruggIe and movemenl for eIeclions
under a non-arlisan neulraI
governmenl. Iven so, he vas made
Iresidenl of Chhalra DaI, much lo lhe
annoyance of many.
MeanvhiIe, GeneraI Secrelary
AkramuI Hasan soId his osilion in lhe
Iasl commillee in exchange of money. Il
is aIIeged lhal being cIose lo lhe
revious residenl Abdur Quader
huiyan }eveI, he soId his osl. He has
had IillIe conlribulion lo nalionaIisl
oIilics in lhe fieId, yel he has been
broughl inlo lhe cenlraI Ieadershi of
Chhalra DaI.
Senior Vice Iresidenl Mamunur
Rashid hasn'l been a sludenl for 8-10
years nov. He has even married
cIandeslineIy a couIe of years ago,
lhough he cIaims lo have been married
for onIy a couIe of monlhs.
Iormer residenl of Dhaka
Universily Chhalra League and lhe
Vice Iresidenl of lhe residenl cenlraI
commillee MahiduI IsIam Hiru has
been accused of misarorialing
funds. He vas given funds for lhe
movemenl lo resisl lhe 5 }anuary
eIeclion, bul he reorledIy derived lhe
olher aclivisls and kel lhe funds for
himseIf. Yel he is in lhe lo seven of lhe
resenl commillee.
Vice Iresidenl SadiuI Kabir Nirob,
}oinl Secrelaries Mohammed RusseI,
AbuI Hasan and GoIam Muslafa have
aII married secrelIy, bul are keeing
lheir marriages under covers so as nol
lo Iose lheir osls.
Anolher |oinl secrelary Mofizur
Rahman Ashique had coIIecled money
from many ersons romising lhem a
osilion in lhe Iasl commillee. He vas
aIso lried for financiaI inleraclions vilh
SA Iaribahan. Vice Iresidenl Monira
Akhler Rikla is married and has a chiId.
She had been droed from lhe
revious commillee as she had
exceeded lhe age Iimil. Yel desile
being avay from aclive oIilics, she has
been given lhis osl due lo her
roximily lo SuIlan SaIahuddin Tuku.
}oinl secrelary Mahfuzur Rahman is
accused of acluaIIy being a arl of
Chhalra League. He is knovn lo be lhe
righl hand of Shafiq, a Chhalra League
cadre al Dhaka Universily's Mohsin
HaII.
Organising Secrelary Ishaq Sarkar is
accused in 170 cases in addilion lo
being married. His chiId sludies in
CIass Nine. Iahmida Ma|id Usha is
Sludenl Affairs Secrelary. She Iives in
lhe UK, according lo cerlain Chhalra
DaI Ieaders. Desile Iiving abroad, she
has been giving lhis imorlanl osl in
lhe commillee.
BEHIND THE 5CENE5 OF
CHHATRA DAL'5 INNER RIFT
Over a hundred sludenls derived of
osls in lhe commillee formed severaI
grous and rolesled againsl lhe nev
commillee in fronl of lhe NI office.
The day afler lhe nev commillee vas
announced, lhe residenl, generaI
secrelary and olhers venl lo lhe NI
cenlraI office, excel Senior Vice
Iresidenl Mamunur Rashid Mamun,
}oinl Secrelary Asaduzzaman Asad and
Organising Secrelary Ishaq Sarkar. The
rolesling rebeIs decIared lhal lhe
members of lhe nev commillee vere
nol quaIified and vere never in any
movemenl of Chhalra DaI. They vere
|usl incIuded in lhe commillee by
Iobbying al a high IeveI in lhe arly.
Shahid Uddin Chovdhury Annie,
NI's Sludenl Affairs Secrelary,
denied lhis. He leIIs P|OB|, The
commillee vas fixed afler severaI
meelings al lhe NI Chairerson's
office. Madam has formed lhe
commillee vilh lhose vho Iayed a
roIe in lhe movemenl. The rebeIs do
nol agree.
Leaders vilh a hoId on Chhalra DaI
have a slronger infIuence in NI's
oIilics. Thal is vhy many NI Ieaders
are aclive vhere Chhalra DaI is
concerned. So lhe inleresls of lhose
Ieaders have nov cIashed vilh lhe
Reo!#"
Shahiduddin Chowdhury anny
Shahiduddin Chovdhury Anny vas born on 2 Iebruary
1968 in lhe viIIage anchanagar under Lakshmiur
ourashava. His falher is Ha|i asiruIIah Chovdhury and
molher Hosne Ara Chovdhury. He is lhe ninlh among 6
brolhers and 5 sislers and fiflh among brolhers.
His rimary educalion vas al Lakshmiur I T I SchooI.
He lhen assed his SSC in 1983 from Lakshmiur Adarsha
Samad High SchooI and HSC in 1985 from Dhaka Science
CoIIege. He assed Sc (Hons) in AIied Chemislry and
ChemicaI TechnoIogy in 1989 and MSc in 1990 from Dhaka Universily.
Shahiduddin Chovdhury's oIilicaI Iife slarled afler his admission lo Dhaka
Universily. He vas Ixeculive Commillee Member of Chhalra DaI al
ShahiduIIah HaII of Dhaka Universily in 1986 and }oinl Convener of
Mukli|oddah Ziaur Rahman HaII Chhalra DaI in 1987. He vas eIecled GeneraI
Secrelary of lhe same haII union in 1989.
He reresenled DUCSU in lhe DU Senale from 1991 lo 1995. Afler lhal, he
vas eIecled Convener of Chhalra DaI of Dhaka Universily. In 1996 he vas
eIecled Iresidenl of angIadesh }aliyalabadi Chhalra DaI. Afler lhal, he vas
eIecled member of lhe Ixeculive Commillee of NI. In lhe 2001 IarIiamenl
eIeclion, he vas eIecled MI from Lakshmiur-3 vilh a vide margin.
Shahiduddin Chovdhury Anny married Iarvin Akhler in 1999. They have a
son, Sharukshi Shahid Chovdhury, and a daughler, Sharian Shahid
Chovdhury. n
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Prcji|c
rolesling ersons vho have nol found
Iace in lhe nev commillee. The imacl
of lhis has sread lo NI's cenlre as
veII as ils cily unil. }ubo DaI's Ieaders-
in-vailing are nol immune lo lhis rifl
eilher.
There are al Ieasl five grous in NI
aclive aboul Chhalra DaI oIilics. ul il
is lhe suorlers of Shahid Uddin
Annie and SuIlan SaIahuddin have
found lhe mosl Iaces in lhe nev
commillee. Iighleen osls incIuding
lhal of lhe residenl and vice
residenls, six |oinl secrelaries, 10
assislanl secrelaries, seven assislanl
organising secrelaries and four
secrelaries are ersons of lhe NI
Assislanl Sludenl Affairs Secrelary
SuIlan SaIahuddin Tuku's cam.
Leaders knovn lo be of lhe missing
Ieader IIyas AIi's grou have aIso found
Iace in lhe nev commillee. Dhaka cily
NI's Member Secrelary Habib-un-
Nabi Khan SoheI is backing lhem. Tvo
grous, suorlers of NI's }oinl
Secrelary GeneraI Aman UIIah and
Chhalra DaI's former residenl,
resenlIy incarceraled Nasir Uddin
Ahmed (Iinlu), are aclive in Chhalra
DaI. A fev of lhese grous have found
vay inlo lhe nev commillee, bul nol in
choice osilions. Thal is vhy lhey have
|oined hand in rolesl vilh lhe
derived Ieaders.
Members of a Iarge faclion of lhose
oosed lo lhe nev commillee are
foIIovers of |aiIed Ieader Iinlu. They
are being Ied by lhe resenl
commillee's organising secrelary Ishaq
Sarkar.
REGIONALI5M IN CHHATRA DAL
This lime loo regionaIism is noled
vilhin lhe nev commillee of Chhalra
daI. GeneraI Secrelary AkramuI Hasan
is cIose lo former commillee residenl
AbduI Kader huiyan and bolh are of
Narsingdi dislricl. They have oIilicaI
and business lies.
Chhalra DaI's residenl Ra|ib Ahsan
is seen lo be SuIlan SaIahuddin Tuku's
man. Ra|ib Ahsan is from arisaI. The
revious |oinl secrelary vas ObaiduI
Huq Nasir, bul vas nol inducled inlo
lhe commillee desile his slrong
candidalure, simIy because he did nol
see eye lo eye vilh Tuku, lhough bolh
are from TangaiI.
THE DEPRIVED
Chhalra DaI's former organising
secrelary Anisur Rahman TaIukdar
Khokan vas a candidale for lhe osl of
residenl bul neilher he nor any of his
foIIovers vere given any osl in lhe
nev commillee. SimiIarIy former |oined
secrelary ObaiduI Huq Nasir has been
coId shouIdered. A hosl of olhers have
simiIarIy been Iefl oul in lhe coId.
Senior Ieaders, hovever, say lhal olher
lhan a fev of lhem, lhey vere nol aclive
in NI's movemenl. n
Reo!#"
Sultan Salahuddin tuku
SuIlan SaIahuddin Tuku vas born in GoaIur
uaziIa of TangaiI dislricl. Afler comIeling his
rimary and secondary educalion al a IocaI
schooI, he gol admilled inlo Dhaka Cily CoIIege
in 1986. He assed his HSC in 1988 and vas
admilled inlo lhe Markeling Dearlmenl of
Dhaka Universily in 1988-89. He did his Maslers
from lhe same dearlmenl in 1994.
When he had been eIecled as cenlraI residenl
of Chhalra DaI, cerlain conlroversies arose aboul
Tuku's sludenl slalus. He had married in 2007 and has a daughler. Hovever,
in order lo relain his sludenl slalus, in 2005 he gol admilled inlo Dhaka
Universily again, lhis lime in lhe Dearlmenl of HeaIlh Iconomics. He is
resenlIy doing his MIhiI in lhis sub|ecl.
There is aIso confusion aboul his age. Il is said lhal his age is even higher
lhan menlioned in his educalionaI cerlificales. Some say he is cIose lo 45.
SuIlan SaIahuddin Tuku vas made cenlraI Chhalra DaI's Iresidenl on 1
}une 2008. IarIier he had been Iresidenl of Dhaka Universily Chhalra DaI.
He had aIso been in an imorlanl osl of Mohsin HaII Chhalra DaI.
SuIlan SaIahuddin Tuku is nov NI's Assislanl Sludenl Affairs Secrelary
and candidale for lhe osl of }ubo DaI Iresidenl.
He conlesled in lhe 2008 eIeclion from lhe GoaIur seal of TangaiI-2, bul
Iosl.
One of Tuku's brolhers is MauIana Ta| Uddin, Ieader of lhe banned miIilanl
grou Harkal-uI-}ihad. MauIana Ta| Uddin has been accused in lhe 21
Augusl grenade allack case. He is resenlIy absconding abroad. Tuku's eIder
brolher, former NI slale minisler Abdus SaIam Iinlu, is resenlIy in |aiI,
senlenced in lhe same case. n
General SeCretary akramul haSan
Chhara DaI GeneraI Secrelary
AkramuI Hasan vas born in }oshor
union of Shibur uaziIa, Narsingdi
on 21 Augusl 1979.
He sludied al lhe IocaI rimary
schooI and lhen assed his SSC from
rahmondi KKM Governmenl High
SchooI in 1995. He assed his HSC
from Dhaka Commerce CoIIege in
1997 and vas admilled lo lhe Accounling and usiness Syslem Dearlmenl
of Dhaka Universily. He did his Maslers from lhe same dearlmenl loo.
AkramuI Hasan comes from a oIilicaI famiIy and so invoIvemenl in
oIilics came naluraIIy lo him. His falher SuIlan Uddin MoIIa is Narsingdi
NI Vice Iresidenl and Vice Iresidenl of lhe }aliyalabadi Tanli DaI. His
molher Hasna SuIlana is a housevife. Akram is lhe younger of lvo brolhers.
His eIder brolher is an MS doclor al Mahanagar HosilaI. n
Prcji|c
Prcji|c
}
aliyalabadi Chhalra DaI vas
founded on 1 }anuary 1979 as an
affiIialed organisalion of NI.
Irom lhen liII dale, lhis sludenl
fronl has had 16 residenls and
convenors and eighl generaI secrelaries
and |oinl convenors. Six of lhese former
sludenl Ieaders have Iefl oIilics
comIeleIy, 14 are sliII aclive in oIilics,
lvo have assed avay, one is missing
and one remains vilhoul any osl.
THE ACTIVE 14
Kazi Asaduzzaman vas lhe founder
Convenor of Chhalra DaI in 1979. He is
resenlIy NI's Training Affairs
Secrelary. This osl basicaIIy has no
acluaI funclion. He is a businessman by
rofession.
Shamsuzzaman Dudu vas lhe
cenlraI Iresidenl of Chhalra DaI in
1985-86. He is resenlIy GeneraI
Secrelary of }aliyalabadi Krishak DaI
and Advisor lo lhe NI Chairerson.
He is a conlraclor by rofession.
Asaduzzaman Rion vas Chhalra
DaI's cenlraI Iresidenl from 1987 lo
1990. He is resenlIy NI's
InlernalionaI Affairs Secrelary.
Unhay over cerlain aclions vilhin
NI, he had slayed avay from lhe
arly for some lime. As a resuIl, lhose
vho had been |unior lo him in Chhalra
DaI, have nov more imorlanl
osilions in lhe arly. Asaduzzaman
Rion is lhe ovner and Idilor of lhe
IngIish magazine Oip|cnai.
Irom 1990 lo 1992 Chhalra DaI's
cenlraI Convenor vas Aman UIIah
Aman. He had been lhe organisalion's
GeneraI Secrelary from 1987 lo 1990
and aIso DUCSU VI. He vas eIecled
Member of IarIiamenl in eighl nalionaI
arIiamenlary eIeclions and vas
aoinled Slale Minisler for HeaIlh.
This former sludenl Ieader has amassed
massive amounl of veaIlh.
Chhalra DaI's cenlraI commillee's
firsl eIeclion vas heId on 16 May 1992.
RuhuI Kabir Ahmed Rizvi vas eIecled
Iresidenl. Hovever, lhe commillee
Iasled for onIy four monlhs due lo
inlernaI disules and he vas removed
from lhe osl. He had been a fiery
sludenl Ieader and lhe VI of Ra|shahi
Universily's Sludenl Union RUCSU.
During lhe 2001-2006 Iour Iarly
AIIiance governmenl, Rizvi had been
Chairman of Ra|shahi AgricuIluraI
DeveIomenl ank. He is resenlIy
NI's }oinl Secrelary GeneraI vilh
seciaI resonsibiIilies al lhe arly's
office. Tovards lhe end of lhe Iasl lerm
of lhe Avami League governmenl, he
had been delained for a fev monlhs in
lhe cenlraI office.
IazIuI Huq MiIon vas Iresidenl of
Chhalra DaI from 1993 liII 1996. He is a
conlraclor. He vas eIecled MI from
KaIigan|, Gaziur in lhe eighlh
arIiamenlary eIeclion and is resenlIy
NI's Organising Secrelary.
WhiIe IazIuI Huq MiIon vas
Iresidenl, lhe GeneraI Secrelary of
Chhalra DaI vas Nazimuddin AIam.
He is aIso a conlraclor. He vas eIecled
MI from hoIa in lhe 2001 eIeclion.
Shahid Uddin Chovdhury Anni vas
Chhalra DaI Iresidenl from 1996 liII
1998. He vas eIecled MI from lhe
Lakkhiur-3 seal lhrice successiveIy in
lhe sevenlh, eighlh and ninlh
arIiamenlary eIeclions. He is NI's
Sludenl Affairs Secrelary al
resenl.(See ox: Iage-07)
Habib-un-Nabi SoheI vas lhe
Chhalra DaI GeneraI Secrelary vhen
Anni vas Iresidenl. Then u liII 2000
he vas Chhalra DaI Iresidenl. He is
resenlIy Iresidenl of }aliyalabadi
Secial Reo!#
Thrcc dccadcs nI
studcnt pn!itics
W(%0%
!0% 2(%
C((!20! D!+
+%!$%01
-.5?
|n inc pasi ii na! |ccn inc ncrn jcr siu!cni |ca!crs ic jcin inc parcni
pc|iiica| pariq cncc incir siu!cni |itcs ucrc ctcr. Tncq ucu|! |ui|! up
incir pc|iiica| carccrs as |ca!crs cn a naiicna| |ctc|. An! in iincs cj
crisis, incq ucrc inc cncs ic iakc ctcr inc nc|n cj ajjairs. Mcsi cj incsc
in pc|iiica| |ca!crsnip ai a naiicna| |ctc| ic!aq ucrc siu!cni |ca!crs cj
inc sixiics. Tncq arc inc iruc ||uc, iric! an! icsic! pc|iiicians.
|n inc cigniics icc, siu!cnis p|aqc! a pitcia| rc|c cn pc|iiics. Tncq
ucrc kcq ic inc anii-auiccracq nctcncni againsi |rsna!. Bui inc
cigniics an! ninciics ucrc a|sc a iurning pcini in inc cnaracicr an!
naiurc cj siu!cni pc|iiics. Tnc nain rcascn |cnin! inis uas inai
c|cciicns ic inc siu!cni ccunci|s !i!ni iakc p|acc. Mcrc inpcriani|q, inc
siu!cni |ca!crs unc cnicrc! naiicna| |ctc| pc|iiics ctcr inc pasi inrcc
!cca!cs natc jai|c! ic natc a pcsiiitc inpaci. Manq cj incn jin!
incnsc|tcs pusnc! ic inc si!c|incs an! nanq natc sinp|q |cji pc|iiics
ccnp|cic|q. |n inis scrics, P|OB| intcsiigaics uncrc inc siu!cni |ca!crs
cj inc |asi inrcc !cca!cs arc ncu an! ncu incq arc jaring. Tnis issuc
prcscnis an up!aic cj jcrncr Cnnaira Oa| |ca!crs an! incir uncrca|cuis.
by MD. BELAYET HO55AIN
Svechhashebok DaI. RecenlIy he has
aIso been made Dhaka Cily NI's
Member Secrelary.
WhiIe Habib-un-Nabi SoheI vas
Chhalra DaI's Iresidenl, lhe
organisalion's GeneraI Secrelary vas
Nasiruddin Ahmed Iinlu. Irom 2000 lo
2002 Iinlu vas Chhalra DaI Iresidenl.
Senlenced lo Iife lerm imrisonmenl in
lhe DR massacre case, Iinlu is
resenlIy in |aiI. He has recenlIy been
made NI's }oinl Convenor.
AM Mosharraf Hossain vas
Chhalra DaI's }oinl Convenor for |usl
four monlhs lovards lhe end of 2002.
He is resenlIy Deuly Secrelary of
}aliyalabadi Svechhashebok DaI. He
Iosl in lhe eighlh arIiamenlary eIeclion
from lhe IaluakhaIi KoIaara seal.
ShafiuI ari abu vas Chhalra DaI
GeneraI Secrelary from 2005 liII 2009.
He is resenlIy Organising Secrelary of
}aliyalabadi Svechhashebok DaI.
Tovards lhe end of 2009 SuIlan
SaIahuddin Tuku vas made Chhalra
DaI Iresidenl. On 3 Selember 2012 he
sleed dovn from lhe osl. He is
resenlIy Deuly Sludenl Affairs
Secrelary of NI. He is acliveIy
Iobbying lo be GeneraI Secrelary of
}ubo DaI.(AIso see box: Iage- 08)
AmiruI IsIam Khan AIim vas
GeneraI Secrelary vhen Tuku vas
Iresidenl. He is resenlIy NI's cenlraI
execulive commillee member.
5IX LEADER5 INACTIVE
IN POLITIC5
InamuI Karim Shahid vas firsl
Iresidenl of Chhalra DaI. Tovards lhe
end of 1979 he had been given lhis
office. He is a leacher nov and no
Ionger invoIved in oIilics.
Afler InamuI Karim Shahid, GoIam
Sarvar MiIon vas Chhalra DaI
Convenor. During Irshad's ruIe he Iefl
Chhalra DaI lo |oin }aliya Iarly. He
lhen Iefl oIilics a IillIe vhiIe afler lhal.
He nov is nol affiIialed vilh any arly.
AbuI Kasem Chovdhury's oIilicaI
career grah vas Iike lhal of GoIam
Sarvar MiIon. Irom 1983 lo 1986 he
vas Iresidenl of Chhalra DaI. He loo
Iefl Chhalra DaI and |oined }aliya Iarly.
He lhen Iefl oIilics. He is oul of louch
vilh oIilics loo.
}aIaI Ahmed vas Chhalra DaI
Iresidenl from 1986 lo 1987. When lhe
anli-Irshad movemenl vas al ils
heighl, }aIaI Ahmed Iefl oIilics and
venl avay lo AuslraIia.
When Aman UIIah Aman vas
Chhalra DaI Convenor from 1990 lo
1992, SanauI Huq Niru vas }oinl
Convenor. He is a businessman.
Shahbuddin LaIlu vas Iresidenl of
Chhalra DaI from 2003 lo 2004. He feII
oul vilh NI Ieaders and Iefl lhe arly.
He resenlIy Iives in Canada.
TWO HAVE PA55ED AWAY
The firsl GeneraI Secrelary of Chhalra
DaI in 1979 vas AKM GoIam Hossain.
Uon comIelion of his educalion, he
|oined }ahangirnagar Universily as
leacher. He vas kiIIed in a road
accidenl a fev years ago.
MahbubuI Huq abuI vas knovn lo
be lhe besl organiser of Chhalra DaI. He
vas GeneraI Secrelary of Chhalra DaI
from 21 Iebruary 1986 lo 1987. This
ouIar sludenl Ieader vas kiIIed in a
bomb bIasl in Dhaka Universily's
Mohsin HaII during Irshad's ruIe.
ILYA5 ALI 5TILL MI55ING
NI Ieader IIyas AIi venl missing on
17 AriI 2012 from MohakhaIi in
Dhaka, on lhe vay home. He is sliII
missing. He vas a veII-knovn sludenl
Ieader of Dhaka Universily. Tovards
lhe end of 1992 he vas Iresidenl of
Chhalra DaI. He Ialer became a
overfuI Ieader of NI and vas
eIecled Member of IarIiamenl from,
SyIhel. Iven lhough he is missing, he
remains Organising Secrelary of NI.
HELAL AWAIT5 GOOD PO5T
AzizuI ari HeIaI vas Chhalra DaI
GeneraI Secrelary 2003 lo 2004 and lhen
vas made ils Iresidenl. On 31 }une
2009 he sleed dovn from lhe osl of
Iresidenl. This former sludenl Ieader
hoIds no osl of NI al resenl. He is
availing a good osl in lhe arly. n
(Ncxi |ssuc. Wncrc arc inc Cnnaira Sni|ir Ica!crs? )
Secial Reo!#
"-4.A.A8 HA= B-.A8 C-?
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5: - .;9. .8-?@ 5: D4-7-
):5B1>?5@EI? ";4?5: H-88
0A>5:3 E>?4-0I? >A81.
T
he AIIiance Irancaise
buiIding in Dhanmondi may
nol be a herilage sile, bul il is
unofficiaIIy considered lo be
one. The house vilh ils
curves verandahs is a famiIiar and
Ioved sighl by lhe eoIe of Dhaka cily.
In a cily vhere Ianning has been
ilched inlo a bin and muIli-sloreys
sroul u fasler lhan mushrooms, lhis
buiIding had a caIming affecl of
aeslhelic sense. ul lhal is aII lo end
nov.
AIIiance Irancaise, lhe Irench
cuIluraI inslilule in Dhaka, has decided
lo bring dovn lhis buiIding and
conslrucl a muIli-sloreyed comIex in
ils slead. Il ubIished a nolice lo lhis
effecl in a number of nalionaI daiIies
recenlIy. The IubIic Works dearlmenl,
hovever, says lhis is a vioIalion of lhe
Iease lhey have vilh lhe inslilulion.
AIIiance Irancaise de Dhaka oened
vay back in 1959 under lhe Socielies
Acl. Ils main ob|eclive vas lo leach lhe
Irench Ianguage lo lhe engaIi
seaking eoIe and lhe IocaIs. Il aIso
runs severaI olher rogramme
erlaining lo cuIlure, such as fiIm,
holograhy and arl exhibilions and
courses of such inleresl.
In 1973 AIIiance Irancaise renled lhe
Iol and lhe beaulifuI house al No. 26,
Road No, 3, Dhanmondi. The buiIding
is iconic of lhe archileclure of lhose
limes. In 1999 lhe governmenl gave lhe
buiIding lo AIIiance Irancaise on a
renl-based Iease.
The Iease deed mainlains lhal no
changes or exlensions can be made lo
lhe Iol or lhe buiIding vilhoul lhe
ermission of lhe Iessor (See box:
Whal's on lhe Iease deed). Yel lhe
AIIiance Irancaise aulhorilies have
laken inilialive lo buiId a 14-sloreyed
buiIding on lhe Iol. On 15 Oclober il
ubIished a nolice in lhis regard in a
number of nalionaI daiIies. The nolice
reads:
"Ixression of Inleresl (IOI) is
inviled from exerienced, innovalive
and resourcefuI rivale seclor
deveIoers for deveIomenl and
managemenl (shorl-lerm basis) of lhe
roosed muIli-slorey buiIding on
buiId-oerale-lransfer (OT) basis on 1
E'cl$"i%e
A++)!-#% F0!-9!)1%
4).+!2%1 03+%1 2. #.-1203#2
,3+2)-12.0%7 "3)+$)-'
by 5HAFIQ RAHMAN
W(!2;1 .- 2(% +%!1% $%%$
The Iease signed on 30 Selember 1999 belveen lhe lvo arlies slales:
"Thal lhe Tenanl shaII in no vay diminish lhe vaIue of lhe demised roerly
vilhoul lhe revious vrillen consenl of lhe Lessor, is enlilIed lo aIler lhe
demised roerly rovided in so doing lhe residenliaI characler of lhe coIony
is nol hindered herevilh, and shaII nol seII or disose of any earlh graveI, sand
or slone from lhe demised roerly nor excavale lhe same excel so far as may
use for lhe urose of lhe said vorks or seII or disose of any maleriaI
excavaled in lhe roer execulion lhereof rovided aIvays lhal vhere
unaulhorized aIleralion is made lo or maleriaI is excavaled from lhe demised
roerly lhe Lessor may by nolice require lhe lenanl lo reslore lhe roerly lo
ils originaI slale al his ovn cosl vilhin a secified lime, and in lhe evenl of
defauIl on lhe arl of lhe lenanl lo comIy vilh lhis direclion, lhe Lessor may
cause such resloralion lo be made and reaIize lhe cosl lhereof from lhe Tenanl
by cerlificale rocedure."
Il aIso slales, "Thal lhe Tenanl shaII reserve inlacl lhe boundaries of lhe
demised roerly and shaII kee lhe same veII demarcaled and shaII oinl
lhem oul vhom required by lhe Lessor lo do so lo any officer duIIy aulhorized
by him in vriling lo insecl lhem. ShouId any boundary mark be missing, lhe
Tenanl shaII reorl lhe facl lo lhe Lessor. If il is found lhal any boundary iIIars
are demoIished or Iosl due lo any aclion of lhe Tenanl lhe cosl of reIacemenl
of such boundary iIIars may be reaIized from lhe Tenanl by lhe Lessor,"
bigha (arox.) Iol of Iand bearing
"Iol 26, Corner of Road 3, Mirur
Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka".
Il conlinues, "The ro|ecl viII consisl
of an inslilulionaI-cum-office bIock
vilh an overaII buiIl-u area of 1.35
Iakhs sq.fl incIuding 2 basemenl fIoors
Ius ground fIoor Ius 13 fIoors lo be
shared vilh lhe AIIiance Irancaise de
Dhaka. The roerly viII remain soIeIy
vilh AIIiance Irancaise de Dhaka. The
OT oeralor is execled lo benefil
from renlaI revenues onIy."
ShaiIa Iarzana, Deuly Secrelary of
lhe IubIic Works Dearlmenl, say lhal
no one has been given ermission in
lhis regard.
Irof. Dr. Na|muI Ahsan KaIimuIIah,
Vice Iresidenl of lhe AIIiance Irancaise
execulive commillee, says, "I am nol
avare of lhe maller and if you need lo
knov anylhing laIk lo lhe Iresidenl."
AbduI Ma|id Chovdhury, Iresidenl
of lhe commillee, aIso evades lhe issue.
He says, "Whal lhe use of fIashing lhis
in lhe media`"
WhiIe runo IIasse, Direclor of
AIIiance Irancaise said, We don'l
vanl lo demoIished lhe buiIding
immedialeIy, ve ul lhe adverlisemenl
|usl lo see lhe inleresl of lhe buiIders.
Hovever , il seemed lhe Direclor is
nol avare of lhe facl lhal even lo ul an
adverlisemenl on nevs aers
regarding lhe buiIding needs
ermission from reIevanl aulhorilies. Il
vas vioIalion of lhe deed.
In lhe meanlime, IROI
invesligalions reveaI a Iack of
lransarency in lhe aIIolmenl of lhe
buiIding lo AIIiance Irancaise. IubIic
Works Minislry sources say lhal in 1986
lhe buiIding had been decIared
abandoned. The |urisdiclion of lhe
buiIding lhus Iay vilh lhe abandoned
roerly dearlmenl of lhe minislry.
Hovever, in 1999 lhis vas lransformed
lo a differenl dearlmenl of lhe
minislry vhich vas a direcl vioIalion of
lhe ruIes, according lo officiaIs of lhe
concerned dearlmenl.
In lhe meanlime, in 2013 lhe IubIic
Works Dearlmenl senl a Iisl lo lhe
High Courl erlaining lo lhe
aIIocalions of bungaIovs in lhe cailaI
cily vhere lhe varranl of recedence
vas nol foIIoved. The name of lhe
buiIding Ieased oul lo AIIiance
Irancaise vas incIuded in lhis Iisl.n
E'cl$"i%e
Issue: 2 I November 01 - 15, 2014 I Vol: 13 Page: 12
Executive Committee
President:
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Vice President:
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Treasurer:
J;C-0 H-950 -F5
Members:
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T
he focus of sociaI scienlisl Dr.
Iiash Karim's lhoughls and
deIiberalions vas aIvays lhe
eslabIishmenl of democralic
raclice, a veIfare slale and
sociely. He vouId seak aboul lhese
asiralions in various TV laIk-shovs.
He vas a harsh crilic of lhe
governmenl. He vas nol a member of
NI, lhough a Iol of his slalemenls
vouId go in favour of NI.
He vouId seak fearIessIy on TV
laIk-shovs on various conlroversiaI
conlemorary issues such as lhe lriaI of
var criminaIs, }amaal's movemenl,
Hefazal IsIam's movemenl and
galhering, human righls, cilizens'
righls and so on. In a shorl lime he
became a ouIar ersonaIily lo many,
bul aIso unouIar vilh many loo. He
vas misunderslood by Gono|agaron
Mancha due lo his crilicism of lhem.
Gono|agaron Mancha and a number
of olher organisalions idenlified him as
an enemy. They decIared a virluaI |ihad
againsl him. They vere insuIling and
disreseclfuI. They did nol even aIIov
his body lo be laken lo lhe Shaheed
Minar.
They equaled Iiash Karim vilh
}amaal and lhe var criminaIs because
he crilics Gono|agaron Mancha and lhe
InlernalionaI Crimes TribunaI. They
accused him of suorling Hefazal
IsIam and insligaling reIigious anger.
They say his falher and grandfalher
vere razakars.
There are queslions as lo lhe
subslance behind lhese accusalions.
The governmenl's Lav Minisler AnisuI
Huq has oenIy loId lhe media lhal
Iiash Karim's famiIy vere nol razakars,
nol coIIaboralors during lhe
indeendence var.
So vhal did he acluaIIy say on lhe TV
laIk-shovs` He look arl in over a
hundred laIk shovs belveen }anuary
2012 and Selember 2014. A sludy of
lhese laIk-shovs reveaI lhal lhere is no
basis for lhe aIIegalions broughl againsl
him. He has lhe same sland in aII lhe
channeIs.
Ior lhe sake of lhe readers, IROI
beIov quoles Iiash Karim verbalim
from various laIk-shovs.
Cnntcxt: War crimes lriaI
Channc!/Prngrammc: MY TV/
Iifly minules
Datc: 17 November 2012
Anchnr: SeIim Umrao Khan
Discussants: Irof. Iiash Karim,
Misbahur Rahman (Chairman,
angIadesh IsIami Oikya }ole)
Tnpic: }amaal-Shibir vioIence on
lhe slreels and US Ambassador's
caII lo hoId diaIogue vilh lhem
Piash Karim: I ersonaIIy vanl lhe var
criminaIs lo be lried. This is lhe
demand of hislory, lhis is vhal hislory
execls. ul from lhe very beginning I
have aIvays mainlained lhal vhalever
is lo be done, lhe Iav musl be foIIoved.
The minislers of our governmenl
decIare lhal lhe lriaI viII be comIeled
vilhin a cerlain dale. In any counlry of
lhe vorId, can lhe officiaIs of lhe
execulive make such commenls` Can
lhey give a limeframe in vhich lhe lriaI
viII be finished` This is lhe rerogalive
of lhe |udiciary. The Iav viII roceed al
ils ovn ace. When sIogans are caIIed
oul al a meeling, in resence of a
minisler, lhal lhe var criminaIs musl be
hanged, lhis is inlerfering vilh lhe
roceedings of lhe courl. Il is for lhe
courl lo decide vhelher a Iife-lerm
senlence viII be given or a dealh
senlence. You can say lhal you vanl
|uslice. The Iavs are lhus being
vioIaled.Wilnesses are even being
kidnaed.
}usl as I have lhe righl lo demand
lhal lhe var criminaIs be lried, if
}amaal remains vilhin lhe conslilulion
lhen il aIso has lhe righl lo demand lhal
lhey are nol lried. This debale can be
carried oul lhrough a conslilulionaI
rocess. I vanl lhem lo be lried for lheir
roIe in 1971. If lhey don'l vanl lhe lriaI,
I can'l siIence lhem. I do nol have lhe
IegaI righl lo siIence lhem. They have lo
come lhrough a rocess.
Piash Karim: MiIilanls and }amaal
lhis is nol lhe loic of our discussion. I
said lhal }amaal musl be broughl lo a
IiberaI democralic sace. Il is being said
lhal }amaal's vords do nol malch lheir
deeds. Do Avami League's vords
malch lheir deeds` Avami League's
eIeclion manifeslo decIared il vouId
lake a sland againsl corrulion. Yel
Ra|shahi Universily Chhalra League
aclivisls are oenIy brandishing guns
in fronl of lhe oIice. So you can'l laIk
aboul vords and deeds. }amaal's
vords do nol malch ils deeds. None of
lhe mainslream oIilicaI forces in lhe
counlry malch lheir vords vilh lheir
deeds.
I do nol knov if HarkaluI }ihad and
miIilanls are }amaal eoIe. I do nol
knov anyone in }amaal ersonaIIy. ul
I beIieve a cerlain anaIogy vhich may
or may nol be correcl. I vas very cIoseIy
associaled vilh Ieflisl oIilics. I vas of
lhe hasani Iefisl oIilicaI cam. I
vouId vork under NAI (hashani).
Nov hasani can'l be heId resonsibIe
for lhe misdeeds of any vorker of
Samyabadi DaI.
If }amaal says lhal lhey viII nol aIIov
lhe lriaI lo be heId, lhen lhal is
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A PROBE rcpnrt
unIavfuI. Il is nol unIavfuI for lhem lo
say lhal lhe lriaI is un|usl. A erson has
lhe righl lo say lhal lhe lriaI shouId nol
be heId. Il is nol iIIegaI lo say so, as Iong
as lhey don'l disrul lhe |udiciaI
roceedings.
}amaal is hamering lhe |udiciaI
rocess. I do nol disagree vilh lhis. I
am nol defending }amaal in my
discussion. I am Iooking for a vay for
us lo come oul of lhis crisis. I vanl lo
cIearIy slale lhal I beIieve in non-
communaI oIilics. ul I say lhis from a
IiberaI democralic sace. I am nol
defending }amaal, I am defending
democracy.
Aboul }amaal's vords nol malching
lheir deeds, il is lrue. Their vords and
lheir aclions do nol laIIy. ul lhal
aIies lo NI and Avami League loo.
Their vords and lheir aclions do nol
malch. If lhal is lo be lhe rerequisile lo
diaIogue, lhen no one can sil for
diaIogue vilh anyone in angIadesh.
Iveryone viII have lo cIose lhe doors
and sil lighl. This is lhe ground reaIily.
Cnntcxt: Gono|agaron Mancha
Channc!/Prngrammc:
ChanneI i/ Grameen Ihone
A|ker Sangbad
Datc: 2 Selember 2014
Anchnr: Maliur Rahman
Chovdhury
Discussants: Irof. Iiash Karim
and SaIeh Uddin (senior reorler,
|iicjaq)
Piash Karim: I decIare my suorl for
Shahbagh's Gono|agaron Mancha. I
exress my soIidarily vilh lhem. I feeI
lhis is a slrong osilive oulbursl of our
democralic consciousness, our siril of
indeendence. We vouId say lhal lhe
youlh do nol bolher aboul lhe counlry,
aboul lhe sociely. The youlh have
roven lhal lhey do lhink aboul lhe
counlry. They have roven lhal lhey
have a commilmenl lovards
indeendence.
Having said lhal, I viII relurn lo lhe
discussion as a sociaI scienlisl. I
couIdn'l redicl lhe emergence of
Gono|agaron Mancha. I find lhis a very
osilive asecl. I exress my soIidarily.
Thal is my firsl oinl.
Then I come lo lhe second oinl. I
cerlainIy vanl lhe var criminaIs lo be
lried. This Gono|agaron Mancha raised
lhe demand for Quader MoIIah lo be
hanged. ul lhen lhere is lhe maller of
lhe ruIe of Iav. Il is being said aII over
lhal ve musl roceed according lo lhe
ruIe of Iav.
The counlry lhal sacrifices ils
democracy for lhe sake of
indeendence, gains neilher
indeendence nor democracy. In lhe
same manner, lhe counlry lhal
sacrifices lhe ruIe of Iav for |uslice,
gains neilher |uslice nor lhe ruIe of Iav.
I aeaI lo our agilaling youlh lo kee
lhis in mind. WhiIe Gono|agaron vas
vehemenlIy for Quader MoIIah lo be
hanged, vas for lhe maximum
unishmenl of lhe var criminaIs, I feeI
lhere vas a feeIing in a seclion of lhe
sociely lhal feIl lhe lriaI vas nol fair.
They feIl lhal lhere vas a behind-lhe-
scenes underslanding. The courl did
nol erform as il shouId have
erformed. This vas due lo oIilicaI
infIuence. I am very hay aboul lhis
ercelion. In lhis mass urising, lhis
ercelion may seem negIigibIe bul il is
very imorlanl. This is nol |usl for lhe
lriaI of lhe var criminaIs, il is for lhe
ruIe of Iav. We musl hoId on lo lhis.
The lhird oinl is somelhing I have
been saying for lhe Iasl fev monlhs. I
have been crilicised for lhis loo. ul I
sliII slubbornIy go ahead and reeal
myseIf. There can be a differenl of
oinion among us vho vanl lhe lriaI of
lhe var criminaIs. We shouId nol Iose
lhis democralic sace olhervise lhe
movemenl's asiralions for
indeendence and democracy viII be
deslroyed. We musl be abIe lo conlain
differences of oinion or ve viII Iose
somelhing very vaIuabIe.
The fourlh oinl is lhal lhe young
eoIe vho have |oined lhis vave of
mass rolesl, are of nol any oIilicaI
arly. They are generaI eoIe of
angIadesh, lhe common youlh. They
vanl |uslice. They uhoId lhe
commilmenl of 1971. They shouId nol
be used oIilicaIIy. I vas very
encouraged lo see lhal lhe young
eoIe have said lhal lhey vere nol
oIilicaI.
OnIy Marx couId redicl fascism. He
said lhal every ouIar movemenl has
lhe risk of giving vay lo fascism. Our
duly is lo ensure lhal ve do nol reress
difference of oinion. We shouId nol be
used for oIilicaI uroses.
We shouId nol forgel ve have issues
Iike Iadma ridge before us. We musl
nol forgel lhal lhere are queslions
aboul handing over of over in lhe
nexl eIeclion. We musl nol forgel lhere
are queslions aboul our nalionaI
resources and our righls. If aII such
issues are covered u, lhe face of our
democralic movemenl viII change, viII
be harmed.
As a sociaI scienlisl I viII onder
over lhis movemenl for may years lo
come. I vas oul of lhe counlry and so
did nol have lhe oorlunily lo observe
lhe anli-aulocracy movemenl. This
Gono|agaron is lhe slrongesl urising
since lhen.
I feeI lhal lhe young eoIe have
been caughl u in a sorl of
overIessness. Many decisions are
being laken behind lheir back. So many
lhings are haening oulside of lheir
knovIedge lhe Sagar-Runi murder is
nol being broughl lo lriaI, isva|il
murder is nol being lried, a criminaI
Iike ikash is being reIeased. The young
eoIe are nol demanding an
exIanalion for lhis. Why vas lhe dealh
senlence nol given lo Quader MoIIah`
Was lhere any underslanding behind
lhe scenes` Was yel anolher decision
laken keeing us in lhe dark`
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I vanl lo leII lhe youlh, I am vilh
you. ul ve musl nol forgel isva|il.
We musl nol forgel Sagar-Runi. We
musl nol forgel Iadma ridge. We
musl nol forgel lhe dark maniuIalions
of over. We musl nol forgel lhe
games being Iayed vilh our nalionaI
resources.
Anchnr: Where is lhis movemenl
(Gono|agaron) going`
Piash Karim: We do nol knov in vhich
direclion lhis movemenl is going. I |usl
vanl lo say lhal lhey shouIdn'l be used
for narrov oIilicaI inleresls. They
musl sland u againsl lhis. The ruIing
arly shouIdn'l use lhese young eoIe
lo consoIidale ils ovn over. The
youlh shouId nol lurn avay from lhe
fundamenlaI issues.
These lhousands of young eoIe
haven'l been galhered logelher lo bring
Avami League back inlo over once
again. They haven'l been crealed lo acl
as avns in lhe Avami League-NI
game. They have a genuine aulhenlic
demand. Over lhe asl 41 years lhe
youlh have been used in lhe narrov
inleresls of over. No more.
angIadesh's youlh viII no Ionger be
used for lhe narrov oIilicaI inleresls
of oIilicaI arlies. The young eoIe
have risen u. Viclory lo lheir urising.
Cnntcxt: Quader MoIIah's Iife-lerm
senlence and oulbursl of rage al
Shahbagh
Channc!: Ikallor TV
Datc: 5Fcbruary 2013
Anchnr: Nobonila Chovdhury
Discussants: Irof. Iiash Karim
and Irof. A Arafal
Piash Karim: I convey my resecl lo
lhose vho have exressed dismay and
anger. There is an emolionaI oulbursl al
Shahbagh as lheir execlalions haven'l
been fuIfiIIed. Wilh fuII resecl lovards
lhose emolions, uIlimaleIy lhe rocess
of Iav musl be foIIoved. The Lav
Minisler has said lhal lhere is scoe for
aeaI. The Allorney GeneraI has said
lhal lhey viII lake lhe maller inlo
consideralion afler receiving lhe fuII
verdicl.
I condemn lhe vioIence on lhe slreels
and say, lhose vho are oosing lhe
maller musl aIso go lhrough lhe
rocess of Iav. If lhey feeI lhal lhe courl
is nol IegaI, lhey have lo rove lhal loo
vilh Iogic and argumenl.
There is a fear lhal a 'sub-lexl' may
be vorking behind lhose vho are nol
salisfied vilh lhe verdicl of lhe courl,
lhal lhe courl is vorking under oIilicaI
infIuence. If lhal is so, lhen lhe accused
and lhe roleslors are merging in one
Iace. This does nol bode veII for lhe
ruIe of Iav in angIadesh.
I viII reeal lhal I am in soIidarily
and suorl vilh lhe anger and dismay
of lhe eoIe. I exress my unily vilh
lhem. I reeal again and again lhal I
vanl lhe var criminaIs lo be lried. I
reeal lhis so as lo cIear u any
misconcelions. ul if I vas lhe |udge
in courl and each and every erson of
angIadesh loId me lo give a cerlain
unishmenl, I sliII vouId have said no.
This is lhe evidence I have. I viII give
lhe verdicl on lhe basis of my
underslanding of lhe Iav and my
conscience. Thal is lhe ruIe of Iav. Thal
is vhy, exressing fuII soIidarily,I vanl
lo say our anger shouId nol have an
imacl on lhe courl.
If ve seak aboul lhe acluaI ruIe of
Iav, lhe courl viII give ils verdicl in ils
ovn consideralion. Iven if his vife or
chiId leIIs him nol lo, lhe |udge has lo
give his verdicl in keeing vilh his
knovIedge of lhe Iav, his
underslanding of lhe Iav and in
keeing vilh his conscience. Thal is
vhal lhe ruIe of Iav is aII aboul.
}amaal and Avami League have
gone lo such a oinl lhal I do nol see
any ossibiIily of reconciIialion. Of
course, many lhings haen behind lhe
scene of vhich ve knov nolhing. I
have no roof. I may even be roven
vrong.
I cIearIy lake a sland againsl Avami
League. There are lhree scenarios. One
is lhal lhe governmenl viII comIeleIy
suress }amaal. }amaal von'l be abIe
lo even observe harlaI. Il von'l be abIe
lo do anylhing. This is an unIikeIy
scenario. There are many reasons
behind lhis. Anolher scenario is lhal
}amaal viII vin. Thal is even more
unIikeIy. The lhird scenario is one
vhich aboul vhich I am exlremeIy
arehensive and I feeI is very
dangerous. Thal is if lhings conlinue as
lhey are nov, in lhis manner. The
governmenl is lrying lo suress
}amaal. }amaal viII conlinue ils
vioIence. This slaIemale viII seriousIy
hamer our oIilicaI slabiIily and our
economy.
I""$e
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Cnntcxt: Hefazal IsIam
Channc!/Prngrammc: Indeendenl
TeIevision/DaleIine Dhaka
Datc: 4 May 2013
Discussants: Suran|il Sengula,
Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Irof.
Iiash Karim
Piash Karim: I have nol come here lo
suorl Hefazal IsIam. The vay I see il
is lhal lhere is a shar oIilicaI
oIarisalion laking Iace in lhe counlry
and Hefazal IsIam's Iong march has
added a nev dimension lo lhis.
Our crisis has increased, il hasn'l
Iessened. Hov viII ve emerge from
lhis crisis` There are lvo olions in
fronl of us. IirslIy, lo aIIov Hefazal
carry oul ils Iong march as Iong as il is
eacefuI and as Iong as lhere is no
vioIence. Olion lvo is lo resisl il, lo
slo lheir buses and lrucks from
arriving. To sel u bIockades al various
Iaces, caII for a harlaI.
I lhink lhe firsl olion viII be more
effeclive. There is no guaranlee lhal lhe
firsl olion viII resoIve lhe crisis. ul if
ve comare lhe lvo olions, lhe firsl
one seems much more IogicaI lo me.
Counler harlaIs and bIockades viII
onIy increase lhe crisis. This viII harm
Avami League and NI. Shahriar
Kabir, Munlasir Mamun and lheir iIk
viII nol be harmed. They have nolhing
lo Iose.
Channc!: angIa Vision
Anchnr: GoIam Murlaza
Datc: 7AriI 2013
Discussants: Irof. Iiash Karim,
ManzuruI Ahsan Khan (CI
Advisor)
Piash Karim: Hefazal's galhering has
added a nev dimension lo
angIadesh's oIilics. They heId lheir
galhering desile lhe bIockade. Il is nol
as if lhey came here unhindered. If you
ask me if I suorl Hefazal's
rogramme, I vouId say no, I do nol.
Do I suorl lhere 13 oinls` No, I do
nol.
Those of us vho vanl lo raclice
oIilics of democralic ideoIogy in lhe
counlry viII have lo delermine vhy
eoIe gel angry, vhy lhey gel exciled,
vhy lhey gel agilaled, vhy lhey gel
organised. UnIess I observe lhis cIoseIy,
I viII nol be abIe lo deaI vilh il.
Anchnr: Hnw |ustiIicd is it tn ca!! thc
ynuth athcists?
Piash Karim: I do nol agree vilh such
an anaIysis. I viII go a sle furlher and
say lhis, eoIe have lhe righl lo be
alheisls. I vouId never generaIise and
say aII lhose demonslraling al
Shahbagh are alheisls.
If lhose vho are oIilicaIIy
conlroIIing Shahbagh, arlicialing in
il and observing il vouId ay a IillIe
allenlion, lhey vouId see lhal lhere are
olher forces in sociely lhal go againsl
lhis. These viII fIourish. Ior lhe firsl
lvo veeks il seemed as if lhere vas no
angIadesh oulside of Shahbagh. There
vas bound lo be a reaclion lo il. This
vas nolhing difficuIl lo redicl.
Channc!: Diganla TV
Datc: 5 May2013
Prngrammc: Nevs of lhe Day
Anchnr: IoIice are obslrucling
Hefazal's march lovards Dhaka. They
are sloing buses. Why viII lhe oIice
slo lheir buses`
Piash Karim: This shouId nol haen
in a slabIe democralic sociely. Our
oIice are nol oIilicaIIy neulraI. They
have become a oIilicaI force. They are
fuIfiIIing lhe oIilicaI agenda of lhe
slale. I am dismayed lhal lhe oIice has
obslrucled lhe buses. I vouId be
equaIIy dismayed of lhe oIice sloed
Avami League's rocessions loo. n
I""$e
T
vo dealhs in recenl limes
have shaken us aII vilh lhe
drama enacled around il.
Dealhs had become symboIic
and refIecl lhe nalionaI
confIicls and forms of rolesl. olh
Iiyash Karim and GhoIam Azam
reresenled vievs lhal vere
unaccelabIe lo many vho suorled
lhe AL or arly in over. WhiIe Iiyash Karim
vas nol a nalionaI figure Iike GhoIam Azam,
bolh became embroiIed in vhal vouId conslilule
lheir Iasl riles. Il vas dee rooled and became
oinls of concern for bolh oIilicaI and cuIluraI
semiolics. Hovever, lhe buriaI issues aIso
exressed lhe fissures in lhe idenlily crisis of
angIadesh.
olh dealhs shov lhal dealh, marlyrdom,
demonizing are aII arl of a oIilicaI discourse
nov lhal has as much lo do vilh underslanding
of lhe issue as reIigious and nol |usl socio-
oIilicaI. The border Iine belveen lhe lvo has
become very lhin indeed.
Dealh, buriaI, funeraI ceremonies have
rofound significance in lhe engaIi mind,
Hindu or MusIim. The symboIic vaIue is high
and lhe nalionaI syche is aIvays louched or
dislurbed by such evenls. y making dealh
imorlanl ve may aIso lry lo make lhe Iife lhal
has been Ied imorlanl loo, vhelher al lhe ubIic
or lhe rivale IeveI. This is arlicuIarIy lrue vhen
il comes lo unnaluraI dealhs, lo dealhs lhal can
be Iinked lo olher dealhs and dealhs lhal are
oIilicaIIy symboIic. In lhe case of
many such dealhs, lhey become more
arl of oIilics and in some vays are
no Ionger 'dealhs' in lhe convenlionaI
sense. They become a oIilicaI evenl in
vhich convenlionaI sacred-rofane
framevork don'l aIy. DeaIing vilh
il becomes a chaIIenge lo bolh lhe
mourners and lheir halers.
NalionaIisl symboIs are arlicuIarIy olenl
and nalionaIisl causes lend lo be become
dogmalic riluaIs and uIlimaleIy reIigious ones. So
lhe roleclion of such symboIs can be done besl
by nalionaIism and conlra-nalionaIism bolh
becoming a nev form of reIigious exressions.
IxcIusion-incIusion, failh, dogma, foundalionaI
mylhs aII Iay a roIe in conslrucling lhe nev
failh incIuding lhe nolion of oIilicaI aoslasy,
lhe nalionaIisl murlad. Thal is lhose vho are
oulside lhe failh. This Iiberales eoIe from
making oIilicaI anaIysis in decision making and
aIIovs lhem lo navigale nalionaIisl oIilics as one
vouId lhrough reIigious framevork and vilhoul
much lhinking.
Was Iiyash Karim a lrailor` There is no
evidence lhal he oosed angIadesh Iiberalion
var no maller vhal his falher did and under
vhal circumslances. Was he againsl lhe lriaI of
var criminaIs` (Read:Whal Iiyash said/age:13)
There is no evidence of lhis eilher. ul Iiyash
Karim oosed aImosl everylhing lhe AL did
incIuding lhe AL sonsored var crimes lribunaI.
So his aroach lo AL reIaled mallers vere aIso
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dogmalic and by excIuding everylhing reIaled lo
lhe AL, he vas behaving in lhe same reIigious
vein.
This allilude has been a robIem vilh lhe
Leflisls of angIadesh and India for Iong.
Lacking lheir ovn organizalionaI slrenglh lhey
lend lo vork from behind a ma|or arly vhich is
cIoser lo lheir vievs. }usl as lhe ro-Soviel Lefl
hid behind lhe AL, lhe ro-Ieking Lefl galhered
behind lhe NI. Iyash Karim's oosilion vas
based on lhe idea, lhe enemy's enemy is my
friend . So lhe NI as lhe enemy of lhe AL
vhich he oosed became his friend by defauIl.
The reaclion of Iyash's enemies vas aIso
simiIarIy rediclabIe as lhey lhoughl lhal any
oosilion lo AL's osilion on lhe more sensilive
issues Iike var crimes lribunaI, Hefazel e-IsIam
elc vere nol negoliabIe. Since lhey vere aIso
being suorled by lhe NI and Iiyash aIso look
a common osilion, he became lhe enemy and
any enemy of lhe AL on lhese issues became an
enemy of lhe slale. Iiyash oosed var crimes
lriaI by lhe AL and nol var crimes lriaI er se.
ul lo lhe AL, aII ils oonenls effecliveIy
became excIuded by dogma, hence murlad. Il
vas nol loIerance or IuraIism lhal shrank, il vas
lhe reIigious oIilicaI sace lhal exanded. olh
he and his enemies had acled ralher
mechanicaIIy.
Il vas in lrying lo revenl Iiyash's
|ourney lo lhe Shaheed Minar lhal
lhe Ianguage of oIilics becomes
knovn. The designalion of lhe hoIy
and lhe sacred sace vhich couId
nol be defiIed by a murlad's corse
vas unusuaIIy medievaI. The
number of eoIe vho came forvard
lo form oosilion lo Iiyash al
Shaheed Minar considered il a hoIy
duly comIele vilh reIigious
ainlings. Il vas lhis inking of
riluaIislic ainlings near lhe Minar vhich served
as a varning lo defiIers lhal lhe circIe of
roleclion couId nol be vioIaled lhal lhe scenario
becomes obvious. Whelher inlended or nol,
oIilics had become a hoIy var.
ul desile aII lhe verbaI oosilion lo lhe
GoIam Azam funeraI and he vas a convicled var
criminaI - Iiyash vho vas nol convicled of
anylhing- and refusaI lo aIIov his buriaI, il venl
off remarkabIy veII vilhoul loo much hassIe.
Does il mean lhal in lhe end lhe eoIe had
acceled his reIigious idenlily and didn'l cause
loo much bolher or lhe Governmenl didn'l lhink
il vas vorlh il or inlerference vilh his buriaI
carried a cosl vhich lhe governmenl vas nol
viIIing lo ay `
ul vhal aboul aclivisls ` Ierhas, lhey vere
heeding lhe argumenl lhal one shouId forgive lhe
dead bul in lhe end nobody came oul lo rolesl
nol even lhe grous vhich vere born in lhe vake
of lhe var crimes lriaI. Il's obvious lhal il's lhe
arly/governmenl/ eslabIishmenl lhal aIso hoId
lhe key lo reIigious argumenls and lheir
resoIulion.
Thal vay one can use lhe dogma vhere il
vanls lo in case of Iiyash Karim and aIso nol use
il in case of GoIam Azam. Il didn'l maller lhal
Iiyash Karim never belrayed
angIadesh vhiIe GoIam Azam
never even beIieved in angIadesh
nol lo seak of belraying
angIadesh loo.
If sIogans are lhe ious caIIs lo
oIilicaI rayers, lhe iconic
archileclures are Iaces of vorshi,
lhe oIilicaI foIIovers lhen are
iIgrims lo a hoIy Iand. The Iogic of
failh is fundamenlaIIy differenl from
lhal of oIilics and ve have made
lhis lransilion nov. n
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T
he siril of lhe Iiberalion var
has been reduced lo a
business commodily. There
is a sree of forcefuI
occualion aII around.
Offices are being occuied, courls,
educalionaI inslilulions, offices, banks,
insurance comanies, lhe arIiamenl,
lhe oosilion, lhe ruIing arly,
everylhing is being occuied.
Iven a sacred memoriaI Iike Shaheed
Minar is being laken over. Il has
become an oen dais for ersons of lhe
governmenl and lheir suorlers lo
deIiver lheir seeches.
Dr. Iiash Karim vas a leacher, an
inleIIecluaI vho Iefl his high-aying |ob
in America lo come back home lo
angIadesh, lo serve lhe counlry. He
fearIessIy soke lhe lrulh al aII limes.
Iiash Karim vas nol a member of NI.
He vouId seak againsl vhal he feIl
vas vrong vilhin NI. He vouId
crilicise Avami League loo.
ecause he vouId crilicise Avami
League's vrongdoings, quarlers vilhin
lhe ruIing arly vere u in arms
againsl him. They revenled his body
from being laken lo lhe Shaheed Minar.
This vas mosl unforlunale, says NI's
Vice Chairman and freedom fighler
Ma|. (reld) Hafizuddin Ahmed ir
ikram.
Ma|. Hafiz, former member of
arIiamenl vho had been eIecled six
limes, says lhal lhe resenl governmenl
has eslabIished a ruIe of lerror in lhe
counlry. There is no |uslice in lhe
counlry. There is no ruIe of Iav.
They are saying Iiash Karim's
falher vas a razakar. Il is shamefuI lhal
lhey are sub|ecling a free-lhinking man
of his caIibre lo such conlroversy afler
his dealh, dragging his falher and
reIalives inlo lhe iclure. This is selling
a bad recedenl for lhe fulure. When a
differenl arly comes lo over in lhe
fulure, lhey loo viII lake u such
forcefuI dominalion. Then if a ro-
Avami League inleIIecluaI dies, maybe
lhey von'l aIIov his |anaza lo be heId al
Shaheed Minar.
Why is NI nol acliveIy slanding u
againsl lhis misruIe and oIilicisalion`
Ma|. Hafiz admils his arly's faiIure in
lhis regard, saying, We are nol being
abIe lo Iay lhe roIe of lhe main
oosilion arly.
AIso, lhe younger generalion in lhe
counlry are going lhrough a
degeneralion. Our sludenls and youlh
have aIvays Iayed a vilaI roIe in lhe
asl, in our indeendence movemenl,
in lhe ninelies movemenl againsl
Irshad and in every ma|or movemenl.
Thal fighling siril is absenl in loday's
sludenls and young generalion.
Afler 5 }anuary, NI has reealedIy
been laIking aboul a movemenl, bul
nolhing is reaIIy being done. Why` This
former minisler of KhaIeda Zia's
governmenl says, There are many
reasons behind lhis. KhaIeda Zia caIIed
for a movemenl on 29 December. The
governmenl Iaid siege lo her house,
surrounding il vilh lrucks fiIIed of
sand.
There shouId have been an aII-oul
movemenl lhen, bul ve faiIed lo do
lhal. There vas a Iack of lhe fighling
siril among our Ieaders, aclivisls and
suorlers, vhich is absenl even loday.
Thal is vhy lhis misruIe is graduaIIy
gaining slrenglh. Iven so, very soon a
slrong movemenl viII be Iaunched
againsl lhis governmenl. The engaIi
nalion never loIeraled aulocralic ruIe
and viII never do so.
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Dhaka ci"' and 100 coe "aka in "he bank, %h' %ill he "ake "o
"he !"ee"!?)
inlervieved by ANWAR PARVEZ HALIM
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"AJ$& (&E(D) HAFI,)DDI# AH"ED
Ma|or Hafiz venl on lo say, The
resuIls of lhe eIeclions in five cily
cororalions rove NI's ubIic
suorl. Avami League knev fuII veII
lhal lhey vouId be defealed in lhe lenlh
nalionaI eIeclion and so ensured lhal
NI vouId nol be abIe lo arliciale.
They look aII measures lo obslrucl NI
from lhe eIeclion, by amending lhe
conslilulion, by eslabIishing a oIice
slale, ensuring lhe lhe eoIe's
mandale vas nol refIecled in lhe
eIeclion.
Many feeI lhal lhe decision nol lo |oin
lhe eIeclion vas a mislake, lhal maybe
NI vouId have acluaIIy von. Hafiz
reIies, Yes, NI may have von, bul
lhe IIeclion Commission vouId shov a
differenl resuIl. They vouId have
shovn Avami League lo be lhe
vinners.
Hovever, I do feeI lhal if lhe
eIeclion had been conducled by lhe
UN, NI couId have arlicialed. NI
shouId have Iaced more ressure on
lhe UN vhen Taranko came. We had
ul a Iol of emhasis on Sheikh Hasina
nol being rime minisler during lhe
eIeclion ve shouId have inslead
insisled on eIeclions under lhe UN.
NI did nol do lhal. Our allenlion vas
focussed on lhe governmenl and
Sheikh Hasina.
Ma|or Hafiz conlinues, Il vouId
have been good if ve venl lo lhe
eIeclion, bul lhal vouId have had lo
have been neulraI, under lhe UN.
Why are NI's firsl and second lier
Ieaders nol visibIe in lhe movemenl al
resenl` In lhe asl lhey had aIvays
been on lhe slreels. Ma|or Hafiz says,
Many of our Ieaders have amassed
huge amounls of money. There is no
`miIilancy' Iike before. If a erson has
10 houses in Dhaka cily and 100 crore
laka in lhe bank, vhy viII lake lo lhe
slreels`
The convening commillee formed lo
sel u NI's Dhaka cily commillee is
inerl. Hov viII il carry oul a
movemenl` This senior NI Ieader
says, We have many generaIs bul no
soIdiers. We have lo increase our
fighling soIdiers. The aclivilies of lhe
sludenls and youlh have lo be sleed
u. Then again, soIdiers don'l even
resond lo orders from lhe generaIs
novadays. Having said lhal, I feeI lhis
silualion viII cIear u. Il von'l remain
Iike lhis much Ionger. There is no
reason lo give u hoe.
He says, The resenl governmenl
has made lhe counlry loo subservienl
lo foreign overs. The eoIe vanl lo
gel oul of lhis silualion.
There are secuIalions lhal KhaIeda
Zia may be arresled in lhe cases againsl
her and senl lo |aiI. Whal viII NI do
lhen` WiII Tarique Rahman relurn`
Ma|. Hafiz says, There are lvo
ossibiIilies. One is lhal NI may |usl
go siIenl. The olher is lhal il viII Iea
u in a mass movemenl againsl lhe
governmenl. Il sliII cannol be said
vhelher Tarique Rahman viII relurn or
nol. ul one musl kee in mind,
KhaIeda Zia is sliII lhe mosl ouIar
Ieader in lhe counlry. If she is arresled,
lhere may be a mass urising. One
cannol say anylhing in advance.
He says, Sheikh Hasina laclfuIIy
look a quick decision regarding Lalif
Siddique. She broughl lhe silualion
quickIy under conlroI. If lhere vas any
ga, lhe silualion couId have lurned
ugIy. The eoIe didn'l gel lime lo lake
lo lhe slreels.
Does lhal mean your arly cannol
ul erlinenl issues lo use`
This is our veakness. Sheikh Hasina
didn'l have lo do anylhing. UnIess ve
buiId our slrenglh and lake lo lhe
slreels, unIess ve have a fighling siril,
lhere is no use bIaming olhers. Our
Ieader is lrying her ulmosl. ul as I
said, ve have generaIs, no soIdiers.
Ioreign overs are loo invoIved in
our IocaI oIilics. Is il ossibIe lo Iaunch
a successfuI movemenl againsl lhe
governmenl vilhoul laking lhe
neighbouring counlry inlo
consideralion` Hafiz resonds, India
isn'l such a suer over lhal lhe
resenl governmenl can exlend lheir
misruIe for a Iong lerm vilh lheir
suorl. And anyvay, lhe US, UK, UN
and olher foreign overs sliII have nol
reaIIy given lheir suorl lo lhe
governmenl.
The overfuI counlries of lhe vorId
do nol consider lhe 5 }anuary eIeclion
lo be IavfuI. They have moraI suorl
for lhe oosilion. ul il is for us lo
lake lo lhe slreels in a movemenl. They
are nol going lo ul us in over.
Ma|or Hafiz says, Whal is required
nov is a overfuI movemenl. NI is
making rearalions. Ifforls are being
made lo organise Chhalra DaI and }ubo
DaI. Once lhese lvo organisalions are
consoIidaled, ve viII lake lo lhe slreels
in December.
In reIy lo anolher queslion Hafiz
says, Our aIIiance vilh }amaal is as
slrong as before. I do nol lhink }amaal
viII ever go inlo Avami League's
ockel. If NI lakes lo lhe slreels,
}amaal viII be vilh us. n
In#e!%ie&
India isn'l such a
suer over lhal lhe
resenl governmenl
can exlend lheir
misruIe for a Iong
lerm vilh lheir
suorl. And
anyvay, lhe US, UK,
UN and olher foreign
overs sliII have nol
reaIIy given lheir
suorl lo lhe
governmenl.
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T
he dale 7 November 1975
goes back 39 years from
loday vhen ve are recaIIing
lhe evenl, ils background and
ils effecl. Many of lhe aclors,
or ro-aclors, or re-aclors invoIved
vilh lhe evenls of 7 November 1975 are
no more in lhe vorId. Mosl of lhem
vere vaIianl freedom fighlers of 1971.
The evenls of 7 November vere bound
lo lake Iace bul lhe dale 7 November
vas lhrusl uon lhe organizers or
'evenl-managers' by chain of evenls
receding.
When angabandhu Sheikh Mu|ibur
Rahman came back from Iakislan, he
had lo lake a decision aboul lhe form of
governmenl for lhe nev counlry. A
arl of his ovn arly, lhe angIadesh
Avami League (AL), vanled lhal onIy
Avami League forms lhe governmenl
vhiIe anolher arl of his ovn arly
vanled lhal a nalionaI governmenl,
incIusive of aII ro Iiberalion var
arlies, be formed. Some eoIe in his
arly vanled lhe aclive freedom
fighlers be invoIved in lhe running of
lhe governmenl, vhiIe some olhers
vanled lhal onIy oIilicaI freedom
fighlers be invoIved.
angabandhu vas lhe rinciaI
archilecl of lhe nev counlry caIIed
angIadesh liII 26 March 1971. The var
of Iiberalion 1971 vas guided in his
name. ul, be il Ieasanl or unIeasanl,
il musl be said lhal, al lhal very hisloric
momenl of decision making in earIy
1972, angabandhu had a ma|or
Iimilalion in his oIilicaI exerience.
The Iimilalion vas lhal he did nol see
lhe Iiberalion var for himseIf, nor
direcled lhe var himseIf, nor headed
lhe var-cabinel. Thus he couId nol
vilness lhe eagerness of lhe youlh lo
fighl and die for lhe counlry, lhe
alriolism of lhe alriols, lhe inlrigue
of lhe oIilicaI consiralors, lhe
machinalions for and againsl
angIadesh as veII as lhe cIosesl friend
of angIadesh in 1971India, by
oIilicians and olhers aIike.
angabandhu decided lo form lhe
governmenl comrising of his arly
onIy. He began his oIilicaI Iife in
indeendenl angIadesh as Iresidenl
of lhe counlry in a residenliaI form of
governmenl. Therefore, a chunk of his
ovn arly decided lo go searale and
araIIeI. A nev oIilicaI arly caIIed
}aliya Sama|lanlrik DaI or in shorl }SD
vas formed. WhiIe angabandhu's
Avami League roagaled sociaIism
as one of lhe four iIIars of slale-oIicy
of angIadesh, lhe nev arly }SD
reached somelhing caIIed 'scienlific
sociaIism'. }SD began branding Avami
League as a bourgeois arly. }SD began
roagaling lhal Avami League had
surrendered lhe inleresls of lhe
freedom fighlers and lhe vorking cIass
of lhe counlry in favor of ils cailaIislic
oIicy.
To exIain lhe oIilicaI siril of lhe
nev arly, Iel us knov aboul lhe
Iresidenl and GeneraI Secrelary of lhe
nev arly. Ma|or MA }aIiI vas an
officer of Iakislan Army's Armoured
Cors vho vas on Ieave in his home
viIIage in angIadesh in March 1971
and decided nol lo go back lo Iakislan
afler 26 March 1971. He organized
Seclor Number 9 in lhe soulh veslern
arl of angIadesh. Il vas a lough |ob,
bul Ma|or }aIiI did il very veII. Once lhe
Iakislan miIilary had surrendered on
16 December 1971, }aIiI discovered nev
maslers for lhe counlry. He sav Ioaded
Iarge vehicIes Ieaving angIadesh for
India. The cargo vas arms and
ammunilion vhich Iakislan had
surrendered. The cargo aIso incIuded
heavy machinery from various
induslriaI Ianls. Seclor Commander
Ma|or }aIiI oosed and obslrucled
lransfer of such cargo. }aIiI vas laken
inlo officiaI cuslody. He vas lried by a
lribunaI. In Iale Oclober 1972, vhen }SD
vas born, relired Ma|or MA }aIiI
became lhe Iresidenl of lhe arly.
The GeneraI Secrelary of lhe nev
arly vas a cerlain MA Rab. Rab vas a
very successfuI ro-Avami League
sludenl Ieader in lhe days receding 26
March 1971, nol onIy in lhe Universily
of Dhaka bul aIso for lhe vhoIe of
angIadesh. On 2 March 1971 he vas
inslrumenlaI in raising lhe nevIy
designed nalionaI fIag for lhe vouId-be
indeendenl counlry of angIadesh.
During lhe 9 monlhs of lhe var, he vas
an aclive oIilicaI freedom fighler. He
haened lo be one of lhose vho
demanded from angabandhu, a
nalionaI governmenl. The nev oIilicaI
arly had many more aclive freedom
fighlers, former soIdiers and youlh
Ieaders. }SD couId be comIimenled by
saying: }SD vas a arly for lhe youlh
and by lhe youlh.
}SD vaged slrong and bIoody
oIilicaI agilalion againsl lhe
governmenl for monlhs vilhoul end,
vilh a viev lo unseal lhe governmenl
of angabandhu. Hovever, in mid
1973, lhey carried oul an inlroseclion.
They reaIized, vilhoul inslilulionaI
suorl from lhe miIilary, or al Ieasl
un-inslilulionaI suorl from soIdiers,
il may be veII-nigh imossibIe lo
change lhe governmenl. They decided
lo Iook for friends in lhe rank and fiIe of
lhe angIadesh miIilary.
On lhe olher side of lhe hiII, al lhe
same lime, lhere vere disgrunlIed
oIilicaIIy Iefl-orienled ersons sliII
serving in lhe miIilary, afler lhe var
vas over. They decided lo grou
Co%e! S#o!(
T(% N.4%,"%0
(41 #;B19.1> 7 A<>5?5:3 ;2 ?;5051>?
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by MAJOR GENERAL (RETD) 5YED MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM ir Irolik
lhemseIves. Il vas a cIandesline vork.
The organizalion vas caIIed Goon
Sainik Sangslha meaning 'secrel
soIdiers organizalion'. The members of
lhis secrel organizalion lhoughl lhal
lhe governmenl of angIadesh of lhe
day vas doing a very bad |ob and
needed lo be changed. They lhoughl
lhal vilhoul aclive suorl of a
oIilicaI arly, il couId nol be done.
They Iooked for oIilicaI friends.
MeanvhiIe a very brave var-in|ured
freedom fighler nameIy seclor
commander Ll CoIoneI M A Taher ir
Ullam had been relired from lhe army
for his non lradilionaI and sociaIislic
vievs. CoIoneI Taher lhoughl, lhe nev
counlry vas running on lhe vrong
lrack. He found }SD friendIy. }SD found
a cooeralive veleran. Taher |oined }SD
bul vilhoul ubIicily.
SecrelIy }SD organized a force caIIed
Gono ahini meaning 'IeoIes Iorce',
vho shouId lake lhe Ieading arl in a
eoIe's revoIulion. The secrel soIdiers'
organizalions and lhe }SD of 1975
advocaled a slruclure of angIadesh
army lhoroughIy differenl from lhe
knovn allerns, an army vilhoul
officers. They beIieved lhal commillee
of soIdiers can manage and run lhe
miIilary beller. So officers had lo be
eIiminaled.
The governmenl of angabandhu
vas considered lo be a faiIure, corrul
and unroduclive. angabandhu vas
given lhe credil of sincerily bul
discrediled by his unvorlhy
coIIeagues. The miIilary of lhe day vas
aIienaled. Thus a change in lhe
governmenl in one manner or lhe olher
vas lhe siIenl rayer of lhe day. A fev
ma|ors and lheir |uniors vilh under-
command soIdiers look advanlage of
lhe silualion and environmenl. They
seemed lo have alrons al home and
abroad. angabandhu vas kiIIed on 15
Augusl 1975, Mushlaque became
Iresidenl and lhe ma|ors became !c
jacic diclalors of lhe counlry. }SD vas
nol reared for lhis evenl.
The angIadesh Army had a nev
Chief of Slaff nameIy Ma|or GeneraI
Ziaur Rahman ir Ullam. Zia had
charisma of his ovn brand. He vas
Iiked by soIdiers. CoIoneI Taher vas a
cIose coIIeague of Zia in 1971. Nov,
Taher deeened friendshi vilh Zia
hoing lo use lhe good offices of Zia in
ushering in nev lhoughls in running
lhe counlry. MeanvhiIe, lhe senior
officers of angIadesh miIilary became
imalienl vilh lhe nev oIilico-
adminislralive silualion of angIadesh.
They vanled a change. Zia vas laking
lime lo say yes or no lo vhal olher
seniors vere roosing. The olher
seniors, ossibIy vanled re-direclion of
lhe counlry lovards India. They
vanled disciIine lo be invoked in lhe
army, fresh, by recaIIing lhe ma|ors
vho vere lhe rinciaI aclors of 15
Augusl.
The senior officers did nol knov of
lhe secrel soIdiers' organizalion, nor
knov of lhe coIIusion belveen }SD and
lhe secrel soIdiers. Some of lhe senior
officers of lhe angIadesh miIilary
under lhe Ieadershi of lhe-lhen Chief
of GeneraI Slaff of lhe angIadesh
Army Headquarler lhe-lhen rigadier
KhaIed Mosharraf ir Ullam, decided
lo acl. They carried oul a ccup-!c-iai on
lhe 3 of November 1975. Ma|or GeneraI
Ziaur Rahman vas laken inlo house
arresl in Dhaka canlonmenl and
removed from lhe osl of lhe Chief of
lhe angIadesh Army. The evenls of 3
lo 6 November vere cIumsy and
cIoudy. IeoIe in generaI had a
ercelion, for vhalever reasons, lhal
lhe cou of 3 November vas a ro
Indian cou. SoIdiers across lhe board
did nol Iike Zia being insuIled. }SD had
a very difficuIl queslion lo ansver. The
queslion vas, vhiIe neilher 15 of
Augusl nor 3 of November vere lheir
day of choice, vhen vas lheir day of
choice lhen`
CoIoneI Taher and his secrel soIdiers
decided lo acl. They fixed 7 November
as lhe day. As a very unrediclabIe
coincidence, common soIdiers of Dhaka
canlonmenl, vho did nol have any
oIilicaI incIinalion vere aIso agilaled
lo such a heighl, on lhe issue of Zia, in
favor of Zia, lhal lhey aIso decided lo
|um inlo lhe evenls vhen il surfaced.
Throughoul lhe day of 6 November,
members of lhe secrel soIdiers
organizalion sread IeafIels in Dhaka
canlonmenl, urging soIdiers lo rise
againsl lhe officers-cIass. They caIIed
uon everybody lo |oin in a revoIulion
by disobeying lhe officers, hysicaIIy
eIiminaling lhe officers and by laking
conlroI of lhe miIilary eslabIishmenls.
They decIared lhrough IeafIels and by
vords of moulh, lhal lhe soIdiers'
revoIulion vouId begin al 0001 hours
of 7 November in lhe caIendar. In
reaIily aIso, lhe evenl began al lhal very
minule. Members of lhe secrel soIdiers'
organizalion look conlroI of armory
and ammunilion slocks, vherever lhey
couId. They began firing lheir veaons
in lhe sky, lo creale a frighlening
environmenl. They raided houses of
seIecled officers and kiIIed lhem. They
hysicaIIy manhandIed vives of
officers. They hysicaIIy Iocked u
many officers in lheir houses or offices.
There vas no eIeclricily in lhe vhoIe of
Dhaka canlonmenl afler 12 o'cIock mid
nighl.
A Iarge grou from lhe secrel
soIdiers' organizalion roceeded lo lhe
residence of Ma|or GeneraI Ziaur
Rahman. SoIdiers guarding lhe
residence cooeraled vilh lhe
nevcomer (aarenlIy mulinous)
soIdiers. They freed lhe GeneraI from
house arresl. SimuIlaneousIy, hundreds
of common soIdiers, vho did nol
beIong lo lhe secrel soIdiers'
organizalion, aIso fIocked lo lhe
residence of lhe ouIar and
charismalic GeneraI. The freed GeneraI
vas nov lhe largel of lvo differenl
grous of soIdiers. The secrel soIdiers
vho vere aIIies of }SD vanled lo lake
lhe GeneraI lo a house in IIehanl
Road in lhe cily of Dhaka. Common
soIdiers vho onIy Ioved lhe GeneraI,
vanled lo lake him lo a safe Iocalion
inside Dhaka canlonmenl. GeneraI
Ziaur Rahman decided lo slay inside
lhe canlonmenl. The rifl belveen
CoIoneI Taher and GeneraI Ziaur
Rahman surfaced al lhal very momenl.
}SD liII lhal day had never ubIicized
lhe summary or saIienl fealures of
agreemenl if any belveen CoIoneI
Taher and GeneraI Ziaur Rahman. }SD
has nol done so, liII lhis day ever vhen
you read lhis coIumn.
IIsevhere, lhings vere moving in
slray direclions. rigadier KhaIed
Co%e! S#o!(
Mosharraf ir Ullam had romoled
himseIf a Ma|or GeneraI and aoinled
himseIf as lhe nev Chief of angIadesh
Army. He had caIIed IoyaI infanlry
ballaIions lo Dhaka from canlonmenls
eIsevhere in lhe counlry, lo slrenglhen
his foolhoId. One such ballaIion vas 10
Iasl engaI Regimenl vhich found ils
nev accommodalion in Sher-e-angIa
Nagar in lhe cily of Dhaka. Khandkar
Muslaque vas removed as Iresidenl of
lhe counlry and lhe-lhen Chief }uslice
of lhe Sureme Courl of angIadesh Mr
ASM Sayem vas aoinled lhe nev
Iresidenl. KhaIed Mosharraf ir Ullam
and his leam arranged a safe exil oul of
angIadesh for lhe Ma|ors vho vere
lhe ma|or aclors of lhe 15 Augusl. ul,
before Ioosening lhe gri on over, lhe
Ma|ors, mosl heinousIy arranged
assassinalion of four very senior and
Iegendary oIilicaI Ieaders vho vere
inside lhe Dhaka cenlraI |aiI. Ivenls
vhich began al lhe firsl minule of lhe
firsl hour of 7 of November inside lhe
Dhaka Canlonmenl, quickIy siIIed
over lo resl of lhe cily. NevIy romoled
Ma|or GeneraI KhaIed Mosharraf ir
Ullam and his leam vere forced oul of
lhe Iresidenl house. SoIdiers IoyaI lo
GeneraI Ziaur Rahman look conlroI of
lhe Iresidenl house.
GeneraI KhaIed Mosharraf and his
leam made an efforl lo escae from lhe
cily of Dhaka bul couId nol. They look
sheIler in lhe 10
lh
Iasl engaI
Regimenl in Sher-e-angIa Nagar,
hoing lhe IoyaI soIdiers viII be
hosilabIe. Wilhin an hour KhaIed
Mosharraf and his leam vere
assassinaled. The assassinaled officers
vere vaIianl and decoraled freedom
fighlers of lhe var of Iiberalion var
1971. Il vas loo lragic. Thousand of
soIdiers in hundreds of differenl
lransorl sread inlo lhe cily of Dhaka.
Thousands and lhousands of cilizens of
Dhaka |oined lhe soIdiers from lhe
earIy hours. As soon as day Iighl broke,
lhe cily of Dhaka vas in lhe conlroI of
hundreds of differenl grous of
soIdiers and cilizens logelher. They
hunled oul anyone and everyone vho
smeIIed of India. Mosl officers of
angIadesh army, in Dhaka
canlonmenl vere on lhe run. The chain
of command of lhe angIadesh army
and lhe chain of command of lhe
governmenl of angIadesh had broken
dovn. Il vas feared lhal, lhe counlry
vas heading lovards a civiI var.
y mid day of lhe 7 of November,
Ma|or GeneraI Ziaur Raman ir Ullam
vas reinslaled as lhe Chief of Army
Slaff of angIadesh Army. Thousands
of soIdiers chanled sIogans. Some
sIogans vere for more righls of
common soIdiers. Some sIogans vere
for urificalion of lhe rank and fiIe in
lhe miIilary from Ieflisl infIuence. Some
sIogans vere in favor of Ziaur Rahman,
asking him lo run lhe counlry. Ziaur
Rahman aIong vilh his avaiIabIe senior
coIIeagues decided lo acl alriolicaIIy,
acl courageousIy, and acl for Iove of lhe
soIdiers. Ziaur Rahman very quickIy
invoked lhe chain of command and
commanded lhe soIdiers lo go back lo
barracks. The lvo-day-oId Iresidenl of
angIadesh Mr. }uslice ASM Sayem
urged uon Ziaur Rahman lo sleer lhe
governmenl as a cIose coIIeague.
The evenls of 7 November 1975 have
been described as Sainik }analar iIob,
lhal is, a combined revoIulion by
soIdiers and eoIe. Il has aIso been
described as NalionaI RevoIulion and
SoIidarily Day. A minor seclion in lhe
oIilicaI arena of angIadesh caIIs lhe
day as Ireedom Iighler Murder Day.
CaII il by any name, lhe evenls of 7
November 1975 have Iasling
imression on lhe oIilics of
angIadesh. The mosl unveIcome
recedence is lhal lhe soIdiers can
muliny againsl lheir officers and kiII
lhem. In 1977, on a very cruciaI day,
soIdiers of lhe angIadesh Air Iorce in
lhe Dhaka Air Iorce ase mulinied. The
airmen kiIIed many officers. Around
lhe same lime in 1977, some soIdiers
mulinied in ogra canlonmenl in lhe
Norlh Wesl of angIadesh and kiIIed
many officers. Decades Ialer, in
Iebruary 2009, SoIdiers of angIadesh
RifIes a ara-miIilary force
mulinied in lhe cily of Dhaka and kiIIed
57 officers. The marlyrs of Iebruary
2009 are aII officers of angIadesh
Army.
There are lvo ma|or oIilicaI arlies
and cams foIIoving lhem in
angIadesh. The senior mosl member
of lhe Gono ahini of }SD vho
maslerminded lhe soIdiers muliny
under lhe umbreIIa of lhe secrel
soIdiers' organizalion vas CoIoneI
Taher ir Ullam. He vas lried by a
seciaI lribunaI vhich senlenced him lo
dealh in 1976 on charges of sedilion
and inciling muliny in lhe army. Some
coIIeagues of CoIoneI Taher in }SD for
Iong have been very cIose aIIies of
Avami League and are aclive members
of lhe governmenl as of loday in 2014.
Taking cue from lhe cooeralion
belveen soIdiers and eoIe on 7
November 1975, angIadesh
NalionaIisl Iarly, in shorl caIIed (NI)
vhich vas founded by Ziaur Rahman
ir Ullam, and hundreds of miIIions of
foIIovers of NI, beIieve lhal
friendshi belveen soIdiers and
common eoIe is lhe uIlimale safe-
guard for lhe sovereignly and inlegrily
of lhe counlry.
The evenls of 7 November have been
ivolaI in sleering angIadesh lovards
a nev alh of nalionaIisl oIilics. This
lrend in oIilics Iasls dovn liII lhis day,
vhelher al lhe heIm or in oosilion.
And so for many reasons 7 November
1975 remains an imorlanl chaler in
lhe hislory of angIadesh. n
Majcr Gcncra| Sqc! Munanna!
||ranin Bir Prciik rciirc! sincc 1996, uas a
Majcr in Nctcn|cr 1975. Hc jcinc! inc
2
n!
|aiia|icn cj inc |asi Bcnga| |cgincni
in Onaka canicnncni ccnnan! incn cn|q
jcr inc nigni an! cn|q jcr inc !isircssju|
pcric! an! jina||q |c! incn ic jcin inc
sircan cj incusan! cj sc|!icrs in inc
rctc|uiicn in jatcr cj Gcncra| Ziaur
|annan. ||ranin na! jcugni inc uar cj
|i|craiicn as a Iicuicnani in inis |aiia|icn.
Co%e! S#o!(
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81-01>? C4; C1>1 5:?501 @41
D4-7- /1:@>-8 6-58.
T
he vife says lhey are nol
gelling aIong. The husband
says her behaviour is
immoraI and unaccelabIe.
These are lhe common
reasons, among many, lhal aear on
lhe forms in lhe cily's kazi offices, lhal
is, lhe offices of MusIim marriage
regislralion. The forms menlioned
above, of course, deaI vilh divorce, nol
marriage.
Divorce, once a laboo in lhis counlry,
is nov becoming a mor e common
henomenon. Whelher souses are
becoming more inloIeranl, or vhelher
economic emancialion doesn'l force a
voman lo slay in an unhay
marriage, or vhelher sociaI vaIues are
changing, vhalever lhe causes may be,
lhe facl is lhal divorces are no Ionger
fev and far belveen. In facl, over lhe
recenl asl, broken marriages have
become more common lhan ever
before.
Divorce rales in angIadesh are
shooling u. According lo lhe Dhaka
Cily Cororalion, over lhe asl seven
years lhe divorce rale has gone u by
nearIy 12%.
The records shov lhal in 2013 a lolaI
of 7262 divorce nolices vere submilled
lo Dhaka Soulh Cily Cororalion. Afler
lhe rouline counseIing and medialion,
5,942 of lhe divorces venl lhrough and
vere finaIised. Thal means an average
of 20 divorce nolices vere submilled
every day lo Dhaka Soulh Cily
Cororalion and an average of 17
divorces venl inlo affecl every day.
In Dhaka Norlh Cily Cororalion,
records shov lhal 2,800 divorce nolices
vere submilled in 2013. Afler lhe
rouline medialion, a lolaI of 2,500 vere
finaIised and venl inlo effecl. Thal
means an average of eighl nolices vere
submilled every day and nearIy seven
divorces er day vere effeclualed.
If a comarison is dravn vilh lhe
Dhaka Cily Cororalion records of
2007, lhe rale of divorce has increased
by nearIy 12% over lhe asl seven
years. The records shov lhal in 2007,
lhe number of divorces in Dhaka Cily
Cororalion's areas Dhanmondi, OId
Dhaka and Saidabad amounled lo 1266.
In 2013 lhis has increased lo 1417.
In lhe MusIim IamiIy Ordinance of
1961, divorces are calegorised inlo
lhree divisions. Calegory is vhen lhe
husband divorces lhe vife, calegory C
is vhen lhe divorce is muluaI, and
calegory D is vhen lhe vife divorces
lhe husband. In recenl years, lhe cily
cororalion records indicale a higher
incidence of lhe vife fiIing for divorce.
According lo Dhaka Soulh Cily
Cororalion, liII 10 }uIy 2014, a lolaI of
2351 divorce nolices have been fiIed.
On average, 100 oul of every 151 of lhe
nolices have been fiIed by lhe vife.
This lrend of lhe vife laking
inilialive in divorce has been noled for
lhe asl fev years. In 2013, in 703
cascs thc husband Ii!cd Inr divnrcc
and in 1528 cascs, thc wiIc Ii!cd Inr
divnrcc.
In lhe lhree areas of Dhaka Soulh
Cily Cororalion menlioned above,
from 2006 liII }une 2014, a lolaI of 11,493
divorce nolices vere submilled. Of
lhese, lhe vife fiIed for divorce in 7701
cases. The husband fiIed for divorce in
3792 cases.
The kazis of lhe kazi marriage
regislralion offices lend lo bIame lhe
vomen in lhe cases vhere lhe vives
fiIe for divorce. Assislanl kazi of lhe
Dhanmondi kazi office Hafez MauIana
Mohammed ShahiduI IsIam says lhal as
lhe Iav of lhe Iand is in favour of lhe
vomen, lhe men are heIIess. They are
gelling divorced on fIimsy grounds.
The cily aulhorilies, hovever, have a
differenl viev. They Iace lhe
resonsibiIily equaIIy on men.
Adminislralion officer of Dhaka Soulh
Cily Cororalion Zone-1 Mohammed
ReazuI Hossain oinls oul lhal sociaI
reaIilies have changed. Women are
more conscious. In lhe asl lhey vouId
suffer lheir husband's oression in
siIence. They vouId |usl carry on Iike
lhal lhroughoul lheir Iives. Nov lhey
viII nol loIerale such abuse. If lhings
are nol vorking oul, lhey decide lo gel
a divorce.
SociaI scienlisl Dr. Ialima Rezina
Iarvin has a simiIar viev. She says lhe
P!obe Secial
DIvORCES ON THE RISE
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sociaI scene has changed. IeoIe's
alliludes have changed. In lhe asl
vomen vouId give u good
governmenl |obs al lhe behesl of lheir
husbands, simIy so lheir famiIy vouId
remain inlacl. Things are no Ionger Iike
lhal anymore. Thc husband's vicws
arc nnt thc nn!y vicws that cnunt.
Women have lheir oinions loo.
Dr. Ialima Rezina Iarvin aIso says
lhal novadays vomen are unviIIing lo
kee u a relence of reIalionshi in a
bad marriage.
She aIso oinls lo lhe negalive
asecls of divorce. She says, divorce is
never a desirabIe lhing. Il is even vorse
vhen a chiId is invoIved. Divorce has
an imacl on lhe chiId.
There is need for bolh sides lo
comromise in a marriage. She says
lhal lhis caIIs for serious consideralion
before anyone enlers lhe bond of
marriage.
WhiIe divorce can have negalive
imacl on chiIdren, an unhay
marriage of bickering and abuse can
have an even vorse effecl on lhe
offsring, oinl oul marriage
counseIors.
Wilh lhe number of divorces on lhe
rise, lhe Ienglh of marriages is
shorlening loo. Marriages of 20 years lo
30 years are breaking u. Marriages of
|usl lvo lo lhree years are breaking u.
olh kazi office and cily cororalion
records shov lhal lhe never marriages
are breaking u more.
According lo lhe Dhanmondi kazi
office, Mahfuzur Rahman married
Ialema Akhler in }uIy 2012. Wilhin
four monlhs Ialema Akhler divorced
Mahfuzur Rahman. The reason shovn
vas lhal lhey vere nol gelling aIong,
lhal is, lhey vere incomalibIe.
SimiIarIy, in lhe same area, Abir
Hossain }ahangir married Maisha
Mariam in May 2012. Abir divorced
Maisha vilhin seven monlhs of lheir
marriage. Iarzana TanziI and Syed
Maimur SuIlan married in Iebruary
2013 and divorced in Iebruary 2014,
exaclIy vilhin one year.
Mosl of lhe divorces laking Iace
novadays are haening vilhin lvo lo
four years of marriage. The highesl
number of divorces on an average,
hovever, are laking Iace afler 18 years
of marriage. Nurunnahar Akhler NeeIa
of ashabo married Mohammed Iaruk
Hossain in May 1997. They divorced
exaclIy 18 years Ialer in }une 2014.
IncomalibiIily vas lhe reason given
on lhe form.
Mohammed iIIaI Hossain of
TikaluIi married Moushumi of ashabo
in 2010. He divorced her lhis year on 26
}une, accusing of disobedience and
imroer behaviour.
The generaI idea lhal lhe incidence of
divorce is higher among lhe veaIlhier
cIass of sociely is a mylh. The incidence
of divorce is increasing in aII IeveIs of
sociely.
Dhaka Soulh Cily Cororalion Zone-
1 comrises Dhanmondi, Segun
agicha, Siddesvari, Dhaka Universily
area, Mouchak and Maghbazar. In 2013
in lhis zone, 452 divorce nolices vere
fiIed. Of lhese, 318 came inlo effecl.
Zone-4 comrising OId Dhaka sav 312
divorce nolices in 2013. Of lhese, 274
vere effeclualed. Zone-5 of Saidabad in
lhe same year had 857 divorces of
vhich 825 came lhrough.
In lhe GuIshan, aridhara,
MohakhaIi, adda and Ramura areas
of Dhaka Norlh Cily Cororalion, in
2013 lhere vere 269 nolices for divorce
and 200 vere imIemenled.
Thc highcst numbcr nI divnrccs
in Dhaka has takcn p!acc in
Mirpur. In 2013 thc numbcr nI
divnrcc nnticcs in Mirpur stnnd at
5019 nI which 4921 tnnk p!acc.
Dhaka Cily Cororalion has an
Arbilralion CounciI in keeing vilh
ArlicIe 7 (1) of lhe MusIim Marriage
Ordinance 1961. The IocaI vard
commissioner has lhe resonsibiIily lo
arbilrale belveen lhe lvo arlies, bul
as lhere has been no eIecled vard
commissioner for Iong, lhe execulive
officer of lhe reseclive zones is in
charge of lhis lask. When lhe divorce
nolice is senl from lhe IocaI kazi office lo
lhe cily cororalion, lhe cily aulhorilies
send lhree Iellers lo lhe vife and lhe
husband in a san of lhree monlhs,
giving lhem lime lo come lo
reconciIialion. In reaIily lhis normaIIy
does nol yieId resuIls.
Mohammed Nuruzzaman Sharif,
execulive officer of GuIshan zone, says
lhal reconciIialion generaIIy does nol
lake Iace because lhe husband or lhe
vife, vhoever has submilled lhe nolice,
has aIready made u lheir mind. So lhe
nolices for reconciIialion do nol reaIIy
make lhem change lheir decision. Some
eoIe even give faIse addresses so lhal
lhey do nol receive lhe nolice from lhe
cily cororalion. Afler a assage of 90
days if lhe reconciIialion is nol agreed
uon, lhe divorce lakes Iace.
Il is ironicaI indeed lhal novadays
vedding ceremonies are more
eIaborale and Ienglhy lhan ever before,
vilh days or ceIebralions and feslivilies
vilh aII lhe om and grandeur of
oIIyvood. ul aII loo soon lhe bubbIe
bursls. "Novadays a vedding
ceremony oflen Iasls Ionger lhan lhe
marriage ilseIf," observes Dhaka
sociaIile. n
P!obe Secial
Mosl of lhe divorces
laking Iace novadays
are haening vilhin lvo
lo four years of marriage.
The highesl number of
divorces on an average,
hovever, are laking Iace
afler 18 years of marriage.
I
look u my en lo vrile on a cerlain loic,
bul lhen had lo change my mind. Afler
reading 70 issues of 10 daiIies in lhe firsl
seven days of November, I reaIised I
needed lo change lhe conlexl. If a nalion's
media can do a tc|ic jacc afler 35 years, if
oIilicaI Ieaders can change lheir coIours, vhal's
vrong if an o-ed vriler changes his loic in a
maller of five minules`
In a Iarge miIilary regimenl, hislory is erased
or lvisled and lrulh is covered u. ul onIy in
angIadesh viII one see hislory being ilched
inlo lhe duslbin vilhoul any insligalion and in
a eacefuI democralic environmenl. In a
miIilary and oIilicaIIy conlroIIed slale,
|ournaIisls have lo suress lhe lrulh. ul il is a
very rerehensibIe acl lo go oul of one's vay lo
hide lhe lrulh. The erformance of lhe oIilicaI
Iayers in angIadesh loday makes one vanl lo
cry oul Iike lhe crazed Meher AIi of Knu!iic
Pasnan: "Tcjai jau! Tcjai jau! Sa| jncci nai! Sa|
jncci nai!" |Slay avay! Slay! Il's aII Iies! Il's aII
Iies!j Mosl of lhose above lhe age of 60 in
angIadesh loday are aII in lhe same slale as lhe
crazed Meher AIi.
In lhe firsl veek of November, lhe absurd
lhealre vas enacled in fronl of lhe eoIe vho
loday are above 60. They have seen aII, knov
aII. Nolhing nev can be added nov.
engaIis aIvays Iook for a scaegoal lo allain
lheir seIf inleresls. They ul lhe bIame lo lhe
scaegoal and haiIy go aboul lheir business.
In lhe maha|ole (grand aIIiance) governmenl
eslabIished by Avami League, lhey have made
Ziaur Rahman lhe scaegoal. Of course, during
Ziaur Rahman's ruIe and Irshad's ruIe, lhere
vere olher scaegoals in Iace.
Dovn lhe 31 years since 1975, our nalionaI
daiIies have ubIished innumerabIe ediloriaIs,
osl ediloriaIs, arlicIes, coIumns and more
aboul lhe evenls of November lhal year.
Numerous reorls and inlervievs have been
ubIished. UnIess vrillen in lhe face of a rifIe
barreI, lhese vrilings cannol be ignored.
The main quaIily of a democralic sociely is
ure IogicaI reasoning. If a slale Iacks lhal, lhen
lhe nalion is gried in bIindness. There is an
absence of sociaI resonsibiIily. There is no
scoe for scienlific lhoughl. The inlegraI vaIues
of educalion and cuIlure are smashed. Under
such circumslances aII sorls of laIes are con|ured
u in lhe name of hislory lo serve lhe urose of
vesled quarlers and lheir coIIaboralors.
The evenls of 1975 are an indisensabIe arl
of angIadesh's hislory. Il viII nol bode veII for
lhe counlry lo disense vilh a scienlific anaIysis
of lhe evenls and sread fabricaled slories.
Whal is vrillen on aer or in books is nol
hislory, vhal eoIe knov is hislory. The reorl
Mizanur Rahman Khan has ubIished in
Prcincn A|c based on US documenls is a basis lo
vrile facluaI hislory. ul lhe cabIes senl by US
diIomals are nol hislory, lhese are reorls
based on informalion from various sources and
laken from various aers. And lhis incIudes
lhe observalions of lhe ersons sending lhe
cabIes. If one is lo vrile hislory, one musl
consuIl lhe originaI IeafIels and amhIels of
lhe oIilicaI arlies al lhe lime.
angIadesh's osl-'75 oIilics is a |oinl
oIilicaI ro|ecl -- nol lhe vork of one or more
individuaIs. Mosl of lhe eoIe vere siIenl
observers of lhe oIilicaI lransformalions or
exlended lheir oen suorl and cooeralion.
Had lhal nol been so, nol even lhe mosl
overfuI erson on Iarlh vouId have been abIe
lo survive. Had il nol been a |oinl ro|ecl, lhal
brand of oIilics vouId nol have Iasled for over
21 years.
Prcincn A|c ubIished inlervievs of lvo
generaIs regarding lhe November urising. Ma|.
Gen. (reld) KM ShafiuIIah said lhal Ziaur
Re%ela#ion" and Recollec#ion"
Thi! i! "he !econd in!"allmen" of Re$ela"ion! and Recollec"ion!
%hee %e pe!en" e&cep"! of book! %hich eflec" "he e$en"! and
e!!ence of "he na"ion'! con"empoa' hi!"o'. The!e ecod! of "he
pa!" help #! compehend "he pe!en" and con"empla"e "he f#"#e.
Thi! %eek'! e&cep" i! fom a col#mn b' Syed Abul Maksud,
eno%ned %i"e, e!eache and col#mni!" of Po"hom Alo. I" %a!
p#bli!hed on 9 No$embe 2010, in Po"hom Alo.
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Rahman used lhe army lo fuIfiII his oIilicaI
ambilions and consoIidale his over. Irom his
vords a young reader vouId concIude lhal any
generaI couId easiIy use lhe army for his ovn
ends. A ouIar generaI can cerlainIy use his
army, vhiIe lhe veak and faiIed ones vork vilh
servilude. Il is naluraI for a miIilary ruIer lo
uliIise lhe army. If a miIilary ruIes doesn'l use
lhe army, lhen vho viII` SureIy il von'l be a
slreel vendor, a osl-ediloriaI vriler, a oel,
aclors and aclresses, or a laxi driver!
On 17 Augusl I accomanied angIadesh
Sangbad Sangslha's GeneraI Manager and
Idilor }avaduI Karim lo angabhaban. The
scene vhich I observed from lhe vindov lhere
seems unbeIievabIe loday. To me, lhe vords
'lrailor' and 'ungralefuI' seemed so inadequale
for lhe engaIis.
Cerlain relired army officers are giving
inlervievs lo lhe media day afler day. There
reaIIy vas no need for GeneraI ShafiuIIah's
recoIIeclions of 7 November or his observalions.
Afler aII, he is lhe onIy army chief in vorId
hislory vho vorked failhfuIIy under lhree or
four ma|ors for 10 days, and il vas lhose ma|ors
vho, in his vords, "dismissed" him. He says
"dismissed", bul ve knov he vas senl inlo
reliremenl. Thal is vhy he vriles his name as
Ma|or GeneraI (reld), nol Ma|or GeneraI
(dismissed).
He is lhe onIy army chief vho served for Iong
as an ambassador under lvo residenls -- bolh
of vhom served under him al some oinl of
lime. Many of us have lhe slalemenl vhich he
issued before he feII unconscious, as a vilness in
lhe angabandhu kiIIing case. We have no
reason lo have an iola of gralilude lovards lhe
miIilary ruIers Ziaur Rahman or Irshad, bul
ShafiuIIah shouId be gralefuI lo lhem.
Mushlaque and Zia gave him aoinlmenls and
Zia never dismissed him from his diIomalic
service. SureIy lhal vas generous on Zia's arl.
If our nexl generalion had no sense of
gralilude, nor goodviII or do nol acknovIedge
lhe debl of gralilude lovards a heIfuI friend,
ve cannol bIame lhem. MiddIe-cIass eoIe Iike
us have lo make comromises lo Iive in eace.
We have lo bov our heads before lhe rich and
overfuI. We cannol kee our sines slraighl.
Thal's nol a serious fauIl. ShafiuIIah's conslanl
lirade againsl Zia is nol accelabIe.
The US documenls aboul November 1975 are
imorlanl. More imorlanl are lhe amhIels
and IeafIels of lhe oIilicaI arlies al lhal lime.
Ior some years nov lhere have been efforls lo
absoIve KhaIed Musharraf of aII fauIls and lo
eslabIish him as a Ieader par cxcc||cncc. In '1975
November US Documenls 5', Mizanur Rahman
Khan vriles, "In a |oinl slalemenl Rab-}aIiI
described KhaIed Musharraf vas a 'lrailor' and
said lhal he consired lo 'deslroy angIadesh's
exislence al lhe insligalion of India, Russia and
America'. "
HasanuI Huq Inu says, "We never said any
such lhing aboul KhaIed Musharraf in any of
our }SD documenls.... ul he vas over-
ambilious, laking over over iIIegaIIy and vas
lhe officiaI founder of miIilary ruIe." There is no
denying Mr. Inu's Iasl senlence. ul lhe firsl
senlence is nol correcl. Numerous amhIels of
}SD indicale lhal Mizanur Rahman Khan's
vords are correcl. In one of lheir amhIels of 1
Iebruary 1976, il vas slaled, "elraying lhe 1971
Liberalion War, lhe Avami League Ieadershi
look over slale over vilh lhe heI of lhe
exansionisl India army. The fale of lhe eoIe
did nol change. The neo-bourgeoisie ruIers and
lheir foIIovers began buiIding lheir Ieasure
dome in exchange of lhe bIood shed by
innumerabIe ersons kiIIed in lhe indeendence
var. On 15 Augusl 1975 Mu|ib's one-lime
coIIaboralor Khandkar Mushlaque look over
over vilh lhe heI of fev ma|ors. On 3
November anolher miIilary cou look Iace in
vhich lhe nolorious rigadier KhaIed
Musharraf, insligaled by India and Russia, Ied
lhe reaclionary forces in a consiracy lo finish
our exislence as a counlry and a nalion. Then on
7 November, vilh aclive suorl of }SD and lhe
revoIulionary Gono ahini, lhe revoIulionary
soIdiers broke oul in a seoy urising. ul
nalionaI and inlernalionaI exIoilers consired
againsl lhe eoIe and lhe goaI vas nol
achieved."
KhaIed had |usl sleed on lhe slage for his
momenl of gIory, bul lhen lhe door sIammed in
his face and he had lo bid fareveII.
During Mushlaque's ruIe, lhe siril of IsIam
slrenglhened, bul il vas nol anli-Indian. Il vas
KhaIed vho ensured lhal lhe anli-Indian
senlimenls vouId go a Iong vay. Zia used lhis
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senlimenl for five years, Irshad for nine and
KhaIeda for 10, in order lo slay in over.
y using Avami League lo consoIidale his
ovn over, KhaIed aved lhe vay for keeing
Avami League oul of over for 21 years.
No one harmed Avami League as KhaIed
Musharraf did. He himseIf sread lhe vord lhal
he vas ro-Indian, in lhe hoe lhal lhe India
vouId come forvard lo heI him vilh miIilary
assislance. ul Indians vere nol so sluid.
Whalever vas lo lake Iace, did lake Iace. The
eoIe of angIadesh became anli-India for a
Iong san of lime. ReIalions belveen lhe lvo
friendIy neighbours vere deslroyed. In lhe lhree
days belveen 3 November and 6 November and
nev oIilicaI sychoIogy emerged. The nalion is
sliII nol free of lhal sychoIogy.
The incidenls of 15 Augusl and 3-7 November
didn'l |usl faII from lhe sky. There is a
background behind aII incidenls. This slring of
evenls loo had a background.
On 13 Oclober 1974 }SD caIIed for a mass
movemenl and caIIed for a nalionvide harlaI
(generaI slrike) on 26 November. Their IeafIel
slaled lhal lhe mass movemenl and lhe harlaI
vas lo "free lhe counlry from lhe gris of India's
exansionisl, Russia's reformisl and America's
imeriaIisl consiracies and eviI designs and for
lhe fuII-fIedged indeendence and sovereignly
of lhe counlry, lo eslabIish a nalionaI
governmenl free of imeriaIism and fascism."
In 1973-74 lhe main oosilion arlies vere
NalionaI Avami Iarly (hasani) and }SD. Any
discussion of Augusl-November 1975 vouId
nol be comIele vilhoul discussing lhe
reIalionshi belveen lhe governmenl and lhese
lvo arlies as veII as lhe olher Iefl-ving arlies.
In 1973-75, lhousands of aclivisls of NAI, }SD
and olher Iefl-ving arlies vere in |aiI. Many of
lhose vho had advised lhe governmenl lo ul
lhem behind bars, are sliII going around quile
freeIy and haiIy. ul angabandhu had lo
Ieave.
Il is fooIish lo deny reaIily. osler vas nol a
fooI. Thal is vhy he valched from his roof and
vrole -- GeneraI Zia gol an oorlunily on 7
November lo comIeleIy grab over. He couId
have laken over over. Irom vhal ve sav on
lhe slreels on 7 November, if il carries any
meaning, il roves lhal Zia has immense
ouIarily.
Whelher vhal Mr. osler sav on lhe slreels
lhal day carried meaning lo anyone eIse or nol,
il cerlainIy vas exlremeIy meaningfuI for lhe US
governmenl. They vere Iooking for a ouIar
man in lhe army. They gol him on 7 November.
Il vas nol onIy osler vho gol him, Ieaders of
lhe exlreme Iefl-ving grous and lhe exlreme
righl-ving grous of angIadesh gol him loo.
Zia didn'l have over of his ovn. The source
of his over vas lhe enlire cailaIisl vorId
oulside of lhe Soviel shere of infIuence, lhe
MiddIe Iasl and smaII overs vilhin lhe
counlry. China slood by him.
On 16 November, five Ieflisl arlies, Iurbo
angIar Samyabadi DaI (ML), Iurbo angIar
Gono iIobi Iarly and Communisl Karmi
Shabha, came forvard in suorl of Zia. In lheir
amhIel 'IoiI lhe nev consiracy of India-
Russia', lhey vrole, "Though lhe main
Ieadershi of }aliya Sama|lanlrik DaI (}SD) are
belrayers and lrailors, vorking as Indian agenls,
many alriolic eoIe are dued by lheir
sociaIisl and anli-Indian sIogans and remain
vilh lhe organisalion. We aeaI lo lhem, sland
u againsl lhe agenls of India-Russia and olher
counlries vilhin your arly. Drive lhem oul...
We caII uon our Hindu brolhers and sislers, do
nol lurn lo lhe Indira governmenl of India for a
resoIulion lo your sufferings, your grief and, in
some cases, lhe halefuI behaviour of some."
Zia had no arly lhal day, Ieaders of olhers
arlies did lhe vork for him. Iurbo angIar
Gono iIobi Iarly, Uniled IeoIe's Iarly,
various sludenl, youlh and Iabour
organisalions, and leachers of Dhaka Universily
Teachers Associalion, aII slood shouIder lo
shouIder vilh Zia. The Ianguage used in some
of lhe IeafIels vas aIarming or insligaling
halred.
When ShafiuIIah says, "Zia vas nolhing, he
|usl used lhe army lo hang on lo over," lhal
sounds very ilifuI. If he didn'l have such
ouIarily vilhin lhe counlry and inlernalionaI
accelabiIily, he vouIdn'l have been seIecled as
a Ieader for lhe OIC MiddIe Iasl eace laIks
sonsored by America.
There are cerlain norms, cerlain Ianguage for
crilicising lhe enemy. Anylhing oulside of lhal
benefils lhe enemy inslead. The lhings eoIe
are doing in lheir allemls lo Iease Sheikh
Hasina, are going in favour of Zia.
One more lhing before I end. engaI has a rich
hislory of slruggIe. This slale vas founded on
lhe boundIess sacrifices of oIilicaI Ieaders and
aclivisls. If one reads lhe nevsaers of nine
monlhs oul of lveIve, il vouId seem lhal lhe
Ieaders of lhis counlry vere over-hungry
army officers. There is no coverage of
rogressive and nalionaIisl oIilicians.
Sheikh Mohammed ShahiduIIah, Ieader of lhe
NalionaI Commillee for lhe Iroleclion of OiI,
Gas, MineraI Resources, Iover and Iorls, does
nol gel even one hundredlh of lhe media
coverage given lo }amaal Ieader GoIam Azam
and lhe various pirs. I |usl vanl lo remind lhe
media of NazruI's vords, "Oincq !incq |cnu
|ariqccnni !cna, snu!niicq nci|cq rin," in olher
vords, "Our IiabiIilies have increased over lhe
days, ve'II have lo reay our debls." n
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T
he second issue (voIume 13) of lhe IROI comes
oul on lhe firsl day of lhe monlh of November
2014. One of lhe days in lhe firsl veek of November
2014, is lhe 10
lh
day of lhe monlh of Moharram of
1436 Hi|ri. Moharram is lhe firsl of lhe 12 monlhs in
Hi|ri caIendar, commonIy aIso caIIed MusIim caIendar or
IsIamic caIendar. 10
lh
of Moharram in lhe year 61 Hi|ri vas
10
lh
of Oclober of lhe year 680AD. According lo hislory,
beIieved by lhe MusIims, lhe 10
lh
day of Moharram has been
famous for many evenls. ul lhe Ialesl evenl in hislory lhal
makes MusIims remember 10
lh
Moharram, dales back lo 61
Hi|ri. In angIadesh, lhe 10
lh
Moharram is designaled as
'Ashura' (from lhe Arabic numericaI Ashra for 10) and is
decIared as a governmenl hoIiday. Therefore, a very shorl
recaIIing of hislory may be aroriale.
Hazral Osman (or Ulhman) bin Affan vas lhe lhird khaIifa
(or CaIih) of IsIam afler Irohel Muhammad (buh). Hazral
Osman vas assassinaled in lhe year 656 AD vhen he vas 82
years oId. The counciI of eIders inviled Hazral AIi bin Abu
TaIib lo become lhe nexl khaIifa. Hazral AIi regrelled. ul lhe
ma|orily of lhe ious sana|iis or comanions of lhe hoIy
Irohel Muhammad (buh) insisled uon AIi laking over lhe
resonsibiIily. Iev of lhe eIders in osilions of resonsibiIily,
did nol accel Hazral AIi, nameIy lhe-lhen governor of Igyl
AbduIIah bin Saad bin Sabur, lhe governor of Syria Muabia
bin Abu Sufian and one of lhe secrelaries lo KhaIifa Osman
named Marvan bin Hakam. NonelheIess, Hazral AIi slarled
his lenure on 24 }une of lhe year 656AD or 25
lh
day of }iIha||
of lhe Hi|ri year 35. To begin vilh Hazral AIi had lo ass busy
lime, fighling ballIes or queIIing rebeIIions. As a slralegic
move, Hazral AIi reIocaled lhe cailaI of lhe IsIamic Slale
from Medina lo lhe cily of Kufa Iocaled in cenlraI Iraq. In lhe
monlh of }iIha|| of lhe year 36 Hi|ri and lhe foIIoving lvo
monlhs faIIing in lhe 37 Hi|ri, Hazral AIi had lo fighl ballIes
againsl Muabia. Al one slage, a lrealy or a accord of
comromise vas concIuded belveen Hazral AIi and Hazral
Muabia. On lhe 17
lh
day of lhe monlh of Ramadan of lhe year
40 Hi|ri, Hazral AIi vas assassinaled, in lhe mosque, in Kufa.
He vas Iaid lo resl nexl lo lhe lovn of Kufa. Soon lhe Iace
became knovn as Na|af and a lovnshi deveIoed. Na|af is a
revered cily nov.
Tvo sons of Hazral AIi, Hazral Hassan and Hazral
Hussain, reseclfuIIy knovn lo lhe IsIamic vorId as Imam
Hassan Ibn AIi and Imam Hussain Ibn aIi, foIIoved one afler
lhe olher, vilh inlerrulion, became khaIifa of lhe IsIamic
vorId. Hasan vas 36 year oId vhen he became lhe khaIifa.
His ruIe vas oosed by Muabia. In lhe year 680AD Muabia
died. According lo lhe accord of comromise belveen
Muabia on lhe one side and AIi and Hasan successiveIy on
lhe olher side, lhe nexl khaIifa vouId be Hussain. ul Yazid,
son of Muabia refused lo abide by lhe accord of comromise.
Yazid decIared himseIf as lhe khaIifa. On lhe olher hand, lhe
eoIe of Kufa (vhich vas lhe cailaI during lhe days of
Hazral AIi) inviled Hazral Hussain lo come forvard and
lakeover lhe resonsibiIily of khaIifa. Ior somelime liII lhen,
Hazral Hussain vas slaying in lhe cily of Makkah. Hazral
Hussain vas characlerislicaIIy aIoof from vorIdIy om and
grandeur. He vas more incIined lo eacefuI habilalion and
sreading of knovIedge. ul lhe insislence of lhe eoIe of
Kufa, in a vay comeIIed him lo decide in favor of laking
over lhe resonsibiIily as khaIifa, cailaI being in lhe cily of
Kufa. The eoIe of Kufa reealedIy narraled harroving laIes
of oression and misruIe being erelraled on lhem by lhe
adminislralion of Yazid vho had decIared himseIf lhe
khaIifa. The eoIe of Kufa, imIored uon Hazral Hussain
lo come and sland beside lhem and resisl lhe oression and
misruIe. The eoIe of Kufa reminded Hazral Hussain of lhe
egaIilarian resonsibiIily of saving unarmed eace Ioving
cilizens from lhe onsIaughl of lhe oressor, usurer-khaIifa
Yazid. Therefore, vilh a very nobIe cause and ob|eclive in
mind, Hazral Hussain Iefl Makkah for Kufa, on lhe 3
rd
day
of lhe monlh of }iIha|| of lhe year 60 Hi|ri vilh a very smaII
Religion
MESSAgE FROM ASHURA
I9-9 HA??-5: 4-? .1/;91 @41 1<5@;91 ;2 >1?5?@-:/1 @; ;<<>1??5;:,
1<5@;91 ;2 8;B1 2;> @41 ;<<>1??10 /5@5F1:
by MAJOR GENERAL (RETD) 5YED MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM Bir Prntik
enlourage comrising of vomen chiIdren and famiIy
members. Afler fev days, lhe leam reached KarbaIa on lhe
bank of lhe river Iuhrales (IocaIIy knovn as Ioral). The
leam vas obslrucled by a conlingenl of aboul four lhousand
soIdiers under lhe Ieadershi of one Umar Ibn Saad Ibn Abi
Wakkas. The sland-off belveen lhe lvo highIy unequaI
arlies Iasled more lhan lhree days. Imam Hussain vas
offered Iucralive olions in Iieu of acceling Yazid as lhe
khaIifa. Hussain vas offered safe assage in Iieu of ubIic
obeisance lo Yazid. Imam Hussain refused on simIe ground.
He said, il is lhe duly of every righleous MusIim lo sland
courageousIy and oose an oressive ruIer. The inevilabIe,
lherefore, haened. The leam vilh Hazral Hussain vere
denied access lo lhe valers of lhe river Ioral fIoving near by.
Team of heIers from lhe cily of Kufa never came because
lhey vere consiraloriaIIy comromised by lhe henchmen of
Yazid. On lhe 10
lh
day of Moharram of lhe year 61 Hi|ri, lhe
highIy unequaI ballIe ended in hisloric lragedy. Members of
lhe leam of Imam Hussain Iaid dovn lheir Iives fighling
aImosl bare-handed. The vomen vere |usl kiIIed. ChiIdren
vere kiIIed. The Imam himseIf offered a fighl bul vas
defealed and kiIIed.
The MusIim communily aII over lhe vorId, remember lhe
10
lh
day of Moharram from differenl vievoinls. The Shia
communily among lhe MusIims lake a very serious viev of
lhe evenls of 10
lh
Moharram. The olher communilies Iike lhe
Sunnis lake a sofler viev. In my viev, lhe evenls al KarbaIa
of lhe 10
lh
day of Moharram of lhe year 61 Hi|ri are vrongIy
described as a ballIe. Il vas a massacre. Il vas a mini-
genocide. Imam Hussain has become lhe eilome of
resislance lo oression, eilome of Iove for lhe oressed
cilizen.
Irohel Muhammad (buh) vas very affeclionale and
IoveabIe lovards lhe lvo grandsons nameIy lhe lvo brolhers
Hazral Hassan and Hazral Hussain, lhe sons of Hazral AIi
Ibn Abu TaIib and Hazral Ialima lhe daughler of lhe hoIy
Irohel (buh) himseIf. The manner in vhich lhe leam of
Imam Hussain vas decimaled in KarbaIa, is nearIy
unrecedenled in hislory. The in|ury lo lhe emolions and
feeIings in lhe minds of MusIims aII over lhe vorId, rendered
by lhe erelralors in KarbaIa in lhe year 61 Hi|ri, has never
been heaIed. I counl myseIf among lhe miIIions vho Iive vilh
a lormenled souI.
The Iesson ve may lake on every 10
lh
of Moharram, is lo
Iove eoIe and sland beside eoIe in lheir days of misery
and anguish. I vas Iucky lo be abIe lo visil lhe slale of Iraq
lvo limes aboul 12 years ago. Therefore, I couId visil KarbaIa
aIso. KarbaIa is aboul lvo lo lhree hours driving dislance
avay from agdad. A visil lo KarbaIa is bound lo reinforce
Iove for lhe Irohel of IsIam (buh), lhe lvo 'Imams' and
lheir famiIies and of course for lhe MusIim ummah in
generaI. A visil lo lhe shrines in KarbaIa deveIos lranquiIily
in lhe mind of lhe visilor. n
Sincc rciircncni jrcn Bang|a!csn Arnq in 1996, Majcr Gcncra|
Sqc! Munanna! ||ranin Bir Prciik nas cngagc! ninsc|j in
uriiing an! rcscarcn. Sincc Occcn|cr 2007, nc is aciitc|q in
pc|iiics. Hc is inc Cnairnan cj Bang|a!csn Ka||qan Pariq.
Religion
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T
he firsl day of a recenl
meeling of lhe
Iarlnershi Againsl
Corrulion Inilialive
(IACI) of lhe Geneva-
based WorId Iconomic Iorum
(WII) discussed among olher
sub|ecls, Communicaling lhe Anli-
corrulion Message, High Iriorily ComIiance
ChaIIenges and CoIIeclive Aclion, and on lhe nexl day,
GIobaI Threals and Trends and NalionaI and RegionaI
Ierseclives on Anli-Corrulion (my conlribulion as one of
lhe seakers).
A cIear dislinclion musl be made belveen lhe vasl ma|orily
of corrul (aboul 95%) vho comrise lhe needy and lhe
reIaliveIy smaII ercenlage vho make u lhe greedy (Iess
lhan 5%). UnforlunaleIy il vas duIy noled lhal lhe greedy
sihon off more lhan 95% of lhe iIIegaI money. Iorced by
economic circumslances inlo corrulion, lhe needy slruggIe
lo ul food on lhe labIe for lheir famiIies, ay lheir renl,
eIeclric, valer and chiIdren's schooI fees, medicaI biIIs,
rickshav and bus fares, elc, lhe onIy siIver Iining is lhal
aImosl 100% of lheir iIIegaIIy acquired money goes back inlo
lhe counlry's economy. There is no Iimil lo lhe aelile of lhe
greedy for robbing lhe counlry, mosl of lheir money is
slashed abroad, shoring u lhe economy of a firsl vorId
economy. Where vouId reaI eslale rices in London around
Hyde Iark be vilhoul massive Iakislani inveslmenl in
Iuxury aarlmenls` Wilhin lhe counlry, olher lhan lhe
essenliaIs, lhe amounl lhe greedy send on Iuxury ilems (e.g.
erkin Iadies handbags range from US$15000 lo US$ 50000
each) are moslIy imorled. Any Iady vilhoul a erkin in
Iakislan's eIile sociely is a nobody, lhal has savned a
lhriving fake erkin's markel!
Nolvilhslanding lhe necessily for conlroIIing corrulion in
lhe lhird vorId, lhe acluaI robIem Iies in lhe firsl vorId
faiIing lo imIemenl lhe Iavs of lheir Iand. Mosl iIIegaI
money lraveIs lo US and IU counlries, considerabIe sums
fIov lo nevIy emerging counlries in Asia, quile sizeabIe
amounls go lo China. Desile a definile commilmenl lo ul
in measures lo eIiminale corrulion and lheir caacily lo
eIiminale money-Iaundering, lhe vesl seems lo vaiver more
frequenlIy lhan nol, fairIy lo raclice vhal lhey reach.
CriminaIs require officiaI documenlalion lo Iegilimize lheir
iIIegaI money, drug deaIers use aII sorls of mechanisms lo
make lheir iIIegaI money Iook Iike emanaling from IegaI
means. Money-Iaundering is inlended lo creale lhal
imression aboul dirly money. SmaII scaIe schemes are
imraclicaI vhen iIIicil earnings run inlo biIIions of US
doIIars, generaling a aer lraiI of receils, Iegilimale
businesses make an exceIIenl camoufIage as a conduil for
such money. Their abiIily of faking lransaclions make lhem
lhe largels of acquisilion by lhe corrul.
In lhe forefronl in lhe fighl lo eIiminale money-Iaundering,
UK's commilmenl is undercul by Iax cororale ruIes making
il an allraclive deslinalion for gIobaI organised crime, as
many as 19 UK-based fronl comanies are currenlIy under
susicion of money-Iaundering. The enlilIemenl of comany
direclors lo secrecy under UK Iav hinders allemls lo
idenlify lhe reaIIy big criminaIs. To quole }im Armilage,
Deuly usiness Idilor Indeendenl, fronl comanies in
lhe UK are al lhe hearl of an invesligalion inlo one of
Iuroe's biggesl money-Iaundering oeralions, aIIegedIy
forming arl of a consiracy lo make $20bn (12.5bn) of dirly
money Iook Iegilimale. These funds come from ma|or
criminaIs and corrul officiaIs around lhe vorId vanling lo
make lheir iII-gollen cash aear cIean, so lhey can send
il vilhoul susicion.
Wilh oIilicaI arlies surfing lhe anli-eIile anger sveeing
lhe deveIoing vorId. Imran Khan and MauIana TahiruI
Qadri's rime accounlabiIily message has sel off a ouIisl
surge in Iakislan. Given freedom of aclion for some lime,
Gen Musharraf's NalionaI AccounlabiIily ureau (NA) gave
lhe counlry subslanliaI anli-corrulion dividend. Germany's
Commando Ixlraordinary CoI Ollo Von Skorzeny correclIy
oined oIilics is lhe soIdier's curse, vilhin 2 years lhe
lraings and ercs of office gol lo our commando,
gelling lhe urge for democralic Iegilimacy Musharraf
comromised on accounlabiIily (21 members of IM
ZafaruIIah Khan }amaIi's democralic Cabinel in 2002 vere
under NA indiclmenl for corrulion) and his ovn
credibiIily. The slaled ob|eclive of every miIilary regime is lo
eradicale corrulion, lhey soon become
arl of lhe syslem lhey came lo
eIiminale. ThaiIand's recenl cou Ieader
Gen Irayulh Chan-ocha has run inlo
robIems in lhe miIilary's Ianned
camaign againsl corrulion, cronyism
and money oIilics. acked by many of
lhe very eoIe such measures vouId
largel, couId aIienale some of lhe core suorl of lhe Thai
miIilary |unla.
A veekIy reviev by NA of ossibIe anli-corrulion cases
musl give maximum veighlage lo largelling lhe greedy
ones on riorily basis vilh no hoIds barred. The needy ones
shouId be deaIl vilh by lhe IrovinciaI Anli-Corrulion
Dels, elc (vilhin a simiIar mechanism for lhe IederaI
emIoyees), a NA Commillee musl reguIarIy monilor lhe
rogress of lhe cases. NA viII lhus gel lime lo ursue lhe
greedy ones.
Inleracling vilh acknovIedged rofessionaIs in lhe anli-
corrulion and comIiance fieId, lhe veII organised and veII-
crafled IACI evenl in Geneva vas very educalive. Chalham
House RuIes reslricl me from naming or quoling lhe exerls.
Confidenl aboul lhe bIuerinl in lhe firsl vorId aboul hov lo
lackIe corrulion, lhey are on Iess sure ground on hov lo
lackIe corrulion al ils origin in lhe lhird vorId. Conlinuing
inler-aclion vilh exerienced caacily on lhe ground is
required.
The manner and melhod of lhe accounlabiIily
nolvilhslanding, corrulion is corrulion, vhelher by lhe
needy or greedy. The masses of lhe deveIoing vorId
deseraleIy require accounlabiIily lo be an ongoing rocess. n
IKRAM SEHGAL
G$e"# Col$mn
THE NEED AND
THE gREED
I
xlernaI securily has been a
rinciaI concern for
Iakislan. Tvo recenl securily
issues have acquired saIience
and require a nev aroach
in lhe currenl regionaI conlexl: lhe
ongoing armed confIicl belveen India
and Iakislan on lhe Line of ConlroI
(LoC) in Kashmir and lhe Working
oundary belveen Kashmir and
Iakislani lerrilory in lhe SiaIkol area,
and lhe vilhdravaI of American and
Nalo lroos from Afghanislan by lhe
end of 2014.
Indian Irime Minisler
Narendra Modi's nev governmenl has
adoled a lough Iine lovards Iakislan.
Il seems lhal India's nev nalionaI
securily and army eslabIishmenl and
lhe hardIiners in lhe }I have decided
lo aIy miIilary ressure on Iakislan.
Ior lhis urose, India has escaIaled
vioIence on lhe LoC and on lhe
Working oundary as a unilive
measure againsl Iakislan, vilh a firm
beIief lhal Iakislan vouId nol escaIale
il lo a fuII-fIedged var. This caIcuIalion
is based on lhe assumlion lhal given
Iakislan Army's heavy enlangIemenl
in Norlh Wazirislan and securily
ressures on lhe Iakislan-Afghanislan
border, Iakislan vouId nol escaIale lhe
skirmishes on lhe LoC or lhe Working
oundary.
The Indian Army and securily
exerls, since lhe Mumbai lerrorisl
allacks in November 2008, have
exIored lhe olion of laking some
unilive miIilary aclion againsl
Iakislan lhal vouId nol cause a ma|or
var. They lhoughl of carrying oul a
Iimiled var, surgicaI airslrikes or
unilive miIilary aclion. They aIso
loyed vilh lhe idea of vhal lhey
described as lhe 'CoId Slarl' slralegy,
vhich caIIed for crealing a fasl-moving
|oinl ground and olher services aclion
lo calure Iimiled Iakislani lerrilory.
These suggeslions vere meanl lo
unish Iakislan. Hovever India, under
Manmohan Singh, did nol resorl lo
lhese miIilary aclions because of lhe
risk of escaIalion by Iakislan.
Nov, lhe Indian Army and Modi's
nalionaI securily eslabIishmenl decided
lo lake a Iimiled risk by slriking on
Iakislani lerrilory from lhe }ammu
area, vhich is nol searaled by lhe
inlernalionaI boundary bul by lhe LoC
or lhe Working oundary. In lhis vay,
India is using lhe cover of Kashmir lo
largel Iakislani lerrilory. This cannol
be vieved as a vioIalion of lhe
inlernalionaI border.
India's army and ils nalionaI securily
eslabIishmenl is nov exerimenling
vilh a nev slralegy lo deaI vilh
Iakislan. Refusing lo subscribe lo lhe
veII-knovn argumenl lhal a slabIe
Iakislan is in lhe inleresl of India, lhe
nev lhinking in India's officiaI circIes is
lhal il shouId be more aclive in
suorling dissidenl and searalisl
grous in Iakislan and heIing miIilanl
grous lhal chaIIenge lhe Iakislani
slale. Ior lhis reason, reIalions vilh,
and resence in, Afghanislan is
imorlanl. This rovides India vilh
access lo Iakislan's aIoch dissidenl
eIemenls and some TaIiban grous.
India is execled increase suorl lo
lhese grous. Whal lhese grous need
is funding, vhich can be rovided by
India and olher slales lhal vanl lo lake
advanlage of Iakislan's inlernaI
robIems.
Anolher sel of securily chaIIenges is
arising on Iakislan's norlhveslern
borders vilh Afghanislan. The
vilhdravaI of American and Nalo
lroos from Afghanislan by lhe end of
2014 needs lo be examined in a
disassionale manner in order lo coe
vilh lhe securily silualion in
Afghanislan.
AFGHANI5TAN IN
2015 AND ONWARD5
If lhe inlernaI confIicl in Afghanislan
escaIales and lhe Afghan TaIiban
become enlrenched in Afghan areas
ad|oining Iakislan, lhis viII have a
negalive imacl on Iakislan's lribaI
areas. Il is, lherefore, imorlanl lhal
Iakislan heIs lhe Afghan governmenl
lo coe vilh ils inlernaI robIems. This
serves Iakislan's inleresls because if
lhe Afghan TaIiban become slrong, il
viII emboIden lhe Iakislani TaIiban
and olher miIilanl grous.
This caIIs for aying allenlion lo lhe
conlroI of lhe lribaI areas by Iakislan's
securily forces.The currenl miIilary
Region I Paki"#an
N%5 $),%-1).-1 .&
1%#30)27
by DR HA5AN A5KARI RIZVI
oeralion in Norlh Wazirislan hoIds
lhe key lo asserling Iakislan's rimacy
in lhe lribaI areas. The successes in lhis
oeralion, so far, creale lhe hoe lhal
lhe Iakislan Army viII be abIe lo
eslabIish conlroI over lhe vhoIe of
Norlh Wazirislan. Il shouId aIso asserl
ils rimacy in olher lribaI agencies so
lhal lhe TaIiban and olher miIilanl
eIemenls shouId nol have any lerrilory
under lheir excIusive conlroI. A Iack of
conlroI of lerrilory by miIilanl grous
undermines lheir caacily lo lhrealen
lhe Iakislani slale. This viII aIso make
il difficuIl for foreign fighlers lo find
sancluary in Iakislan.
Iakislan shouId aIso adol effeclive
measures lo slrenglhen securily
arrangemenls on lhe Afghanislan-
Iakislan border. This shouId be done
even if Afghanislan is nol viIIing lo
cooerale. The surveiIIance of lhe
border by eIeclronic and human means
shouId be done. This can be reinforced
by slrenglhening border securily osls
for conlroIIing lhe unaulhorised
movemenl of eoIe, eseciaIIy lhal of
miIilanls. If lhe lribaI areas and lhe
Iakislan-Afghanislan border are
secured, il viII be ossibIe lo conlroI
lhe negalive faIIoul of lhe increased
inlernaI slrife in Afghanislan.
Iurlher, Iakislan musl lake lhe
inilialive lo cuIlivale lhe nev Afghan
governmenl so lhal il discards Hamid
Karzai's anli-Iakislan oslure.
Iresidenl Ashraf Ghani and lhe Chief
Ixeculive Dr AbduIIah AbduIIah
shouId be inviled lo IsIamabad or
Lahore.
Iakislan shouId ro|ecl ils nev
counler-lerrorism oIicy in lhe lribaI
areas and on lhe Afghanislan-Iakislan
borders al lhe inlernalionaI IeveI. This
viII heI buiId a osilive image for
Iakislan al lhe gIobaI IeveI. Iakislan's
diIomacy musl aIso exose India's
nev aggressive agenda lovards il, lo
aII friendIy counlries, eseciaIIy lhe
slales lhal have good reIalions vilh
India.
Iakislan shouId Iel lhe inlernalionaI
communily knov lhal lhe armed
confIicls on lhe LoC are nol IocaI or
accidenlaI incidenls. Ralher, lhese are
veII-Ianned aclions by India againsl
Iakislan. India's aggressive oIicy
lovards Iakislan is nol going lo fade
avay. Il viII conlinue lo buiId miIilary
ressure on Iakislan from lime lo lime.
Therefore, vhiIe resonding lo India's
miIilary aclion in miIilary lerms,
Iakislan musl aIso resorl lo revenlive
diIomacy so lhal il does nol have lo
shifl ils lroos lo lhe LoC or lo lhe
inlernalionaI border vilh India from
lhe lribaI areas and lhe Iakislan-
Afghanislan border. n
Region I Paki"#an
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A
Congressman quoles lhe
hagvad Gila: To Karma
(aclion) aIone hasl lhou a righl
and never al aII lo ils fruils, Iel
nol lhe fruils of aclion be lhy
molive, neilher Iel lhere be in lhee any
allachmenl lo inaclion. Long-slanding
members of lhe grand oId arly are in a
hiIosohicaI mood: vhen lhings gel lhis
bad, lhey can onIy gel beller, says one. There
is no fulure, so ve musl Iaugh al our
redicamenl and seek delachmenl, says
anolher. There is laIk of RahuI Gandhi going
lo cycIone-affecled Andhra Iradesh. He
has lo face bolh naluraI caIamilies and
eIecloraI disaslers, quis a veleran.
There is a difference in magnilude
belveen being broke and going busl. There
is quile a nev dimension lo lhe arly's
redicamenl foIIoving lhe ro|ecled defeals
in Maharashlra and Haryana. IoIilicaIIy, lhe
arly has never in ils hislory been so
diminished, nov reduced lo over in five
reIaliveIy smaII slalesKeraIa, Karnalaka,
Assam, Ullarakhand and HimachaI Iradesh.
IarIier lhis year il Iosl ano lher big baslion,
lhe former Andhra Iradesh, nov divided
inlo lvo slales. Ils nalionaI vole has shrunk,
ils bases are receding. Mosl ominousIy, lhere
is no olenliaI for grovlh anyvhere.
In lhis scenario, |usl monlhs afler lhe Lok
Sabha defeal, lhe significance of Iosing
Haryana and Maharashlra cannol be
overslaled. The Ialler is bolh lhe nalion's
lhird Iargesl slale and lhe home of big
induslry. Haryana is liny in comarison, bul
beginning on lhe eri hery of lhe nalionaI
cailaI, il is one of lhe mosl vaIuabIe reaI
eslale slrelches in lhe counlry. huinder
Singh Hooda, vho Ied lhe Congress lhere,
vas a masler Iayer in lhe game of quid ro
quo and infIuence-eddIing (somelhing lhal
his counlerarl in Maharashlra, Irilhvira|
Chavan, vas nol). Hooda aarenlIy knev
exaclIy hov lo kee imorlanl cilizens of
DeIhi hay: by giving lhem reaI eslale in
Haryana al lhrovavay rices. He did so
vilh lhe Gandhi damaad Roberl Vadra, vho
so famousIy (and quickIy) acquired Iand in
Hooda's Haryana. Vadra may never be
criminaIIy IiabIe, bul lhe shadov of lhal gel-
rich-quick deaI viII never quile go avay
from lhe Iarger queslions aboul lhe
Congress's firsl famiIy. The besl lhing Vadra
has going for him is lhe facl lhal lhe ruIing
cIass, vhich incIudes lhe }I, is uneasy vilh
any unishmenl for surious Iand deaIs in
lhe age of crony cailaIism lhal exose lhe
nexus belveen oIilicians and buiIders.
Whal is cIear is lhal lhe Congress high
command viII be suing for bankrulcy
foIIoving lhe defeal in Haryana and
Mahrashlra. Losing incumbenl chief
minislers in bolh slales viII add lo lhe
ervading sense of gIoom around lhe arly.
As il is, arly Ieaders comIain lhal midvay
lhrough lhe generaI eIeclions, lhe high
command decided lo save ils resources afler
a decade in over. As Iong as lhe
governmenl vas icking u lhe lab for lhe
haral Nirman adverlisemenls, il aeared
lhal lhe Congress vas going for lhe |uguIar.
ul vhen il came lo lhe arly oening ils
ovn coffers, il backed oul. Al some oinl,
lhey say, lhe Congress lo brass look lhe
decision nol lo invesl resources in slales
vhere lhe going Iooked lough. Iromised
funds did nol reach Congressmen fighling
vilh lheir backs lo lhe vaII. Iven in lhis
round of eIeclions, no finances came from
lhe headquarlers. Candidales vere exe cled
lo raise lheir ovn funds.
LogicaIIy, a oIilicaI arly lhal has ruIed
India for mosl of ils hislory shouId have
dee coffers. ul economic acc ounlabiIily in
Indian oIilics has aIvays been susecl and
lhere is, frankIy, no lransarency in money
mallers. Since one of lhe common modeIs is
for a arly lo be a crovd around a famiIy (as
lhe Congress is), resumabIy lhe firsl famiIy
and ils relainers vouId have lheir hands on
lhe urse loo. AIso, in lhe slales vhere lhe
Congress is sliII in over, il is unIikeIy lhal
lhe IocaI Ieadershis viII be loo inc Iined lo
donale generousIy lo a discrediled nalionaI
dynasly and slruclure. IundamenlaIIy, il
viII be each man and voman for him/herseIf
in lhe viIderness lhal is nov lhe Congress.
The }I, meanvhiIe, vouId have slruck
goId if lhe resuIls go on lhe Iines redicled
by lhe exil oIIs. TradilionaIIy, Maharashlra
vas a big revenue source for lhe }I in lhe
years 1995 lo 2000 vhen a Shiv Sena-}I
regime ruIed lhe slale. The Iale Iramod
Maha|an vas lhe rinciaI fund-raiser
during lhose years of grovlh for lhe arly.
ased in Mum bai, Maha|an's conneclions
vilh big induslry ran dee. esides lhal, he
und erslood veII lhe oId RSS modeI of
coIIecling from a commilled base of
shokeeers.
IvenluaIIy, Narendra Modi vouId
calure Gu|aral in 2001 and lhen graduaIIy
emerge as lhe biggesl source of }I's
funding, arlicuIarIy afler lhe NDA Iosl
over in 2004 (Maha|an himseIf vouId ass
avay lragicaIIy in May 2006). None of lhe
olher }I regimes vas in areas of such
economic grovlh as Gu|aral vas in lhe asl
lvo decades. Iresuming lhal Maharashlra
faIIs inlo lheir killy, lhe DeIhi-Mumbai
economic corridor shouId cerlainIy lake off.
The olenliaI for grovlh of lhe }I Iies in
every fulure slale eIeclion, from }ha rkhand
and }ammu and Kashmir Iale lhis year or
earIy nexl year, lo ihar Ialer in 2015.
Though assembIy eIeclions lo Ullar Iradesh
and Wesl engaI are some dislance avay,
lhe chaIIenge lo lhe }I lhere comes from
enlrenched regionaI Iayers.
And lhe Congress` The organisalionaI
and Ieadershi araIysis has ealen avay al
ils vilaIs. As such, il does nol seem reIevanl
vhen lhe eIe cloraI arilhmelic for lhe
immediale fulure is added u. n
Region I India
W!++ O& M.30-)-'
(41 C;:3>1?? /-: 8-91:@ @41>1. (41 BJ% :110? - @>5A9<4-8 ->/4.
by 5ABA NAQVI
A
s any inlernalionaI
reIalions schoIar or
marriage counseIor viII
leII you, muluaI lrusl and
common inleresls are lhe
bedrock of any reIalionshi - bul
neilher comes easiIy. The generaI Iack
of lhe former and lhe difficuIly in
reaIizing lhe Ialler in lhe Soulh China
Sea have aroused inlernalionaI
concerns over lhe rosecl of
cooeralion and lhe danger of miIilary
confronlalion in lhe region, a crilicaI
shiing roule for vorId lrade, ils rich
naluraI resources coveled by a number
of dynamic economies. Ior China, lhe
region has aIvays reresenled lhe
chaIIenges inherenl in deaIing vilh
smaII, deveIoing neighbors, marilime
sovereignly disules, olher emerging
overs and lhe US. Iach of lhese is
sensilive lo changes in lhe over
slruclure, and movemenl on any issue
affecls lhem aII.
Iev vouId caII il a coincidence lhal
lension in lhe region began lo rise
draslicaIIy lhe year lhal China became
lhe vorId's second Iargesl economy, a
Iandmark momenl. WhiIe lhe effecls of
lhe counlry's rise have been manifoId,
fear is a rominenl one, fueIing
mislrusl and undermining common
inleresls. Hovever, neilher fear nor
China's rise can be sloed al anyone's
discrelion. Il is |usl as unreasonabIe lo
ask China lo slo groving as il is lo
execl smaIIer, veaker counlries vilh
oId scars lo sIee veII nexl lo lhis
recenlIy avakened Iion, or indeed lo
leII lhe vorId's currenl suerover,
vilh a Iong-eslabIished and overfuI
regionaI resence, nol lo vorry aboul
an imminenl chaIIenge from a
formidabIe conlender.
China has reaIized, lhough nol
veIcomed, lhe facl lhal she has lo deaI
vilh US engagemenl in her ovn
backyard. The groving rivaIry in lhe
reIalionshi belveen lhe lvo is
graduaIIy disroving China's oId beIief
lhal no lroubIe vilh lhe US means no
lroubIe vilh lhe resl of lhe vorId.
IeriheraI diIomacy veighs heavier
lhan ever - vhiIe adoling a more
asserlive slralegy on sovereignly
cIaims, China is aIso lrying lo reassure
her smaIIer neighbors of benign
inlenlions. Hovever, China has found
herseIf in a silualion oflen described by
Chinese anaIysls as a diIemma lhal
requires China lo defend her ovn
righls vhiIe mainlaining regionaI
slabiIily al lhe same lime.
In 2013, China roosed a friendshi
lrealy vilh ASIAN lo inslilulionaIize
China's commilmenl lo eace and
cooeralion, as a comIemenl lo lhe
exisling Trealy of Amily and
Cooeralion in Soulheasl Asia, of
vhich China became lhe firsl non-
ASIAN conlracling arly in 2003. Al a
forum co-sonsored by Tsinghua
Universily and Anbound, a rivale
Chinese lhink lank, heId in }une in
ei|ing, Tan Qingsheng, a Chinese
Ioreign Minislry officiaI focusing on
Asian affairs, said lhal some ASIAN
members remained vary of lhe
suggeslion of a nev friendshi lrealy,
and vere lrealing China vilh caulion
on securily issues. He aIso
acknovIedged lheir concerns over lhe
US' ossibIe disIeasure aboul cIoser
China-ASIAN lies.
China's and ASIAN's inleresls
converge mosl inlensiveIy in business,
vhere lhe mosl romising rosecls for
rogress aear lo Iie. China is
ASIAN's Iargesl lrading arlner, vhiIe
ASIAN is China's lhird Iargesl lrading
arlner, afler lhe IU and lhe US. Tan
reveaIed lhal China and ASIAN had
aIready agreed lo Iaunch negolialions
in lhe near fulure lo ugrade lheir
lrade-cenlered Iree Trade Area, in
order lo boosl biIaleraI inveslmenl and
lrade in services. There are high
execlalions among Chinese and
inlernalionaI diIomals, as veII as
observers, lhal lhe shared desire for
roserily and slrong exisling bonds
couId make China and ASIAN a beller
arlnershi in lhis comaraliveIy Iess
oIilicaI shere, olenliaIIy having a
osilive infIuence on lhe oIilicaI and
securily dimensions of lheir
reIalionshi.
To make lhis haen, lhe fear needs
lo be addressed. Though ASIAN has
for lhe mosl arl en|oyed a lrade
surIus vilh China since 2003, il
comIains lhal China has benefiled
more. This is robabIy because China's
exorls lo ASIAN counlries grev
much fasler lhan imorls from lhem in
lhe asl decade, and as a resuIl, China
has mainlained and exanded ils
surIus since lhe second haIf of 2012.
ASIAN increasingIy feIl lhe ressure of
comelilion from China on mechanicaI
and eIeclronic roduclion, an area
vhere ASIAN has Iong heId a
comaralive advanlage over China. OiI
roducing counlries Iike Indonesia feeI
Iess lhan comforlabIe seIIing lhis
slralegic resource lo big lraders.
China is lrying lo cIear lhis fog.
During lheir overseas lris, Chinese
Ieaders have conlinued lo leII lhe resl of
lhe vorId lhal lhey have nolhing lo fear
from lhe eacefuI, Ieasanl and
civiIized Iion. China has roosed a
seciaI diaIog belveen Chinese and
ASIAN defense minislers, an
arrangemenl vhich currenlIy onIy
exisls belveen ASIAN and lhe US,
according lo Tan. China is aIso
vigorousIy romoling severaI olher
inilialives for economic inlegralion
F!#% 2(% F%!0
*4-@ /-: C45:- 0; @; <>;B1 41> .;:- 2501?
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LI JIA
In#e!na#ional
vilh ASIAN, mainIy an inlra-regionaI
lransorl nelvork, |oinl economic and
scienlific marilime ro|ecls, an Asian
infraslruclure deveIomenl bank and a
nev version of lhe ITA.
There is somelhing lhal China may
need lo be carefuI aboul in order lo gel
her message across roerIy. The firsl is
lo vhom China's message of eace and
cooeralion is direcled. In his seech al
lhe forum in }une Irofessor Ian Zuo|un
vilh lhe China-ASIAN Research
Inslilule of Guangxi Universily said in
his fieId research he found vorries in
some ASIAN counlries aboul lhe
rosecl of loo much China resence
in lheir communilies lhal couId be
broughl aboul by an enhanced
lransorl nelvork and increased
Chinese business. He suggesled lhal
grealer efforls be made lo communicale
vilh lhe ubIic in ASIAN counlries,
nol |usl lheir governmenls or eIiles.
ASIAN's ro-US allilude al a
deIicale lime is arlIy based on lhe
inlegralion of lheir induslries inlo lhe
gIobaI vaIue chain of US inveslmenl,
noled Xu Ningning, execulive secrelary
generaI of lhe China-ASIAN usiness
CounciI al lhe Tsinghua-Anbound
forum. China hoes lo equaI lhis IeveI
of inlegralion vilh ASIAN. Xu slressed
lhal communicalion belveen Chinese
and ASIAN lrade organizalions eyeing
visibIe relurns had aIready roved far
more effeclive lhan lhal belveen lheir
induslriaI oIicymakers, vho have lo
consider oIilicaI imIicalions in lheir
laIks, arlicuIarIy in lhe conlexl of lhe
currenl lension.
Third arlies can aIso faciIilale
communicalion. The IU, for examIe,
is valching lhe lension in Asia carefuIIy
and nervousIy. Ils osilion as an
infIuenliaI gIobaI force and a ma|or
business arlner of bolh China and
ASIAN, bul nol a direcl securily Iayer
in lhe region, gives il a cerlain
molivalion and credibiIily. Indeed,
bolh China and lhe IU hoe lo see
subslanliaI grovlh in lhe slralegic
dimension of lheir business-cenlered
arlnershi. Il couId be beneficiaI for
China lo exIain cIearIy her oIicy in
lhe Soulh China Sea lo lhe IU, so lhal
lhe IU couId undersland beller China's
inlenlions al Ieasl, or reinforce China's
message lo olher direcl regionaI
slakehoIders al besl. If China does so, il
is imorlanl for China lo reaIize lhal il
is nol a good idea lo comeI lhe IU, nor
any olher lhird arly, lo back China u
on sovereignly disules, as laking sides
vouId confIicl vilh lheir ovn inleresls.
The second queslion is lhe liming of
lhese messages. ComIainls over
China's aclions, arlicuIarIy lhe Air
Defense Idenlificalion Zone (ADIZ)
over lhe Iasl China Sea and lhe
deIoymenl of an oiI rig in lhe Soulh
China Sea, seem lo have been Iess aboul
lhe aclions lhemseIves, and more aboul
lhe suddenness vilh vhich lhey vere
laken. In an excIusive inlerviev
vilh NcusCnina during lhe WorId
Ieace Iorum in ei|ing al lhe end of
May, }avier SoIana, former IU high
reresenlalive for foreign and securily
oIicy and former secrelary-generaI of
NATO, slressed lhe imorlance of
conslanl exIanalion of one's aclions,
bolh ex-anle and ex-osl. As China,
for vhalever reason, has recenlIy
chosen lo ski lhe ex-anle, increased
efforls have become necessary ex-
osl.
This Ieads lo anolher issue: lhe
manner in vhich China sends
messages. China reealedIy |uslifies ils
aclions vilh lhe cIaim lhal such
decisions are ils sovereign righl, and
lhal olhers have done lhe same in lhe
asl - an exIanalion lhal has nol been
arlicuIarIy effeclive. Of course, any
slale is enlilIed lo refuse any form of
lhird arly invoIvemenl in sovereignly
issues - a mosl sensilive issue, even in a
gIobaIized vorId - bul argumenls
based more on inlernalionaI ruIes heI
gaIvanize inlernalionaI underslanding
and suorl, vhich may mean more
bargaining chis on negolialion labIes.
RecenlIy, China has made discernibIe
rogress in lhis regard, by oenIy
resenling lo lhe UN her slance and
evidence on sovereignly cIaims in lhe
valers vhere cIashes vilh Vielnam
have occurred. ul lhere is a Iol more
sliII lo be done. Ior examIe, China
couId resond lo inlernalionaI doubls
over her sovereignly cIaims and refusaI
of inlernalionaI arbilralion by
secifying her cIaims and reasons on
IegaI grounds lo lhe resl of lhe vorId, if
nol lo any arbilralor. China's resislance
lo inlernalionaI arbilralion, according
lo some Chinese IegaI exerls, is arlIy
rooled in China's mislrusl of lhe
inlernalionaI |udiciaI syslem vhich
China beIieves is dominaled by lhe
Wesl. Hovever, if smaIIer and veaker
counlries are confidenl in using
Weslern-made inlernalionaI Iavs lo
defend lhemseIves, China shouId be
even more confidenl in doing so. China
vas confused by comIainls againsl her
exorls fiIed lo lhe WTO by lrading
arlners. Nov, China does nol hesilale
lo use lhose same Weslern ruIes lo fighl
for her ovn inleresls. n
(The aulhor is Iead vriler and
senior edilor vilh NevsChina)
Ccuricsq. Link Times
In#e!na#ional
D
o you knov vhy you
never miss lhe road lhal
Ieads lo your girIfriend's
house` Give credil lo your
brain's menlaI comass.
The brain has a comIex syslem for
keeing lrack of vhich direclion you
are facing as you move aboul, say
researchers, adding lhal eoIe use
geomelricaI reIalionshis lo orienl
lhemseIves.
To lesl hov lhe brain makes lhese
inferences, lhe researchers designed an
exerimenl in vhich lhey inlroduced
arlicianls lo a virluaI environmenl- a
sel of four museums in a ark.
They asked lhe arlicianls lo
memorise lhe Iocalion of lhe everyday
ob|ecls on disIay in lhose museums.
They lhen scanned lheir brains vhiIe
asking lhem lo recaII lhe saliaI
reIalionshis belveen lhose ob|ecls.
In lhe scans, lhe leam focused on a
brain region knovn as lhe relrosIeniaI
comIex.
"The relrosIeniaI comIex is very
much underexIored. There are lhree
vays lhe relrosIeniaI comIex couId
conceivabIy encode lhis lye of
informalion and serve as arl of a
menlaI comass," exIained RusseII
Islein, rofessor of sychoIogy in
Universily of IennsyIvania's schooI of
arls and sciences.
One vay vouId be a "gIobaI" syslem
in vhich lhe brain lracks lhe absoIule
direclion one is facing regardIess of
visuaI cues in lhe environmenl.
An "idiosyncralic" syslem, in vhich
lhe brain kees lracks of direclion for
each environmenl indeendenlIy, vas
anolher ossibiIily.
IinaIIy, researchers considered a
"geomelric" syslem lhal is based on
more generaIised reIalionshis
belveen fealures in an environmenl.
"There, remembering lhal your desk
is on lhe norlh vaII of your office
vouId invoIve recaIIing lhe
reIalionshi belveen lhe desk and lhe
door- say, lhe desk is on lhe Iefl vhen I
enler lhe room- vilhoul having lo
secificaIIy recaII lhe room ilseIf,"
Islein oinled oul.
The research, vhich is reIaled lo lhe
vork lhal von lhis year's NobeI Irize
in IhysioIogy or Medicine, adds nev
dimensions lo our underslanding of
saliaI memory and hov il heIs us lo
buiId memories of evenls, lhe sludy
concIuded.
The aer aeared in lhe |ournaI
Nalure Neuroscience.n
Heal#h
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2;A> 9A?1A9? 5: - <->7.
A
fler lhe aulocral Irshad
vas loIed on 6
December 1990, }uslice
Shahabuddin Ahmed
became lhe inlerim
residenl. His miIilary secrelary al lhe
lime vas Ma|. Gen. Manzur Rashid
Khan. Irior lo lhal, Ma|. Gen. Manzur
Rashid Khan has been GeneraI Irshad's
miIilary secrelary.
Democracy vas seeing a resurreclion
afler a Iong seII of miIilary ruIe and
Manzur Rashid Khan vas nol |usl a
vilness lo lhe change of over in
angabhaban, bul aIso Iayed a ivolaI
roIe in lhe affairs of lhe lime. ased on
lhese exeriences he had vrillen his
book |rsna!cr Pcicn O Snana|u!!incr
Osinaqi Snasncn. Kacnnc Tnckc Ockna
|Irshad's IaII and Shahabuddin's
Inlerim Governmenl: Seen from U
CIosej. The book vas a age-lurner. Il
vas fiIIed vilh lhe evenls of lhe lime
and delaiIs from behind lhe scenes.
Afler reading lhal book, il vas onIy
inevilabIe lhal his book Anar Sainik
ji|cn. Pakisian Tnckc Bang|a!csn |My Life
as a SoIdier: Irom Iakislan lo
angIadeshj vouId be on lhe reading
Iisl. This is a biograhy and so much of
lhe firsl book has found Iace in lhe
ages of lhis one loo.
Manzur Rashid Khan's Iife is evenlfuI
and inleresling. eing in lhe shere of
over, he has been eye-vilness of
various vilaI momenls in lhe counlry's
sociaI and oIilicaI movemenls. He has
even been direclIy invoIved in much of
lhe evenls. So lhis book is nol |usl
Iimiled lo his ersonaI Iife, il is a
refIeclion of lhe limes.
The book is in four arls. 1. In Iakislan
Army, 2. In angIadesh Army, 3.
Irshad's faII, and 4. The Inlerim
governmenl of Shahabuddin Ahmed.
asicaIIy lhe biograhy lraverses his
Iife from vhen he |oined lhe Iakislan
Army as a cadel lo vhen he relired
from angIadesh Army as a ma|or
generaI.
Manzur Rashid Khan's miIilary career
began vhen he |oined lhe KakuI
MiIilary Academy in Wesl Iakislan.
During lhe 1971 Iiberalion var he vas
delained in Wesl Iakislan aIong vilh
his famiIy. He relurned home afler
indeendence and re|oined lhe
angIadesh Army.
He vriles of hov he assed lhe
seIeclion lesl for lhe army, arlicialion
in lhe 1965 Iakislan-India var and his
biller exerience, and afler lhe var hov
lhe engaIi soIdiers vere lrealed in lhe
Iakislan Army.
Manzur vriles aboul lhe adverse
reaclion among lhe Wesl Iakislanis lo
lhe resuIls of lhe 1970 eIeclion: "Afler
lhe generaI eIeclion, lhe oIilicaI scene
undervenl a raid change. The
slunned and aIarmed reaclion of lhe
Iakislani ruIers lo Avami League's
viclory, arlicuIarIy of senior army
officers vho vere moslIy Iun|abi, vas
somelhing lo behoId. Il sread lo
officers of our rank loo.... When Yahya
Khan hinled lhal Sheikh Mu|ibur
Rahman vas Iakislan's fulure rime
minisler, lheir adverse reaclion vas aII
lhe more evidenl. Some of lhe officers
vouId |okingIy greel us, saying 'your
days are ahead.' Il vas cIearIy lhey feIl
a mixlure of anger mixed vilh fear."
The readers viII find inlense inleresl in
lhe descrilion of hov lhings changed
afler lhe Iakislan army crackdovn
lhrough Oeralion SearchIighl on lhe
nighl of 25 March 1971. The engaIis in
Wesl Iakislan vere gried vilh a
sense of insecurily, and a feeIing of
mislrusl croed u belveen lhe
engaIi and non-engaIi officers and
lroos. Once lhe Iiberalion vas
officiaIIy begun, lhe engaIi members
of lhe army Iived Iives in virluaI
delenlion.
The vriler describes lheir menlaI slale
during lhe nine monlhs of lhe
indeendence slruggIe, "In lhe 1965
var I had Iearnl vhal a hard lime lhe
officers and lheir famiIies face during
var. I vas a bacheIor al lhe lime so onIy
had a gIimse of lhe sufferings of lhe
engaIi famiIies. The reIalives of lhe
Wesl Iakislani officers vouId come
and lake lheir officers' vives and
chiIdren lo slay vilh lhem in lheir
homes or vouId come and slay vilh
lhem. ul engaIis couIdn'l do lhal.
The indeendence var vas being
vaged in lheir ovn counlry. An
unsoken dislance grev belveen our
Iakislani coIIeagues and us. Il vas cIear
lhal lhis rifl vouId viden in lhe days lo
come."
They vere lormenled by lhe
uncerlainly of lhe fulure and lhe
inabiIily lo fighl for lhe indeendence
of lheir ovn counlry. He vriles of lhe
davn of indeendence: "In lhe morning
ve received exciling nevs -- lhe aIIied
forces had occuied Dhaka. The nexl
day lhe Iakislan Army vouId
surrender. Thal meanl lhe var vas
ending. No more vorries. We vere so
hay. Our counlry vas nov
indeendenl angIadesh."
Then comes lhe chaler on lhe relurn lo
angIadesh, enroIIing in angIadesh
Army anev, an aclive lhree and a haIf
years vilh angIadesh RifIes, coming
Book Re%ie&
Amar Sainik Jibon: Pakistan
Theke Bangladesh
|My Life as a SoIdier: Irom
Iakislan lo angIadeshj
Ma|. Gen. Manzur Rashid Khan
(reld)
IubIished by Irolhoma Irokashon
Iirsl edilion: Iebruary 2012
Cover: Qayyum Chovdhury
Irice: 500 laka
A g%-%0!+'1
Memoirs
rcticuc! |q ANWAR PARVEZ HALIM
dovn hard on smuggIing al lhe border
and so on.
Manzur Rashid Khan vriles aboul
enroIIing in lhe angIadesh Army: "We
had heard aII sorls of secuIalions
vhiIe in Wesl Iakislan. Il vas said lhal
ve vouIdn'l be laken back inlo lhe
angIadesh Army and so on. I Ialer
Iearnl lhal lhere vas lrulh in lhese
rumours. A Iarge number of freedom
fighler officers did nol vanl lhe
realrialed officers and lroos lo be
inducled inlo lhe army, navy and air
force. Their Iogic vas lhey had foughl
in lhe var and Iiberaled lhe counlry, so
lhe army vouId comrise of freedom
fighlers.... NeedIess lo say, lhis Iogic
vas driver my exlremeIy narrov
inleresls.
The 20 lhousand officers and members
of olhers ranks vho have been slranded
in Iakislan couId nol |oin lhe
indeendence slruggIe due lo obvious
reasons. They vere aII eoIe of
angIadesh, angIadeshis in mind and
souI. They may nol have been abIe lo
|oin lhe Iiberalion var, bul lheir
suorl for lhe indeendence slruggIe
vas dee and sincere.... Il vas a reIief
lhal uon angabandhu's inslruclions
lhe realrialed officers vere inducled
inlo lhe various armed forces....
UnforlunaleIy, due lo vesled inleresls,
rifls and divisions grev vilhin lhe
armed forces, arlicuIarIy in lhe army.
The bias of lhe inexerienced
governmenl look u cerlain oIicies
lhal had disaslrous consequences."
Aboul lhe resellIemenl of engaIis in
lhe Chillagong HiII Tracls, lhe vriler
says, "The molive behind lhe ro|ecl
suorled by lhe securily forces and
lhe adminislralion lo resellIe engaIis
in Chillagong HiII Tracls and creale a
communily lhere, vas lo queII lhe
insurgency breving in lhe vasl lribaI
ouIaled area.... The governmenl
didn'l Iace any imorlance on a
oIilicaI soIulion lo lhe robIem. Such
negIecl began from afler indeendence.
The insurgency vas sarked off by
angabandhu Sheikh Mu|ibur
Rahman's refusaI lo recognise lheir
searale elhnic idenlily."
In lhis book Manzur Rashid Khan
vriles aboul lhe lragic evenls of
Augusl-November 1975, lhe kiIIing of
Ziaur Rahman in 1981, Irshad's ruIe
and his ersonaI Iife. The book aIso
reIales a fev incidenls aboul Irshad's
girIfriends.
When Irshad vouId lraveI abroad, his
miIilary secrelary (lhe vriler) vouId
have lo go vilh him as arl of lhe
officiaI rolocoI. On 30 }anuary 1990
Irshad lraveIIed lo lhe US. He vas
slaying al lhe Madison HoleI in
Washinglon. Manzur Rashid Khan
vriles: "Zeenal Mosharraf and her
husband reached Washinglon loo and
checked inlo a differenl holeI. On lhe
vay back ve sloed off al Iaris. I
noliced lhal Zeenal Mosharraf and her
husband came lhere loo, on a differenl
fIighl and checked inlo a holeI. Wilh no
officiaI agenda, lhe residenl senl
lime vilh lhem freeIy. angIadesh
Ambassador in Iaris To|ammeI
Hossain came lo lhe holeI al nighl lo
meel vilh Irshad. Nol finding him, he
came lo my suile. When I loId him I
didn'l knov anylhing, he Iooked very
vorried." Things gel avkvard in such
silualions. They senl lvo days in Iaris
sighlseeing, vhiIe Irshad mel u vilh
his girIfriend Zeenal.
Yel on anolher foreign lris: "MauIana
Mannan (former minisler of Irshad)
vouId oflen ul on an allilude lo rove
lhal he vas cIose lo lhe residenl. He
fixed a lri lo aghdad, nov lrying lo
rove hov cIose he vas lo Iresidenl
Saddam Hossain loo.... he finaIised
many lhings for lhe lri. Il vas difficuIl
lo knov in advance vhen and vhere
our residenl vouId meel Saddam.
MauIana Mannan vas aIvays resenl
al lheir meelings. When ve reached
aghdad he loId me very seriousIy, 've
von'l need angIadesh iman lo relurn
home.' He said he had made
arrangemenls for a seciaI fIighl. On
lhe day before our relurn he said lhal
lhe Iraqi residenl has arranged a
seciaI aircrafl for us lo relurn. The nexl
day ve relurned by angIadesh
iman."
His deIiberalions aIso reveaI lhal before
Irshad's miIilary ruIe, Advocale
Mahbubur Rahman (Ialer NI Ieader
and MI) vouId reguIarIy visil lhe army
headquarlers and meel vilh lhe
generaIs. In olher vords, Mahbubur
Rahman aIso had a roIe lo Iay in
Irshad's unIavfuI lakeover of over.
A significanl seclion of lhis book is
aboul }uslice Shahabuddin Ahmed
laking over as inlerim residenl and his
days al lhe heIm. There is hisloricaI
significance lo lhe vriler's roIe in
resoIving oIilicaI robIems lhal
croed u al lhe lime.
This book is acluaIIy much more lhan
lhe biograhy of GeneraI Manzur
Rashid Khan. Il is an imorlanl oIilicaI
and sociaI documenl of lhe counlry.
The reader viII discover many unloId
laIes of lhal significanl decade. n
Book Re%ie&
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J)'(ICE 'AHAB)DDI# AH"ED H " E&'HAD
T
he eviI cororale's |ob is lo gobbIe, grunch and
munch. The feisly underdog's is lo sland u and be
counled, and refuse lo become easy meaI. 'SonaIi
CabIe' has a nice remise, eseciaIIy reIevanl in
lhis age of lhe ermanenlIy vired universe,
souIIess cororalions, and lhe scams lhal come oul of
acquiring seclrum. ul ils execulion is much Iess so.
Siriled Mumbai girI SonaIi (Rhea Chakraborly) is lhe GirI
Wilh The CabIe in her IocaIily. Her Iove inleresl Raghu (AIi
IazaI) is lhe son of an ambilious IocaI cororalor (Smila
}aykar), and her (SonaIi's) aim is lo kee doing vhal she does
because she connecls hearls, nol |usl vires. A sanner in lhe
vorks arrives in lhe shae of a greedy oId lycoon (Anuam
Kher), vho Iikes crunching 'khakras' and vho vanls lo grab
'akkhi Mumbai' in lhe manner of oId- slyIe dons.
There are some vivid alches in lhis David-GoIialh var,
bul overaII consislency and credibiIily is a robIem. The
Ieading Iady lries for erkiness bul comes off as a veak Iink,
her fouI-moulhedness more forced lhan naluraI. Kher is over-
lhe-lo. IazaI is a good addilion lo lhe leam, even if he is in
lhe same mode as he vas in 'obby }asoos'. And I Iike
Svanand Kirkire in his acling gigs : he makes lhings
beIievabIe even vhen he is alenlIy on a sel.
This couId have been a modern day fabIe, bul 'SonaIi
CabIe' is nol lhal fiIm. n
Flim
5tar Cast: Rhea Chakraborly, AIi IazaI, Raghav }uyaI,
Anuam Kher, Smila }aykar, Svanand Kirkire ,
Dircctnr: Charudull Acharya
S.-!+) C!"+%:
I2 #.3+$ (!4%
"%%- ! ,.$%0-
$!7&!"+%
by 5HUBHRA GUPTA

Probe Magazine Vol 13 Issue 2 (1-15 Nov 2014)

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Probe Magazine Vol 13 Issue 2 (1-15 Nov 2014)

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The Politics of death and demise in Bangladesh

angIadesh has been eIecled lo

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