Untold Facts

Aberration of History about 15th August 1975

That aberration and misrepresentation of history is a common issue in independent Bangladesh was lamented recently by a senior politician and one time alumni of the history department of Dhaka University. In the same odd fashion, aberration in regard to the occurrence of the 15th August 1975 was made on the 27th January (2010) by putting an official seal. It is all likely that some interested to thrive on that official seal would keep on with the aberration and misrepresentation. Others, however, would not be carried away and instead keep on deliberating on and about the actual facts and accounts of the historic event of August 1975.

The official seal so put asserted that the occurrence on the 15th August 1975 was a pure and simple bloodletting of the President of the country in ‘misadventure’ of some serving youths of the Bangladesh Army. Was that so pure and simple? Not, at all.

It was a fact that in the occurrence on the day in Dhaka, the President of the country was toppled and in the toppling process in encounter he got killed along with others on both sides of the armed encounter. That was only the part of the whole story, not all, let alone full of the episode. The seal was put on this bloodletting part and that also only partially. Many other integral parts involving the country, the government, judiciary, armed services organs, executive, etc all were left out of consideration. Why, that remains though mystery it provided food for aberration and misrepresentation of facts in the historic matter that apparently ended on the 27-28 night but certain to hunt the nation and the country in future as it did for over three and a half decades since the mid August 1975.

The bloodletting was the sad part of the occurrence. But there were many positive and very much nationally desirable and crucial issues reformatted and settled for welfare of the millions of people of the country.

The first was the ditching of the BKSAL, the lone party dictatorial system arbitrarily introduced in January 1975 without any reference to the people much less seeking their popular wishes by the egoist President.

The second was the re-introduction of multiparty democratic parliamentary system after ditching the BKSAL and its leader.

The third was the immediate disbanding of the unconstitutional and killer Rakhsmi Bahini of Hitler’s Gestpo type special police force that in over three and a half years of the rule by that President killed extra-judicially nearly 40,000 youths presumed to be political opponents by the top boss and his party.
The fourth was the freeing of all media banned earlier by the absolutely powerful President.
The fifth was the administration kept on running as usual having had secured formal allegiance of all organs immediately after the successful coup of the 15th August.
The sixth was people’s jubilant acceptance of the change so much so that no resistance was put up anywhere in the country by any group much less by any political party, not even by the party of the ousted President that he led for decades. The coup leaders had to do nothing for organizing the support; the people themselves eagerly lent support to the coup leaders unknown until then to the people.

The seventh was that other countries, not only the friendlier ones but also the inimical ones like China, Saudi Arabia, etc. who did not even recognize the country as an independent entity for over three years and a half came forward to recognize and help the new Government and the tottering economy of the country.

The eighth was that immediately after the 15th August coup price level of essential commodities started to fall for the common people’s relief who had been in dire difficulties for the President’s misrule, party cadres unending corruption and unprecedented smuggling along the porous border of the country mainly for big gains for the big neighbor.

The ninth was that despite the unequal treaty with the big neighbor impinging on the Bangladesh sovereignty, her hold on Bangladesh loosened that bettered sovereign status of Bangladesh, and so improved image of the country at international level.

The tenth was that among the Muslim countries, in particular, Bangladesh status and image was improved in mutual relations and dealings for specific change and adoption of the basic principles of the Constitution keeping up with Muslim nationalist ideals of the overwhelming majority people’s belief that the fallen President dented and injured very badly.

The eleventh was the reorganization of the national education system that right provided religious education with emphasis for popular acceptability and improvement of quality learning at all levels.
One could add more to the above eleven changes and improvements in national life that were added gradually to all spheres of life, though every aspects were not accomplished right after the 15th August but the beginning was initiated and inspired by the positive outcome of the 15th August change in which the sad bloodletting was a minute part so far as national great good was concerned.
Despite the fact that blood for blood has already been taken in reprisal that certainly made the five on the night of 27-28 January (2010) great martyrs in the episode, the honest historians in future would take up the matter afresh for ending aberration and misrepresentation of history about the 15th August of 1975.

I am sure that neutral and unbiased future historians would honestly come up to sift facts from fictions. For instance, had the Pharaoh of Bangladesh (as was labeled by the then Awami League President and Speaker of the Parliament Abduk Malek Ukil) would not have been toppled in the occurrence of the 15th August, how long and how many more would have been executed to death with all impunity particularly, by the unconstitutional and India controlled Rakhsmi Bahini, that recorded the average in arithmetical figures of nearly twelve thousand (40,000 in three and a half years) imaginary political opponents each year to extra-judicial deaths.

Author: B K DIN