Untold Facts

All Vengeance no Virtue

At least two Dhaka dailies reported in the morning of February One that the rural home of one former army officer already dead eight years ago was attacked and vandalized by the government party cadres on the 31st January. The home was used by one brother of the late officer not only for that he was already dead but also for the fact that he had been long living in some foreign country after being indicted in 1996 in the Mujib Murder case where he died there in natural way. Now that five of the accused executed to death on the 27-28 January night in Dhaka, the vandals took to vengeance in the way three days after against the dead person. They attacked the home in a big procession rally of 300 motor cycles as the report stated. The residents fled in fear and the vandals did as they liked including torching the home. The few policemen stayed there just only as helpless spectators. Although the vandalism was driven by typical vengeance, similar other occurrences are nothing unusual these days in Bangladesh but are almost everyday matters.
The particular vengeance had continuing blood thirst for 35 years. Although for years the news of the thirst was publicly not known but later on. The BBC fame and now retired journalist Serajur Rahman settled and residing in London in his near eighty age had let us know that soon after she took up the Awami League Chairmanship in early 1980s she let the BBC know in an interview that she ‘hated politics but to avenge the blood of her father took to politics of Bangladesh’ (See exact Bengali verbatim, Daily Naya Diganta, Dhaka, 24 March 2009). The vengeance is realized, at least partly, on the 27-28 January night through execution to death of the five of the 12 accused in killing of her father and had some curious features. Such one conspicuous was the speed of execution in hours following the controversial and questionable verdict of the court. The second was that the issue had huge cost of the image of the country, international appeals and calls against the execution had been given a damn. The calls made proved further that the so-called murder case lacked legitimacy as well for that was more of a mutiny and was not a simple criminal act. These facts further confirmed that the pliant justice in the Bench acted more for satisfying her vengeance than upholding the rule of law.
In Islam, forgiveness by victim’s relation in bloodletting matters remains a way of settlement of scores duly recognized in rules and norms as a more virtuous attitude.
The home of the late army officer vandalized on the 31st January looks typical in vengeance. His relations live there as he himself is dead eight years ago and buried in an African country. His widowed wife and the only daughter live elsewhere in some urban location. Possibly the vandals for realization of vengeance took to the rural home no matter whether other innocent occupants might have been there. They had the logic of the Aesop’s Fables the Lamb and the Wolf. After all that must have met at least some thirst of Sheikh Hasina for blood of her father the late officer owed.
The cadres riding in 300 motor cycles who did the reprisal attack, in turn would get perks of some kind from Hasina’s almost endless purse, cash or kind.
Human society survives honorably through inculcation of humane values, virtues and respect for rule of law. In Bangladesh, since the onset of January 09, people other than the ruling party men and women have been facing all forms of annihilation day in and day out duly been recorded by the human rights organizations of international standing like the Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch, European Union, etc. (See the published latest 2010 reports). How would thus the common people live and survive in the vicious syndrome of the vengeance in the total absence of humane virtue.

Author: B K Din