Untold Facts

Comprador Crusaders!

Whether the title of the item is at all right or not, I am not sure at this stage. But I found none better for what I intend to cover.

That the Awami League Government of 2009, third in 38 years for independent Bangladesh, has on the end of nine months of torturous and oppressive rule not unusually though swooped on one Islamic non-political association, Hizbut Tahrir (HT) and have further listed 31 more, according press report published in Dhaka on the 26th October, that are going to be banned following the same sword that fell on the Hizbut Tahrir. The allegations against the organization and also other to follow the same fate are almost the same. They have been blamed for ‘anti-state’ activities and so the sword of the clamp down.

I have no intimate information about the Hizbut Tahrir, much less about the 31 or so organizations to follow the same fate, most possibly all one man show or even no address to locate at all but in list of the ‘intelligence’. However, the HT remained a vocal one as we knew about in their occasional programs on specific issues of national concern and leaflets distributed in open for popular consumption and so far I know nothing in secret.

From press reports it was confirmed that the organization was founded in Dhaka during the latter part of the first term government of the same Awami League in 2000 not by unaccountable some body but by Dhaka University teachers. Evidently they were educated, well informed, cultured and certainly patriotic sons of the country. Now that the organization worked and grown in size for ten years not as a full fledged political party but social organization with some commitment towards welfare of the society and gained some appreciable support among the better educated lot, how come that the sword fell on them at this stage?

In the government estimation the ‘anti state’ activities included ‘terrorist’ acts. Well, any such criminal act should not be difficult to identify and persons responsible for could be prosecuted under the existing penal code. Such due process of law need not necessarily make it so urgent to ban the whole organization for any body’s or even quite a numbers involvement in ‘terrorist’ acts. Such banning is not only unethical and immoral but also violates the Constitution (Art. 38) of the country that permits freedom of association.

Banning of any political party, much less any social welfare association is not democratic by any standard but fascist one. The advanced democratic West is totally opposed to Communism, even so, there are Communist parties working freely in almost all those Western countries. Morning Star is a long and well established English language daily of Britain run by the Communists.

That the Chief Co-Ordinator (CO) of HT has already been sent on forced retirement by his employer, the Dhaka University, on the 25th October just two days after the banning of the organization obviously following the Government decision. Thus the C.O. Professor Mohiudin’s fundamental rights for having and continuing in his employment has also been violated (Art.29, 31 & 40). By 26th October the Government has already done these violations of all legal and fundamental rights of the HT Chief and of the members of the organization.

As is hunched very rightly the Chief and many others of the organization will soon face detention, possibly first under the Cr. P.C. 54, police remand for days, and then on for long detention under the notorious Special Powers Act of 1974. All agonies of life and living of the persons and of the family members to sadly follow soon.

As is now well known that due processes of law in many cases are being interfered with, there is every likely that the same would be done in this case/s, as well. In other words, the justice would be far fetched for these unfortunate intellectual fellows certainly not of Tom, Dick and Harry.

It may be useful to painfully recall here by older persons like me that during the other terms of this party Government both during 1996-2001 and 1972-1975, miscarriage of justice along with violations of the Constitution by the arrogant authorities in all such unlawful matters had been the norm for all misfortunes of the aggrieved so far remained unaccounted.

The matter should be seen in another perspective. The victims had been the Islamic and Muslim groups and not any other religious group just as they start in blanket way against all Muslim/Islamic political parties, organizations, institutions and even symbols etc. of long standing distinct pride identity soon after independence of Bangladesh.

It has come as news in some foreign press I came across on Sunday (Al- Hilal, London: Internet) that the US Government has shown pleasure in the action against the HT. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has offered a prize to Bangladesh in granting permanent residence to 60,000 illegal Bangladeshis for the act they so much liked. Whether the prize was a ‘mess of pottage’ need be measured in terms of the historic Crusades and the Clash of Civilizations going on against the Muslims on one side and the rest on the other, and the native anti-Islamic and anti Muslim forces playing their cards as the pliant comprador crusaders! The Bengali speaking literate ones my well recall the famous poet Tagore’s few lines of a poem in verbatim, ‘RAJA JOTO BOLEY PARISHAD DOLE BOLE TER SHOTOGUN’-the lackey-loyal in-group say one hundred times more in tune with the king. Without exception all the three governments of the typical political persuasion fell on the distinct Islamic and the Muslim identity of egalitarian political ends.

In the previous two terms they had sorry ends, one on the 15th August 1975 in jubilation of the common people though little unfortunately through extra-constitutional means of the successful coup d’etat and the massive defeat in the other one in 2001 October general election through popular votes that the people in overwhelming majorities celebrated as the Great Day of Deliverance (NAJAT DIBOSH). The fate of the comprador crusaders of native origin now mainly engaged in typically oppressing the patriotic nationalists, Islamic and Muslim peoples opposing fascism is just only in the waiting for all aggrieved people to have the NAJAT as they had in previous two occasions. After all the Great and all Powerful Creator is with the oppressed and not with the oppressors.

Auhtor: M.T. Hussain