Untold Facts

Julius Caesar- King Charles I - Czar Nicholas II to Sheikh Mujib

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
An octogenarian friend of mine in the morning of the 3rd November phoned to me and insisted that I must write something about Julius Caesar’s tragic end of life. I wondered for he referred to me about the drama of Shakespeare on the life of Julius Caser. I did not read the piece, and I don’t have a copy either as I was not a student of English Literature that the friend did. He kept on insisting and briefed the main point he wished me to make a write up. I took his point as that was more political I am now seriously interested in even at this fag end of my life. So I began to make search in the Internet. I got Julius Caesar, King Charles I of England and Czar Nicholas II, interestingly akin to the theme he was interested in and impressed on me to write something about.

Autocratic Kings Dethroned
They were all kings of their own times and countries- Julius Caesar of Pre- B.C. Rome, King Charles I of the 17th century England and Nicholas Czar II of early twentieth century Russia. They were rulers turned gradually to absolute dictator, resorted to oppression of the people and took away basic freedom of the citizens. There was as such internal resistance that ultimately turned into a sort of actively violent resistances that toppled the king rulers. Julius Caesar was killed in 44 B.C. by four angry Senators, just as the Czar Nicholas II, as well, by the revolutionaries at mid night of the 16th July, 1918 A.D.; King Charles I was put to summary trial by the post Charles ruler, the Protector Cromwell and then hanged him to death. Thus they restored freedom of the citizens from oppression of these kingly rulers. Rome got back the Republic abandoning oppressive monarchy of Julius Caesar, England got rid of the repressive king, reestablished freedom that under what they then on call Constitutional Monarchy, Russia established its own model of people’s rule that however broke down again after about seventy years for the latter Soviet rulers turned to curtail freedom of the people and so disintegrated for more freedom. In all these cases there was no valid legal question of putting the revolutionaries as ordinary simple ‘killers’ for any cognizable offence. Neither the Roman Senators, nor Cromwell and his followers nor the Leninist would condemn the Bangladeshi 75 August revolutionists as ordinary killers that the Sheikh Hasina’s Government has been widely propagating at home and abroad.

Killing of Czar’s Family and Disabled Child
Of the three examples, the killing of the Russian Czar was more brutal. The revolutionaries under instruction of the leader of the revolution Lenin brutally killed his family member. Even the domestic servants were killed, not even the life of a disabled child of the Czar was spared. They were all not only facts of history but also the revolutionaries had indemnity in law for all bloodletting. That is how legal protection is also there for the indemnity for successful revolution. No matter that the Soviets failed to keep freedom of the people, and so dismembered after about 70 years but the revolutionaries of the 1917 revolution were never called into question as ordinary killer in penal code. In England, Cromwell was put to posthumous trial for disturbing the continuity of the kingdom but the country did not revert back to absolute monarchy of Charles I but survived as Constitutional Monarchy that has since then been ensuring and protecting freedom of the people in the oldest democracy of the free world.

History Repeated
These are the three repeating examples of history as were many others that changed course of history from totalitarianism and oppression to freedom. In such cases the change agents have been adored, not condemned. Such changes for better and democracy provide, in addition, indemnity for the change makers for any liability of bloodletting on the one hand and on the other constitute subsequent source of law for continuity. That was what the 15th August 1975 change lawfully enjoyed indemnity for 21 years until June 1996. The victorious coup makers enjoyed full citizen’s freedom until snapped in shear vengeance of the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as soon as she grabbed for the first time the State power in Dhaka, and filed an ordinary ‘murder’ case for her father Sheikh Mujib’s lost life who fell on the 15th August 1975 from the Bangladesh State power in the successful army coup d’ ‘etat. The coup was no way different for the welcome change of State power from autocracy and dictatorship to democracy in three examples mentioned above.

Priority for Trial
On seeing the trial for ‘murder’ of the 15th August coup operators, any sensible person must ask for prior trial of the Sheikh for killing popular democracy and instead introducing not only one party dictatorship of the notorious BAKSAL but also for eating off his earlier promises given to the people time and again before riding on to power of the State based on such promises.

Mockery and Miscarriage of Justice
Sheikh Hasina made a mockery of justice through clear miscarriage of justice in the Kangaroo Session Court trial through making clear miscarriage of justice leading to likely judicial murder of the great patriots and some mid level officers of the Bangladesh Army (Retired). Though the case is now heard in the appeal at the Supreme Court, not only the defense lawyers there but also the judges are constantly being intimidated by the cadres of different shades of bullies of Hasina since the day one of the 5th October 2009.

Monarchy Game in late Twentieth Century
The three expels mentioned above are only to illustrate the precedence that my friend reminded me of the Julius Caesar. One must seriously ponder that the days had been of monarchy of heredity nature. The late twentieth century human history was not conditioned by hereditary monarchy but by open democracy. Even so the Sheikh foolishly and arrogantly tried to impose a sort of hereditary monarchy in Bangladesh that the people all along had struggled for popular democracy. He had as such dug his own grave by going against the sentiments, wishes and aspirations of the people. I am sure that the people would put the Sheikh and the subsequent cronies including his daughter to justice some time in future.

Appeal to Conscience Keepers
Seen in the overall context, the freedom loving people of Bangladesh and of the other world must raise their voice to be heard and refrain Hasina in her beastly vengeance for hanging the otherwise laudable heroes of the 15th August 1975 for showing despise for the dictator and love for those who ensured pluralism and multi-party democracy. That is what the three historic examples of the executions of Julius Caesar, King Charles I and Czar Nicholas II, as well, clearly kept examples before us to learn the right lesson. My gratitude is to the octogenarian friend for reminding and urging me to do the write up as it is here.

Author: Dr.M.T. Hussain