Untold Facts

KHUNI: Walk Out! Offence is the Best Defense

The first day the BNP re-entered the Parliament to join after about a year and to participate, they made a walk out in protest of the treasury bench member and a minister calling President Zia bad names as KHUNI. On the second day on the 14th February similar drama was enacted and the BNP made the second time walk out. Well, that was a matter not only of BNP’s dignity and prestige but also of their viability and existence and so they did act and walked out of the House for some time in protest to assert their dissent and position.

That was BNP’s, I would say, soft protest in parliamentary mode that they lodged. I have got, however, other idea for action program in my thought.

My point is who that politician in Bangladesh who is an angel. Was the Awami League’s ‘father’ an angel? Not, at all. His hand was more blood stained than possibly any other in recent history. Why should BNP feel shy about counter attacking the AL about their father’s record of bloodletting in the country?

The so-called ‘father’, a charity boy turned muscleman of Sohrawardy in the early 1940s in Calcutta happened to be a nominally paid “GOONDA” for all sorts of anti-social activities so long as they fitted in the politics of the period. Not that he was alone, but had other companions too. One such mate was known to me later in Dhaka. He was a businessman, expired about 15 years ago, he told me many stories of their co-activities of musclemen in Calcutta and also in post 1947 Dhaka. Though they maintained a personal relationship but distanced in political party affiliation and outlook that divided them further in 1971.

In post 1971 Bangladesh when the ‘father’ rose to his peak in political and state power, the other friend caught trapped under the Collaborators Act of 1972, and so went on hiding to escape arrest. One day in early 1972, he managed the security of the Dhanmondi residence of the ‘father’ and dashed to his bedroom in the upstairs, albeit, having had nod from the master. The first question the ‘father’ posed to him, ‘how many have you killed’? The other friend replied, ‘let me have first withdrawal of the warrant of arrest against me, we may talk other things afterwards’. The leader rightly did sign on the warrant of arrest document canceling the order without any further word. The fact remained that he was never arrested in his life time as a ‘collaborator’. One can make one’s own conclusion as to either broadness of the leader or of fear of their collusive black side of past records. I recalled this incident here not to say anything specific of murdering any man by them but only to indicate that as political workers and leader they were not clean of others blood in hand.

If we recall from our experience as doing I am, a class one job holding person in 1971 and staying in Dhaka with eyes open along with ears and mind smartly alert, I failed to forget that how the leader in his top of popularity and control unleashed his gullible cadres in hundreds and thousands to annihilate, torture, put houses in arson and kill the opponents. I recall clearly that his incitement led to unaccounted killing of the very poor men and women in shanties of Dhaka who had left their homes and properties in India and migrated to East Pakistan in1947. The incitement language in verbatim was, I remember, “EBAR MARAMARI HOBE MUSALMAN MUSALMANE”-this time Muslims will fight Muslims. The result was well known. Annihilation, arson, killing mainly of those hapless people started on the 1st March 1971, 25 days before the army crack down, not only in Dhaka but also elsewhere almost everywhere where the immigrant had their concentration. Mass killings in those places did not stop until the federal army retook control after 25 March 1971 and in some localities not until mid May 1971.

The bloodletting in 1971 is attributed no doubt to Yaha’s murderous army operation but the ‘father’ as well can hardly escape responsibility of all murderous operations beginning from the 1st March onwards.

One member of the Governor Malek ministry of 1971 told me later on that the cleaning of ‘miscreants’ by the army had the tacit nod of the ‘father’. God knows the real truth.

As a follow up, we saw all forms of torture, annihilation, kidnapping and extra-judicial killings in thousands in post 1971 independent Bangladesh perpetrated by the Indian secret service R&AW organized and managed force just like Hitlar’s Gestapo here euphemistically known as the Jatiya Rakhsmi Bahini (JRB). The force had no constitutional sanction and yet organized and armed better than the national army of the country. As the records are this force since early 1972 tortured each day in and out unaccounted men and women imagined to be the foes of the ‘father’. During the one man absolute rule of the ‘father’ notorious Bahini had killed according to estimates made between 32-40,000 mainly youths. He had his open order in Bengali verbatim to police, “NAKSHAL DEKHLE GULI KORO”- shoot at the sight of the Naxals- Maoists… He had, in addition, other private hoodlum forces for torture, kidnapping and killing of imaginary opponents; the main ones were led by his son Sheikh Kamal, nephew Sheikh Moni and specially favored SP of Dhaka Mahboob. In addition, he used to send special police force to capture and kill whoever the ‘father’ would have asked for. One such noted instance was the killing in detention of the brilliant Engineer and left party leader Seraj Sukder, Chief of the Sarbahara Party. Immediately after his killing in police custody, the ‘father’ rose to his feet and spoke in the floor of the house on January 2, 1975 and boasted in Bengali verbatim, “KOTHAE AJ SERAJ SIKDER”- where Seraj Sikder is today! Was that not his admission as the killer of Sikder? Was not the ‘father’ a big KHUNI? Had he not been finished on the 15th August, 1975 how many more, in addition to 40,000 or so, he would have killed with all impunity?

These are some of the instances of the ‘big’ deeds of the ‘father’ on clear record. Why can’t then the BNP cite these instances and use the term KHUNI against the ‘father’? Or else they have to hear the same bad name against Zia and make walk outs again and again, possibly having no remedy whatsoever.

Incidentally, the AL has got a certificate on the 27th January 2010 to use the term for that they have had managed already to execute as KHUNI or killer in the same charge five of Zia’s army colleagues in unprecedented haste while it is known that not less than 1020 prisoners condemned to death sentence are there in the waiting list for execution in the prison for much longer time. And further that the episode was nothing but the worst form of judicial murder in recent history, if not the real murder in thirst for blood for deep vengeance of Hasina through mockery of justice.

The BNP must have more courage to tell the House that who is the real KHUNI of those 57 army officers and 16 others killed in the unprecedented BDR massacre of February 25-26, 2009. Why is the cover up and hush up by the Hasina Government to save the behind the scene KHUNIs? Is she clean at all?

Offence should be the best defense for the BNP. Is not it?

Author: B K Din