Untold Facts

Mujib Zia Equation?

Some intellectuals have of late in their efforts in some column have been trying to put Mujib and Zia at par as historic personalities of Bangladesh. They are free to do so. They might be generous in such evaluation, but such measurement must lead to trying to mix completely oil and water into one emulsion pitifully in nothing but only in failure, because they represented politically speaking two distinct ways for salvation of the people of Bangladesh.

There is no denying the fact that they are both now historic personalities and past political leaders of Bangladesh. They had their both achievements and failures in their life time running the country for three and half years of P.M. and President Mujib and about five years of President Zia. They had credits and condemnations somewhat in usual occurrence and naturally normal for any human being of average caliber. None of them were exceptional anything and had been products of historical accidents, follies and misadventures. The people as well had the misfortunes and some fortunes under their rule in the early 1970s of Mujib and late 1970s to early 1980s of Zia.

Both Mujib and Zia enjoyed popularity. For Zia the charisma went on through to the end but in case of Mujib the popularity stayed high only for shorter period and did not last until the end. One must look for the differences in rise and fall not only of the persons but also of their popularity.

Muib rose in height of popularity as the opposition leader upholding the cause of the people for open democracy and economic well being of East Pakistan in rhetoric somewhat like a demagogue. He had been mostly guided by high pitch of emotions, hardly been realistic. On these two accounts Zia had been realistic, pro-active and did not go on emotional rhetoric alone but by on the field action programs like canal digging for natural water reservation and use for utility needs.

In action programs, Mujib failed not only to deliver goods to the people as he had promised earlier, and so ended up in endless condemnation from one time BONGOBONDHU or friend of Bangla to BONGOSHOTRU or enemy of Bangladesh (The term Bongoshotru was rightly used by the renowned British journalist Anthony Mascarenhas as in an article published in London Sunday Times on the 17th August 1975). Zia ended up in endless love and felicitations as had been seen attendance in his funeral prayer attended by hundreds of thousand mourning people held in Dhaka on the 31st May 1981.

Mujib was the product of street politics of about two decades that hold on to democracy and yet he destroyed open democracy. Zia was raised in army discipline in no democracy but pro-actively worked for plural democracy and fairness to get root among the people in the aftermath of the dictatorial fascist left over of Mujib’s unenlightened rule, throttling freedom of expression by banning almost all newspapers except four, inhuman repression on the one hand and on the other, providing for illegal money making business of his own party men and relations, by engaging Delhi’s remote controlled JRB (Jatitya Rakhsmi Bahini) and private killer hoodlum units organized and operated by his kith and kin - son, nephew etc.

In the critical hours of the freedom movement of Bangladesh in late March 1971 Mujib vacillated, failed to make UDI that would have been worth at that moment but Zia was prompt, though questionably worth of it, decidedly turned into action and declared the UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) that the present Hasina government has already ordered to eliminate from the pages of history, reading materials and all media outlets. Mujib failed to steer the nation at the international level except as the undignified lackey of the big neighbor India making the economy an appendage as supplementary and complementary to India and so turned the country into the position of ignominy, the International Basket Case. But Zia raised the productive potentials and actual productivity of the country in addition to strengthening sovereign status and self dignity of the people of Bangladesh among international communities including among all Muslim nations.

The most significant of all attainments of Zia was that the history, identity and philosophical basis of the country were pulled out of debris and put back to the right track that Mujib’s unenlightened authoritarian rule had had threatened in the octopus of anti-human caste ridden Brahmanism of the pre-historic Kautilyas and Chanakyas. Zia gave the country a newly revised Constitution that gave renewed life to the nation otherwise remained threatened by Mujib’s ignorance and lust for power being happy in the position of lackey of the anti-human Barhmanists, and perpetuating in lieu his dynastic rule.

In the real perspective of historical continuity, Mujib remained confused in ideas and actions but Zia re-charted the path and mode of the people of Bangladesh in terms of geography, values, beliefs and basic aspirations of the people in the community of all nations.

Despite on going massive propaganda now going on inside, engineered and heavily supported from across the border and the Israeli Mossad, Mujib’s image is limited to a certain group not beyond. Once a political change comes, the currently ongoing propaganda would certainly fall to low ebb. Zia is not going to be lost but to have better hold and also certain to survive naturally in the minds of the overwhelming majority people in perpetuity for his living with and up to people’s beliefs, aspirations and expectations.

Both will mark the pages of history but as distinctly different personalities, in no case as one of same stature. Mujib would be remembered as historically hated Faraoh (Abdul Malek Ukil, the Speaker during Mujib’s time Parliament and then Awami League Acting President used the term FARAOH as Mujib fell in the victorious coup of the 15th August 1975 in London in his interview there), Hitler and the despised many likes but Zia as the democratically loved person of common men. In the recent propaganda the KHUNIs of 1972-75 abused Zia as a KHUNI, but there was some retort that MUJIB was the biggest ever KHUNI as he had in credit extrajudicial killings unleashed by the unconstitutional and Indian R&AW controlled RAKHSMI BAHINI with impunity of Seraj Sikder plus nearly 40,000 plus!

Zia as a practicing Muslim committed to Islamic ideals until the last moment of life and so in all likely he attained martyrdom at death, but Mujib, an adopted son of Sheikh Lutfor Rahman from an unwed Hindu young girl of Calcutta in 1923 at about the boy’s three years old (See, Jiban Smriti, Dhaka, 2006, p.643) had all along been a non-religious person and so no chance of his being a martyr at death at all.

Zia possibly can not escape the verdict of history that though he impliedly appreciated the action program of the 15th August 1975, he had been an escapist so far as full appreciation of the heroes of the 15th August revolutionary change was concerned. His party BNP later on fully betrayed the great cause as, for example, among other omissions, did not oppose annulment of the Indemnity Act of 26 August 1975 in the Parliament in late 1996 that gave Hasina the golden scope to ultimately hang the five highly welcomed heroes on the 27-28 January (2010) night through miscarriage of justice in the worldwide condemned political trial through the Kangaroo Court.

Author: B.K Din