His blood shall never dry! By Anis Ahmed

His blood shall never dry!

Anis Ahmed

 

"In Bangabandhu's death Bangladesh lost its founding father. The first spell of democracy and rights of the people became hostage to military rules soon. Some of his own political party Awami League then sided with the killers and joined the government of Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad -- a Bangabandhu's loyal turned betrayer and stooge of the killers."

 

At that fateful dawn in a two-storey house at Road 32 of Dhanmondi residential area, blood spilled profusely on the stairs and floors when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, and most of his family members were gunned down by renegade army officers who wrote the darkest chapter in the history of independent Bangladesh.

 

It was August 15, 1975. Bangabandhu and his loved ones lay lifeless in pools of blood for hours under the hawkish stare of the killers who had showed him to exit from the world.

 

The tragedy happened, provoked by some crooked politicians, in less than four years after Bangladesh had won independence from Pakistan riding on the freedom model built and pursued by Bangabandhu that the unpatriotic, power hungry, disgruntled monsters in army uniform could not accept to tolerate.

 

Bangabandhu died a hero's death, so were his wife Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, his sons Sheikh Kamal and Sheikh Jamal, their wives. Little Russel, Bangabandhu's youngest son, had also to bite the bullets and killed. Bangabandhu kept his head high as ever even facing the guns and refused to submit to the threats of the killers. He did not beg for mercy and upheld the cause for which he sacrificed his entire life that made him the unparalleled leader of not only Bangladesh but of the freedom-loving world.

 

In Bangabandhu's death Bangladesh lost its founding father. The first spell of democracy and rights of the people became hostage to military rules soon. Some of his own political party Awami League then sided with the killers and joined the government of Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad -- a Bangabandhu's loyal turned betrayer and stooge of the killers. Sadly, at that wee hour no one who could probably save the Prime Minister (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) and his pals in that fateful dawn, including then army chief Major General Shafiullah and his deputy Ziaur Rahman remained mysteriously away - and Shafiullah did not respond to Bangabandhu's phone call for help.

 

It is alleged with due credibility that Shafiullah behaved like a coward while Major General Ziaur Rahman was part of a conspiracy to kill Bangabandhu. Zia's accession to power as Chief Martial Law Administrator after throwing away Mostaq adds credibility to the claim on him being a mastermind of Mujib's killing.

 

The killers buried all the dead but Bangabandhu in a Dhaka graveyard and flew him in a military helicopter, before the public became aware of what had happened at Bangabandhu's house, to Tungipara, his ancestral home in Gopalganj district. There he was buried in a hurry unceremoniously at a desolate place with some poor, shivering relatives watching from distance and shedding tears. Bangabandhu, without whom we would not have achieved independence and have a homeland of our own, has since rested there in peace.

 

On August 15 every year Bangladesh now under the rule of his daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina observes the tragic anniversary as National Mourning Day throughout the country. Droves of people pay respect at his Tungipara graveside and also at the gravesides of Mujib's family members in the capital Dhaka. August 15 has been a sad anniversary always and shall remain so.

Once the dead bodies were removed, Bangabandhu's house at Road 32, Dhanmondi, was cleaned and the bloods swiped away by the killers or his ardent followers once the rebels had left the place. The house was later converted into a museum showing Bangabandhu's lifetime mementos and memories. Thousands of people including foreign dignitaries visit the museum, pay respect to one of history's most prominent leaders and sign the condolence book.

 

But we know the invisible stains of blood still litter that house - because Bangabandhu's blood can never dry. It will remain there as long as Bangladesh lives and continue to bleed from the loss of the Father of the Nation and the wounds inflicted upon the nation.

The killers cut his life short, deprived the nation of a paramount leader who no one else would ever match. His indomitable spirits and towering personality shall remain alive ever to guide Bangladesh for many years to come.

Making an assessment of Bangabandhu as a leader, of his ideals and ideologies would need volumes of research works and notations. He was a leader who cannot be tied in any frame other than himself.

August 15 has returned to us with loads of pain and anger but also reminds us of an extraordinary human who can only be compared with a lion full of rage, passion, love and smile even at hard times. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be physically missed forever but remembered until the last of Bengali is alive.