ABDUS SAMAD AZAD AND POLITICS OF HIS TIME Abul Maal A Muhith 4 May 2008 Abdus Samad Azad died an octogenarian in 2005 but maintained the vitality of youth throughout his long life. It is a great tribute to his active habits and indomitable spirit that he maintained good cheer and physical vibrancy despite the many bouts with imprisonment, flight from law-enforcing agencies, torture and highhanded behavior from law on the streets and in imprisonment, as w ell as false and concocted criminal cases. This tells the story of the rotten state of Bangladesh politics and at the same time of the courage and endurance of politicians like Samad Azad and the life-giving power of public service. Yes, it was the concern for public welfare that sustained his spirit and youth against such evil odds. He began his political career in British India, lived through the colonial experience in Pakistan and finally began shaping the politics of Bangladesh. As ill luck would have it that nation-building enterprise was cut short by a dastardly counter-revolution, whose evil impact is yet to be overcome. In tune with the politics of his time he was an ardent leftist and that marked him for greater torture and harassment under Pakistan as well as under military rule and its followers in Bangladesh. Abdus Samad was born on 19 January 1922 in a remote village named Burhakhali in Jagannathpur thana of Sunamganj. All his life he was a politician and v ery few can match his 65 years in leadership positions in politics. He enjoyed good health despite hardship and except for the last few months he was always fit. He passed away on 27 April 2005 just after a few day s of his participation in public demonstrations in Sylhet and Dhaka. When he began politics in 1940, it was War time and the demand in India was for a fair deal after the War from the colonial rulers. When he died in 2005, it was war time of another kind when the nation was fighting to get rid of a cruel, corrupt and wicked government that had set up an unprecedented standard of illiberal democracy patronizing terrorism, looting national wealth and abridging human rights with an air of limitless impunity . It was, indeed, lucky that Abdus Samad died a natural death when many of his colleagues were victims of gunfire, grenade attack and bomb blast by extremists patronized by a section of an evil government. As self-government became inevitable in British India the country was plagued by the poison of communalism. The call for Pakistan was a matter of 1930s and initially it sounded rather wishful and unrealistic. But the unfortunate experience with Congress governments in sev en provinces of India in 1937 -39 period gave the idea some definite shape in March 1940 as Muslim League demanded autonomous states constituted by Muslim majority regions in the north-west (Punjab, NWFP, Sind, Kashmir and Baluchistan) and the east (Bengal and Assam). In 1945-46 in the national elections Muslim League claimed the support of Muslims to belie the Congress assertion of their support among all Indians including Muslims. And in a way the Muslim League proved its point even though it failed to form government in the Punjab, Kashmir and NWFP.* The Second World War delayed the independence of India but not for too long mainly because of the commitment of President Roosevelt for decolonization. But communalism prevailed even when in 1946 an agreement was nearly reached on a Confederation in India with autonomy to the Groups of states as per the Cabinet Mission Plan. The solution finally found in 1947 was the partition of the country into India and Pakistan. Even before the concept could be elaborated and the plan of a geographically div ided Pakistan could be chalked out, the partition plan of the last British Viceroy Lord Lo uis Mountbatten created a ‘moth -eaten’ Pakistan and an ‘imperialist’ India. That was 1 4th August for Pakistan and 15th August for India in 1947. This ‘shameful flight’ of the British colonialists engendered an unprecedented communal carnage and caused the largest migration in human history. Bengal was finally partitioned along with the Punjab to form the new state of Pakistan and Pakistan really rested on three pillars of support. Bengal and Sind were the two main pillars who among all the Muslim majority provinces had returned the Muslim League to power, Husain Shaheed Suhrawardy in Bengal and Sir Ghulam Husain Hidayatullah in Sind. The other pillar was the goodwill of the Muslim minority provinces of India where Muslim League had full support of the Muslims. Once Pakistan was there the nation building effort was derailed pretty early mainly because of the parochialism of politicians and the self-seeking stance of the military-bureaucracy elite of Pakistan, both of whom were predominantly from West Pakistan. The Bengali leadership was too patriotic or perhaps too naive or subservient to stand up for their legitimate interests. The capital of the country and all important national offices were located in West Pakistan. The political power was concentrated among the West Pakistanis almost to the exclusion of the Bengalis. The military as also the bureaucracy was virtually West Pakistani in its domicile. On top of it Bangla despite being the language of 63 percent of Pakistanis * was not made an official language of the country. The solid Muslim unity for the Pakistan movement eroded soon after the achievement of the goal. The rift between the progressives and the conservatives who joined hands for Pakistan could not be there anymore as different nation-building ideology came to the forefront. The youth of East Pakistan could not accept the position of second class citizens of the country. A kind of nexus between the leftists and the anti-establishmentarians was automatically formed. Abdus Samad naturally joined this group. He was elected President of Muslim Students Federation of Sylhet that succeeded the Assam Muslim Students Federation in Pakistan in 1947 . As the leader of this Federation he cut out his leadership role in the Bangla Language Movement in 1948. On 11 January he led a delegation to Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, Pakistani Minister for Communication, and demanded among other things that Bangla should be a state language of Pakistan. Sardar Nishtar was the first Central Minister of Pakistan to v isit Sy lhet. Later on 25 February when the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan turned down the proposal of Dhirendra Nath Datta, an MCA from Comilla, to adopt Bangla as one of the languages of the Assembly, Sy lhet students and citizens protested against it. Abdu s Samad as the leader of students along with Muslim Mahila League and Tomoddun Majlis of Sy lhet called a protest meeting on 8 March at Gov ind Park. In 1952 Samad was in Dhaka where he had moved for higher studies. At the famous Amtala meeting in the Dhaka University Arts campus where the assembled students disagreeing with the request of the All Parties State Language Committee of Action decided to violate the restrictions under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code,* it was Abdus Samad who gav e the formula that in batches of ten students would go out of the campus into the streets. The order of the District Magistrate was not warranted by the prevailing circumstances and the incumbent DM refused to issue the restrictions and then he was transferred overnight and a successor was appointed who obliged the political masters, whose main intention was to suppress anti-establishment forces. On 4 January 1948 progressive students breaking away from the pro-establishment All East Pakistan Muslim Students’ League formed an Organizing Committee for a new East Pakistan Muslim Students League and this began the glorious chapter of student politics in East Pakistan, nay Pakistan. The students spearheaded the democratic movement in Pakistan, sought the end of arbitrary ru le of the elite and stood for equity and justice in social relations. They led the movements for universal basic education as well as for livable wages for the low-paid employees. The first truly opposition political party in the country – East Pakistan Awami Muslim League – indeed, followed the lead of the EPMSL a year and a half later on 23 June 1949. Samad Azad did not join the EPMSL; instead the secular left set up the Youth League in March 1951.But Samad remained with the mainstream democratic front o f anti-establishment forces and fought valiantly in the SM Hall students’ union election on 27 January 1 95 2 for the progressive front called Avijatri. He lost by only six votes in a tripartite election, where narrow parochial district interests were more prominent in those days. In the provincial assembly election in March 1954 the opposition forces in East Pakistan put up a United Front against the Muslim League. Naturally many opportunists such as Nezam e Islam joined the Front that splintered the Front after the election. Any way , the United Front inflicted a crushing defeat to the political party in power,who secured only 11 seats in a house of 309 members. Abdus Samad Azad won the election as a UF candidate from Jagannathpur in Sy lhet. That was the beginning of his legislative career and throughout his life he remained a legislator as long as assembly functioned. He set a new trend among the Muslims in the politics in Sy lhet, he was a commoner to hold the reins of power and prestige. In Pakistan as also in Bangladesh the Assembly remained suspended for many y ears through the courtesy of the Armed Forces of the countries, who felt tempted every now and then to conquer their own countries illegally. Ayub’s Martial law suspended the National A ssembly an d the provincial assemblies from October 1958 till March 1962 and then he had two parliaments elected by Basic Democrats in 1962 and 1967. Yahya’s Martial Law did the same from Marc h 1 969 till Dec ember 1 97 0 . General Zia’s Martial Law suspended the Assembly from November 1975 till February 1979 and then elected a pre-determined list of candidates. General Ershad’s Martial Law suspended the parliament from March 1 982 till October 1986 and he then got a parliament through media-coup. He also had an unrepresentative parliament from March 1988 till December 1990. A similar parliament was instituted by Khaleda Zia in February 1996 for only about a month. Abdus Samad won in 1954, 1970, 1973, 1991, 1996 and 2001. Abdus Samad joined Awami League in 1954 and held positions in the Party secretariat. In March 1957 the Party began to split on the issue of foreign policy followed by Prime Minister H S Suhrawardy . The pro-West policy of the Prime Minister was against the non-aligned policy of the Party. A rift between Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, the leftist President of the Party, and the Prime Minister, splintered the Party . Maulana Bhashani floated the National Awami Party in July 1957 and a number of leftist AL members including Abdus Samad left the Party. Abdus Samad was a full-time politician and had very little time for an alternative profession. Briefly he served as a school teacher in the early 1950s and later as an Insurance executive during Ayub’s Martial Law. But most of the time in Pakistan he was either in detention or hiding from the jaws of the law-enforcing agencies. The progressive forces went through a very uncertain period during Ayub’s Martial Law. Field Marshall Ayub targeted the Awami League as well as the NAP for suppression. But his policy of friendship with China enamored the pro-Chinese Communist followers and they started supporting him. But under Ay ub the total denial of power to the Bengalis (which Ay ub acknowledged in his farewell speech in February 1969) and the growing economic disparity between the two regions did not go down well with the anti-AL progressive elements as well. His adventure in Kashmir in 1965 also weakened his position in East Pakistan. At that opportune moment Bangabandhu came up with the Six Points Program in February 1966, affirmed by the AL in March later. This was a historic moment for the progressive elements in East Pakistan. As usual the students took the catalytic and the leading role. Bangabandhu was arrested on 8 May 1966 but he had spread the word and on 7 June Six Points became the slogan of the y outh of East Pakistan. All progressive students, including pro-China and pro-Soviet Students’ Unions, joined Students’ League to celebrate 21 February in 1967 together. The political leaders did not stay much behind and their unity was ex pedited by Ayub’s Agartala conspiracy case against Bangabandhu that began in January 1968. Abdus Samad Azad formally returned to AL in 1969. He became the President of Sy lhet Zila Awami League that y ear, a position he held till Liberation. Abdus Samad Azad was a very important functionary in the War of Liberation. He was not a member of the small Cabinet in Mujibnagar but he was an Adviser to the Government and a close confidante of Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed. His missions to Delhi were many and momentous. He represented Bangladesh in Budapest Peace conference in May 197 1. There were many international conferences on Bangladesh crisis in 1971 and almost invariably they supported the cause of Bangladesh. But the Budapest conference was very important in so far as it took place so early after the resistance had begun in Bangladesh. It was also very important because in its Declaration on 10 May it asked for direct action against the marauders of Pakistan. Abdus Samad was also a member of the Bangladesh delegation to the United Nations General Assembly session in 197 1, led by Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhuiry . Bangladesh delegation was not an official mission in so far as the UNGA Accreditation Committee did not accept the credentials of a nonmember. But the delegation was important to flag the existence of the Bangladesh Government at Mujibnagar. It also did a lot of lobby ing not only in the corridors of the UN buildings but also in the diplomatic missions in New Y ork, Bengali pressure groups in USA, Friends of Bangladesh groups in USA and the US academia. It was also a powerful force in the media and a presence in an international gathering that could not be brushed aside. Soon after the surrender of Pakistan in Dhaka o n 27 December Abdus Samad Azad assumed the charge of Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh. He had a special role to play in setting the direction of Bangladesh foreign policy in its formative stage. Bangabandhu is acknowledged as the best architect of the foreign policy of the country. The direction laid down by him still governs the foreign policy of the country and temporary aberrations are always set on the right course after a little experience by every government of Bangladesh so far. Enmity towards none and charity towards all may be a hackneyed expression but in the early days of Bangladesh it was a difficult and bold policy to formulate given the emotive background of the cruel Liberation War and enmity from so many circles. The policy of non-alignment still holds. The avoidance of dependence on any country or any block is still the ideal we follow. Economic diplomacy is still at the core of our policy. In most of this basic policy making effort Samad Azad played a positive role. In the later AL period from 1996 through 2001 when again he was the Foreign Minister of Sheikh Hasina he was, indeed, a doy en in the diplomatic world. His natural amiability and laid-back style was an asset in diplomacy. Bangladesh still has to live up to its lofty ideals. It is not y et the Switzerland of Asia, it is not a transit country that it should be. Its role in the human rights field is dismal, but that is an unfortunate legacy of successive martial regimes both direct and disguised. Abdus Samad Azad was a politician per excellence dedicated to public service. Jagannathpur will remember him for all time to come but on his part there was no indecent and unethical craze for immortalizing himself or his family at the expense of the state, which incidentally was the hallmark of the wicked Khaleda-Nizami Rajakar regime. At the critical hour he was the public servant, he was the progressive leader. In the Shahjalal University naming crisis of 1998, Samad Azad was the secular standard bearer. Abdus Samad Azad represented politics in a classic sense. He proved, indeed, that politics is the perfect art of compromise. Even in the day s of acute divisive politics of Bangladesh he was the one politician who had friends across political divides and coteries. Yes, was he involved in factionalism and coteries within his Party? It would be untrue to deny the reality. Men are not infallible angels. But his strength was his loyalty to the leadership of the Party. Sheikh Hasina had a trusted and a loyal deputy. In the dark days of Khaleda Nizami evil regime Samad Azad was around from day one till he breathed his last, courageous in protest, shroud in strategy and always loyal to the Party and its leadership. He is lucky, indeed, that he did not witness the trashing of politicians by stupid state functionaries and talk-show clowns of the current rudderless regime. * In the central Assembly Muslim League won all the Muslim seats. But in NWFP it scored 17 out of 36, in the Punjab 7 5 out of 86, in Sind 27 out of 35, in Assam 31 out of 34 and in Bengal 113 out of 119. * At the time of partition it was 63 percent but larger refugee flow in West Pakistan reduced it to 56 percent later. * Under Section 144 Cr. P.C. it was ordered by the District Magistrate of Dhaka on 20 February that for the next month no gathering or demonstration of more than five people would be allowed in the city with a view to preventing any possible breach of peace.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 02:07:44 +0000