In Quest By Azizus Samad Azad It looks inappropriate to me while writing regarding what I know a very tiny part of my father’s (late) indefatigable political career of Abdus Samad Azad. Since he was a born national political leader therefore I would dishonor to the nation if do not pass his deeds over to the coming generation to serve as a historically political cresset for all of us. My father started his political journey at least two decades before my birth. He was tipped with his political leadership since 1940 when he was designated as president of Sunamganj Student Federation. I could not spend maximum of my time close to him because most time of his life he remained in imprisonment of then ruling dictators or hiding himself from the red eyes of dictators and as his vocal and will against the extreme of the dictators was more stronger therefore he continued in his rest of the time to organize the people against all those evil powers. My father never intended to write his biography. He believed to remain as the evidence of history rather giving any statement of witness. This is the part where I find myself in a difficult position. My father was afraid that his witness will be used by the greedy poisonous serpents of the history by disfiguring history of the country in their way. In my view, the mosaic of the political history of Bangladesh will be more meaningful if his research associates write about his part of struggle. His courage to organize the people by wondering villages and remotest areas of the country is an inspirational stand for the future generation to remain steadfast with the people against all odds. His charismatic political career surely shows the original and practical political ways to the younger generation in the country to follow. His unselfish effort, dedication and devotion towards the country and the people against colonial autocratic regimes will teach the future generation to stay stick to the objectives set forth for future betterment of the people. A great number of devotees were willing to write his autobiography during his life time. I heard some of them saying that my father raised himself to a position where he could be considered as institution, a living legend. Most likely they are more interested to pay their tribute at the alters of inanimate God than a departed legend or they flattered Abdus Samad Azad using the word legend without knowing the depth of the word and without knowing the actual history of Abdus Samad Azad. I believe that the persons like Abdus Samad Azad, with 70 years of dynamic political career, established himself as one of the vital partner in the history of the political leadership of the country, could be considered to be a legend like personality. Due to his unflinching leadership support to the people for their right of freedom against British colonial rule, he became the victim and was imprisoned by British government. He was one of the few politicians who were in jail during all the three tenure of British, Pakistan and Bangladesh governments because he was desperate enough to establish the civic, social and political rights and liberties for the betterment of the people. If we look at his only dedication to the cause against all hardships, you would be obliged to call him as a legend person. While he was the student of Dhaka University, Abdus Samad Azad showed his valiant leadership ignoring the fear of death for language movement. On 21 February 1952 against the section 144 imposed in Dhaka. Abdus Samad Azad, at a meeting of All Party Student 2 Movement Council, expressed his view that a group of 10 students would be more powerful instead of group of 5 people as it would not seem to be a procession or meeting but at the same time we will have an extra strength to resist arrest, however, if any accident occurred that would be treated as violation of civil rights of common students. That proposal was unanimously accepted. Abdus Samad Azad led the first procession of 10 students. Every member of that procession was like a legend. Due to his firm stand against the colonial and autocratic regime, he was declared most wanted dead or alive along with the crock of landed property and all other assets for three times. So I will not be wrong in saying that all the leaders who continued their fight to hoist the flag of progressive politics for seventy years without any political mistakes, scandal, and greed, could be considered as legend like figure. It is a matter of pride that the person like Bangabandhu was born in the country. The vested quarters killed Bangabandhu along with his family members so that he could not move the people in the days to come and flourish his leadership. My father was one of them who worked with Bangabandhu and being close political associate of Bangabandhu, person like Abdus Samad Azad is entitled to be called legend. How many persons like Abdus Samad Azad got the parallel scope to serve the nation holding the same ground with Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Hoque, Hossain Shaheed Sohrawardy and Moulana Bhashani. How many persons like Abdus Samad Azad fortunate enough to get the opportunity to discuss political issues at the same table with the eminent political personalities, who move and shake the history and held the key of turning world history like Mao tsetung, Chow En Lai, Breznev, Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela, Marshal Tito, Robert Kennedy and Indira Gandhi. The persons like Abdus Samad Azad, being one of the main organizers of our liberation war used his skill and insight to identify the liberation war of Bangladesh as the freedom fight not ethnic collision among the rival groups in the eye of world. Why can not we respect him as well using the word legend? He was a part of every parliamentary government in the history of than Pakistan and Bangladesh from 1954 till 2005 and was elected parliament member six times through out his political career with the whole hearted support and devotion of the people of Sunamganj district. He was elected from most of the constituency of the district. He felt proud to introduce himself as the first Foreign Minister of independent Bangladesh. Abdus Samad Azad was one of them who in face of the fear of death after the killing of Bangabandhu remained loyal with his family members. After the killing of the Bagabandhu, Many leaders of the party intended to re establish BAKSAL in stead of Awami League giving the reason that BAKSAL was the final reflection of Bangabandhu’s dream. But BAKSAL was not established due to the firm stand taken by Abdus Samad Azad and Johara Tajuddin and resultantly, the present Awami League was established. Later on, Awami League was about to demolish due to intra conflict in the party. Samad Azad took the initiative to bring Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh in order to keep intact the Awami League. Sheikh Hasina who possessed all political talents being daughter of the great leader accepted this call and took all challenges to lead that Awami League. Few leaders like Samad Azad remained standing with Hasina and moved around all the corners of Bangladesh to organize Awami League. After four years of Bangabandhu’s death, Samad Azad was released from imprisonment and it was Azad who as central leader of Awami League went to Rajshahi 3 and Mymensing to see the family members of martyred Kamruzzaman and Syed Nazrul Islam respectively when the Bangladesh Awami League was scattered and shocked after the killing of Bangabandhu. The twenty two years struggle of Samad Azad to establish parliamentary democracy was like climbing to the mountain tops. He was a whole hearted politician and genuinely a progressive democrat, whose opposition life was an inseparable part of his whole life as well. He was unequaled in respect of the leadership. I never found a wrong political decision taken by him during his 70 years journey on the slippery path of politics. Many of his political colleagues considered his position at Kagmari Conference in 1957 as an exception; but that is not true. In order to realize the then situation, one has to consider that during that period Moulana Bhashani was the most popular leader in East Pakistan who was the President of Awami League and Samad Azad was the Labor Secretary. We have to go more behind and take in to consideration the Lahore Resolution, which says, once Pakistan is formed, every province of that nation would be autonomous. As a result, the complete implementation of Lahore Resolution in true spirit was the major issue and that was what the people of than East Pakistan raised soon after the independence of Pakistan. Thus, the election manifesto of United Front in 1954 was encompassing the same autonomy. In the leadership of Awami League, United Front won the election and formed government but Palace conspiracy started alongside with dirty political games. In course of time history entered into 1957 and under the leadership of Awami League, United Front government was in power with Sohrawardi as the Prime Minister and Moulana Bhashani as the President of that ruling party Awami League. But there was no sign of implementation of the 21 points including autonomy of the provinces. The government was in the chariot of wrong direction. Awami League was against the treaty then made between the USA and Pakistan. But after becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Sohrawardi stood with those treaty. At that transition Kagmari Convention was arranged. Sohrawardi expressed his views that Kagmari Convention was called with financial assistance of India and pointed his finger towards Moulana Bhashani, identifying Moulana Bhashani as an Indian spy. Under these circumstances, Moulana Bhashani told Sohrawardi to resign from the government if he feels uncomfortable to run the government under the party guide line. Sohrawardi did not pay heed to it. As a result Awami League got divided and a new National Awami Party(NAP) was formed under the leadership of Bhashani. Abdus Samad Azad went with NAP. Moulana Bhashani was considered to be the symbol of progressive politics and maximum political activists considered Sohrawardi as puppet in the hands of bureaucrats and reactionary mentor. Shortly, the political activists started suspecting that, conspirators initiated different means to weaken the United Front government and Kagmari Convention was one of those to divide the party. Sohrawardi as a Prime Minister fell in to the machination of the conspirators to weaken the Awami League. However, he also could no longer stand at his own after division the party. It was 1962, when All Party Front was formed again in the name of NDF(National Democratic Front). Abdus Samad Azad became the central NDF office secretary. While NDF was being formed, Bhashani gave his consent from the jail but stood against the NDF soon after his release from the jail. This time Abdus Samad Azad got suspicious regarding the activities of Bhashani and when the NDF was disbanded, Samad Azad returned to Awami League. Then Bangabandhu was the President and Tazuddin Ahmed was Secretary of Awami League. 4 Moulana was a respectable and charismatic leader to the people from all walks of life. But some of his activities raised question. Dividing Awami League and hastily coming out from NDF and standing against the demand of 21 points and in 1966 standing against the six point as well as autonomy were some of the stances which made the Maulana a controversial and contradictory figure. His role during our liberation war was dubious too. After the tragic death of Bangabandhu, Bhashani not only supported General Zia but also merged his organization and party activists(including his party symbol) with the activities of General Zia. The stand of Abdus Samad Azad regarding Generals, were very clear. He used to compare the state and states mechanism with human body. He used to say, if our human body is compared with a country, politicians will be considered to be the guiding force or the brain, all intelligentsia is the backbone. Heart along with all blood circulation systems is economy of the country. My father considered every organ of human body in that way and compared with the state. The skeleton of human body is like geographical boundary of a country and muscles of a human body protecting the skeleton is the people of country. Fleshy organs of a human body are needed to keep up the right temperature like the capitalists of country do but at same time excess of capital can hamper the economy of a country as the excess fat does to the body. In conclusion, he used to say, what would be the role of the armed forces as it is one of the vital institutions of the country. According to him, armed forces are like the immune system or defense mechanism of human body. Some times, handful of the leading officials of this immune system start considering them selves very powerful as they have the capability to inactivate the brain. They start interfering in politics, creates malfunction of political institutions and disfigure political characters. When at some point, these mal-motivated officials of this defense mechanism realize that body is not working properly with the inactivated brain, hurriedly they reactivate the brain with clumsy ways, using high dose of ante-biotic to bring the situation under control. The part of immune system that wanted to deactivate the brain is driven out and they think every thing is back to normal but it is not so. Such irregularities weaken the body resistance. The parasites inside the body are increased due to this extra ordinary phenomenon. Unimaginable pressure imposed on the muscles of the body as all liabilities to activate the body is imposed on the muscles(people). My father used to get disturbed at this point and would say, why all are not capable enough to understand the future crisis of the country and the people. Every page of the world history reveals that politics and defense are cohesive. Where politics is barred, armed forces assist to go ahead. On the other hand, politics is the pilot where army stopped. He would like to give the example of armed forces in Turkey. According to him, the armed forces of all countries play the same role or more. But the defense mechanisms of this country is visible. We have many lessons to learn from them, sooner the better. If we do not learn soon, a time will come when all state organs will be inactivated. The skeleton of the country will remain but poisonous foreign parasites will move within and build their living places in the different organs. That was his perception about political immune system. Child psychology were another his subject. In view of him, the psychology of a new born baby is shaped within a few years and that is the base line of the babys future manhood. In course of growing, the baby cultivates and sharpens that base line. He was one of the architects of the movements in 1983, 1987 and 1990. In formulating the structure of non-partisan caretaker government, he played core role. In response to the question of constituting the frame work for caretaker government, he replied, history repeats its self. This care taker government was an element of human history and we have renovated it. He reminded them about the emergency declared on 24 October 1954 in the then Pakistan. Ghulam Mohammad, 5 one of the bureaucrats was made Prime Minister. In his leadership a cabinet was formed which was identified as the cabinet of talents and this might been the pioneer of the caretaker thought. Despite all out opposition of Awami League along with Moulana Bhashani, Sohrawardi joined the cabinet as law minister. He would not have done it if that had been a bad structural system. On beginning the British colonial rule, they destroyed the economic backbone of the subcontinent. The Muslim population seriously disliked the British colonial rule as they took the power by force from Muslim rulers. For non-cooperation with British rulers, they remained backward in English learning and state power. Through the law, elite Muslims were demolished. On the other hand, Hindus got empowered by getting feudal opportunity and the employment due to indulging British colonial rule. British colonial rulers in 1919 and 1935 arranged election in order to empower native people to run the country in the days to come. From the election in 1919 only 3% and 14% in 1935 people were casting their vote and most of them were Hindu. The influence of it became visible after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. India went ahead constitutionally. But Pakistan chose the way to oppose India due to its constitutional weakness. The ultimate outburst of it was visible in 1957. When Sohrawardi from Awami League was Prime Minister of Pakistan and he identified the President of that Awami League Moulan Bhashani as Indian spy. According to Samad Azad, in 1948, Sher-e-Bangla A K fazlul Huq as the Chief Minister of East Pakistan paid a visit to India and made a memorandum of understanding with India for easy visa and trade and commerce; but the then Pakistani bureaucratic autocrats stood in the way of it. An ethnic and religious hostile attitude was built in cultural and economic fields for lack of amicable bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan. In this part of the world, building good bilateral relation is the only way to re-establish regional economic developments. In order to establish such environment, every country of this sub-continent should respect the religious cultural and traditional history of other nations. In order to remove trade gap, every country should initiate reciprocal efforts. Every country should recognize the share to offer for collective effort to bring economic progress in the region. If economic and social equality among the countries in the region is not established, we shall have to walk backward to the beginning (1947). Now the world is a global village. There is no scope for self-centered satisfaction. Abdus Samad Azad used to enjoy the comments of the report of World Bank made in 1995 for South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and stated, “They have performed an economic miracle.” Those countries faced economic recession after couple of years of that comment. He had a good faith on India. The basic cause that was, many senior politicians of India like Jyoti Basu and I K Gujral were amicable friends being political colleagues even before the partition of India. For that reason, he went to state Chief Minister Jyoti Basu as a Foreign Minister of Bangladesh in order to solve the problems of Farakka Dam and under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he solved that decades old problem. He firmly believed, “If India can respect so many languages, cultures, traditions and history within its own, it must respect the identity of culture, language, tradition and history of other countries too. His solution to minimize the trade gap with India was more broad minded. He said, “Many countries of the world including China and USA have special privileged administrative zone. If India creates such zone with eastern seven states and give access to Bangladesh, it will create broader and deeper business relations with India”. But my father 6 used to plunge into anxiety regarding selfish policies of India. The truth was that India was going ahead in such a way which could be considered to be a wrong way like Pakistan did in the decade of 1950. If India would allow the USA to establish military establishment on Indian soil through any treaty by keeping China apart and initiate the same counter policy, China would not stay idly for India. China might move toward Far East. India could feel comfortable for a while as India could play dominant role in the region and might be able to take camouflaged institutional positions in the sub-continental countries but none can walk backward towards future, only the good will of China, USA and all the countries of the sub-continent will be able to find a solution to avoid the future turbulence of this region. Peaceful coexistence is impossible without the grand unity of interest and peace which is achievable only by serving the equal mutual interest of all nations of this subcontinent. Now we neither have Abdus Samad Azad nor the leaders like Moulana Bhashani, Hossain Shaheed Sohrawardi, Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Huq, Syed Nazrul Islam or Tajuddin Ahmed. The unparalleled personality like Bangabandhu comes one in thousand years. Who will dictate us the safe heaven? Where is such foresighted man? Who will stand by us in time of our wail and vow? Who will give us the fearless dictation? Summer does not come by the chirping of a sparrow. We all are like a sparrow in comparison of those noble men. In spite learning the fact that summer will not set in by our effort; but some sparrows like us will continue chirping so that when by virtue of nature and by virtue of history, summer would be able to step in one day, then we can say, oh! Summer we were in prayer to get you and we adore you. Oh! Summer, you enlighten us with the warmth of inspiration; with that inspiration let us utter the slogan once, that, this country is ours. I learnt one thing from my father that, the history of the people of this country is an epic of peace. They are serious patriots. They dont posses charismatic hypnotizing power. They have no magical connection. They have never got their due heroic complement and they are least bothered about that but these heroic people are not familiar with the word defeat and thus when the limit crosses its line, they drive out all injustice. Those people, who can grow golden fiber by diving deep into the water, must be able to build the glittering Bangladesh if they get opportunity. Now it is the turn of waiting for that time when this country will be for all not for any vested quarter.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 09:49:06 +0000
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