‘I read about my father’s death in a magazine’

On the November 3 of 1975, four leaders of the wartime Bangladesh government – acting president Syed Nazrul Islam, the country’s first prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansur Ali and AHM Qamruzzaman – were brutally murdered inside Dhaka Central Jail. AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, an eminent politician in Rajshahi, reminisced about his father AHM Qamruzzaman with the Dhaka Tribune to mark this sad and historic day. “AHM Qamruzzaman was my father, and he was also one of the men who were directed by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to lead the oppressed people of Bangladesh during a crucial moment of the country’s entire history,” said Liton. Describing a childhood memory, he said: “Father admitted me in Class I at PN High School [which was co-ed at that time] in Rajshahi. I refused to stay at school and started crying loudly, while holding the window bars. My father told the teacher in a stern voice to take me to class.” Liton remembered that Qamruzzaman treated his sons to Hilsa dishes when they visited him from Kolkata during school holidays in June-July of 1975. That was the last time that the brothers saw their father alive. “Following the murder of Bangabandhu on August 15, Bangladesh was thrown into a great crisis. The supporters of Pakistani regime started killing the leaders of Awami League to render the newborn nation leaderless.” Detailing the last days of Qamruzzaman, Liton said: “My father went into hiding at a residence in Dhanmondi. But he could not spend a day without talking to people and inquiring about their problems. “The anti-liberation forces tracked him down easily, and took him and three other national leaders to Dhaka Central Jail. Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed later led a team of culprits to murder these patriots.” Remembering the dark day, Liton said he and his brother received news about his father’s death from a magazine, while studying at a school in Kolkata. “My brother started crying. We had no other guardian in Kolkata. We wanted to go home, but the school authority did not allow it for the sake of our safety. My father’s body was brought from Dhaka to Rajshahi for burial. We could not even see his face for a final time,” he added. AHM Khairuzzaman Liton was born in Kadirganj neighbourhood of Rajshahi city on August 14, 1959. He was the fourth child of AHM Qamruzzaman Hena and Jahanara Zaman. Liton spent his childhood in Rajshahi, and his high school, college and university years in Kolkata, India. He was a seventh grader during the Liberation War in 1971. Liton made his debut in politics in 1981, as he was awarded the position of Jubo League vice-president of ward 3 of Rajshahi city. Liton was an Awami League-backed contender in the Rajshahi 2 constituency during the seventh general polls in 1996, and in the eighth general polls in 2001. He was elected mayor after a landslide victory in the Rajshahi City Corporation election on August 4, 2008.