It is Armed Forces Day today. When it comes to anything that involves the armed forces, I cannot help but take pride in it. It possibly runs in my blood, as my father was an army officer martyred in the 1971 War of Independence.
Born in 1971 with the start of the Independence War at the call of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, it has grown steadily with only a few incidents that tarnished its image temporarily. One must remember that the 1975 coup that killed Bangabandhu and most of his family was the act of only a few derailed personnel.
With regards to the 1981 and 1986 abortive coups, it was the same case. In the 1981 abortive coup, General Ziaur Rahman was killed along with a few others. But in 1996, the attempt was nipped in the bud before it could cause any national disaster, thanks to the steps taken by the larger section of the armed forces.
The November 3, 1975 killing of four national leaders in jail was also an act of coup leaders who wanted to wipe out the Awami League leadership,for which they also killed almost the entire Sheikh family. What happened on November 7, 1975 is a heartrending episode for the force.
Very early in the morning, one of my friends telephoned me, and he was crying. His army officer mother, who was serving as a doctor, was shot and bayonetted to death by soldiers. Then came the news that my mother’s elder brother, a lieutenant colonel, was picked up by the soldiers and had remained missing for a long time. He returned home late in the evening after being harassed the whole day.
It was labelled “sepoy mutiny.” The batman in our home turned ferocious overnight, but spared us as there was no officer to kill. But for a few scanty benefits, including the withdrawal of batmen from officers’ residences, it only benefitted a handful of those who rose to power and randomly sacked or killed freedom fighters in the forces.
The armed forces are an important national institution, and individuals as well as organisations must address it with deep respect. During the widespread violence in the run-up to the January 5, 2014 elections, BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia, pointing at the forces, said they could not sit “idle” in such a situation.
But her call was ignored and the three service chiefs told a parliamentary committee that they would uphold the constitution. It was in tune with what Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the BBC in an interview. She said she would reject any such adventurism.
The days of adventurism and power greed are over. Senior army officers told me that there has been a sea-change in the forces. The officers and troops now have the opportunity for special education and training, besides many overseas missions with the United Nations. The members of the armed forces understand that being professional would help them as well as the country. Politics are for politicians, and they would uphold the constitution and serve the political government of the day.
Some had hoped for a development like 1/11 when the military-backed caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed took charge of the country. But a major reason that it happened, as I have been told by some officers, was because of the way the forces were treated by the BNP-Jamaat government. Those who led the takeover were all trusted and appointed by the BNP-Jamaat government.
In contrast, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina followed the rules, and her appointment of army chief General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, over other aspirants said to be close to the government, was appreciated by the rank and file. It also gave the message to those who would have tried to exploit a different appointment that she was strictly following the rules in the best interests of the forces.
I had the opportunity of working with General Bhuiyan when he was the chief of general staff (CGS) in the army headquarters. A soft-spoken man with forward looking ideas, he gave me valuable suggestions when I was making the first ever themed documentary on the forces, called “Our Glorious Armed Forces.” He gave me ideas on how to cover the Hill Tracts so that it helped in restoring peace in the southeastern region.
The armed forces have built roads and bridges as well as other infrastructure in the country, besides their praiseworthy role during natural calamities. I witnessed their hard work during the major 1988 and 1998 floods. Members of the armed forces delivered food and medicine to the remotest areas by boats and helicopters day and night, saving millions of lives.
Many flood-hit people were taken to safety. In 1998, an international UN organisation had said that it feared 2 million people may die unless proper food and medicine was delivered on time. The forces, along with volunteers from across the society, delivered, and only a few died, mostly from snake bites or drowning.
Talking of UN missions is nothing but a matter of great pride. Our soldiers have won the hearts of the people wherever they have gone. I was on a few missions to shoot for documentaries and came back proud. In Liberia, local people wrote songs dedicated to our troops, while in some other places, roads and towns have been named after our men in uniform.
This maturity of the forces has resulted in many advantages.
First, it has brought international respect for the forces as well as the country, and the confidence of the people in general, that they truly are supporters of democracy as well as professionals without political ambition.
Second, they can compete with any other country as professionals. Nobody is going to tell them that they are powermongers.
Third, the leadership has warned that any attempt to tarnish the image of the forces will be dealt with a tough hand.
Salute to our armed forces.