A statement in parliament by Shahjahan Chowdhury, an MP from Chittagong-15 elected on a Jamaat-e-Islami ticket, claiming that the party had campaigned for the release of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the Agartala Conspiracy Case, has sparked fresh debate.
He claimed that Jamaat at the time had representation in the Democratic Action Committee (DAC), which worked for Sheikh Mujib’s release. According to him, the committee’s secretary was Ghulam Azam, while the joint secretary of another organization in the alliance was the late Abdus Samad Azad.
He made these remarks on Tuesday, the 23rd day of the first session of the 13th National Parliament, during a discussion on the motion of thanks on the president’s address.
His statement has triggered wide discussion in political circles, with many offering different interpretations. Did Jamaat really campaign for Bangabandhu’s release? If it did, why was it kept undisclosed for so long? Such questions are now being raised.
However, several veteran politicians and analysts have described the claim as a form of falsehood. They believe such assertions are being brought forward to divert attention from the party’s controversial role during the Liberation War.
When asked, former Ducsu vice-president and veteran politician Mujahidul Islam Selim told Bangla Tribune that such a claim is “completely absurd.” He said that the core demand of the 1969 mass movement led by the Student Action Committee was the resignation of Pakistan’s then President Ayub Khan. It also included the withdrawal of the Agartala Conspiracy Case and the release of political prisoners, among whom was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“But the movement was not organised around a single demand,” he said, adding that many, including Professor Mozzaffar Ahmed, were involved, though he was not aware whether Ghulam Azam’s name was included. He termed the claim “ridiculous.”
Eleven-point movement demands
The records show that in 1968 demands began to grow for the withdrawal of the Agartala Conspiracy Case. An all-party Student Action Committee was formed in 1969 based on an eleven-point charter. It included eight political parties, such as the Awami League (six-point faction), National Awami Party (Wali Khan group), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.
Key demands included reform of the education system and repeal of the controversial University Ordinance; incorporation of Bangabandhu’s six-point program; withdrawal of the Agartala Conspiracy Case and release of political prisoners; guarantee of voting rights and parliamentary democracy; autonomy for East Pakistan and removal of economic disparity; nationalisation of banks, insurance, jute and heavy industries; reduction of taxes and rents on farmers and ensuring fair prices for jute; minimum wages and the right to strike for workers; and withdrawal from SEATO and CENTO alliances.
It is also learned that the intensity of the movement forced Ayub Khan to eventually withdraw the Agartala Conspiracy Case unconditionally and release Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on February 22, 1969. Ayub Khan, in power since October 1958, resigned on March 25, 1969 and was succeeded by the army chief, General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan.
What did Shahjahan Chowdhury say in parliament?
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Shahjahan Chowdhury said that questions have been raised about the history of the Liberation War and freedom fighters.
He said Jamaat had already given a clear position and urged that the present Jamaat-e-Islami should not be judged or blamed based on past history. According to him, Jamaat’s history is one of restoring democracy wherever it was undermined.
He said that when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested in the Agartala Conspiracy Case, Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan, through the Pakistan Democratic Movement, had campaigned for his release.
He further claimed that Jamaat not only campaigned but that its former amir led the movement, and that a Democratic Action Committee formed for Sheikh Mujib’s release had Professor Ghulam Azam as secretary, while Abdus Samad Azad served as a joint secretary from another organisation in the alliance.
He also claimed that Jamaat had provided the highest financial support for Sheikh Mujib’s release during the Pakistan period.
According to him, Jamaat’s history is one of establishing people’s rights and democracy, and that labels repeatedly attached to the party have not been accepted by the public.
How credible is the claim?
There is no specific historical evidence supporting Shahjahan Chowdhury’s claim that Jamaat organized movements or provided financial support for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s release in 1969.
However, records show that among representatives of eight parties in the then Democratic Action Committee, the name of Miah Mohammad Tofail, acting amir of Pakistan Jamaat at the time, appears. But, as per Chowdhury’s claim, Ghulam Azam’s name was not found.
Veteran politicians also rejected the notion that the committee had worked solely for Sheikh Mujib’s release.
They said the movement was part of the broader eleven-point agitation aimed at the fall of Ayub Khan, in which the Agartala Conspiracy Case accused were one component.
Political analyst and general secretary of the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, Saiful Haque, told Dhaka Tribune that it was for the first time that he was hearing that Jamaat had campaigned for Sheikh Mujib’s release.
“However, I am not dismissing his claim outright,” he said, adding that it is questionable why such an issue is being raised after so long. He believes more such claims may emerge to cover up the crimes of 1971, but added that such attempts would not succeed in misleading the people.
Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikya, said he was also unaware of such claims and was hearing them for the first time.
