AFM Bahauddin Nasim, joint general secretary of the Awami League, is one of the prominent leaders who suffered serious shrapnel injuries during the grenade attack on August 21, 2004. As the president of the Awami Swechchhasebak League, Nasim was a close aide of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina. In an interview with Dhaka Tribune Chief Reporter Ali Asif Shawon, the veteran politician narrated the events that took place on the day of the heinous attack.
Tell us about the 21 August Grenade attack, as you were present there.
Like the other programs of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, I was present there as I was the president of the Awami Swechchhasebak League at the time. A peace rally was called against the terror attack in Sylhet, where then-British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury was injured along with some Awami League leaders.
An open truck was used as the temporary stage for this rally; its position was the west face of Bangabandhu Avenue, the central party office of the Awami League. Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and senior leaders of the party, including the late Zillur Rahman, the late Abdul Jalil, Mofazzel Hossain Chowdhury Maya, the late Mohammad Hanif, and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, were on the stage.
Ivy Rahman, Obaidul Quader, Nirmal Goswami, me, and others were just beside the stage, by the stairs of the truck, and we were waiting to see off the party president in her car as she was about to finish her speech as the chief guest of the peace rally.
However, when the speech of Sheikh Hasina had just ended, grenades were suddenly hurled at the stage. Such a heinous attack on a political rally was totally unprecedented in Bangladesh, especially with the leader of the opposition in parliament at the time being the prime target.
What was it like in the aftermath of the grenade attack?
It was like a holocaust, with the total area of Bangabandhu Avenue showered with the blood of Awami League leaders and activists within just a moment. Awami League President Sheikh Hasina was saved because party leaders and her security officials formed a human shield to protect her.
Sheikh Hasina’s survival was miraculous. As many as 12 rounds of bullets were shot at her car while she was hurriedly being taken away to a safer location. However, the bullets could not penetrate the bulletproof vehicle carrying Bangabandhu's daughter.
Immediately after the attack, Sheikh Hasina was cordoned off in a car and taken to her residence, Sudha Sadan, in Dhanmondi.
The attack was beyond our imagination. Hundreds of women leaders and activists of the Awami League, including our Ivy Rahman, were just in front of the stage, and all of them were severely injured.
We have never witnessed such a holocaust in our life. The people were crying and asking for help but no one, not even members of law enforcement agencies, came to save us as it was a preplanned attack by the government party, which we came to know later.
Where did you get treatment?
I had doubts about receiving treatment at the Dhaka Medical College, so I asked the party men who rescued me to bring me to the Bangladesh Medical College in Dhanmondi. Later, we came to know that injured leaders and activists who were rushed to the Dhaka Medical College faced negligence, and some of them died without getting proper treatment due to the non-cooperation from the authorities.
Doctors at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi recovered around 25 pieces of shrapnel from several limbs of my body, and I am still carrying a number of shrapnel pieces inside my body, which give me pain regularly at certain times.
By the grace of Allah, I can still physically move, but a lot of leaders and activists in our party have lost their mobility. Some of them were injured for life due to that heinous attack, which was patronized by the Khaleda Zia-led government.
