Behind the tragedy there lies a deep-rooted conspiracy. The conspiracy may have kicked off well before the liberation of the country, because there were many stakeholders, from Capitol Hill to the Great Wall. Local and global actors were dreaming of reaping the benefits of a newborn land. Some planned to thwart the struggle and keep Pakistan intact, and so there were multi-dimensional forces at work.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were brutally killed in Dhanmondi, along with his relatives in other parts of the city, in the early hours of August 15, 1975. But as time passes and new evidence emerges, we are taken over by disgust when we learn of the remarks (on his death) from those who were unsuspecting characters till yesterday. Not only did we honour them as heroes of the time, we castigated their opponents as enemies of the people.
If we go by the press reports, we can see the comments made by the prominent political, defence, and social actors of the time. Someone said the body of Sheikh Mujib should have been thrown in the Bay of Bengal instead of being buried. Another said this was the end of a pharaoh. While another remarked that God had saved the country, and so on.
The then diehard oppositions of Sheikh Mujib are still alive and well. They are now enjoying power, position, and wealth. They speak differently though. They will make a U-turn tomorrow when things go wrong for them. Just trace the line to 1975 and the time prior to that, and recollect the faces that were in politics belonging to different parties.
They delivered fiery statements (during those times) that did not comply with the political realities. They threatened to carry out movements to establish a classless society and a master-less system. They had conspired to do things that weren’t only detrimental to the new Bangladesh, but also dangerous to the constitutional rule of the time. They took chances everywhere. The newborn state was in shambles. It was a war-ravaged country that we had in the winter of 1971.
It was the time of the gun-wielding Mukti Bahinis, with revenge running in the veins of Bengalis. It was the hiding time for the collaborators, and there were vultures in the skies of Bangladesh. Taking advantage of that situation, the so-called “communists,” the self-styled reds (leftists), the Naxal followers, the disciples of Marx, Engels, and Lenin – all had suddenly emerged to share the spoils. They dreamt of a society that was a far cry from reality.
They wreaked havoc in the rural areas. Rampant killings of landlords or the well-to-do people in the villages and district towns were regular news. The victims were painted as collaborators or semi-bourgeois.
Apart from this group of hypocrites and spineless parasites, we have another group talking big about the event and charging everyone for the happening, trying to shrug off the responsibility that they failed to carry out during those turbulent days.
A layman would ask, after the brutality carried out in the early hours: Why were the renegades allowed to picnic in Bangabhaban for days together? Why didn’t the army or the Rakkhi Bahini take on the killers? From what we understand, they were few in number, so what really stopped the force under the then chief of army staff from fighting the plotters?
The conspiracy theory apart, what answers do we have for these straight questions? The self-confessed killers came to light. Some of them have walked the gallows while some remain at large. Who acted behind the scenes? Who remained silent, or gave tacit support to the changeover?
There ought to be a thorough investigation of the 1975 mutiny. A complete check should be made of the events right after January, 1972 (or even before that) to find out the acts of those who changed their hues over time. Let the people know more about the conspiracy, and let the nation unmask those who now shed crocodile tears.
New details of the involvement of Indian agents, the CIA, and local bodies will give us interesting breakthroughs. We know how the big agencies operate and their cunning ways to get things done.
The truth eventually surfaces. When it does, the real man (or force) will come to the fore. A layman wants nothing but the truth. We should know what transpired in the corridors of power prior to and after the killings of the August dawn. We must not overlook the events that took place from August 1975 to 1978. There was a series of revolts and killings within the military, until Zia was killed in 1981.
All these should be made known to the nation, as the people have the right to know the heroes and villains of the time.
