President Ziaur Rahman did not allow me to enter our 32 Residence: Sheikh Hasina
President Ziaur Rahman did not allow me to enter our
Dhanmondi-32 Residence: Sheikh Hasina
Tears rolled down her cheeks and emotion gripped the audience as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina narrated the massacre at Dhanmondi-32 and unkind behaviour of a government after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975. "When I came back in 1981 from exile, the then government of president Ziaur Rahman did not allow me to enter our Dhanmondi-32 residence where my father along with most of my family members were brutally killed," she said.
Speaking at a prize giving ceremony at Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday morning, she said even General Zia did not allow her to organise a milad mahfil seeking eternal peace of the martyrs of August 15 inside the residence.
"It was Zia who forced us to hold milad on the road for my parents and others who were killed in the August 15 massacre," said Hasina.
Sheikh Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, who along with her younger sister survived the massacre, described as crime against humanity, said president Zia imposed restriction on opening of the residence from where Bangabandhu led all anti-autocratic movements. Later, the government led by Justice Abdus Satter opened the historic house and handed over it to Hasina. "When I entered the house, I saw dried blood everywhere and clothes and other valuables were seen scattered on the floor".
The killers not only killed the country's founding father along with most of his family members, they also looted all valuables from the house, Hasina said.
There was pin-drop silence in the Osmani Memorial auditorium when the premier was narrating the tale of the blackest chapter of the world's history. People specially the children who joined the function were seen to wipe their eyes when she was describing the barbaric incident. Hasina said after receiving the house, she and her younger sister decided to make it a museum for the people of the country. "I thought that the people of the country are the owner of the house as Bangabandhu launched all of his pro-people movements from the house," she added. The premier said she inaugurated the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on August 14, 1994 and after that the museum remains opened for public.
Later, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Memorial Trust was formed on April 11, 1994 with an aim to provide various services for the common people.
According to sources, 1,000-1,200 students are being provided stipend from the trust each month to meet their education expenses. The trust arranged free medical services across the country from Jan 10 to March 17 this year when over 8 lakh patients were given medical services. The trust will set up a medical college and a nursing institute in Gazipur to provide medical services for the common people.
The Convenor of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum presided over the function while Curator of the museum Syed Siddiqur Rahman, DG of Bangla Academy Prof Shamsuzzaman Khan and Vice-Chancellor of National University Kazi Shahidullah, among others, addressed it.
http://skhasinawajed.blogspot.com
http://muktimusician.blog.co.in
http://bangladeshawamileague.webs.com
Tears rolled down her cheeks and emotion gripped the audience as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina narrated the massacre at Dhanmondi-32 and unkind behaviour of a government after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975. "When I came back in 1981 from exile, the then government of president Ziaur Rahman did not allow me to enter our Dhanmondi-32 residence where my father along with most of my family members were brutally killed," she said.
Speaking at a prize giving ceremony at Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday morning, she said even General Zia did not allow her to organise a milad mahfil seeking eternal peace of the martyrs of August 15 inside the residence.
"It was Zia who forced us to hold milad on the road for my parents and others who were killed in the August 15 massacre," said Hasina.
Sheikh Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, who along with her younger sister survived the massacre, described as crime against humanity, said president Zia imposed restriction on opening of the residence from where Bangabandhu led all anti-autocratic movements. Later, the government led by Justice Abdus Satter opened the historic house and handed over it to Hasina. "When I entered the house, I saw dried blood everywhere and clothes and other valuables were seen scattered on the floor".
The killers not only killed the country's founding father along with most of his family members, they also looted all valuables from the house, Hasina said.
There was pin-drop silence in the Osmani Memorial auditorium when the premier was narrating the tale of the blackest chapter of the world's history. People specially the children who joined the function were seen to wipe their eyes when she was describing the barbaric incident. Hasina said after receiving the house, she and her younger sister decided to make it a museum for the people of the country. "I thought that the people of the country are the owner of the house as Bangabandhu launched all of his pro-people movements from the house," she added. The premier said she inaugurated the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on August 14, 1994 and after that the museum remains opened for public.
Later, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Memorial Trust was formed on April 11, 1994 with an aim to provide various services for the common people.
According to sources, 1,000-1,200 students are being provided stipend from the trust each month to meet their education expenses. The trust arranged free medical services across the country from Jan 10 to March 17 this year when over 8 lakh patients were given medical services. The trust will set up a medical college and a nursing institute in Gazipur to provide medical services for the common people.
The Convenor of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum presided over the function while Curator of the museum Syed Siddiqur Rahman, DG of Bangla Academy Prof Shamsuzzaman Khan and Vice-Chancellor of National University Kazi Shahidullah, among others, addressed it.
http://skhasinawajed.blogspot.com
http://muktimusician.blog.co.in
http://bangladeshawamileague.webs.com
Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh
Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was born during the months of the liberation war in 1971. His father, Late Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni played not only a significant role but also a leading role to motorize the liberation war movement. Sheikh Taposh is also a grandson of Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Taking personal risk in the venture of leading the people towards the light of a newer destination is nothing unknown to Sheikh Taposh.
His family has been deeply engaged in this venture for three generations but it is not his family heritage that he rides on. He’s a well accomplished Barrister whose track records include his recent success in securing freedom for the wrongly accused President of Bangladesh Awami League, Sheikh Hasina, who he still represents. He is the voice of the new Awami generation who stands for only what has been good in the party so far.
He is a man who is no stranger to the pain, the atrocities of our country’s violent politics that wreak its people. Losing both of his parents in the first bloody coup of the nascent country and being raised by his grandmother and an uncle who refused to cower and give up politics in the face of the violence, Sheikh Taposh has been steeled for leading the people towards a new political reality.
He is aware of local as well as national issues that concern the people of the country. On the national scale, Taposh shares the common concerns of today’s violence in the national political scene. He feels strongly about price hike that has been gradually gutting the population. It pains him to witness what takes place in the name of secular/non-secular politics, morbid poverty and unemployment. A very tattered state of democracy, long absence of the rule of law, blatant accountability of the powers that be, mind boggling stagnancy of the industrial base, the economy as a whole and finding the possible ramp for getting on the globalized economic highway are the macro issues Taposh wants to deal with as your representative in the parliament.
On the local scale, Sheikh Taposh’s relations with the concern of this constituency go way back till the time of his birth. He had his experience of the first three years of life and the only three years of his time with his parents here in Dhanmondi. He went to school in this constituency, lost his parents and grew up here. And now he wants an opportunity to serve the people he grew up with as their representative, their voice in the parliament. He is committed to bring changes in the area which include traffic congestion, crime, sanitation and other pressing issues of this area. His connection with this constituency is emotional as well as ethical. He has made promises for changes, cultural changes in political dynamic.ly three years of his time with his parents here in Dhanmondi. He went to school in this constituency, lost his parents and grew up here. And now he wants an opportunity to serve the people he grew up with as their representative, their voice in the parliament. He is committed to bring changes in the area which include traffic congestion, crime, sanitation and other pressing issues of this area. His connection with this constituency is emotional as well as ethical. He has made promises for changes, cultural changes in political dynamic.
One of the three survivors of the August mayhem will never forget the dawn of August 15, 1975. Taposh, who was around four years old at that time, was sleeping in his room with his brother when he heard his father's footsteps in the stairs. Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni, one of the organisers of the Liberation War was going downstairs to pick up "the day's newspaper or a book", Taposh could not quite recall. As he reached the landing space of the stairs, a bunch of killers led by Risaldar Moslehuddin got hold of him. Moni, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's nephew, was told to walk ahead. "You are under arrest," said the Risaldar.
"Meanwhile, my mother came down," says Taposh, "Before the killers fired at my father, in an attempt to save him, my mother came before the gun and both were shot." She was seven-months pregnant at the time of the killing.
Taposh and his elder brother were eyewitnesses to one of the grisliest and barbaric murders in human history. "After the massacre, Mrs Fatema Selim, one of our aunts, took us to a safe house, telling us that it was not safe to stay in that house any more," Taposh says.
He was completely devastated. "Even though I was a mere toddler at that time I knew what I had lost," Taposh says. He and his brother have been lucky because within a few hours after the murders, the killers came back looking for Moni's two sons that they had orphaned.
Taposh still bears the trauma of the loss. "I won't be able to tell you what I feel. Parents are a person's biggest assets. I miss them in every step of my life's successes and failures, achievements and defeats," he says. Taposh, who has recently survived an assassination attempt, says that he missed his father when he first became a barrister.
The first attack on the night of August 15 was launched on Abdur Rab Serniabat's house. In the 20-minute-long killing spree that ensued, the murderers killed Serniabat, his wife, daughters and three minor members of his family. Serniabat's son Abul Hasnat Abdullah, a survivor in the family who has luckily escaped on that frightful night, told a British journalist, “I later saw my wife, mother and 20-year-old sister badly wounded and bleeding." He says that his two young daughters, uninjured, were sobbing behind a sofa where they had hidden during the massacre. Lying dead on the floor were his 5-year-old son, two sisters aged 10 and 15 and his 11-year old brother, the family ayah (maid), a house-boy and his cousin Shahidul Islam Serniabat.
On the night of August 15, 1975, the killers divided themselves into several groups. The first one, led by Lt Col (then Major) SHBM Nur Chowdhury and Lt Colonel (then Major) Mohiuddin Ahmed, went to the historic house at Dhanmandi road no 32. The second group, assigned to kill Abdur Rab Serniabat and his family members, was led by Major Dalim, and Risaldar Moslehuddin Khan led the third group, which launched an attack on Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni's house.
When the massacre was going on at Serniabat household, Bangabandhu got a call from the house. "Get the police control room," he told his personal assistant Muhitul Islam. When he could get neither the police station nor the Ganobhaban Exchange, Bangabandhu himself tried to make a call. A hail of bullets poured in and Mujib told Islam to duck under the table. A few minutes later Bangabandhu got up and went out to the veranda. Meanwhile, the butchers had already killed Sheikh Kamal and Sheikh Jamal. By that time Major Mohiuddin took Bangabandhu to the landing of the stairs. Nur appeared in the corner and said something to Mohiuddin, to which the latter moved to one side. "What do you want?" Bangabandhu asked. There was silence. Nur and Major Huda then simultaneously fired volleys of bullets from their Sten guns. Bangabandhu's whole body twisted back and slipped to the landing of the stairs. It was 5.40 in the morning. Mujib's death could not quench the blood-thirst of the murderers, Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, Bangabandhu's wife, embraced martyrdom within a few minutes. The killers then went into one room after the other and killed Bangabandhu's two daughters-in-law.
The killers looked for Sheikh Russell, Bangabandhu's 10-year-old son, and found him in a corner. "I want to go to my mother," Russell, merely a toddler, cried. "We are taking you to her," said one of the killers and took him to first floor. There were volleys of gunshots.
Khandakar Moshtaque Ahmed, who declared himself President on August 15 following Bangabandhu's brutal assassination, on 26th September promulgated an ordinance indemnifying the killers. The Ordinance was promulgated, as the Bangladesh Gazette dated that day says, “ to restrict the taking of any legal or other proceedings in respect of certain acts or things in connection with, or in preparation or execution of any plan for, or steps necessitating, the historical change and the Proclamation of Martial Law on the morning of 15th August, 1975.”
The murders have been brutal and barbaric as it is, but to indemnify the killers of pregnant women and children have been something unheard of. With the brutal and barbaric murders of August 15, Bangladesh, as a nation, plunged into an abyss of darkness. Within nine days of the mayhem, the then Army Chief Gen Shafiullah was sent into retirement and was replaced by his second-in-command Gen Ziaur Rahman. Since then, except for the four days of November 3-7, 1975, Zia was at the centre of power. There has been widespread allegation that Gen Zia gave the killers the go-ahead to assassinate Mujib and his family. Lt Col (dismissed) Farooq, in a confessional statement given to the trial court on December 19, 1996 said that Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahrier Rashid Khan told him prior to the massacre that Zia would support them if Mujib was killed.
"There are multilateral dimensions to the conspiracy," says Syed Anwar Husain, professor of History at University of Dhaka. He says that there is evidence, however a little bit peripheral, to suggest Zia's involvement in the August massacre. "This evidence arises out of his perfunctory reaction upon being informed that Bangabandhu was killed. Zia replied, 'President is killed, so what? The Vice President is there. Uphold the constitution'."
These staccato sentences, Professor Anwar says, when analysed together, lead to disturbing conclusions. "Firstly," he says, "it appeared that he took this very barbaric and dastardly incident very lightly, meaning he had a foreknowledge of the happenings." He also says that Zia said the right thing by urging everyone to uphold the constitution under such abnormal circumstances. "Anybody in a responsible position could have said the same thing; but the core statement, which makes us suspicious is: 'So what?'"
In fact, it was Zia who incorporated the infamous Indemnity Ordinance into the constitution, constitutionally protecting the killers of innocent men, women and children. "Zia was at the forefront of all the beneficiaries of this tragic happening. He was the man who did everything to shield the killers from any legal process and he also managed to provide them with safe passages out of the country," Professor Anwar says.
In fact, Zia's assumption of power was coated with the blood of the martyrs of the August 15 mayhem. The killers have found a benevolent friend in Gen Ziaur Rahman-- he gave them diplomatic jobs, legal protection by incorporating the Indemnity Ordinance into the constitution at his own rubber-stamp, pet parliament.
Even though Bangabandhu's killers are about to walk the gallows in a month, Zia's involvement in the August carnage waits to be unearthed. The murders gave birth to a string of bloody coups and counter-coups. There was a government in Dhaka, but there had been alternative centres of powers at different times in the months of August, September, October and November, 1975.
The culture of coup, conspiracy and murder that was given birth to in 1975, continued. Zia himself survived several coup attempts, all of which he suppressed with an iron hand. During Zia's regime there had been several trials for launching coups, and interestingly in most of the cases those who were on the dock were army officers who fought during the Liberation War; but for the August 15 killers waited only government benefits. On May 30, 1981, Zia himself became a victim of coup; he was assassinated in Chittagong. And those who were put to trial before a martial law court were also freedom fighter officers of the Bangladesh Army. It seemed as though a conspiracy had been hatched to purge the army of Muktijoddha officers.
Bangabandhu's murder has destroyed all the major democratic institutions of the country. Judiciary, in the hands of different military dictators, was used to legitimise the latter's illegal hold on power. Elections became a joke, and one of the worst victims of the August 15 mayhem has been the Armed Forces of the country. For 15 long years the nation was rattled by a culture of killing and impunity that started through the massacres of August 15; and our Army was no exception. Militarisation of governance has done no country any good, and as a result of it both the Army and the country's wobbling democracy suffered.
In 1990, the Armed Forces took the courageous stance of refusing to obey the dictatorial regime of General HM Ershad. During the mass upsurge, at the fag end of Ershad's regime, the army high command refused to fire on the masses that took to the street to bring down Ershad's illegal rule. The mass movement paved the way to restoration of democracy, which we had lost on August 15, 1975 through the brutal murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Khaleda Zia, Ziaur Rahman's widow, who assumed power after democracy was restored in 1991, kept her late husband's policy regarding the killers unaltered. In the February 15, 1996 general elections, held when Khaleda was in office, Khandaker Abdur Rashid, one of the self-confessed killers of the Father of the Nation, was elected uncontested. And the subsequent governments that followed the carnage have all had their fair shares in abetting the killings. One of the basic tenants of democracy is the rule of law and as they did not hold trial of the killers of innocent, unarmed men, women and children, the basis on which Zia, Ershad and Khaleda regimes held power was immoral, if not illegal.
Khaleda Zia's sympathy for Mujib's killers can only be explained if clear evidence of Zia's hand in Mujib murder can be found. Not only did Khaleda follow her late husband's policy on the killers, during her second term in office the Mujib murder case was deliberately stalled through the creation of one government-made obstacle after the other. Zia helped the killers flee: Khaleda made their trial difficult.
The trial of the killers, done in a free and transparent manner, finally ended last week, 34 years after the murders. The Awami League government deserves kudos for not tampering with justice, keeping the judicial system free from undue influences. Last week's Supreme Court verdict that upheld the death penalty of Bangabandhu's 12 killers is immensely significant on several counts. It proves that no matter how long it is or how well protected the killers are, there is no law in the country that can save murderers of innocent men and women. To establish a society based on the basic tenants of the rule of law it is a must that killers are punished; and that is exactly what has happened through the Supreme Court verdict. During the era of military dictatorships, there are several instances where judges, at gunpoint, had to legitimise the despotic rules of different military dictators. This verdict has also absolved the highest court of the land of its previous sins.
Last week our Supreme Court has at last given us the opportunity of heaving a collective sigh of relief. The dark era of misrule, abuse of power and impunity that has prevailed over the years has come to an end. We demand a quick execution of the verdict, with which we also wish to move on as a nation towards the establishment of Golden Bengal that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had dreamt of but could not achieve. Our goal should now be to build a happy and prosperous nation. Establishment of a country based on rule of law, democratic values, and social and economic justice is perhaps the biggest tribute we can pay to our Father of the Nation.
His family has been deeply engaged in this venture for three generations but it is not his family heritage that he rides on. He’s a well accomplished Barrister whose track records include his recent success in securing freedom for the wrongly accused President of Bangladesh Awami League, Sheikh Hasina, who he still represents. He is the voice of the new Awami generation who stands for only what has been good in the party so far.
He is a man who is no stranger to the pain, the atrocities of our country’s violent politics that wreak its people. Losing both of his parents in the first bloody coup of the nascent country and being raised by his grandmother and an uncle who refused to cower and give up politics in the face of the violence, Sheikh Taposh has been steeled for leading the people towards a new political reality.
He is aware of local as well as national issues that concern the people of the country. On the national scale, Taposh shares the common concerns of today’s violence in the national political scene. He feels strongly about price hike that has been gradually gutting the population. It pains him to witness what takes place in the name of secular/non-secular politics, morbid poverty and unemployment. A very tattered state of democracy, long absence of the rule of law, blatant accountability of the powers that be, mind boggling stagnancy of the industrial base, the economy as a whole and finding the possible ramp for getting on the globalized economic highway are the macro issues Taposh wants to deal with as your representative in the parliament.
On the local scale, Sheikh Taposh’s relations with the concern of this constituency go way back till the time of his birth. He had his experience of the first three years of life and the only three years of his time with his parents here in Dhanmondi. He went to school in this constituency, lost his parents and grew up here. And now he wants an opportunity to serve the people he grew up with as their representative, their voice in the parliament. He is committed to bring changes in the area which include traffic congestion, crime, sanitation and other pressing issues of this area. His connection with this constituency is emotional as well as ethical. He has made promises for changes, cultural changes in political dynamic.ly three years of his time with his parents here in Dhanmondi. He went to school in this constituency, lost his parents and grew up here. And now he wants an opportunity to serve the people he grew up with as their representative, their voice in the parliament. He is committed to bring changes in the area which include traffic congestion, crime, sanitation and other pressing issues of this area. His connection with this constituency is emotional as well as ethical. He has made promises for changes, cultural changes in political dynamic.
One of the three survivors of the August mayhem will never forget the dawn of August 15, 1975. Taposh, who was around four years old at that time, was sleeping in his room with his brother when he heard his father's footsteps in the stairs. Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni, one of the organisers of the Liberation War was going downstairs to pick up "the day's newspaper or a book", Taposh could not quite recall. As he reached the landing space of the stairs, a bunch of killers led by Risaldar Moslehuddin got hold of him. Moni, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's nephew, was told to walk ahead. "You are under arrest," said the Risaldar.
"Meanwhile, my mother came down," says Taposh, "Before the killers fired at my father, in an attempt to save him, my mother came before the gun and both were shot." She was seven-months pregnant at the time of the killing.
Taposh and his elder brother were eyewitnesses to one of the grisliest and barbaric murders in human history. "After the massacre, Mrs Fatema Selim, one of our aunts, took us to a safe house, telling us that it was not safe to stay in that house any more," Taposh says.
He was completely devastated. "Even though I was a mere toddler at that time I knew what I had lost," Taposh says. He and his brother have been lucky because within a few hours after the murders, the killers came back looking for Moni's two sons that they had orphaned.
Taposh still bears the trauma of the loss. "I won't be able to tell you what I feel. Parents are a person's biggest assets. I miss them in every step of my life's successes and failures, achievements and defeats," he says. Taposh, who has recently survived an assassination attempt, says that he missed his father when he first became a barrister.
The first attack on the night of August 15 was launched on Abdur Rab Serniabat's house. In the 20-minute-long killing spree that ensued, the murderers killed Serniabat, his wife, daughters and three minor members of his family. Serniabat's son Abul Hasnat Abdullah, a survivor in the family who has luckily escaped on that frightful night, told a British journalist, “I later saw my wife, mother and 20-year-old sister badly wounded and bleeding." He says that his two young daughters, uninjured, were sobbing behind a sofa where they had hidden during the massacre. Lying dead on the floor were his 5-year-old son, two sisters aged 10 and 15 and his 11-year old brother, the family ayah (maid), a house-boy and his cousin Shahidul Islam Serniabat.
On the night of August 15, 1975, the killers divided themselves into several groups. The first one, led by Lt Col (then Major) SHBM Nur Chowdhury and Lt Colonel (then Major) Mohiuddin Ahmed, went to the historic house at Dhanmandi road no 32. The second group, assigned to kill Abdur Rab Serniabat and his family members, was led by Major Dalim, and Risaldar Moslehuddin Khan led the third group, which launched an attack on Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni's house.
When the massacre was going on at Serniabat household, Bangabandhu got a call from the house. "Get the police control room," he told his personal assistant Muhitul Islam. When he could get neither the police station nor the Ganobhaban Exchange, Bangabandhu himself tried to make a call. A hail of bullets poured in and Mujib told Islam to duck under the table. A few minutes later Bangabandhu got up and went out to the veranda. Meanwhile, the butchers had already killed Sheikh Kamal and Sheikh Jamal. By that time Major Mohiuddin took Bangabandhu to the landing of the stairs. Nur appeared in the corner and said something to Mohiuddin, to which the latter moved to one side. "What do you want?" Bangabandhu asked. There was silence. Nur and Major Huda then simultaneously fired volleys of bullets from their Sten guns. Bangabandhu's whole body twisted back and slipped to the landing of the stairs. It was 5.40 in the morning. Mujib's death could not quench the blood-thirst of the murderers, Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, Bangabandhu's wife, embraced martyrdom within a few minutes. The killers then went into one room after the other and killed Bangabandhu's two daughters-in-law.
The killers looked for Sheikh Russell, Bangabandhu's 10-year-old son, and found him in a corner. "I want to go to my mother," Russell, merely a toddler, cried. "We are taking you to her," said one of the killers and took him to first floor. There were volleys of gunshots.
Khandakar Moshtaque Ahmed, who declared himself President on August 15 following Bangabandhu's brutal assassination, on 26th September promulgated an ordinance indemnifying the killers. The Ordinance was promulgated, as the Bangladesh Gazette dated that day says, “ to restrict the taking of any legal or other proceedings in respect of certain acts or things in connection with, or in preparation or execution of any plan for, or steps necessitating, the historical change and the Proclamation of Martial Law on the morning of 15th August, 1975.”
The murders have been brutal and barbaric as it is, but to indemnify the killers of pregnant women and children have been something unheard of. With the brutal and barbaric murders of August 15, Bangladesh, as a nation, plunged into an abyss of darkness. Within nine days of the mayhem, the then Army Chief Gen Shafiullah was sent into retirement and was replaced by his second-in-command Gen Ziaur Rahman. Since then, except for the four days of November 3-7, 1975, Zia was at the centre of power. There has been widespread allegation that Gen Zia gave the killers the go-ahead to assassinate Mujib and his family. Lt Col (dismissed) Farooq, in a confessional statement given to the trial court on December 19, 1996 said that Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahrier Rashid Khan told him prior to the massacre that Zia would support them if Mujib was killed.
"There are multilateral dimensions to the conspiracy," says Syed Anwar Husain, professor of History at University of Dhaka. He says that there is evidence, however a little bit peripheral, to suggest Zia's involvement in the August massacre. "This evidence arises out of his perfunctory reaction upon being informed that Bangabandhu was killed. Zia replied, 'President is killed, so what? The Vice President is there. Uphold the constitution'."
These staccato sentences, Professor Anwar says, when analysed together, lead to disturbing conclusions. "Firstly," he says, "it appeared that he took this very barbaric and dastardly incident very lightly, meaning he had a foreknowledge of the happenings." He also says that Zia said the right thing by urging everyone to uphold the constitution under such abnormal circumstances. "Anybody in a responsible position could have said the same thing; but the core statement, which makes us suspicious is: 'So what?'"
In fact, it was Zia who incorporated the infamous Indemnity Ordinance into the constitution, constitutionally protecting the killers of innocent men, women and children. "Zia was at the forefront of all the beneficiaries of this tragic happening. He was the man who did everything to shield the killers from any legal process and he also managed to provide them with safe passages out of the country," Professor Anwar says.
In fact, Zia's assumption of power was coated with the blood of the martyrs of the August 15 mayhem. The killers have found a benevolent friend in Gen Ziaur Rahman-- he gave them diplomatic jobs, legal protection by incorporating the Indemnity Ordinance into the constitution at his own rubber-stamp, pet parliament.
Even though Bangabandhu's killers are about to walk the gallows in a month, Zia's involvement in the August carnage waits to be unearthed. The murders gave birth to a string of bloody coups and counter-coups. There was a government in Dhaka, but there had been alternative centres of powers at different times in the months of August, September, October and November, 1975.
The culture of coup, conspiracy and murder that was given birth to in 1975, continued. Zia himself survived several coup attempts, all of which he suppressed with an iron hand. During Zia's regime there had been several trials for launching coups, and interestingly in most of the cases those who were on the dock were army officers who fought during the Liberation War; but for the August 15 killers waited only government benefits. On May 30, 1981, Zia himself became a victim of coup; he was assassinated in Chittagong. And those who were put to trial before a martial law court were also freedom fighter officers of the Bangladesh Army. It seemed as though a conspiracy had been hatched to purge the army of Muktijoddha officers.
Bangabandhu's murder has destroyed all the major democratic institutions of the country. Judiciary, in the hands of different military dictators, was used to legitimise the latter's illegal hold on power. Elections became a joke, and one of the worst victims of the August 15 mayhem has been the Armed Forces of the country. For 15 long years the nation was rattled by a culture of killing and impunity that started through the massacres of August 15; and our Army was no exception. Militarisation of governance has done no country any good, and as a result of it both the Army and the country's wobbling democracy suffered.
In 1990, the Armed Forces took the courageous stance of refusing to obey the dictatorial regime of General HM Ershad. During the mass upsurge, at the fag end of Ershad's regime, the army high command refused to fire on the masses that took to the street to bring down Ershad's illegal rule. The mass movement paved the way to restoration of democracy, which we had lost on August 15, 1975 through the brutal murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Khaleda Zia, Ziaur Rahman's widow, who assumed power after democracy was restored in 1991, kept her late husband's policy regarding the killers unaltered. In the February 15, 1996 general elections, held when Khaleda was in office, Khandaker Abdur Rashid, one of the self-confessed killers of the Father of the Nation, was elected uncontested. And the subsequent governments that followed the carnage have all had their fair shares in abetting the killings. One of the basic tenants of democracy is the rule of law and as they did not hold trial of the killers of innocent, unarmed men, women and children, the basis on which Zia, Ershad and Khaleda regimes held power was immoral, if not illegal.
Khaleda Zia's sympathy for Mujib's killers can only be explained if clear evidence of Zia's hand in Mujib murder can be found. Not only did Khaleda follow her late husband's policy on the killers, during her second term in office the Mujib murder case was deliberately stalled through the creation of one government-made obstacle after the other. Zia helped the killers flee: Khaleda made their trial difficult.
The trial of the killers, done in a free and transparent manner, finally ended last week, 34 years after the murders. The Awami League government deserves kudos for not tampering with justice, keeping the judicial system free from undue influences. Last week's Supreme Court verdict that upheld the death penalty of Bangabandhu's 12 killers is immensely significant on several counts. It proves that no matter how long it is or how well protected the killers are, there is no law in the country that can save murderers of innocent men and women. To establish a society based on the basic tenants of the rule of law it is a must that killers are punished; and that is exactly what has happened through the Supreme Court verdict. During the era of military dictatorships, there are several instances where judges, at gunpoint, had to legitimise the despotic rules of different military dictators. This verdict has also absolved the highest court of the land of its previous sins.
Last week our Supreme Court has at last given us the opportunity of heaving a collective sigh of relief. The dark era of misrule, abuse of power and impunity that has prevailed over the years has come to an end. We demand a quick execution of the verdict, with which we also wish to move on as a nation towards the establishment of Golden Bengal that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had dreamt of but could not achieve. Our goal should now be to build a happy and prosperous nation. Establishment of a country based on rule of law, democratic values, and social and economic justice is perhaps the biggest tribute we can pay to our Father of the Nation.
President Ziaur
Rahman did not allow me to enter our Dhanmondi-32 Residence:
Sajeeb Ahmed Wajed (Joy)
Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed (Bangla: সজীব ওয়াজেদ) (born July 27, 1971), also known as Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is an IT professional who was selected by World Economic Forum as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders of the World. He is the son of Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the grandson of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh
Early life and education
Sajeeb Wazed was born in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War to the eminent Bengali nuclear scientist Dr. M. A. Wazed Miah and Sheikh Hasina Wazed. His birth during the war and subsequent victory of the Bengalis earned him the nickname given by his maternal grandfather, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, “Joy” which in Bengali means victory.
Wazed was schooled in India. His early days were spent at boarding in St. Joseph’s College Nainital, and later at Kodaikanal International School in Palani Hills, Tamil Nadu. He pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, physics and mathematics from Bangalore University. Wazed then pursued another bachelor of science degree in computer engineering at the University of Texas, Arlington in the United States. Subsequently, Wazed attended the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University, where he completed a Masters in Public Administration.
Politics
In 2004, Sajeeb Wazed visited Bangladesh amid speculations that he would be taking up the Sheikh family’s political mantle. He and his wife received a rousing reception as they landed in Shahjalal International Airport. Thousands of people lined Dhaka’s roads to have glimpse of Joy and his wife. During the visit he rejected a letter sent by Tarique Rahman, son of the then Prime Minister and his mother’s arch rival, Khaleda Zia. The letter congratulated Sajeeb’s possible entry into politics.
In 2007, Wazed was selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos as one of the “250 Young Global Leaders of the World”. The forum cited his role as Advisor to the President of the Bangladesh Awami League.
During the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis and Minus Two controversy, both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia were arrested by the military backed interim government on charges of corruption and “anti-state” activities. Hasina maintained that the charges were baseless and her detention was part of efforts by the military to keep her out of the political arena in order to pave the way for another period of quasi-military rule in Bangladesh. Sajeeb Wazed began campaigning in the United States and Europe for the release of his mother and other detained high-profile politicians. Hasina was eventually released in June 2008. She subsequently traveled to the United States for medical treatment.
In December 2008, Bangladesh held national elections that saw Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and its coalition partners secure the biggest parliamentary majority since 1973, capturing 262 seats in the 300 seat parliament, 230 of which went to the Awami League. Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as the 14th Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 6 January 2009. Prior to the elections, Wazed wrote an article in the Harvard International Review in which he outlined a “secular plan” to stem the rise of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh.
Wazed gave an interview to the BBC in February, 2009 in the aftermath of the violent Bangladesh Rifles mutiny. Asked about security threats faced by his mother from tension provoked in the military by the mutiny and whether certain quarters were trying to stage a scenario similar to that of his grandfather’s assassination in 1975 during a coup by junior army officers, Wazed commented that there was a “distinct possibility” of such a situation being intended. He also stressed that security was beefed up at the Prime Minister’s residence and went on to praise his mother’s handling of the mutiny. “This is probably the biggest incident Bangladesh has had since 1975 and our government and the prime minister has handled this compassionately, pragmatically but decisively to bring the situation under control” he said.
Primary membership
On 25 February 2009, Wazed officially joined the Awami League as a primary member of the Rangpur district unit of the party. Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif handed over Wazed’s membership form to district party leaders. Rangpur is the ancestral home district of his father Wazed Miah.
The move by Wazed to formally join the Awami League was welcomed by many political leaders and commentators, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Senior BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan gave his party’s official reaction, stating “we see the matter positively”.
Digital Bangladesh
Within days of joining the Awami League as a primary member, Wazed, in his capacity as an IT policy analyst, unveiled the concept paper and action plan for the government’s ambitious “Digital Bangladesh” scheme; to develop a strong ICT industry in Bangladesh and initiate e-governance and IT education on a mass scale. Wazed emphasized the use of information technology to achieve Bangladesh’s development goals. He also noted that the Digital Bangladesh “scheme” would contribute to a more transparent system of government through e-governance, as it would greatly reduce massive bureaucratic corruption in Bangladesh. He also spoke of Bangladesh’s potential to become an IT outsourcing hub in the next few years given its various advantages in a growing young educated population with a “neutral” English accent. Wazed stated that by the 2021, the IT industry can overtake textiles and readymade garments as the principal foreign exchange earner for Bangladesh.
Early life and education
Sajeeb Wazed was born in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War to the eminent Bengali nuclear scientist Dr. M. A. Wazed Miah and Sheikh Hasina Wazed. His birth during the war and subsequent victory of the Bengalis earned him the nickname given by his maternal grandfather, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, “Joy” which in Bengali means victory.
Wazed was schooled in India. His early days were spent at boarding in St. Joseph’s College Nainital, and later at Kodaikanal International School in Palani Hills, Tamil Nadu. He pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, physics and mathematics from Bangalore University. Wazed then pursued another bachelor of science degree in computer engineering at the University of Texas, Arlington in the United States. Subsequently, Wazed attended the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University, where he completed a Masters in Public Administration.
Politics
In 2004, Sajeeb Wazed visited Bangladesh amid speculations that he would be taking up the Sheikh family’s political mantle. He and his wife received a rousing reception as they landed in Shahjalal International Airport. Thousands of people lined Dhaka’s roads to have glimpse of Joy and his wife. During the visit he rejected a letter sent by Tarique Rahman, son of the then Prime Minister and his mother’s arch rival, Khaleda Zia. The letter congratulated Sajeeb’s possible entry into politics.
In 2007, Wazed was selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos as one of the “250 Young Global Leaders of the World”. The forum cited his role as Advisor to the President of the Bangladesh Awami League.
During the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis and Minus Two controversy, both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia were arrested by the military backed interim government on charges of corruption and “anti-state” activities. Hasina maintained that the charges were baseless and her detention was part of efforts by the military to keep her out of the political arena in order to pave the way for another period of quasi-military rule in Bangladesh. Sajeeb Wazed began campaigning in the United States and Europe for the release of his mother and other detained high-profile politicians. Hasina was eventually released in June 2008. She subsequently traveled to the United States for medical treatment.
In December 2008, Bangladesh held national elections that saw Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and its coalition partners secure the biggest parliamentary majority since 1973, capturing 262 seats in the 300 seat parliament, 230 of which went to the Awami League. Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as the 14th Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 6 January 2009. Prior to the elections, Wazed wrote an article in the Harvard International Review in which he outlined a “secular plan” to stem the rise of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh.
Wazed gave an interview to the BBC in February, 2009 in the aftermath of the violent Bangladesh Rifles mutiny. Asked about security threats faced by his mother from tension provoked in the military by the mutiny and whether certain quarters were trying to stage a scenario similar to that of his grandfather’s assassination in 1975 during a coup by junior army officers, Wazed commented that there was a “distinct possibility” of such a situation being intended. He also stressed that security was beefed up at the Prime Minister’s residence and went on to praise his mother’s handling of the mutiny. “This is probably the biggest incident Bangladesh has had since 1975 and our government and the prime minister has handled this compassionately, pragmatically but decisively to bring the situation under control” he said.
Primary membership
On 25 February 2009, Wazed officially joined the Awami League as a primary member of the Rangpur district unit of the party. Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif handed over Wazed’s membership form to district party leaders. Rangpur is the ancestral home district of his father Wazed Miah.
The move by Wazed to formally join the Awami League was welcomed by many political leaders and commentators, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Senior BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan gave his party’s official reaction, stating “we see the matter positively”.
Digital Bangladesh
Within days of joining the Awami League as a primary member, Wazed, in his capacity as an IT policy analyst, unveiled the concept paper and action plan for the government’s ambitious “Digital Bangladesh” scheme; to develop a strong ICT industry in Bangladesh and initiate e-governance and IT education on a mass scale. Wazed emphasized the use of information technology to achieve Bangladesh’s development goals. He also noted that the Digital Bangladesh “scheme” would contribute to a more transparent system of government through e-governance, as it would greatly reduce massive bureaucratic corruption in Bangladesh. He also spoke of Bangladesh’s potential to become an IT outsourcing hub in the next few years given its various advantages in a growing young educated population with a “neutral” English accent. Wazed stated that by the 2021, the IT industry can overtake textiles and readymade garments as the principal foreign exchange earner for Bangladesh.
Late nuclear scientist Dr. Wazed Miah ( Shudha Mia)
Rich tributes to Dr. Wazed Miah at civic condolence meeting
Speakers at a civic condolence meeting here yesterday paid rich tributes to Dr MA Wazed Miah, saying that this highly acclaimed nuclear scientist was a man of `head and heart’. “A man of high stature, Dr Wazed Miah left invaluable contributions not only in his professional career as a reputed atomic scientist, but in many other fields of our national life,” they observed. They said Dr Wazed was not a politician, but he was not devoid of political thoughts. He used to give enlightened leadership from behind the scenes, they added.The civic condolence meeting was organized by Bangladesh Awami League as the concluding part of its three-day programme to mourn the death of Dr Wazed Miah, husband of AL Chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Dr Wazed Miah died on Saturday at a city hospital after a prolonged illness. He had been suffering from various complications, including diabetes, and respiratory and kidney problems. Held at the Bangladesh-China Conference Centre, the condolence meeting was presided over by AL Presidium Member and Deputy Leader in Parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury. AL Presidium Members Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Suranjit Sengupta and Mohammad Nasim, AL Secretary General Abdul Jalil, AL spokesman and LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Samyabadi Dal General Secretary and Industries Minister Dilip Barua, Jatiya Party General Secretary Sheikh Shahidul Islam, and Dr Wazed’s teacher and Sampradaik Samprity Parishad (communal harmony council) President Dr Ajoy Roy, among others, addressed the meeting. AL leader Ashim Kumar Ukil conducted the programme. At the outset of the condolence meeting, noted cultural personality Asaduzzaman Noor, MP, recited from Tagore’s poem— `tumiki keboli chhabi’ The speakers said Dr Wazed Miah was an eminent nuclear scientist, researcher and writer, but all these were overshadowed by his quality as a good man.
Teacher of the physics department of Dhaka University and President of Communal Harmony Prof Ajoy Roy said Wazed was one of the brilliant students of the department. “Wazed was a good organizer who gave leadership from behind in the historic ’62 Education Movement’,” said Prof Ajoy, direct teacher of Wazed Miah. Dilip Barua, who was a direct student of Dr Wazed Mia, said, “This nuclear scientist used to teach us quantum physics which is a very difficult and complicated subject. But `Wazed Sir’ used to teach us in such a simple method that we could easily assimilate the issues.” Barua, who is also a minister in charge of industries, told the audience that in the next cabinet meeting he would raise a proposal to build a `Bigyan Bhaban’ for promotion of science and technology in the country. “I shall also propose to name it as `Dr Wazed Bigyan Bhaban’,” he added.
Sheikh Shahidul Islam said after brutal assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dr Wazed Mia guided Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana like a guardian. “In fact, they were under his warm shadow of affection,” he added. “He gave them inspiration and guidance and helped them reach this level of national life,” he said. Shahidul Islam said Dr Wazed Mia was a `perfect gentleman’ who had no enemies throughout his life. Teacher of the physics department of Dhaka University and President of Communal Harmony Prof Ajoy Roy said Wazed was one of the brilliant students of the department. “Wazed was a good organizer who gave leadership from behind in the historic ’62 Education Movement’,” said Prof Ajoy, direct teacher of Wazed Mia. Dilip Barua, who was a direct student of Dr Wazed Mia, said, “This nuclear scientist used to teach us quantum physics which is a very difficult and complicated subject. But `Wazed Sir’ used to teach us in such a simple method that we could easily assimilate the issues.” Barua, who is also a minister in charge of industries, told the audience that in the next cabinet meeting he would raise a proposal to build a `Bigyan Bhaban’ for promotion of science and technology in the country. “I shall also propose to name it as `Dr Wazed Bigyan Bhaban’,” he added. Sheikh Shahidul Islam said after brutal assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dr Wazed Mia guided Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana like a guardian. “In fact, they were under his warm shadow of affection,” he added. “He gave them inspiration and guidance and helped them reach this level of national life,” he said. Shahidul Islam said Dr Wazed Mia was a `perfect gentleman’ who had no enemies throughout his life.
Mohammad Nasim termed Wazed Miah as unassuming and devoted and a man without greed. “He (Wazed Miah) gave us courage during all movements,” he said. Rashed Khan Menon said Wazed Mian was uncompromising in building a non-communal prosperous Bangladesh and on the question of the Liberation War. “He did not exercise his power although he was very close to power,” Menon said. Matia Chowdhury said women of the country were in need of a shelter when they stepped into politics and Wazed Mia was that shelter of Sheikh Hasina. “Though Wazed Mia was not a politician, his contribution to politics was unforgettable,” she said. Describing the death of Wazed Mia as an irreparable loss to the country,
Suranjit Sengupta said his devotion to the nation will be ever remembered. “Wazed Mia was not a barrier to the way of doing politics by Sheikh Hasina, rather he worked as a complementary factor to her doing politics,” he said. Abdul Jalil said Wazed Mia had proved his political prudence throughout his life and established himself through the pursuit of knowledge. He called upon all to put him in a respectable position by following his ideals and works.
Tofail Ahmed said Wazed Mia was not only a nuclear scientist; he was also a man of political sagacity. “Wazed Mia used to speak in a straight-forward manner whatever he believed and would always think about the country and its people,” he said. “He was very close to power but it could not touch him,” he said, demanding establishment of `Bigyan Bhaban’ after the name of the eminent nuclear scientist. Abdur Razzak said Wazed Mia was a politically conscious man and his contribution to the nuclear science is enormous.
Amir Hossain Amu said man like Wazed Mia is needed now to build `Digital Bangladesh’ by 2021, a vision of the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sajeda Chowdhury said the whole country is shocked at the death of Wazed Mia and the presence of thousands of people in his janaza had proved the amount of love and respect they had for the leading nuclear scientist of the country. Born on February 16 in 1942, in a respectable Muslim family of Fatepur village under Pirganj upazila of Rangpur district, Dr Wajed was the youngest among four sons and three daughters of Abdul Quader Mia.
He studied up to class four at the primary school at his village and then up to class six at a high school under the Pirganj thana.
He obtained his matriculation with distinction from Rangpur Government District School in Rangpur district in 1956 in first division and was admitted to Rajshahi Science College from where he passed the Higher Secondary Certificate examination securing second position in merit list.
Wajed Mia was admitted to Physics Department of Dhaka University in 1958 and obtained first class first in B. Sc (hons) in 1961 and first class first in M.Sc in 1962 from same university.
He joined the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission on April 9 in 1963. He obtained his ‘Diploma from Imperial College of London in 1963- 64.Dr M A Wazed Miah returned home in September 1967 after obtaining his PhD degree in Physics from Durham University of the United Kingdom and joined as scientific officer at Atomic Energy Research Centre in Dhaka. Later, he was engaged in post-doctoral research from November 1969 to 1970 in London.
Dr M A Wazed Miah tied his nuptial cord with Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on November 17 in 1967. They have a son and a daughter – Sajib Wajed Joy and Saima Wajed Putul.
In 1969 he got the associate-ship of Italy-based International Theoretical Physics Research Centre of Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Salam where he was engaged in a research project under the world- renowned scientist. In the same year he returned home and remained engaged with Atomic Energy research Centre. In 1975 he was in the then West Germany to undergo higher training on atomic reactor science while his wife Sheikh Hasina was with her at that time and thus evaded the August 15, 1975 carnage. He was engaged in research works at the New Delhi-based laboratory of Indian Atomic Energy Commission from 1975 to 1982, the period he actually was forced to leave an exiled life after the killing of Bangabandhu along with most of his family members. On return home, he rejoined the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and retired as its chairman in 1999.
A nuclear scientist of international repute, Dr MA Wajed Mia, who breathed his last at a city hospital yesterday, is known more for his professional excellence in scientific arena but close friends and contemporaries were familiar to his role also as a student leader during the climax of Bengali nationalist movement in 1960s. His quality earned the position of the vice president of Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall while he was always under the affectionate shadow of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He even was arrested and served in jail for his leading role in the then 1962 students movement against Education Commission recommendations shrinking facilities for higher education. But his academic excellence and knack for academic pursuit made him a nuclear scientist eventually installing to the top position of the country’s Atomic Energy Commission after long career as a researcher and fellow at different scientific institutes and organizations in different countries including Germany and India. He all through tried to maintain a low profile while in personal life, led a very simple life and was an amiable person but never compromised with anything unjust.
Apart from his publications on scientific research and nuclear science, Wajed Mia also authored a number of books on social and political issues including one on the memories of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The books included Fundamentals of Electromagnetics, Fundamentals of Thermodynamics and ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib-ke Ghire Kichhu Ghatana o Bangladesh.
Dr. M. A. Wazed Sudha Miah
Born
February 16, 1942
Fatehpur, Pirganj, Rangpur
Died
May 9, 2009 (aged 67)
Dhaka
Occupation
Nuclear Scientist
Spouse(s)
Sheikh Hasina Wazed
Children
Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed Putul
Parents
Father-Abdul Quader Miah and Mother- Moyzunnessa
Speakers at a civic condolence meeting here yesterday paid rich tributes to Dr MA Wazed Miah, saying that this highly acclaimed nuclear scientist was a man of `head and heart’. “A man of high stature, Dr Wazed Miah left invaluable contributions not only in his professional career as a reputed atomic scientist, but in many other fields of our national life,” they observed. They said Dr Wazed was not a politician, but he was not devoid of political thoughts. He used to give enlightened leadership from behind the scenes, they added.The civic condolence meeting was organized by Bangladesh Awami League as the concluding part of its three-day programme to mourn the death of Dr Wazed Miah, husband of AL Chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Dr Wazed Miah died on Saturday at a city hospital after a prolonged illness. He had been suffering from various complications, including diabetes, and respiratory and kidney problems. Held at the Bangladesh-China Conference Centre, the condolence meeting was presided over by AL Presidium Member and Deputy Leader in Parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury. AL Presidium Members Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Suranjit Sengupta and Mohammad Nasim, AL Secretary General Abdul Jalil, AL spokesman and LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Samyabadi Dal General Secretary and Industries Minister Dilip Barua, Jatiya Party General Secretary Sheikh Shahidul Islam, and Dr Wazed’s teacher and Sampradaik Samprity Parishad (communal harmony council) President Dr Ajoy Roy, among others, addressed the meeting. AL leader Ashim Kumar Ukil conducted the programme. At the outset of the condolence meeting, noted cultural personality Asaduzzaman Noor, MP, recited from Tagore’s poem— `tumiki keboli chhabi’ The speakers said Dr Wazed Miah was an eminent nuclear scientist, researcher and writer, but all these were overshadowed by his quality as a good man.
Teacher of the physics department of Dhaka University and President of Communal Harmony Prof Ajoy Roy said Wazed was one of the brilliant students of the department. “Wazed was a good organizer who gave leadership from behind in the historic ’62 Education Movement’,” said Prof Ajoy, direct teacher of Wazed Miah. Dilip Barua, who was a direct student of Dr Wazed Mia, said, “This nuclear scientist used to teach us quantum physics which is a very difficult and complicated subject. But `Wazed Sir’ used to teach us in such a simple method that we could easily assimilate the issues.” Barua, who is also a minister in charge of industries, told the audience that in the next cabinet meeting he would raise a proposal to build a `Bigyan Bhaban’ for promotion of science and technology in the country. “I shall also propose to name it as `Dr Wazed Bigyan Bhaban’,” he added.
Sheikh Shahidul Islam said after brutal assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dr Wazed Mia guided Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana like a guardian. “In fact, they were under his warm shadow of affection,” he added. “He gave them inspiration and guidance and helped them reach this level of national life,” he said. Shahidul Islam said Dr Wazed Mia was a `perfect gentleman’ who had no enemies throughout his life. Teacher of the physics department of Dhaka University and President of Communal Harmony Prof Ajoy Roy said Wazed was one of the brilliant students of the department. “Wazed was a good organizer who gave leadership from behind in the historic ’62 Education Movement’,” said Prof Ajoy, direct teacher of Wazed Mia. Dilip Barua, who was a direct student of Dr Wazed Mia, said, “This nuclear scientist used to teach us quantum physics which is a very difficult and complicated subject. But `Wazed Sir’ used to teach us in such a simple method that we could easily assimilate the issues.” Barua, who is also a minister in charge of industries, told the audience that in the next cabinet meeting he would raise a proposal to build a `Bigyan Bhaban’ for promotion of science and technology in the country. “I shall also propose to name it as `Dr Wazed Bigyan Bhaban’,” he added. Sheikh Shahidul Islam said after brutal assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dr Wazed Mia guided Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana like a guardian. “In fact, they were under his warm shadow of affection,” he added. “He gave them inspiration and guidance and helped them reach this level of national life,” he said. Shahidul Islam said Dr Wazed Mia was a `perfect gentleman’ who had no enemies throughout his life.
Mohammad Nasim termed Wazed Miah as unassuming and devoted and a man without greed. “He (Wazed Miah) gave us courage during all movements,” he said. Rashed Khan Menon said Wazed Mian was uncompromising in building a non-communal prosperous Bangladesh and on the question of the Liberation War. “He did not exercise his power although he was very close to power,” Menon said. Matia Chowdhury said women of the country were in need of a shelter when they stepped into politics and Wazed Mia was that shelter of Sheikh Hasina. “Though Wazed Mia was not a politician, his contribution to politics was unforgettable,” she said. Describing the death of Wazed Mia as an irreparable loss to the country,
Suranjit Sengupta said his devotion to the nation will be ever remembered. “Wazed Mia was not a barrier to the way of doing politics by Sheikh Hasina, rather he worked as a complementary factor to her doing politics,” he said. Abdul Jalil said Wazed Mia had proved his political prudence throughout his life and established himself through the pursuit of knowledge. He called upon all to put him in a respectable position by following his ideals and works.
Tofail Ahmed said Wazed Mia was not only a nuclear scientist; he was also a man of political sagacity. “Wazed Mia used to speak in a straight-forward manner whatever he believed and would always think about the country and its people,” he said. “He was very close to power but it could not touch him,” he said, demanding establishment of `Bigyan Bhaban’ after the name of the eminent nuclear scientist. Abdur Razzak said Wazed Mia was a politically conscious man and his contribution to the nuclear science is enormous.
Amir Hossain Amu said man like Wazed Mia is needed now to build `Digital Bangladesh’ by 2021, a vision of the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sajeda Chowdhury said the whole country is shocked at the death of Wazed Mia and the presence of thousands of people in his janaza had proved the amount of love and respect they had for the leading nuclear scientist of the country. Born on February 16 in 1942, in a respectable Muslim family of Fatepur village under Pirganj upazila of Rangpur district, Dr Wajed was the youngest among four sons and three daughters of Abdul Quader Mia.
He studied up to class four at the primary school at his village and then up to class six at a high school under the Pirganj thana.
He obtained his matriculation with distinction from Rangpur Government District School in Rangpur district in 1956 in first division and was admitted to Rajshahi Science College from where he passed the Higher Secondary Certificate examination securing second position in merit list.
Wajed Mia was admitted to Physics Department of Dhaka University in 1958 and obtained first class first in B. Sc (hons) in 1961 and first class first in M.Sc in 1962 from same university.
He joined the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission on April 9 in 1963. He obtained his ‘Diploma from Imperial College of London in 1963- 64.Dr M A Wazed Miah returned home in September 1967 after obtaining his PhD degree in Physics from Durham University of the United Kingdom and joined as scientific officer at Atomic Energy Research Centre in Dhaka. Later, he was engaged in post-doctoral research from November 1969 to 1970 in London.
Dr M A Wazed Miah tied his nuptial cord with Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on November 17 in 1967. They have a son and a daughter – Sajib Wajed Joy and Saima Wajed Putul.
In 1969 he got the associate-ship of Italy-based International Theoretical Physics Research Centre of Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Salam where he was engaged in a research project under the world- renowned scientist. In the same year he returned home and remained engaged with Atomic Energy research Centre. In 1975 he was in the then West Germany to undergo higher training on atomic reactor science while his wife Sheikh Hasina was with her at that time and thus evaded the August 15, 1975 carnage. He was engaged in research works at the New Delhi-based laboratory of Indian Atomic Energy Commission from 1975 to 1982, the period he actually was forced to leave an exiled life after the killing of Bangabandhu along with most of his family members. On return home, he rejoined the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and retired as its chairman in 1999.
A nuclear scientist of international repute, Dr MA Wajed Mia, who breathed his last at a city hospital yesterday, is known more for his professional excellence in scientific arena but close friends and contemporaries were familiar to his role also as a student leader during the climax of Bengali nationalist movement in 1960s. His quality earned the position of the vice president of Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall while he was always under the affectionate shadow of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He even was arrested and served in jail for his leading role in the then 1962 students movement against Education Commission recommendations shrinking facilities for higher education. But his academic excellence and knack for academic pursuit made him a nuclear scientist eventually installing to the top position of the country’s Atomic Energy Commission after long career as a researcher and fellow at different scientific institutes and organizations in different countries including Germany and India. He all through tried to maintain a low profile while in personal life, led a very simple life and was an amiable person but never compromised with anything unjust.
Apart from his publications on scientific research and nuclear science, Wajed Mia also authored a number of books on social and political issues including one on the memories of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The books included Fundamentals of Electromagnetics, Fundamentals of Thermodynamics and ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib-ke Ghire Kichhu Ghatana o Bangladesh.
Dr. M. A. Wazed Sudha Miah
Born
February 16, 1942
Fatehpur, Pirganj, Rangpur
Died
May 9, 2009 (aged 67)
Dhaka
Occupation
Nuclear Scientist
Spouse(s)
Sheikh Hasina Wazed
Children
Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed Putul
Parents
Father-Abdul Quader Miah and Mother- Moyzunnessa