Bangabandhu and Muktijuddher Chetona

Bangabandhu and Muktijuddher Chetona 

Bangabandhu is not a mere individual. He in an institution, a movement, a revolution, an upsurge.  He is the architect of the nation. He is the essence of epic poetry and he is history.

This   history   goes   back   a   thousand years. Which is why contemporary history has recognized him as the greatest Bengali of the past thousand years? The future will call him the superman of eternal time.

And  he  will  live,  in  luminosity  reminiscent  of  a  bright  star,  in historical  legends. He will show the path to the Bengali nation his dreams   are   the   basis   of   the existence   of   the nation.  A remembrance of him is the culture and society that Bengalis have sketched for them.  His possibilities, the promises thrown forth by him, are the fountain-spring of the civilized existence of the Bengalis.

I feel pain as we could not honor the dead, nor the victims, nor the freedom fighters yet with due solemnity. I feel bad when I find the national leaders questioning the ‘Muktijuddher Chetona”. What a travesty of justice, what a shameful act!! How can we make friendship with those that still refuse to accept their guilt and deny the existence of injustice and atrocities of 1971? How can we not ask them to solicit mercy and forgiveness for their crime against mankind? A crime is a crime. It cannot be ignored with the lapse of time. Lord Cromwell was tried from his dead and the Nazis of World War II are still being sought after. The Nazis and the KKK are barred from getting elected in democratic societies. We must not condone a criminal or his crime, nor should we give shelter to criminals. We can only forgive them provided they ask for forgiveness and mercy---there is no alternatives known to me. Those who believe in Islam know that even the Almighty Allah will not forgive those who have committed crimes against His creatures unless they forgive them first. Therefore, unless they solicit mercy and forgiveness and confess their guilt publicly, they must not be forgiven. If a group or a person forgive them for group or personal interest, then they share the same loathe and disdain of our dead. They cannot be our heroes nor can they be the torchbearers for our future generations.

Muktijuddher Chetona is very simple and pure. It stands for justice and fair play in human relations. It abhors racism, intolerance, dehumanization discrimination and communalism that the occupation force represented. It seeks equity in society and equal opportunities for all. It upholds democratic values; after all the 1971 war was fought to ensure democracy and economic emancipation. Can we therefore forget Muktijuddher Chetona?