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The Wire
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Wire
How Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Ignored Fidel Castro's Friendly Advice and Paid the Price
The following is an excerpt from the book Mujib's Blunders: The Power and the Plot Behind His Killing. Fidel Castro was right in giving a prescient and timely warning to Bangabandhu that showing magnanimity to his political enemies, who had dourly opposed the Liberation War, would be considered as a sign of inherent weakness in his character and not as a moral virtue. His benevolence would only spur them on to conspire and act with greater gusto and vengeance against him and his government and, in the process, frustrate his dream of building a s onar (golden) Bangladesh. Castro was among the few world leaders who had paid the most glowing tribute to Bangabandhu saying he had not seen the mighty Himalayas but had seen Mujib. And yet Bangabandhu paid no heed to Castro's advice as he thought that by accommodating the committed pro-Pak minded officers in the top echelons of his administration and uniformed services, he had been able to win their trust and confidence. 'Mujib's Blunders', Manash Ghosh, Niyogi Books, 2025. However, when he started getting hard evidence of how some of his ambitious plans and projects were being sabotaged by an influential section of the bureaucracy, he confided in his party colleagues that he had committed a big blunder by placing repatriates in key bureaucratic posts. He had confessed saying he had tried to build a Bangladesh of his dreams with untrustworthy Pakistani materials and admitted that this was the 'worst mistake' of his life. Castro, being a seasoned revolutionary, who had spent years in the jungle fighting the forces of the ruthless Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, was a better judge of his political enemies than Bangabandhu. After overthrowing the Batista regime, Castro weeded out from his revolutionary government all those who directly or indirectly were loyal to or supporters of the dictator Batista because he knew very well that by retaining the remnants of the previous regime meant germinating the idea of a counter-revolution. Castro had drawn lessons from revolutionary history which was replete with instances of revolutionary governments, when ascending power, getting rid, lock, stock and barrel, of defeated forces from their government apparatus as both the victorious and defeated forces could not co-exist and work in the same system under the same umbrella as they were mutually incompatible. Castro had also warned Bangabandhu that he should watch out for CIA machinations as 'it was out to get him.' Already, it was doing everything possible to overthrow a popularly elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile. But an overconfident Bangabandhu took no notice of such warnings as he felt his generous gestures to win over pro-Pak repatriates would help him earn their respect, confidence and loyalty. Bangabandhu made a series of serious blunders as the repatriates started arriving in Dacca by special flights. He had no fixed policy on repatriates. In fact, his policy differed from person to person. Public attention was focussed specially on three repatriates, the first of whom was Lt General Khwaja Wasiuddin, the only highest ranking serving Bengali officer in the top echelon of the Pakistan Army. In 1971, Lt General Khwaja Wasiuddin was the commander of Pakistan's biggest infantry corps and had fought against India on the western front but was interned along with his family after 16 December. But people in Bangladesh were especially keen to know what Bangabandhu would do to A.B.S. Safdar, deputy director general of Intelligence Bureau, Pakistan, who in 1970-71 while based in Dacca was specifically tasked to collect intensive intelligence on Mujib and his associates within and outside the Awami League and submit them to the martial law regime for follow up action. The third repat, Abdur Rahim, a very senior officer of the Pakistan Police Service, was also the focus of public and bureaucratic attention. Public interest was aroused because Lt General Wasiuddin belonged to the Dacca Nawab family and was a much-decorated officer for having served creditably on the Burma front during World War II in the Royal British Indian Army. He was respected by Bengalis for being proud of his Bengali identity even though he and his family could not speak a word of Bangla. This is because it was a tradition in the Nawab family that its members conversed, read and wrote only in Urdu as it was considered the language of refined and elite Muslim Bengalis. Bangla, on the other hand, was considered the language of unrefined and boorish Bengalis. I can distinctly recall when I met him for the very first time after his repatriation at his temporary residence in Dacca's Dhanmondi residential area, the first thing he had said quite apologetically was that he could understand but not converse in Bangla. 'Much as I would like to talk to you in Bangla, I won't be able to continue for long because my Bangla is not good at all. I am sorry and embarrassed for that. I am comfortable in English and Hindi.' A story I heard from Colonel Abu Osman Chowdhury about General 'Wasi' made my interest grow in knowing him. He was the only Bengali officer in the Pakistan Army who had his nameplate and designation written in Bengali outside his Rawalpindi cantonment office chamber. For this he fought a protracted battle with the GHQ which was not willing to give in to his demand as it would set a 'bad precedent.' But Wasiuddin was unrelenting. He was venerated as a father figure by all Bengali officers and men posted in West Pakistan because of which he was looked upon by all of them as their friend, philosopher and guide. Considering his seniority and professional standing in the Pakistan Army, finding a suitable posting for him in the Bangladesh Army had become a difficult proposition for Mujib though General M.A.G. Osmani, who led the Mukti Bahini and informally was also the Defence minister of the provisional Mujibnagar government, wanted to make him Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Mujib's job of finding a suitable placement for General Wasi had become more difficult as the large bevy of repatriated officers had raised this demand, though muted, that he was the most capable and suitable candidate to be the Army Chief to build Bangladesh's nascent army on the 'right lines.' This was not only because of his vast wealth of experience and long years of service, but also because he could not be expected to serve under a junior officer who was already the COAS. A key muktijoddha officer of the Niyomito Bahini, Major K.M. Shafiullah, who in three years after liberation (because of his stellar role during the Liberation War), got four out of turn promotions to become a major general, was already the COAS. Moreover, making a defeated commander, irrespective of battle honours and laurels won by him, the chief of a victorious army (read Mukti Bahini) in the 1971 war would have been unacceptable to freedom fighters and would have given rise to serious disciplinary and chain of command problems. Already considerable bad blood had been created as the repatriates and officers of the Niyomito Bahini were vying with each other to fill other top jobs in the military hierarchy. There was apprehension that with discipline being already low in the Niyomito Bahini, there was a possibility that it could get worse if the sources of friction between the two were not eliminated. So Wasi's absorption in the Bangladesh Army had placed Mujib in a Catch-22 situation. Mujib chose the easy way out. He decided to retire him from the army and placed his services at the disposal of the foreign ministry which made him the country's envoy to Kuwait. The presence of two different entities with identical competing goals to go up in the military hierarchy in the formative years of Bangladesh's defence services gave rise to fault lines which became visible in all the three services in uniform. Both the groups dissed one another with below the belt sarcastic gibes, one questioning the loyalty of repatriates to Bangladesh and the other doubting the professionalism of muktijoddha officers of the Niyomito Bahini to deserve out of turn promotions and enjoying prized postings. After the repatriated officers had been absorbed in all the three services, whenever promotions in the top echelons of the military were announced the first question asked even by civilians was 'whether the promotees were repatriates or muktijoddha s?' This perception of divisiveness was confined not only to the men in uniforms but it had also spread among civilians and all sections of society which with time got worse. In a year's time the fault lines became wider and longer and starkly visible. Nay, I would say they even became palpable, because a year later it manifested itself through the killing of the 'Father of the Nation' along with almost his entire family and four senior leaders of the Awami League—Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam, Captain Mansur Ali and A.H.M. Qamaruzzaman—who had led the Liberation War during its most critical phase. About three months later three very senior and daring Niyomito Bahini muktijoddha s—Major General Khaled Mosharraf, Brigadier K.N. Huda and Brigadier A.T.M. Haider, each one highly respected for being a soldier of soldiers and known for exceptional acts of heroism and bravery during the Liberation War, (both Mosharraf and Haider were sector and sub-sector commanders of Comilla and Sylhet and Noakhali sectors) were similarly gunned down by soldiers said to be owing allegiance to those led by Colonel Abu Taher who were trying to usher in 'Sipahi-Janata revolution' in Bangladesh. They had also killed over 15 other officers on similar grounds. Taher had trekked from Quetta across West Pakistan to enter India to join the Niyomito Bahini in mid-August when the preparation for the final phase of the Liberation War had just begun. Those rebellious soldiers were told that Khaled, Huda and Haider had ousted Khondokar Mushtaq from power and were endangering national security by installing a 'stooge government that would be friendly to India.' By killing Mosharraf, Haider and Huda and leaving Khondokar Mushtaq untouched, whose game Taher was playing has still remained an unsolved mystery. But there is no doubt that he and his soldiers had targeted all those officers and men who were in the forefront of the Liberation War, including Major Abu Osman Chowdhury, whose office and house were raided in Dacca's Kurmitola cantonment. They first headed to his office, and upon not finding him there they then proceeded straight to his home. Not finding him at home either enraged them so much that they first got hold of his wife Nazia, and after physically assaulting and violently abusing her in the foulest possible language possible, they then proceeded to pump ten bullets into her. Before they left Osman's house they kicked her blood-soaked body around the floor. The mystery surrounding this gruesome killing of an officer's wife by ordinary foot soldiers has remained an unsolved mystery till this day. Manash Ghosh is a veteran journalist.
Hindustan Times
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Book critically examines key decisions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
New Delhi, Embattled Sheikh Hasina has to first reform her party Awami League and dump the corrupt to stage any comeback, says a new book which critically examines several key decisions of her father and first Bangladesh president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Book critically examines key decisions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman In "Mujib's Blunders: The Powers and the Plot Behind His Killing", author Manash Ghosh also argues that the 2024 students' revolution that forced Hasina out from office and the caretaker government's quiet decision to drop Mujib's honorific 'Father of the Nation' follow a script first drafted in 1975 when the Bangabandhu was assassinated along with several members of his family in a predawn coup. The book, published by Niyogi Books, is a sequel to Ghosh's "Bangladesh War: Report from Ground Zero" . It dealt with his coverage of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War for The Statesman. The author says political turbulence will gather more steam and instability will continue to haunt Bangladesh, as there will be more such violent regime changes waiting in the wings to happen. "This is because I firmly believe that Sheikh Hasina's Awami League is no political pushover and is far from a vanquished force and will seek to reassert its rightful presence in the country's mainstream politics," he writes. "But there is no doubt that while the party and its leaders try to do that, both will be subjected to long phases of repression and persecution which will keep the nation and its neighbouring Indian states politically unsettled," he adds. According to Ghosh, all those who have gone gaga over Hasina's banishment from power and view the subsequent developments to be the end of the road for her are being too presumptuous. "They are not aware of her indomitable courage and resilience with which she has staged a comeback from far more hopeless and worse situations," he says. "For someone who lost all her near and loved ones in gory killings in one night at the hands of the country's military and survived almost 28 assassination attempts, including the deadly grenade attack again in August 2004 on her life, the latest developments can at best be called a setback," he adds. Moreover, the author writes, Hasina and her 80-year-old party, the Awami League, are no pushovers as "both carry a rich tradition and legacy of service and sacrifice for the people and the Bengali nation". "But for staging a comeback she has to first reform the party and refurbish its image by dumping the corrupt and the 'Pakistani Trojans' in the party without doing which it will surely face extinction," he argues. The author also claims that there are striking similarities between what happened preceding August 15, 1975, when Mujib, along with 18 of his family members, was killed in a bloodbath, and that which occurred almost 50 years later, on August 5, 2024, again in Dhaka, when Hasina was ousted from power in a bloodless coup. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hindustan Times
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Sahitya Akademi winner Parienkar''s Konkani stories collection translated into English
New Delhi, Thirteen short stories of Sahitya Akademi winner Prakash Parienkar, originally written in Konkani and portraying village life in Goa's forested region Sattari, have been translated into English. Through these 13 narratives in "The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories", Parienkar weaves together a web of social, cultural, and agricultural traditions that define the lives of the people in the northeastern region of the coastal state. Published by Niyogi Books, the short stories have been translated by Vidya Pai. The stories are set against the backdrop of the Mhadei river, which flows through the landscape, nourishing the crops and the people who tend to them. Parienkar's writing is infused with a deep understanding of the natural world and the interconnectedness of human life with the land. He writes about the diverse flora and fauna of the region, the folk customs and religious traditions, and the struggles of the villagers as they face the fury of nature or revel in its bounty. One of the most striking aspects of Parienkar's stories is the way he captures the sheer diversity of life in Sattari. From the kumer farming practices of the past to the puran farming methods that are unique to this region, Parienkar's stories are filled with details that bring the world of the villagers to life. The stories also highlight the challenges faced by the villagers, including the impact of government policies on their traditional way of life. The characters in Parienkar's stories are multidimensional and complex, with their own unique struggles and triumphs. The women, in particular, are powerfully drawn, handling domestic responsibilities and working on the land with a strength and resilience that is inspiring. Parienkar's stories also explore the complex social dynamics of village life, including the hierarchy of caste and the distinct roles played by different communities. The tussle between native residents and outsiders is another theme that runs through many of the stories.
Scroll.in
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
‘We all look up at the same sky': Jordan Quill, author of a children's book on the magic of Tibet
A book, written, conceptualised, and designed specifically for children more often than not contains within it a discovery that is more relevant for adults than for the intended 'target' audience. Packed within less than 40 pages, Karma and the Snow Lion, for this reader, opened up a universe that the adult world either neglects or deliberately shies away from due to a sense of apprehension, which could be either misplaced or justified. These fears and reservations are related to 'complicated' matters of cross-border situations, geopolitical tensions, or perhaps, social compunctions, and beyond. Set against the picturesque snow-capped vastness of the Himalayas, Karma and the Snow Lion is an ode to memory, language, culture, heritage, and the quiet resilience of life in exile. Published by Niyogi Books, written by Jordan Quill – a PhD scholar specialising in Northern Indian, Tibetan, and Himalayan textiles, architecture and art – and beautifully, sensitively illustrated by thangka painters Mitthu and Sonam Lama Tamang, the story follows Karma, a young pashmina goat born in exile, as he journeys – literally and metaphorically – toward a homeland he has never seen. Pashmina, the fabric, is the thread that binds this book together in the exploration of layered themes of cultural preservation, oral and written traditions, and the power of storytelling as a tool of resistance, remembrance, and resurrection or revival. It offers children (and grown-ups) a window into the world of the Changpa people, the significance of the pashmina trade, and the quiet power of food, language, and heritage. What makes it especially remarkable is the artistic vision behind it – traditional thangka painters adapting their sacred art form to bring Karma's journey to life, marking a rare and powerful moment of innovation within custom. In an interview with Scroll, the creators of Karma and the Snow Lion discuss the need to have curiosity about your past, to ask questions however discomfiting in order to build a bridge – between lands, generations, and across seemingly insurmountable barriers and divisions – that will eventually lead one from the heartbreak of disconnection to the enduring belief in shared skies. Since the illustrators do not speak English, the responses in the latter half of this interview were thoughtfully provided by Jordan Quill on their behalf. 'No matter how far away you live, we all look up at the same sky, and in that way, we are all connected. You will always be connected with Tibet.' This line beautifully captures the idea of longing and belonging. How did you approach writing about the deep connection to Tibet, a homeland that Karma and his family have never seen? I approached writing about the deep connection between Tibet and Karma, the main character, and a homeland that he and his family had never seen, through my experience interacting with the Tibetan refugee community in McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala over the past seven years. In fact, the storyline was inspired by this. The heartbreaking truth of Tibet's proximity to India and the Himalayan mountains means that Tibetans in exile in India today can see glimpses of their homeland but are unable to return. The idea that the sky is a means of connecting people throughout the world with places that they're unable to go to is something that came out of the storyline of Karma and the snow lion flying over the Himalayas, the geographical barrier between India and Tibet. This storyline is also linked to the meaning of Karma's name, 'star' in Tibetan, where it is spelt the way it appears in the night sky in the book. The book highlights the importance of passing down language through generations. What inspired you to make language preservation a central theme in Karma's journey and how did your own ongoing doctoral research on textiles influence the narrative of the book? The idea of language preservation is a central theme to the book because Tibetan is an endangered language today that's being systematically threatened and targeted within occupied Tibet. The heartbreaking reality of Tibetans living in exile is that they have to operate in different languages and Tibetan becomes a language that is less used in their day-to-day lives. This means that it's threatened even outside of Tibet, though there are significant efforts to preserve the Tibetan language within exile communities in India, especially. Then there's the issue of being able to write and read in Tibetan and that's why I wanted to bring the theme of learning to read and write into the storyline, to put forward the importance of learning these vital skills from previous generations. The research that I'm doing at the moment for my PhD is about Indian textiles, specifically Mughal textiles, which has included quite a lot of research about pashminas and the pashmina fibre. I've been able to use some of this research into the pashmina fibre – how it ends up in Kashmir, and where it comes from originally – and turn it into a book that's accessible for children. Making my research accessible is the most important thing for me, so I was really thrilled when Trisha Niyogi approached me and asked me to write a children's book on a theme related to Indian textiles. I've also been studying Tibetan for a number of years as well as researching the arts of India, Tibet, and the Himalayan region, so my academic background is quite mixed and the story of the movement of the pashmina fibre combines all of these different aspects of years of research. 'Why do we eat momos?' 'We always have, Karma. It's a food my mother made, and her mother before her. They learnt to make them when they lived in Tibet.' Food often carries memory and heritage. What role do you think food plays in maintaining cultural identity, especially for those communities that have been either neglected in history or deliberately erased, as represented through this story? Of course, food plays quite an important role in preserving cultural identity for communities that have been neglected in history or deliberately erased. Momos are the most easily recognisable food from Tibet and the Himalayas, especially in India, and it was this aspect of Tibetan culture that I wanted to bring into the storyline to make the story more relatable for an audience both in an Indian and global context today. The shape of the momo also contributes to the development of the storyline, relating its round shape to that of the full moon in the sky outside. The full moon holds special significance in the Tibetan calendar and the Tibetan yearly cycle, so I also wanted to make this the night that Karma had his magical experience with the snow lion in Tibet. The Changpa have passed down their knowledge of pashmina for generations, not through written records, but through storytelling. How important was it for you to showcase oral traditions in Karma and the Snow Lion? What drew you to storytelling as a means of cultural preservation? Oral traditions are an important part of cultural preservation, especially within nomadic communities such as the Changpa, who are semi-nomadic. However, this is a small part of the story whose focus is instead on learning a written language and showcasing the written traditions of the Tibetan language as a means of cultural preservation. It was important for me that even though this is a children's story book, the facts were accurate and that the reader could learn something through the story. The Snow Lion tells Karma, 'I am one of the snow lions that protects the mountains that surround Tibet.' What was the significance of choosing the Snow Lion, a powerful yet mythical figure, almost like a custodian and guardian of Tibetan history and culture, as Karma's guide on his journey of self-discovery? The snow lion has a long and important history in Tibetan iconography and art, and it is even found on the Tibetan national flag (now banned in occupied Tibet). It is associated with protecting Tibet, the 'Land of Snows', which is encircled by a ring of snow mountains. So yes, the reason I chose the snow lion was to embody a figure of a custodian and guardian of Tibetan history and culture that was able to teach Karma about his history and also to connect him with the land of his ancestors, which he had not yet seen. This is the situation of many Tibetan children, born in exile, who have never been able to visit their own country. The book celebrates the resilience of the Changpa people. How does Karma's story reflect the challenges and strengths of real-life communities that continue to sustain these traditions? Karma's story is more related to the discovery of his history and heritage rather than a direct relation to the strengths and challenges of real-life communities that sustain their traditions within the Changthang today. Migration and trade have shaped the history of pashmina. What aspects of movement and migration did you want to emphasise in the book? The main aspect of movement and migration that I wanted to emphasise in the book was that the fibres that make what is called a 'Kashmir shawl' actually come from the high-altitude environments of Tibet and parts of Ladakh. Even though the shawls are woven in Kashmir, from where they get their name, the fibres that make them have travelled long distances over snowy mountains. This is why they are so warm, because the hair comes from the pashmina goats that live in this freezing climate. The connection between Tibet and Kashmir through the pashmina trade is central to the story. What do you hope young readers take away from this historical link? I hope that young readers will take with them this idea of connection and also locate Tibet as the neighbour of India to its far north beyond the Himalayas. The idea of interconnectedness is a central theme in the teachings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The connection between Tibet, Ladakh, Kashmir, and wider India has lasted for many centuries, and has taken on a new intensity with the arrival of His Holiness and the first Tibetan refugees in 1959 after the illegal invasion and occupation of Tibet. Since shortly after it gained independence, His Holiness and many thousands of Tibetans continue to take refuge in India to this present day. (For Mitthu and Sonam Lama Tamang) The book is the first children's book illustrated by thangka painters. How did you adapt the traditional techniques of thangka painting to bring Karma's world to life for young readers? Please share your own journey of discovering the art of thangka painting; what drew you to this art form, which is expressed through storytelling? (Answered by Jordan Quill on behalf of Mitthu and Sonam Lama Tamang) In the art of thangka painting, the aim is not for artistic innovation but for the faithful representation of Buddhist gods, goddesses or bodhisattvas using the exact measurements and proportions laid out in sacred scriptures. Therefore, when I asked the thangka painters if they would be interested in illustrating a children's book, they were hesitant as they were unsure about drawing the designs and painting them, something outside of what they were normally comfortable doing. In order to draw the designs, I first had to map them out using a storyboard and rough sketches of what I had in mind. We then visited another artist who had done this kind of work in the past and he was able to draw the outlines for the thangka painters to fill in with colour. It then took around one month for the paintings to be completed by the thangka painters and their families. (For Mitthu and Sonam Lama Tamang) Tashi means 'auspicious,' and Delek means 'happiness' or 'goodness.' The book introduces young readers to Tibetan words and phrases. Did you incorporate any specific artistic symbols or motifs that carry similar cultural meanings? Yes, there are a number of different artistic symbols that are incorporated into the illustrations of the book. For example, the door curtain Karma pulls back to enter his house has the eight Tibetan auspicious symbols on it, something that most Tibetans have in their homes. We also designed the interiors to reflect those of Tibetan communities in India, particularly on the Indo-Tibet border, with the inclusion of things such as Tibetan tables, stoves with Tibetan-style patterns on them, and Tibetan carpets. When Karma travels in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan plateau, we also see other features of Tibetan visual culture such as stupas, prayer flags, and mani stones, which have been painted with the powerful six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteshvara, Om mani padme hum. (For Mitthu and Sonam Lama Tamang) The Snow Lion appears in a dream, its presence both mystical and protective. How did you approach illustrating the Snow Lion? What elements of traditional Buddhist art influenced your portrayal of this mythical figure? The portrayal of the snow lion was one of the most straightforward aspects of the paintings done by the thangka painters for this book, as it is a motif that also appears in traditional thangka painting. However, its pose was adapted in several cases to fit the narrative of the storyline. (For Mitthu and Sonam Lama Tamang) Thangka painting has a long and sacred tradition. How has it evolved over the years, and how widely known is it today? Thangka painting as an art form actually originated in India and came to Tibet with Buddhism, where it was adopted, adapted, and absorbed into local traditions and iconographies. Much like the rest of Tibetan culture within Tibet, it is now preserved most faithfully within institutions established in exile and by artists who are able to practise freely outside of their occupied homeland. The thangka painters who illustrated Karma and the Snow Lion are Tamang, who originate from Nepal and speak a Tibeto-Burman language that shares much of its vocabulary with Tibetan. They are Tibetan Buddhists and regularly attend the teachings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala. They have been painting thangka paintings for many generations. The development of the art form itself has been the subject of numerous academic studies and incorporates a centuries-long tradition and history that continues to this present day.
