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The Wire
28-06-2025
- 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.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Time of India
2 held in Bareilly for ‘anti-national posts', 10 such arrests in region so far
Bareilly: In the wake of multiple FIRs registered over alleged pro-Pak content on social media, two more persons were arrested in Bareilly district for purportedly sharing "anti-national posts". With this, the total number of arrests in such cases in the Bareilly zone has reached around 10. Bithri Chainpur SHO, Abhishek Kumar, said, "Mohd Irfan and Wajid Shah uploaded a video on Instagram in which they were purportedly seen shouting 'Pakistan zindabad'. They have been booked under BNS section 353 (2) (circulating statements which are likely to promote enmity between two groups on the ground of caste, religion or community), along with section 66-D of the IT Act." A police officer added that both are residents of Saidpur Lashkariganj and they posted these videos a few days ago. Once the videos were out, a right-wing activist filed a police complaint, the officer added. "We scanned social media accounts of both of them. There were several videos containing irresponsible and provocative statements.... They've been sent to jail and further investigation is on." Incidentally, after their arrest, in another 30-second video, the duo could be seen passionately shouting "down with Pakistan", and repeatedly saying "they would never make such a mistake again in their life".
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India's decision to restrict Bangladesh exports shaped by Dhaka's recent approach on Northeast
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel India's decision to place restrictions on Bangladeshi products being exported to North-East India was shaped by several comments made by the interim regime including by Chief Adviser Md Yunus that it can choke the prosperity of NE states by denying them access to the Bay of associated with the regime gave repeated threats including after Pahalgam attacks that Dhaka could even contemplate to annex the NE states. Ex-servicemen organised rallies in Dhaka last year in support of the demand. Recently Yunus was on a trip to Beijing where he mentioned that North-East India is 'landlocked' and Dhaka is the 'only guardian of the ocean for all this region'Under the Sheikh Hasina govt, India had concluded pacts giving NE states access to Bay of Bengal via Chittagong port. This was also aimed to increase Bangladesh's revenues through royalty earned from the port for transportation of Indian goods, recalled persons familiar with the Indo-Bangladesh sinister design by the Yunus regime and the radicals led by pro-Pak Jamaat-e-Islami to create disturbances in the Northeastern states. For close to two decades Bangladesh was home to insurgents from the Northeast till Hasina handed over them to India in 2009. The subsequent years witnessed Bangladesh businesses making inroads into the Northeast and establishing consulates. India received transit rights for the Northeast via Bangladesh, which was denied by BNP-led governments in the ushering of the Yunus government also witnessed cargoes from Pakistan getting unloaded in Chittagong port for the first time in over 50 years. There are apprehensions of ISI cells getting reactivated in Bangladesh in the backdrop of Pakistan's growing military ties with Bangladesh. This will have cross-border implications into Northeastern Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notification on Saturday night and decided to impose port restrictions on specified Bangladesh exports to India across all land customs stations (LCSs) or integrated check posts (ICPs) in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and through Changrabandha and Fulbari in north Bengal.
Hans India
15-05-2025
- Hans India
Chhattisgarh-based techie arrested for pro-Pakistan slogans
Bengaluru: The police have arrested a youth who shouted pro-Pakistan slogans in a PG in Prashant Layout in Whitefield area of Bengaluru. The arrested person has been identified as 26-year-old Shubanshu Shukla from Chhattisgarh. He is an employee of an IT company in Bengaluru. It is learnt that the accused stood on the balcony and shouted pro-Pakistan slogans on May 9 at 12.30 am, while other youths in the PG were celebrating the success of 'Operation Sindoor' As soon as the pro-Pakistan slogans were heard, the other youths got scared that the terrorists had come here too. Two people were seen standing on the balcony. One of the two, Shubanshu, was seen shouting pro-Pak slogans. A youth in the PG opposite had recorded the scene on his mobile phone. Later, the youth there called the emergency helpline number 112 and informed them. Later, the police reached the spot and took both of them into custody. It was confirmed during interrogation that Shubanshu had shouted pro-Pak slogans, and the Whitefield police have registered a case against him. He has been arrested and sent to jail. The investigation is currently ongoing. It has been learnt that cases of shouting pro-Pak slogans and posting messages of sympathy for Pakistan on social media are increasing in Karnataka.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Time of India
Software engineer held for ‘Jai Pakistan' slogan in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: City police arrested a 25-year-old software engineer in Whitefield recently on charges of shouting "Jai Pakistan".The accused, Shubhanshu Shukla, is a resident of a paying guest accommodation in Prashant Layout. Hailing from Chhattisgarh and a computer science engineer, he has been residing there for more than four years, investigations have a bachelor, who was booked under multiple sections of BNS, claimed he never intended to hail Pakistan, though police are yet to accept that incident took place on the night of May 10, when some residents of Prashant Layout called the police control room (112), saying that a youth was shouting pro-Pak slogans. Immediately, a Hoysala vehicle reached the spot and Shukla was then shared a video with the police, showing Shukla shouting "Jai Pakistan". He was immediately taken to Whitefield police station and his statement to the police, Shukla claimed he had initially chanted pro-India slogans. "Happy with the success of Operation Sindoor, I came out of my PG, shouting 'Jai Bharat, Jai Bharat'. However, no one, including my roommates, reacted. Disappointed with the lack of response, I thought perhaps shouting a pro-Pak slogan would elicit some response. So, I shouted 'Jai Pakistan'.""We are not sure whether the accused raised a pro-India slogan. No one had recorded it. Though when he shouted 'Jai Pakistan', people recorded it," an investigating officer said.
