|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
they reveal to us how for the sake of the country and its people a man can sacrifice everything, risk his very life, and endure endless torture in prison. We discover a personality who gave up the prospects of happiness, comfort, relaxation, wealth – everything. This is what Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter, Sheikh Hasina, writes in her brief, but impressive, Preface to The Unfinished Memoirs, an autobiography which attempts to uncover the real Mujibur Rahman. His political world took on brighter shades as he fought endlessly and selflessly to attain the rights of his people through a continuous series of planned political activities, "till he was able to bring freedom to the Bengali nation." Heartfelt and admirably unsentimental, this political autobiography is an eloquent testimony to a leader of elevated qualities of mind, who (though spent most precious parts of his life in prison) had never compromised on his principles. By the support of his own political organisations and other countries, he became strong enough to establish his people in the East Bengal as "a heroic race in the eyes of the world" and create an independent and sovereign country.
Against a wide range of political events, from the first general election in East Bengal in 1954 to Mujib's declaration that "henceforth East Pakistan would be called Bangladesh," the man displayed is a leader who did not betray his people but focused all his energy and interest upon them and was tireless in his struggle for their economic emancipation and independence, and at all times was restrained. In fact, his struggle for freedom is revealed nowhere more clearly than in his historic speech that urged the people of Bengal to break the shackles of subjugation and declared, "Since we have given blood, we will give more blood. By the will of Almighty God, the people of this land will be liberated`85 turn every house into fortress. Face the enemy with whatever you have." Though a devastating explosion of poverty in the eastern province of Pakistan had been a nightmare anxiety to him, he did not stop from calling upon the people of Bangladesh to resist "the army of occupation to the last," even though he was later snatched away from the people by "the bullets of assassins." Among the narrative's central themes are the relationship between state and society, the impact of Pakistani army and such crucial questions as who actually possessed political power, how this power was used, and in whose interests and with what consequences. It also takes account of the great figures of Pakistan's political history, including Jinnah, and also of the politics of killing, coups and conspiracy. Written in the beautiful and luminous prose of which the translators might have been masters, The Unfinished Memoirs is brilliantly satirical in places, but within its apparently unforgiving exterior lies a deep well of sympathy, admiration, and love for humanity, which gave meaning to his politics. And the result is exactly the kind of autobiography that most people would like to read, but which only Mujib could possibly have written.
|
|||
|
|
|||
The book originated in
memoirs, diaries, and notebooks that this formidable leader and
"Friend of Bengal" had written in Bengali while he was
"all by himself" in the central prison from1966 to 1969.
Hasina, after overcoming all sorts of obstacles, got it translated
into English when she returned from exile to her country in 1981. The
book not only provides us with an abundance of political information
about Pakistani politicians and rulers but also gives an authentic
account of his struggles, steadfastness and sacrifices. In fact, Mujib
pens here a portrait of himself in a frame of timelessness. Following
an entirely new, less-chronological method of autobiography, he sets
out to tell us about his family heritage, his student life, his
protests, his sparkling discussions with his father about power and
politics and his active role in protecting Muslims and containing
violence and communal riots which broke out in the wake of the
Partition of India and the birth of Pakistan. He also reveals his
secular and democratic thoughts in application and how he became
deeply involved in active politics, particularly when he built a
strong movement against the Muslim League's "move to make Urdu
the only state language of Pakistan". For he thought that what it
was doing with "Pakistan was not the Pakistan I had dreamed
of." Things needed to change and he remarkably changed them