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Lest We Forget

Syed Nazmuddin Hashim: Recalling His Deeds and Contributions

by Mohammad Amjad Hossain
A meeting has been sponsored by the admirers to pay homage to Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim on 18 July at the auditorium of Mukti Joddha Museum in connection with his first death anniversary. I salute the wisdom of the admirers for this initiative. Man may come and man may go from Ulis world, but a handful of them leave behind Indelible mark through their deeds. Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim is one of them. He Is remembered as much for what he was as a man as for what he produced as a writer. His character was so human both In its strength and In Its weakness that I feel personal fondness for him.
Born on 16 August 1925 in a respectable Muslim family at Makrall In Madhukhall under Farldpur district Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim chose to remain with the Journalistic profession, although his father, Syed Fazlul Rashid was a physician by profession. Having completed his graduation in English literature with honours from Presidency College, Calcutta. Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim Joined Calcutta based Morning Neus in 1946.
On his return to Dhaka after the partition of British India he was admitted to Dhaka University. During his student career tn Dhaka University he was imprisoned for a short period for his participation in the Bengali language movement in 1948. That was the end of his student career.
In 1948 he decided to Join news organisation of Radio Pakistan in Dhaka as subeditor. The following year he went to Karachi to work in the newly established central news organisation of Radio Pakistan. Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim was awarded scholarship in 1952 from Colombo Plan to study at Australian Broadcasting Company In Sydney.
He served Radio Pakistan as news editor till 1966 when his service was requisitioned in the Bureau of National Reconstruction of Pakistan at Rawalpindi, of which Professor Kabir Chowdhury was director in East Pakistan. He remained there until he was appointed Press .Attache at. Pakistan .mission in Paris in 1968. As • Press. Attiichl, bhe established good rapport with the media people, but he did not have the blessings of the Ambassador S.K. Dchlavi. who was by nature anti-Bangla and a typical foreign service officer. On the recommendation of the Ambassador, Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim was called back to Pakistan before completion of his tenure as had happened with many diplomats when they did not have good terms with the ambassador or high commissioner (in case of the Commonwealth countries).
It may be mentioned that an Ambassador or High Commissioner enjoys unbridled power to recommend transfer of his Junior colleague and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs incidentally follow his recommendation without seeking the views of the aggrieved diplomat even if his/her contribution is much more pronounced and visible on many occasions than that of the Ambassador/Hlgh Commis sloner.
Syed Nazmuddin Hashim's case was no exception. His intelligence, sense of dedication to work and sincerity was unques tlonable, but SK Dehlavi. who was Pakistan's Ambassador to the Republic of France, did not appreciate Syed Nazmuddln's work. His style of English writing. partlcu-1 a r1y his thought-provoking report to the Ministry deserved praise.
On his return to Rawalpindi the newly appointed Information Secretary. Syed Ahmed, who was the first Bengali Director-Gcncral in the External Publicity Wing, decided
to appoint Syed Nazmuddin Hashim as Executive Director of Pakistan Council. To make a case in his favour the Secretary requested the External Publicity Wing to prepare a paper indicating the activities of Syed Nazmuddin Hashim. Incidentally I was the desk officer for America and Europe at the External Publicity Wing In Islamabad at the time. On instruction 1 prepared a paper highlighting the activities of Syed Nazmuddin Hashim, which Included an appreciation letter given by Mr Shahbuddin. Information Minister under Ayub regime. At that time I did not know Mr Hashim personally.
Pakistan's Ambassador, SK Dehlavi, however, did not appreciate this appointment. On the other hand, the Information Secretary was admonished by him for according this high post to Syed Nazmuddin Hashim.
ZaIZ I. have had . the privUegOi-vf working with Syed Nazmuddin Hashim i wheh he was called upon bv the President of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Join the External Publicity Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the beginning of 1975. He was assigned to reorganise the Publicity Wing to cater to the needs and to improve the image of the country abroad. He took up the challenge and concentrated on the development of plans and programmes of the wing in accordance with the need of the time.
He had completed his assignment. but the President did not have a chance to see the report. This wing remains neglected till this day. The assassination of the President of Bangladesh by a group of disgruntled army officers and Jawans in August 1975 cast a deep sense of sadness on Nazrnuddin Hashims mind as has been reflected tn his well-wrltten memoir: Osslesher Rakkhosht Hashi in Bangla One could envy the style of his English writing, but I was amazed to see his Bengali writing as well. In my opinion. It would be difficult to find In Bengali literature another memoir to compare with Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim's Osslesher Rakkhoshl Hashi.
From the foreign office in Bangladesh he had made
Inroads into diplomatic assignments, which are more or less reserved for foreign service officers. After serving as Minister (Information) In Bangladesh Mission in London he was offered to serve as Bangladesh Ambassador to Burma(pres
ently Myanmar) in 1980. Possibly he was the first person from the Information Service to serve the country's interest In Burma as Ambassador.
Following the change-over In the government under the military regime in 1982 he was called back and was elevated to the rank of Minister for Information. Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim, as I know him, was liberal, open-minded and progressive. I wonder why he accepted the ministerial post under the military regime. On many occasions b^ told me that he did not feel comfortable. because of interference by the President himself without any genuine reason. Ultimately he requested the President to relieve him of the post, but he was Instead offered ambassadorial post with the rank of Minister to Moscow.
He was sharply critical of the double standard employed by the west Ip fbreigh policy1 niat-
On the so-called free media in the west Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim wrote to me from Moscow (undated letter), extracts ol which are reproduced below: "From what you say I am con-vinced once again that there is no objectivity or honesty in the so-called "free press" of the west. Otherwise. In the face of Ham-lyn's eyewitness account, how could the Times give the government a pat in the back in its editorial pages? One of them has to be wrong and since the leader page Is what matters to most people aren't they being less than honest? I once became very unpopular in New York for telling their Times that there is nc free press there since the Namibia debate tn the UNSC lasting for a month got four lines In the New York Times, while Jewish campaign on behalf of Soviet Jewish dissidents got full page spread, as did Bob Hope's 80th birthday with Ronald and Nancy participating. They were rocked when I said . there appears to be no sovereign government in Washington since all foreign policy decisions were clearly subject to veto by the Jewish lobby and Tel Aviv."
Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim was very particular in choosing suitable words In writing letters, reports and articles. Similarly while delivering a lecture or talk he was careful in picking the exact words that were the true mirror of his thoughts.
Unfortunately Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim was branded by a few persons Including Indian Journalist Sukharanjan Das Gupta, writer of Midnight Massacre in Dacca, as the real author of Ayub's "Friends, not Masters". There is not an lota of truth tn it because of two cogent reasons. Firstly. Ayub Khan was not such a stupid person to assign Bengali officer to write his book, which was against the feelings of Bangalees and secondly. Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim, who was Deputy Director (Research) in National Bureau of Reconstruction of Pakistan, was too Junior an officer to carry out such a controversial assignment.
From what we gather from Islamabad, it was Altaf Gauhar. Secretary, Ministry of Information and a close lieutenant of Ayub Khan, also a prolific writer and poet, who had a hand In writing this book.
On completion of his ambassadorial assignment in Moscow In 1986 Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim Joined the English weekly Dialogue as Advlsorial Editor, but because of differences of opinion with the management of this publication he had to resign, which reflects his independent and straightforward mind. He never compromised his principle for the sake of selfish interest.
During his retired, care-free life. Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim concentrated on writing. He presented one more book before his departure from this world on poet Shamsur Rahman, which Will Be on sate frotmlS July, 2006. Therefore, five books go to his credit
The work of Syed Nazrnuddin Hashim, who began his carrier as journalist before the partition of British India, will be cherished by his friends, colleagues. admirers and relatives alike. No one can measure the amount of dedication, sincerity and devotion he paid to professionalism. He was a unique bureaucrat, who did not follow prescribed norm of the so-called bureaucracy.
Syed Nazrnuddin Hash i was a prolific writer, both in English and Bengali. Today, along with many of his admirers. I pay my due respect to the departed soul recalling his deeds and contributions.