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In Memoriam

Remembering a dear friend

Md. Matiul Islam
M. Alauddin, an officer of the CSP of 1952 batch, breathed his last in a Lahore hospital on April 18. He was commissioner of Dhaka division when the Pakistan army cracked down at midnight on March 25 He was taken to Lyallpur and ordered by the Pakistanis to depose against Sheikh Mujib, who was under trial for treason, and suffered untold miseries for not co-operating with the prosecution. Alauddin was an intellectual, a bohemian and bachelor, and left behind only a handful of friends to mourn his death
1 first met him in the Civil Service Academy in Lahore. The friendship that developed continued unabated through the years of trials, tribulations and separation -- when my civil service career came to an abrupt end in 1969 and Alauddin decided to May back in Pakistan, where he had gone on an official tour but wa»Mranded because of the Indo - Paki stan war.
Alauddin's initial posting on completion of civil service training was in West Pakistan, and later on he was transferred to East Pakistan. It was during his tenure as secretary of the health ministry that he incurred the displeasure of the then governor, Abdul Monem Khan, over the selection of candidates for admission into medical colleges.
Although 90% of the admissions were on merit, the governor had kept to himself the selection of 10% of the candidates under the governor's quota. Always ready to help friends, Alauddin made a few selections out of the governor's quota and landed himself in trouble. The governor first sent him to the Staff College in Lahore for 3 month s training, then gave him a punishment postingas the additional commissioner, Chittagong di vision.
Alauddin remained unperturbed. The posting came as a boon for him as he could now pursue his other interest of studying the tribal life of Chittagong Hill Tracts, which’he used to visit espe-
cially during the Eid holidays. This interest in tribal life also took him to the far-flung areas of Kafiristan, Gilgit, Dir, Chitral in NWFP. His book, Kalash-Paradise Lost on the Kalash tribe was a masterpiece, for which Raja Tridib Roy wrote the foreword.
Alauddin was a loner and would surface in unexpected places all by himself. It was in Habiganj, which had been struck by a cyclonic storm causing serious damage to life and property and where he was busy in relief work, that he encountered Monem Khan who came on an unannounced visit to assess the damage and supervise relief operation The governor instantly realised that he had wronged a dedicated officer and immediately posted him as divisional commissioner, Dhaka, where he became my neighbour.
In March 1971, Alauddin was still the commissioner Dhaka division when, on March 3, there was a mass uprising after the announcement that the Dhaka session of the National Assembly had
been postponed indefinitely.
His official bungalow became a shelter for a large number of police constables. Alauddin was Urdu speaking, hence he had the trust of the Pakistan army who were then looking for senior officers who had cooperated with the separatist forces. His personal intervention saved the lives of a large numbers of DCs, SPs and other prominent persons.
I was then working in the private sector and was residing in Dhanmondi. In June, 1971, Alauddin came to see me and mentioned about the summons he had received from the army to proceed to Lyallpur to depose against Sheikh Mujib. Alauddin was to be one of the key prosecution witnesses to prove that Sheikh Mujib had fanned the mass uprising and hence was guilty of treason.
Alauddin steadfastly refused to incriminate Sheikh Mujib and the prosecution had to declare him a hostile witness. He was mercilessly cross-examined by Mr. Manzur Quader, the
eminent lawyer engaged by the government of Pakistan to defend Sheikh Mujib. Alauddin gave a vivid description of Sheikh Mujib sitting in the dock, smoking his pipe and smiling all through the proceedings. After a month or so, Alauddin returned to Dhaka.
Alauddin was then transferred as member. Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC). On an official tour to West Pakistan in the last week of November, 1971, he got stranded in Karachi due to the out-break of war and could not return to Dhaka.
Prime Minister Sheikh Mujib on his return to Dhaka enquired about Alauddin to reward him for his courage and bravery and was informed that he had decided to stay back in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan treated him shabbily. For a long time, the government denied him any posting and he became a virtual destitute.
In the meantime in Dhaka, I managed to get hold of his old Volkswagen and kept it in the backyard of my house. A
few months later, Mr. M.K. Anwar, also a victim of Yahya Khan 's regime, came to Dhaka from Karachi where he was working for the Habib Bank and gave me a torn piece of paper on which Alauddin had scribbled "Received Rs. 10,000 from M. K. Anwar. Give him my car.” Alauddin was a past master in brevity. This was one such example.
During my posting in New Delhi in Unido, 1 was a regular visitor to Lahore and spent a lot of time with him. My last visit was in August 2008. He was a very frail, old man and could manage to walk only with a stick. Both my wife and I realised that this was possibly our last meeting, and that came to be true. On April 18, he breathed his last in a Lahore Hospital where he was shifted in a critical state with kidney and liver failure.
In Bangladesh, he has left behind a large number of friends and admirers. This article I hope will rekindle their memory of Alauddin, to mourn his death and to pray to the Almighty for resting his soul in peace.
Md Mabul Islam ts a former Secretary fo the Government