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Why steal shine off the sun?

Md Au Akbar
Why steal shine off the sun? The nation must be reclaimed out of the perilous division it has been afflicted with after BNP's propping up of Major Zia as the proclaimer (?) of independence, a position that President Ziaur Rahman himself had never laid claim to.
WE are unfortunately divided by an unnecessary debate about who proclaimed independence of Bangladesh. It is unnecessary because it is about a self-evident, historical truth that admits of no debating or twisting. "Proclamation of independence," as embodied in our constitution, is a settled matter.
The all-important "Proclamation of independence" unambiguously mentions Bangabandhu as having proclaimed independence of Bangladesh right after "all hell broke loose," i.e. the Pakistan army's crackdown on March 25, 1971.
The undisputed founder-proclaimer of independence, Bangabandhu, was ensconced at the helm of the new state until his tragic assassination in 1975. Never had we heard any quarter dispute his proclamation of independence. Even later, neither Zia himself nor anybody on his behalf had ever challenged Bangabandhu s epic proclamation.
Strangely, the post-Zia BNP enthusiasts -- possibly to muster undue political capital — resorted to claiming that Ziaur Rahman proclaimed independence. Now, with the June 21 landmark HC ruling that it was Bangabandhu who proclaimed independence on March 26, 1971, the BNP leaders are expected to renounce their bizarre claim that they know, no less than others, is fictitious. They cannot assign to Zia what is deservedly due to Bangabandhu.
Still, they hold on to the disproved claim in TV talk shows and elsewhere, leaving us wondering whether or not such conduct constitutes "contempt of the court," which the HC may or may not take into cognisance. But we ought to let the post-'71 generation know the truth that has long been shadowed.
Millions of people who participated in the liberation war, or witnessed how the nation jumped into the war and at whose clarion call, are still alive to attest to the truth of Bangabandhu's proclamation
in the early hours of March 26, 1971, before he was taken captive by the Pakistani military junta.
Rightly, discussants as well as the media affirm that the HC has just upheld the self-evident historical truth of Bangabandhu's proclamation. They adduce various records -- the terming of Bangabandhu as a traitor for proclaiming an independent Bangladesh in General Yahya's March 26,1971 radio address, and the US Consul General's message on the day to Washington about Bangabandhu's proclamation being prominent among them -- as evidence.
I, then an intermediate candidate at Chittagong, saw what had happened, and how the war had ensued. The message of Bangabandhu's proclamation on the morning of March 26,1971 spread far and wide like a wild fire. The printed message was "Pakistani military has cracked down on the unarmed Bengalis ... From now Bangladesh is independent. Fight to the last drop of your blood. Drive the last enemy soldier out of the motherland."
We heard over radio the then Chittagong AL General Secretary M.A. Hannan read out Bangabandhu's historic message of proclamation of independence at frequent intervals throughout the day. The message electrified the freedom loving Bengalis, who instantly jumped into a do-or-die battle with
whatever means they had.
On the following day -- March 27, 1971 -we heard the then Maj. Zia say "I, Major Zia hereby declare independence of Bangladesh by the order of our great leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman." Therefore, we credit Major Zia with making repeat announcement on March 27, 1971 of Bangladesh's independence mentioning "by the order of our great leader Bangabandhu." That was to inspire the Bengalis at war, certainly not to negate Bangabandhu's proclamation.
Logically, Major Zia cannot be said to have proclaimed independence himself, as Hannan cannot be either, although the latter had read out Bangabandhu's independence proclamation over radio throughout March 26,1971, i.e. a day before Major Zia did.
A huge amount of water has rolled under the bridge. It is now for the over-zealous BNP leaders to look into mirror of their inner self, and decide to shun what millions of 1971-era people call "a dirty ploy" to mislead the post-71 generation about the seminal landmark of the momentous '71 event. Misguided promoters of Zia only trivialise him by catapulting him to a position comparable to Bangabandhu's.
Given the*HC ruling based on cognisable records galore, the BNP coterie had better not belittle them by pitting Bangabandhu, the proclaimer-founder of our independencek, against a government functionary -- which the then Maj. Ziaur Rahman was. It does not glorify Zia, rather it demeans him.
As the HC ruling is mandatory upon all, let nobody mislead the youngsters. Bangabandhu was undeniably like the sun in the firmament of independent Bengali nationhood. Let late President Zia shine in his light. He need not be reinvented as being what he was truly not. Misrepresentation of
Bangabandhu's March 26 proclamation of independence must be eschewed.
Why steal shine off the sun? The nation must be reclaimed out of the perilous division it has been afflicted with after BNP's propping up of Major Zia as the proclaimer (?) of independence, a position that President Ziaur Rahman himself had never laid claim to.
Md. Ali Akbar is a Deputy Secretary to the government