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Mark Tully points to int’l links of Bangabandhu murder


Published : 18 Aug 2021 09:16 PM | Updated : 19 Aug 2021 12:37 AM

BBC veteran Sir Mark Tully, who covered the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, has suggested that there were "international connections" with the killing of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15 in 1975.

"It is unusual for those planning the coup not to build up appropriate international connections. Mujib's government was seen as pro-India, pro-Soviet and pro-socialist and we were at the peak of the Cold War," he said while speaking in a CRI- organised webinar, marking the National Mourning Day.

The CRI - Centre for Research and Information- is the research wing of the ruling Awami League.

American journalist Lawrence Lifschultz also pointed out the US connection in the gruesome murder in which all family members - except Bangabandhu's daughters Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana - were killed. They were abroad then.

Offering a glimpse into the post-1975 scenario of the country, Sir Mark Tully said: “There were two different streams at work here – one stream was pro-western economic way, anti-socialist, anti-Indian, and also there was as what I may call an Islamic stream as well, wanting to press Bangladesh into being more Islamic”

The legendary journalist and author was, however, amazed to see Bangladesh's economic turnaround, its secularism and its inclusive growth and said the country would remain on the right path.

Elaborating on the 'right path', he said: "I hope Bangladesh will remain secular as it is now. I am secular and I wish Bangladesh will remain secular."

Tully is also effusive in praise over the connectivity initiatives between India and Bangladesh.

"I went to a Darjeeling boarding school, so when I hear a train will now connect Siliguri with Dhaka, it makes me very happy."   

Tully said bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh are excellent at the moment, but they would hit a new high if the Teesta water sharing agreement were to be signed.

Sir Tully took a long look at the relations of the two countries.  

The British journalist and author of many books on India lives in Delhi but keeps up with developments in Dhaka. 

"India was very unhappy with the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family and relations nosedived sharply. But with his party and daughter back in power, relations with India have improved sharply. There are problems and there will be problems but the relations are basically very good," Tully told the webinar.

Tully said the movement for Bangladesh started immediately after the birth of Pakistan.

"Language is a very emotive issue and Jinnah made a huge mistake by trying to impose Urdu on East Pakistan. The resistance was natural and it snowballed into a movement for independence," Tully said in his presentation.

He said it was in the fitness of things that 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed the UN in Bengali as the leader of a Bengali nation.

"You can see how Hindi and opposition to imposition of Hindi becomes a big issue in many parts of India." 

Tully emphasis on Bangladesh remaining secular and its economic growth assume significance in view of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan -- religious moderation, according to Sir Tully, holds the key to national rejuvenation and economic growth.

What better example than Bangladesh!

The indemnity act formulated in 1975 to protect the assassins of the father of the nation of Bangladesh has no precedence in history, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam who also spoke at the webinar

“It’s hugely embarrassing for the country. It left a rather long-lasting impact and they were given access to the state secrets in subsequent years. They made friends overseas and obviously that made our today’s job difficult locating them as we have a job to bring back the remaining killers and make them face consequences according to the court verdict,” he added.

The webinar titled ‘Shockwaves of Assassination: South Asia 1975’ reflected on the country’s dark chapter that unfolded with the killing of Bangabandhu and nearly his entire family in August 1975.

In between the speeches, the webinar also featured some immediate reactions of global icons following Bangabandhu’s assassination. “Bengalis can no longer be trusted after the killing of Sheikh Mujib,” as observed by Nobel Laureate Willy Brandt, was one of them.

CRI is widely credited for drawing youths closer to history by presenting it in different forms of storytelling. Mujib Graphic Novel (narrating for kids the heroic and humanitarian aspects of the father of the nation), Hasina: A Daughter’s Tale (a docudrama narrating the struggle of Hasina as a daughter of Bangabandhu following his assassination), and Joy Bangla Concert (the country’s biggest concert paying a tribute to the 1971-Liberation War) are few of them.