Sunday | 12 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Sunday | 12 January 2025 | Epaper

Valiant freedom-fighters’ suggestive honorarium

Published : Wednesday, 12 February, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 425
Mahbubar Rahman
Some glorious events, having no parallel, rarely come in the national life of nations which, despite their tale of  glory are spoken about time & again in million numbers, never exhausts and fades their colour, refulgence and relevance in national life. One such glorious event is, of course, our War of Liberation; the formidable spirit of which is borne and deeply cemented in hearts & souls of every patriotic Bengalis ever since the War of Liberation began in March 1971 with nine months long battle that ultimately culminated in Victory Day on December 16, 1971; thereby shaping an enemy-free independent Bangladesh.
 
It is needless to emphasize that the War of Liberation took place in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur who, after his clarion call on 7th March 1971, address at the Race Course (Shuharawardy Uddan) subsequently declared independence at the first hour of 26th March 1971, after the Pakistani military junta cracked-down on Bengalis with their monstrous fire power. People of all walks of life with whatever that had in their hands resisted the occupation army thus beginning the War of Liberation in the true sense of the term following crackdown.  On Pakistani crackdown, thousands of people including students in the Dhaka University Campus, Policemen at Rajarbaagh, EPR men at Pilkhana, young political activities and innocent and marginalized sleeping people in the street were barbarously gunned down in Dhaka City.

 People of the country specially policemen and EPR men, youth activists and students vowed to fight back marauding army, hand in hand, with taking up arms from wherever the source they had. On the valley of death that the Dhaka city and other cities in Bangladesh was turned, freedom-fighters with strategic retreat for few weeks organized them within the country and across the border with the moral and material support of close door friendly neighbour-India.

After fighting a long battle within the country on resorting to guerilla battle tactics of hit & run and following conventional battle tactics of fighting, hand in hand with the soldiers of friendly neighbouring country, freedom-fighters eventually stormed the forts of Pakistan army across the country and entered the gate of Dhaka City triumphantly that led to the surrender of 93 thousands strong Pakistani army to the joint forces of valiant freedom-fighters and Indian army. That momentous occasion in crisp sunshine in mid-January at Race Course Maidan thrilled every Bengalis, memory of which is deeply riveted in the eyes of every Bengalis ever since that historical event took place. 
 
On the event of Victory Day and its onward journey to successive days, people remained in great festive mood and jubilation with the freedom-fighters still holding arms and ratting the bullets in the air in great jubilation and celebration. Victory Day of 16th December brought about enemy-free Bangladesh, no doubt, but all Bengali souls including that of freedom-fighters ached for Bangabandhu who was still in incarceration in Pakistani dungeon where a grave was dug for him to be interred soon after planned execution. However, considering the fate of 93 thousand Pakistani soldiers in captivity after surrender and due to intense international pressure, Bangabandhu was at last released from Pakistani jail and via London and New Delhi set his foot in the soil of independent Bangladesh on January 10, 1972 amid thunderous roars and cheers of waiting people. Bangabandhu was taken straight to Shuharawardy Uddan from the airport where he addressed a mammoth gathering to his people amid bursting cheers and emotions.

At the call of Banabandhu, freedom-fighters who were still holding their arms, surrendered their arms on the feet of Bangabandhu and went back to their respective fields from where they came and participated in the War of Liberation.

With war ravaged economy, infrastructure and administration as well; Bangabandhu duly felt the necessity, among on few other fields that needed urgent address, of creating administrative cadres from recruits of qualified and highly educated freedom-fighter to take over the charge of country's crumbling administration and other fields where the immediate attention was urgently warranted. Accordingly a batch of 1314 officers were recruited through Bangladesh Public Service (first) Commission in 1973 and assigned them with the task of reshaping the administration as and where they were needed. Young and vibrant officers just returned from the battle field with all patriotic zeal & enthusiasm, having taken over the charge in different sectors gradually engaged in reshaping the administration with their best of abilities bearing in mind the formidable spirit of liberation.

Alas! Following gruesome murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the hands of some disgruntled armed bandits in army fatigue with arms and rolling tanks in the street of Dhaka in the fateful night of August 15,1975, an ominous wind blew from the opposite direction carrying eye-blinding smoke unleashed from the gate of hell which grossly imperilled and molested the burgeoning hopes and visions of freedom fighter officers who fell prey to a diabolical act of vindictiveness and vengeance of those post 1975 ruling political bigots who nurtured an active monster within; well enough for trampling the values and spirit based on which Bangladesh emerged as an independent country at the cost of a stream of blood. The only crime of freedom-fighter officers was presumably their supreme sacrifice in taking part in our great War of Liberation and make elite officers which sarcastically pushed them to fall under the wanton wrath and acrimony of that ominous power that gruesomely killed Bangabandhu and could not accept the spirit of war of liberation in their obtuse mind-sets.

The evil forces with a trademark of democracy (!!) and with their festering partisan jingoism that acceded to state power, a turning point of history, inculcated a diabolic act which unleashed a massive crackdown and character assassination of freedom-fighter officers in a fiendish manner. Consequently, majority of freedom-fighter officers prematurely plummeted from stardom of post-liberation civil bureaucracy in Bangladesh into the abyss of ignominy in different phases and twists and turns of their career and lost in oblivion in post-Bangabandhu-assassination era in independent Bangladesh.

With coming back to power after long 21 years of dark era of Bangladesh's history in 1996, the pro-liberation political party Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the spirit and values of liberation war and the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman which was purportedly airbrushed for long, was salvaged and put in right track with due honour and respect where it should have been in preceding years. The spirit of War of Liberation was duly instilled anew in Bengali psyche particularly to those young minds who have not had the occasion to witness War of Liberation and its glory in national life.

The pro-War of Liberation Awami League government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, having duly recognized the supreme sacrifice of freedom-fighters officers who were unlawfully and acrimoniously shown the door, were salvaged to get back their lost ranks and positions with financial benefits with retrospective effect by government executive order and in some cases by judicial order.

With the given situation, it is true that these affected senior freedom-fighter officers got back their rank and positions with one/two steps promotion as Secretary to the government in case they fall in the jurisdiction of Administrative Service and Inspector General of Police in case of officers belonging to the Police Service without having had the opportunity of serving the office of their elevated government position even for a day, as they all ran out of serving age by that time, than only attaching the rank before or after their names as government retirees with financial benefits with retrospective effect.

The collateral damage that these affected senior freedom-fighter officers had suffered in the black era of misrule of preceding years cannot be compensated by elevated ranks and positions alone and be carried with pride, rather they have to bear the burden of their added feathers and laurels in the crown with persisting social stigma.

Besides that, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have duly introduced honorarium in pecuniary and other material term for the freedom-fighters after it came to power in 2009 on landside electoral victory. The financial and other benefits that the freedom fighters are now enjoying is, of course, a benevolent and commendable act of the government in giving due recognition to the freedom-fighters that they do serve as the best sons of the nation as they are often happily referred to.

Although the package given by the government deserves special commendation, still there are certain other areas where the government should focus and undertake special measures to make some matters far easier for freedom-fighters, most of who are now walking the twilight of life. Before they go into the sunset of life which is inevitable and not very far away from now for them, as the time flies fast; a few suggestive measures are humbly appended below on which government should ponder over to consider for freedom fighters which they deserve from the present government which has so far tangibly done for the freedom-fighters and always look forward to the pleasure doing more for them.

1. To issue digital ID card to all gazetted freedom fighter after due scrutiny and filtration.  
2. To create special desk in the public hospitals for receiving free medical services that the freedom fighters are now enjoying.
3. To give a reasonable amount of discount to all medical expenses to freedom-fighters in all private hospitals and clinics.
4. To give free/discounted inland transportation services in all public transports such as Roads/Rail/water way/airway etc.
5. To issue special passport and to establish special desk in immigration in both airports and land borders for easy maneuvering and hassle-free travel.
6. To allot lands/flats to all landless/homeless freedom fighters for their respectful living for the rest of life.
7. To enhance the amount of monthly honorarium of the 12000/- and other given festival bonuses to certain respectable amount considering the persistent increase in the cost of living.
8. To continue the monthly honorarium and festival bonuses after the death of freedom-fighters enabling their spouses to receive the same until their death.  
The above few facilities and honorarium package that are suggested for, are not enough if we compare them with the supreme sacrifice that the freedom-fighters made in shaping independent Bangladesh under the ebullient leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971.

It is hoped that, keeping in view the upcoming Mujib-Borso, commemorating the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Golden Jubilee of Independence of Bangladesh in successive year of 2021, the government of Bangabandhu's  daughter prime minister Sheikh Hasina would do the best in bestowing more dignity and honour upon all freedom fighters in both moral and material term before, as most of who already in the shoes of septuagenarian and octogenarian are sunk in the mist of time leaving behind the vestige of their patriotism and gallantry in the War of Liberation in 1971, for the generations to come.

Joy Bangla. Joy Bangabandhu. God bless us.
The writer is a Freedom-fighter and former Civil Servant.









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