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In My View

Gaffar Chowdhury: A true patriot who will be forever remembered

Published : Friday, 27 May, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1018
Syed Badiuzzaman
About two years before I entered the profession of journalism, Bangladesh's legendary journalist and columnist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury left the country and settled in London. So, I only heard a lot of fascinating stories about him from my senior colleagues in Dhaka. And the more I heard about him the more I became interested in meeting him.

Then one day my moments came. I got the opportunity to meet the legend for the first time in my life in America. It was a reception held in his honour at Boston University in Massachusetts sometime in 1995. A local poetry group of Bengali friends arranged that reception at an auditorium of the university where I was also invited and requested to speak a few words.

There I first saw Gaffar Chowdhury, the famous journalist and columnist whose timeless song -- "Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February" (My Brothers' Blood-spattered 21 February)--inspired generation after generation of Bengalis to fight for their rights and freedom. He was sitting just a few feet away from me on a small dais. Looking firm but at the same time friendly, he had two sharp eyes and appeared to be a man of strong personality.

He came to Boston from London for a short visit at the invitation from some Boston-area Bangladeshis. His long-time friend Poet Shahid Quadri, a Boston resident at that time, was also present at the reception. After brief speeches by few of us, Gaffar Chowdhury took the microphone and said in his concluding remarks that Shahid Quadri would be the second greatest poet of Bangladesh after Shamsur Rahman if he would stay in the country. I still remember this comment because it reflected a rare generosity of one poet about another.  

In the evening, we dined with Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury at the residence of his hosts and our long-time family friends Manju Biswas and Iqbal Hossain, brother of international award-winning photographer Anwar Hossain on the outskirts of the city of Boston. Only a handful of families were invited to that dinner. So, I seized the opportunity to sit down with Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury and interview him for my newly launched newsmagazine called South Asia Times focusing on the South Asian community in North America and the regional countries.

This face-to-face interview gave me a great opportunity to know the man, his background, his knowledge as a journalist and his talent as a prolific writer which brought him enormous fame and made him a celebrity. During this interview in 1995 in the US, Gaffar Chowdhury disclosed the ordeal he faced during his early days in London, discussed about the challenges he encountered as a columnist from a faraway foreign land, and also made some predictions about the future of politics and democracy in Bangladesh which still hold true.  

I asked him a series of tough questions on a range of issues; however, he easily answered them without waiting for a second. He appeared like a living encyclopedia. There was not a single issue about Bangladesh that was not known to him. In fact, I learned quite a few things from him during that interview in Boston. Gaffar Chowdhury was known as writer, journalist, columnist, political analyst, as well as a poet. So, in the very beginning of the interview, he was asked to describe himself the way that would best reflect his life and achievements. And his response was this: "I am a political columnist and writer because I also write both prose and poetry occasionally."

Beginning to write for a hometown small magazine in Barisal while he was just a sixth grader, Gaffar Chowdhury rose to national prominence as a celebrity. He earned the reputation as a distinguished newspaper columnist of Bangladesh. Before he left the country in late 1973, he used to write one of the most popular newspaper columns titled "The Third View" for the then prominent Bengali daily "The Dainik Purbadesh." Apart from being an outstanding article writer, he was famous for writing the lyrics of the timeless song "Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February" (My Brothers' Blood-spattered 21 February) in commemoration of the 1952 Bengali Language Movement.

Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury divulged the details of some of the shocking ordeals he and his wife endured in their life when he was asked these questions during my 1995 interview with him: When did you leave Bangladesh and why? Don't you think you could serve your country better if you were not living abroad? He said he left the country in late 1973 when his wife fell very sick. First he took her to Calcutta for treatment. However, her condition further deteriorated there; she became almost fully paralyzed. Then he took her to London where her prolonged treatment began in October 1974.

The legend went on: "I did not return to Bangladesh due to widespread arrests and repressions in the country after the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. A few years later when we applied for renewal of our passports, the then government of Bangladesh denied it. Then I lived as a stateless citizen in London for eight years. During this time, the British government permitted me to permanently stay in Britain and finally I accepted the British citizenship. The subsequent government of General Ershad re-issued passports to me and my family and I visited Bangladesh about 20 years later in January 1993."

I was shocked to hear that a man of the stature of Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, the writer of the "Ekusher Gaan" and such a prominent media personality of Bangladesh had to live the life of a "stateless citizen" in London for eight long years. How come his passport and those of his other family members were denied renewal - on what grounds? He was Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, a distinguished and honourable citizen of Bangladesh!  He was one of the greatest patriots of the country. His timeless tune inspired generation after generation of Bengalis to fight for their rights and also for a separate and independent homeland we so lovingly call Bangladesh.

Over a period of almost half a century, Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury wrote thousands of newspaper articles for scores of publications at home and abroad and he defended his long-distance writing from the British capital with these words during the interview: "If I would stay in Bangladesh, probably I could write in a much better way being fully aware of the country's social, economic and political conditions. Now I write being briefed by others which I am not very happy about. However, if I would stay in Bangladesh, there was always a possibility of being biased. But now I can write from an independent perspective from London."

I also asked Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury this question: Is it possible to practice neutral journalism being involved with a political organization? And is response was clear: "No, it is not possible for anybody to practice impartial journalism if he is actively involved with a political party. I had never been a member of any political organization after I began journalism. But I did support the nationalist movement of Bengalis and their struggle against disparity. I also had a general support for Awami League as this party was in the forefront of the movement for establishing these values. However, I strongly criticized Awami League as well as Sheikh Mujib whenever they made a mistake. As a result, I had to face various kinds of propaganda and humiliations. Some people said that there was no consistency in my writing while others remarked that I wrote for money."

The prominent journalist as well as columnist was also asked if there was any future of democracy in Bangladesh. If not, why not? In response to this question, he made some political predictions which still quite amazingly hold true. "Democracy will be delayed in Bangladesh. Even the political parties in our country are not operating in a democratic manner. Khaleda Zia has already indicated to make her son her party's leader. Similar step may also be taken in the absence of Sheikh Hasina. So, the politics in our country is individual-oriented, not ideology-based. Democracy cannot prosper in individual-oriented politics. More time will be needed for ideology-based politics in Bangladesh. Until then, democracy in our country will continue to face challenges."

Ending our face-to-face interview in a separate room, we joined the invited guests at the dinner table where I finally raised the question about the immortal song sung by Bangladeshis of all ages and genders at dawn every February 21 while they proceed slowly to the Shahid Minar (Martyrs' Memorial) throughout the country commemorating the sacrifices of those killed during the Bengali Language Movement of 1952.Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury said he wrote this song originally as a poem "on the impulse of the moment." Only the first of five stanzas of his poem - just 30 lyrics - has been given tune making it what many people call the "second national anthem" of Bangladesh.

Eighteen years later, I got another opportunity to sit down with Gaffar Chowdhury, but this time in Dhaka while I was working at the daily Independent newspaper under my most favourite Bangladeshi editor and veteran journalist Mahbubul Alam. Without informing me anything in advance, one day the editor asked me to come to his office at 6 pm. So, I cut short my regular chatting with friends at the National Press Club that day and timely returned to our newspaper building in Dhanmandi. As I stepped into the editor's office, I saw Gaffar Chowdhury sitting there. It was a pleasant surprise!

As I re-introduced myself to him, he recognized me immediately. And in fact, it was he who gave me the sad news of the death of our good family friend Manju Biswas who arranged my first interview with him at her residence in Boston back in 1995. Sitting at the office of the Independent Editor Mahbubul Alam on that day, I interviewed Gaffar Chowdhury for the second time. It was a brief and an impromptu interview. The legend was still sharp and equally knowledgeable. His talent never faded.

Regardless of what his critics say about him, Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury never compromised his principles and he boldly expressed what he believed in. He had the courage to criticize even the Father of the Nation and the morality to defend even a movie star like Pori Moni. He never served any political party or government. He spent his whole life -- even though far away from homeland --serving the interest of Bangladesh and Bangladesh alone. Gaffar Chowdhury was a true patriot and he will be forever remembered by Bangladeshi people.
The writer is a Toronto-based
journalist who also writes for the Toronto Sun as a guest columnist.









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