Digital Bangladesh
“DIGITAL BANGLADESH :
National Branding- by Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed” Digital Innovation Fair ends with hope for a digitalized nation by 2021 The first-ever 3-day Digital Innovation Fair concluded today ushering in a new hope to reach the goal of having a digitalized nation much before the scheduled target of 2021. Scores of people, men, women, youths and juveniles covering wider section of the society including learners and professionals thronged Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novotheater, the venue of the fair that witnessed congregation of technology-lovers during the three-day display. Organizers said over 3,00,000 visitors representing different shades of public opinion, especially higher level learners and professionals visited the fair that indicates that the common people are highly enthusiastic and optimistic over flourishing digital technology. All the 102 stall including 82 public and 20 private organizations were jam- packed with the enthusiastic and inquisitive visitors from 10 am to 8 pm and the stall-managements were, on occasions, faced hard time in replying their various interesting and intelligent queries. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith attended the closing ceremony as the chief guest while Principal Secretary, Prime Minister’s office and convener of Fair Organizing Committee Md. Abdul Karim Presided. The closing ceremony was also attended by PM’s Advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, UNDP Country Director, Bangladesh Stefan Priesner, Cabinet Secretary M Abdul Aziz and National Project Director, Access to Information Program and Member- Secretary of Fair Organizing Committee Md. Nazrul Islam Khan. The presence of internationally reputed Computer Scientist and IT Expert and Prime Minister’s son Sajib Wajed Joy at the concluding seminar on “Developing A Positive Image of Bangladesh” added special flavor and attraction to the fair. The organizers were also under tremendous pressures to accommodate the listeners who gathered everyday to attend seminars on related subjects of the “Vision 2021″, Digital Bangladesh and the “Change of Charter”. The seminar held during the three-day fair were: “Taking Services to Citizens’ Doorsteps through Public Service Delivery Centers”, “e-Governance “Embracing the new Mobile Paradigm for Service Delivery”, ” Sustaining e-Service Delivery with Appropriate ICT HR in the Government”, “Implementing ICT Policy 2009 to Achieve Digital Bangladesh”, Integration of Government Agencies through Interoperability “, PPP Framework to Sustain e- Service Delivery” and “Developing A Positive Image of Bangladesh”. Ruby Islam, a housewife from Mohammadpur, who was roaming in the fair venue carrying her 9- month old baby in her lap, told BSS that she got relived after hearing a news at the stall of LGRD ministry that she could register the birth of her kids through internet. “For registering birth of my child I have contacted one of my near relations who works in Dhaka City Corporation”, she said adding “despite his repeated commitment he could not give me the necessary birth registration form”. “Now I am happy that I could furnish birth registration of my child through internet”, an apparently happy Ruby said. “I have come to the fair to see the reflection of government’s commitment to build Digital Bangladesh”, said Jeflin Hasnat Bipul, an NGO activist working with Action-aid, Bangladesh. “After visiting this fair I become happy and confident that the government has advanced significantly to attain that objective” He suggested to hold such innovation fairs at divisional and district levels so that decentralization of official initiatives could be attained. Riaz, popular hero of country’s silver screen told BSS that he has come to the fair being driven by a wave of Digital technology that swept over the country. ‘I have become emotion- choked after observing the development of various government department and ministries,” he said adding that this steps should have been taken much earlier as the world is progressing vary fast in digital technology. Reaz said, “It was witnessed in our country that after any change-over in the government all programmes of the previous administration are changed. But the programme for development of digital technology is a very positive step towards national progress and prosperity and as such I shall make a fervent appeal so that no slightest interruption is made in this regard if there is any regime change in the country.” Kaniz Daiani Koraishi, a school teacher of Azim Uddin High School in Kishoregonj , who came to Dhaka to meet her husband working in the department of fisheries, told BSS that she had come to the fair venue to see for herself how the ambitious Digital Bangladesh could be materialized. “I have come to the capital with my children to meet my husband and it is always a troublesome for me to purchase rail tickets. I have become happy that henceforth I shall be able to collect not only railway tickets but also get all services like payment of utility bills sitting at my own home through internet.”, she said. She also suggested to make technology available at the door steps of remote rural people of the country. Four second year students of accounting department of Dhaka College- Arannya, Jewell, Shohel and Davit told BSS that they are happy hearing the news that henceforth they could collect their admission forms, know the date of their examinations and results with specific mark-sheets etceteras through internet. ‘But we have no means to have the opportunities for easy excess to internet services”, they said making an appeal to the government to make internet browsing free for students. Law Maker Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Apu who visited BSS stall told that once we could attain full command on digital technology we could be bale to assimilate correct data and information which is very much essential to ensure accountability, transparency and good governance in the country. “When we told about Digital Bangladesh in our election manifesto, many thought it was mere lip services. But if they today visit this fair it would be very clear to them that Digital Bangladesh is no more a dream, it’s a reality”, he said. State Minister for Science and Information & Communication Technology Architect Yeafesh Osman said that through this innovative fair, where all the government ministries and departments have participated, it was demonstrated that the whole nation is prepared for a digitalized nation. “Necessary mental and psychological changes have already taken place among our people ri8ght from government high-ups to the grass-root peasantry to welcome Digital Bangladesh “, he said and expressed his hope that the target of a digitalized nation could be attained before the stipulated target of 2021. Principal Secretary, Prime Ministers’ Office Md. Abdul Karim who is also Convenor of the Fair organizing committee said that the entire perspective of digital technology programe of the government assumed a different meaning with the declaration of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of her vision to make Digital Bangladesh.. Through this fair people would get the opportunity to have an idea what kind of services they could get from the administration under digital technology. Nazrul Islam Khan, National Project Director of Access to Information Programme said that the huge flow of visitors in the fair and their useful interactions with the stall organizers proved that the hope expressed by Prime Minister in her inaugural speech that the fair would unveil the services to be available at the door steps of the people, easily, speedily and low cost have been totally successful. The fair organized in cooperation with the UNDP-funded Access to Information (A2I) Programme under the Prime Minister’s Office and the Science and ICT Ministry witnessed highest number of visitors on the closing day today. Among others, Speaker Abdul Hamid Advocate, visited the fair this afternoon and went round various stalls and talked to the people there. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fair on March 4 with a hope that the citizens of the country would be able to meet every basic needs through digital technology. Digital fair’s edict: Make govt pro-people, provide transparent, quick services through digitalizing admin The Digital Innovation Fair 2010 in Dhaka concluded envisioning an imperative for making government more pro-people providing transparent and quick services through digitalizing its administration. “Our activities will be faster and more transparent to the people through introducing e-services in the coming days,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said addressing the concluding ceremony of the government’s Digital Innovation Fait at the Novo Theater. The three-day fair, first of its kind in the country, began March 4 with a view to popularizing the government’s vision of Digital Bangladesh in keeping with its election manifesto. The fair exhibited how the use of internet and other digital technologies can ease people’s lives. Its aim was to demonstrate ways of providing extensive government services to the citizen’s doorsteps, making them aware of the extensive e-services, encouraging and promoting the current best practices in public service delivery, sharing and replicating these practices across the government organizations. The finance minister also said the government would not be a hidebound secrete thing to the people as the fair has come with all information as to what services will be delivered to the people’s doorsteps by the government. “The people know what services will be given and how it would be provided by the government. So, there are no secret things,” he told the function. Muhith said the government itself would be more aware about its transparency and corruption through ensuring access to information in the future. “Digitalization means to create competition for innovations among the people, which started off through the fair,” he said. Presided over by fair-preparation-council convener Abdul Karim, the concluding function was also addressed by adviser to the Prime Minister Towfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury and State Minister for Science and ICT Yeafesh Osman 1. Holly Birth Day to Pride of the Nation- Father of the Nation- Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-Guru | gurumia.com says: [...] BanglaVS DIGITAL BANGLADESH : National Branding- by Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Personal Profile : GuRu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born in Tungipara, a village in Gopalganj [...] Managing Digital Bangladesh 2021 Hafiz Siddiqi THE scope of Digital Bangladesh (DB) is not yet clear. We assume that the government wants to make Bangladesh fully digitised by 2021 through application of third generation information and communication technology (ICT). Digitisation helps increase operational efficiency and productivity provided the supporting infrastructures work properly. This is a tool that will help accelerate economic development and increase competitive edges of Bangladesh in the world market. Wide-scale digitisation is likely to help Bangladesh become a mid-income country sooner than otherwise possible. However, for proper management the government needs to define its vision, mission and goals and formulate strategies and prepare action plans supported by necessary financial and human resources so that the plans can be implemented. It is assumed that by 2021 Bangladesh will have a countrywide ICT network that will operate to ensure high speed information flow between the decision- centers wherefrom instructions will be transmitted electronically to the action centres to make the intended actions happen. The goal is to accelerate a national decision-making process and to implementat the decisions, monitor the performance of the government functionaries at all levels starting from the national parliament through the ministries, administrative offices at districts, upazilas and down to the schools at village levels; evaluate the results at each level and if necessary correct the behaviour of the non-performers. The scope of DB is very wide. It is not only e-governance or e-commerce or e-banking, or operating a country-wide mobile phone network through which one can access the daily newspapers or other internet devices. In fact, it is a combination of all of them. It is a country-wide application of 3G ICT to institutionalise the best management practices in every sector and sub-sector. To make DB happen, highest priority must be given to science, technology and management education. Besides, to be productive, the educated people must be in good health. This means digitisation should start simultaneously with the education and health sectors. Education sector The universities of Bangladesh are already partly digitised. DB visualises that by 2021 all universities, colleges, high schools, primary schools, and madrasahs will have computerised connectivity. ICT is intended to be used as teaching-learning aids. After five years of schooling all students should have regular access to computers with internet facilities. The goal is to improve the quality of education. The use of automated library is spreading slowly in most universities, although they have to go a long way to be digital in the real sense. By 2021 the entire education sector should be digitised with third generation wireless technology. Health sector Under the Ministry of Health there are medical universities, colleges and hospitals in big cities. In addition, there are a large number of rural hospitals/clinics/healthcare service centres at district, upazila, and thana levels. However, most of these hospitals and clinics are not well equipped and their services are not of desirable quality. The number of qualified doctors and nurses is much less than required. Nor do they have required type of diagnostic equipment and operating theatres. Reportedly, the available facilities and medicines are often misused. In Digital Bangladesh all these clinics will be linked through the computer-aided connectivity. Major hospitals should even have their websites linked with the websites of the DG, Health Directorate. But it must be noted that merely establishing connectivity will not solve the problems of inadequacy of the number of doctors, nurses, equipment, medicines, etc. What the digitisation can do is to seek, receive, analyse the medical reports and transmit back prescriptions/instructions, monitor the performances at the rural clinics electronically. In other words, decisions can be implemented very quickly. This will ease out management problems. Because the entire information and data set will flow back and forth electronically they will be relatively more transparent and in turn the probability of indulgence in corruption will decrease. Beside, by 2021, the DB will hopefully introduce video conference systems between doctors in major clinics. Managerial talent To digitise Bangladesh with 3G technology in 12 years is fairly ambitious. However, there is no reason to feel skeptical. It needs strong commitment and strategic planning for sustainable DB. The beginning must concentrate on the development of infrastructure in terms of hardware, software and manpower. Merely buying several lakh computers and distributing them among several thousand workstations located in colleges, schools, hospitals and clinics will not digitise Bangladesh. Locally produced qualified manpower must be available to keep the system running without depending on foreign "experts." The project presupposes that Bangladesh will be able to build its technical and managerial capacity to design the necessary digital network system, procure and install all the equipment properly, and to educate, train and deploy necessary personnel to operate and maintain the nationwide ICT network. Sustainability of DB will depend on our ability to maintain, repair and expand once the system is installed. To install the system at the beginning we may seek foreign help, but to keep the system running we must not depend on external help. We must develop our own manpower. To produce such human resources, the government must assign highest priority to the promotion of science, technology and management education. We must prepare a separate plan to produce adequate number of scientists, computer and communication engineers, software engineers, technology management experts, etc. Otherwise DB will make Bangladesh highly vulnerable by making Bangladesh dependent on those countries that manufacture, control and distribute ICT. Sustainability is more important than starting. If we fail to manage a sustainable digitised Bangladesh with our own resources, Digital Bangladesh 2021 will harm rather than benefit the country. Dr. Hafiz Siddiqi is Vice Chancellor, North South University. Promised digital Bangladesh and the young generation Md. Anwarul Kabir The honeymoon period for the newly installed Government led by Awami League is yet to over. The landslide victory of Awami League in the last election has given the new government of Sheikh Hasina an enormous task of meeting people’s aspirations. Different analyses of the electoral results have revealed that the young generation who consist of more than one third of the voters had indeed brought this overwhelming victory for AL. With many other reasons, implicitly it can be inferred that voters of this generation while exercising their franchise considered party manifestos seriously. Presumably the visionary approach of AL’s manifesto, entitled ‘a charter for change’ might have allured the young voters much, especially its ‘Vision 2021′ which envisions a ‘digital Bangladesh’. Let us now explore the buzzword digital Bangladesh. What does it really mean? Moving towards digital Bangladesh does not imply that the urban young groups of the country will be more sophisticated consumers of high-tech devices like computers, digital cameras, latest model mobile sets or camcorders etc. based on high-speed Internet infrastructure and promote the dejuice culture. Rather discarding this superficial notion, we need to consider the term ‘digital Bangladesh’ objectively. Broadly speaking, a digital society ensures an ICT driven knowledge-based society where information will be readily available on line and where all possible tasks of the government, semi-government and also private spheres will be processed using the state of the art technology. So, a digital Bangladesh must guarantee efficient and effective use of modern ICT in all spheres of the society with a view to establishing good governance. In other word, making Bangladesh a digital one, we have to establish technology driven e-governance, e-commerce, e-production, e-agriculture, e-health etc. in the society emphasizing the overall development of the common people, the major stakeholders of the country. Due to globalization, more specifically due to booming of ICT like most of the countries on the globe, Bangladesh has already been connected with the outside world. Yet in the field of ICT, our only grand success lies in Mobile telecommunication which has brought an abrupt change in telecommunication scenario of the country. However, in the other spheres of ICT, our achievement is very insignificant and we are still far away from transforming ourselves into a knowledge-based society. Building strong ICT infrastructure is the pre-requisite for making Bangladesh a digital one. For this, we need to focus on the following relevant issues assessing the harsh reality that hinders our development in this context. a) Power deficit: Latest statistics reveal that Bangladesh faces a power deficit of up to 2000 MW against a demand of 5000 MW daily. It may be noted that for proper ICT development an uninterrupted power supply is a must. b) Network infrastructure: Outside Dhaka, at present a few computer network infrastructures have been developed so far. Apart from some educational institutes outside Dhaka, observation finds that most of the LAN setups are Dhaka centric. This observation reveals the reality of the digital gap even within the country. c) Use of Internet: For the ICT development Internet users of the country must be increased. In this case our position is the worst one among the South Asian countries. The latest statistics (ITU, 2007) revealed that Internet penetration in our country is only 0.3%. Whereas, in Pakistan and India, it is 7.3% and 5.3% respectively. d) Under sea submarine cable: Since 2006, Bangladesh has been connected to worldwide Internet Super High Way through an under sea submarine cable. But this single submarine cable frequently faces disruption resulting in slow bandwidth. e) Network Readiness: Networked Readiness Index (NRI), developed by the University of Harvard, measures the propensity for countries to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communications technology. The NRI seeks to better comprehend the impact of ICT on the competitiveness of nations. The NRI is a composite of three components: the environment for ICT offered by a given country or community, the readiness of the community’s key stakeholders (individuals, businesses, and governments) to use ICT, and finally the usage of ICT amongst these stakeholders. Unfortunately, the latest survey (2006-7) revealed that Bangladesh’s NRI ranking is one of the lowest among the Asian countries. f) Use of open source software: Many countries (e.g. France and Malaysia) have started to use open source software in ICT development projects for cost effectiveness. Unfortunately, in our ICT development domain the culture of using open source has not yet been introduced. g) English literacy rate: From different sources, it has been learnt that, English literacy rate in Bangladesh is less than one percent. Whereas, English literacy rates in India and Pakistan are 60% and 20% respectively. There is a strong correlation between English literacy and ICT development in the present context of globalization. In the arena of ICT English has become the Lingua-Franca. On the other hand, we have not localized Bengali in the domain of computing. Hence, English literacy is a must for our ICT development. Unfortunately, in this case our position is the worst in the sub-continent. Though the above accounts seem to be frustrating one, these can be easily overcome within a reasonable span of time if we can establish good governance in the country. Since independence, Bangladesh has been critically suffering from poor governance. Lack of vision, corruption, lack of transparency, weak coordination, undemocratic decision making were the salient features of our past governments. These can also be marked as the major barrier to the overall progress of Bangladesh. However, the newly installed government which has called for changes, hopefully, will establish much expected good governance to keep up with people’s aspiration. For making a digital Bangladesh by 2021, the government must address the above stated issues effectively and efficiently in transparent manners. In many cases we need to reformulate our national policy (e.g. education policy, ICT policy) in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals. In reformulating the ICT policy, we will need to take a pragmatic and visionary approach so that it can curb the prevailing digital gap in the society. Moreover, the journey towards a digital Bangladesh needs the incorporation of the technologically solvent innovative younger generation. If the leaders of our country objectively guide this generation, they can do wonder for the nation. After all, the young generation always looks forward and they can help bring about positive changes in the society. Md. Anwarul Kabir is a freelance writer and he can be reached at [email protected] Digital Bangladesh news: Bangladesh among best spots for IT outsourcing By: The Daily Star December 27, 2010 6:57 am Posted In: Announcement, ICT In Business, International, Press Coverage Bangladesh has carved its place among the world's best destinations for IT outsourcing, largely thanks to its low cost, according to a study by a leading research and consulting firm. Bangladesh usually offers an attractive cost proposition for the investors, as its low salary level and low-cost of living are ideal for jobs that are commoditised and have low risk, said the study conducted by Gartner (It delivers technology research to global technology business leaders) in its annual listing of top countries for IT outsourcing globally. “Bangladesh is an emerging country from an offshore location perspective, but ranks poorly in language, infrastructure and data and intellectual property security,” the research said. “Although it offers a good cost proposition, the government has to address many issues such as education, infrastructure and data security or IP protection in order to propel the top ranks,” said Gartner, which has put Bangladesh on its list of top 30 destinations for global IT outsourcing for 2010-11. This is the first time that Bangladesh has been listed in the top ranking by any global research company on IT outsourcing and has been placed on par with China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam in Asia. “The achievement is significant given the growing potential of Bangladesh as an attractive IT outsourcing destination,” said Mahboob Zaman, president of the Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services (BASIS), at a press conference in the capital yesterday. “However, it would require proper government policy support in addressing the shortcomings identified in the study to keep up the same rating,” he added. Bangladesh has debuted in the list along with eight other countries that have made it for the first time to the Top 30 of the Gartner ranking. “The country offers an attractive cost proposition, given its low salary levels and low cost of living,” said the study, which took into account ten separate criteria for rating the individual destinations. The criteria include language, government support, labour pool, infrastructure, educational system, cost, political and economical environment, cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity as well as data and Intellectual Property Security and Privacy. Bangladesh has been ranked 'very good' in the criteria of cost, according to the Gartner findings while rating 'fair' in all criteria apart from the areas of language, infrastructure and data and IP security and privacy. Noting that Bangladesh's cost of living is one of the lowest in the world, the report found that the median salary per annum of a software engineer or developer in Bangladesh is about $5,070, while the median salary of a senior software engineer is $7,300 and that of an IT manager is $9,734. “In recent years, the government has taken several bold steps in boosting the country's IT industry, which has been partly reflected in this rating,” said State Minister for Science and ICT Yeafish Osman. “Most recently, the office of electronic signature certifying authority has been set up for authorising a digital signature system, while a cyber security policy is going to be formulated and cyber tribunals are going to be formed to address the cyber crime issue,” he added. The Gartner report finds the country's PC penetration and teledensity 'low' and the overall English language competency 'poor' while stating that the essential infrastructure elements such as electricity, airways and rail networks are not up to the global standard. An elusive project to transform Bangladesh needs an infusion of resources, leadership and village-centred development if it is to be made meaningful, says Delwar Hussain. (This article was first published on 30 April 2009) About the author Delwar Hussain is working for a doctorate at Cambridge University It is a familiar cycle in democracies: as post-election euphoria fades and a new government faces a myriad of problems, ambitious projects whose announcement injected some life into the campaign start to lose their sheen. Will this be the fate of "digital Bangladesh"? The Awami League (AL) won a major victory in the election of 29 December 2008 in part by offering this transformative vision - a claim on the future, a commitment to make Bangladesh a modern, technologically sophisticated and networked country by the time of the fiftieth anniversary of its independence, 2021. The notion was prominent in the AL leader, Sheikh Hasina's campaign rhetoric. But what, if anything, is the substance behind the slogan? "Digital Bangladesh" shares with all good political slogans a malleable, reverberative quality. The details of what it might entail have always been sketchy. Sheikh Hasina'sspeeches during huge election rallies offered meagre clues amid the jargon and soundbites. At one gathering on 16 December, she announced: "the Awami League-led grand alliance has set the vision 2021 for the youth. We want to build a ‘digital Bangladesh' where people will get a developed life, free from crime and misrule and [able to] face the challenges of the 21st century." This was different from what I had envisaged: fishermen being able to throw computerised nets into rivers which would digitally calculate which fish were old enough to catch and which too young. It is an attractive vision, but where does the "digital" come in? After all, a country "free from crime and misrule" will be guaranteed not by any digital fix but by a society which values justice and is governed by politicians of integrity (and who do not have millions of dollars in overseas bank accounts). Perhaps another of Sheikh Hasina's speeches is more enlightening. At a meeting in Bangladesh's capital on 26 December, she said: "Bangladesh should be developed and emerge with dignity in the global arena. We will make Dhaka a modern city free of criminal activities, traffic congestion and outages of power, water and gas, and we'll improve communication with other parts of the country." She continued: "We will build a developed country full of possibilities and free of poverty, where all will have access to healthcare and education. There will be food security, so no one is deprived of food. The challenges of the 21st century will be faced boldly." Again, the aspiration is hard to fault. But the puzzle remains: there's no mention of e-government, computerised schools that do not require teachers, or boats that row themselves during the annual floods. This may sound cynical. But in a country where electricity is as intermittent as girls from poor homes being able to complete their full high-school education, the proclaimed "digital Bangladesh" already had the whiff of a vote-catching election gimmick. After the Awami League's decisive victory, I emailed the new government asking for more information about the initiative. So far, there has been no response. "Digital Bangladesh" is working in one respect, however: there are jokes. A farmer sets off for the market to buy a cow. On the way, he meets a friend who tells him that he can buy one on a mobile-phone. The farmer calls the number and hears an automated message: "For cows press 1. For goats press 2. For chickens press 3." The farmer presses 1. "For Bangladeshi cow press 1. For foreign cow press 2." He presses 1. "For black cow press 1. For brown cow press 2. For white......" The line is disconnected: the farmer has used up all the credits on his phone. The new Bangladesh still has a way to go. In fact, however, many in Bangladesh do believe that there is something to the "digital Bangladesh" notion. The slogan may yet lack actual substance, but people want it to become more than a virtual dream. The political notion has found a social echo that in post-election Bangladesh will not yet allow its promise to disappear. The cellular hope The most enthusiastic supporters of the project are to be found on the social-networking site Facebook. The approximately 4,000 members of the "digital Bangladesh" group - almost all middle-class, urban-based and educated - are in varying degrees engaged by the idea of the country becoming technologically advanced. Saiful is one. He writes that the "promise of a 'digital Bangladesh' has created renewed hopes in the government and the public equally, particularly for the young generation [ ]. Bangladesh can be the next destination of the IT generation all over the world. This campaign is like another War of Liberation, giving the country a real chance for a digital evolution." Ismail writes: "Digital Bangladesher shopno amra dekhchhi - we can see the dream of ‘Digital Bangladesh‘". Mustafa says: "recently I visited some villages and talked to young housewives.... I was surprised to note that they are absolutely conscious about the future of their children's education. Even they think that their kids should know how to use computers". But these young proponents of the cause are realistic. They ask how a digital Bangladesh is possible when there are regular power-cuts even in the major city-centres, and hold the government responsible for such failings; say that the general development of the country is hampered by pervasive corruption that is most visible in local and central government; and question where the money will come from. Most raise the issue of low literacy levels, and the consequence of the rural poor being left out of any kind of development. Engr, for example, asks: "What will ‘Digital Bangladesh' deliver? Is it important to [the] 80% underprivileged people of Bangladesh?...‘Digital Bangladesh' will be Frankenstein. Only 10-15% will take the opportunity and will deprive others using [the] ‘Digital Bangladesh' outcomes." The comments and questions are impressive. But reading them left me no better informed. Here as elsewhere, there is very little actual explanation of the scope of "digital Bangladesh": its mission and goals, and a clear statement of how these will be achieved. The modern vision Hafiz Siddiqi is the vice-chancellor of one of the largest private universities in Dhaka. He considers "digital Bangladesh" to be an extremely ambitious plan - and one with immense potential. He believes it will allow the country to become more efficient, transparent, and commercially more productive. The project in his view is about establishing an integrated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) network with education at the heart that could push Bangladesh towards the status of a middle-income country. This means building on and extending existing e-governance, e-commerce, e-banking, and mobile-phone network capacities. The universities are partly digitised already, all colleges, high schools, primary schools and madrasas will be wired with third-generation technology by 2021. "After five years of schooling, all students should have regular access to computers with internet facilities. The use of the automated library is spreading slowly in most universities, although they have to go a long way to be digital in the real sense". Hospitals, clinics, and healthcare services at all levels will also be connected electronically. This will mean that medical reports can be analysed in Dhaka, and recommendations and prescriptions for patients sent back to a village (perhaps hundreds of miles away) in a matter of minutes. In the tricky area of governance, communication between those making the decisions and those employed to implement them will become faster and more effective. The monitoring of performance will be built in. For the first time, there will be an easy flow of information between ministries, administrative offices at district levels, right down to the village. Siddiqi acknowledges that to realise the aspirations of the 2021 vision, the country must be able to produce its own engineers, scientists and technological know-how. This means more investment in education. If this doesn't happen, Bangladesh will be dependent and vulnerable. "If we fail to manage a sustainable digitised Bangladesh with our own resources, ‘Digital Bangladesh' 2021 will harm rather than benefit the country." The village voice Bangladesh begins at the village level, far from the places where most university professors and Facebook users live. It is people living in rural areas who delivered victory to Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League. If "digital Bangladesh" is ever to be implemented, the rural inhabitants must be part of it and the government must make every effort to ensure this. Many Bangladeshis living far from urban centres don't have electricity or clean drinking-water, and even face the prospect of dying in the bed they were born in after a life that has left them more impoverished than their parents. I visited a village that is eight hours' drive from the capital. A primary class is being held in the courtyard of the local mosque as there is no school here as such. When I arrive, around thirty 4- and 5-year-olds, arranged in rows and sitting cross-legged on the ground, are learning the English alphabet. The children are hardly dressed; none wears sandals. They share a few books, which are covered in old election posters. The teacher, also bare-footed, is an elderly bearded man wearing a purple shirt and white hat. He is actually a rice farmer, but teaches the class a few times a week. He uses a stick - an extension of his finger - to poke dozing kids and tap the shoulders of the chatty ones. There are more girls here than boys, a proportion that will be reversed when the children are about 13. I join the class at the letter H. "H diye house", the teacher says. "H diye house", the class repeats with enthusiasm. You can hear the joy of learning something weird and new in their shrill voices. "House holo ki?" ["What is a house?"], the teacher asks. He answers himself. "Householo basha." The kids repeat the words. "Who lives in your house?" he asks. The children shout out various responses: "my mum", "granddad", "uncle's wife", "my dad's cows", "our ducks". All of this takes place in Bangla. They move onto the letter I. "I diye ice-cream". "Ice-creamholo ki?" the teacher asks. "Ice-cream holo ice-cream" the pupils answer. Some are surprised that "ice-cream" is the same in English and Bangla. "Ice-cream is bad for you" the teacher cautions. "You will get aches in your bellies if you eat too many of them". The class looks unconvinced. Onto J. "J diye jug. Jug holo jug". Now the kids are laughing. This English thing is easy - they're mostly Bangla words! Two girls take the opportunity to sneak to the back, where there are taps used by the men of the village for ablution before prayers. The girls turn a tap on and stick their mouths to it. Dripping with water, they rejoin the class. "Water is very important", the teacher is telling the class, unaware he has two returned absconders. "If you don't drink enough water, you die. If you drink too much water, you also die. You have to drink the right amount. Only a little this way, or that way, and you will die". The teacher adds: "this is how Allah has made the world. He has told us about benefits and detriments. He wants you to follow those things that are beneficial to you and to avoid that which will be detrimental". The class is interrupted by the call for the lunchtime prayers. The kids all run home for their rice. I ask the teacher (in English) what he thinks of "digital Bangladesh". He has no idea what I am saying. I try Bangla. He smiles and says he's never heard of it. I ask him whom he voted for in the election. It's not rude to ask here: almost everything in such places is party-politicised, and this kind of information is common knowledge to most anyway. He says, the boat - the symbol of the Awami League. I try to explain "digital Bangladesh" to him. From what he is able to grasp, he thinks it's a good idea. He would like computers for his students. He thinks they will really benefit from them. But he would like a school building first, some books and pens even. A fan for the hot season would also be good, as would be a lightbulb. The brave new world "Digital Bangladesh" in its current iteration would benefit the urban middle classes and could bring significant progress. But this should not be at the expense of other provisions, which must be a priority in any event: including rural schools (chairs and tables and books and pens and fans and lightbulbs and all), as well as other essential services the rural poor have been denied for so long. The two types of project are not mutually exclusive, nor need they be in competition with each other. In fact, a successful "digital Bangladesh" would need a more literate population. A mass computer-literacy programme or even a government-sponsored computer course, offered perhaps as an incentive for every student who completes his or her secondary-school education, would benefit everyone. If there is will - backed by investment - there is a way. The signs are mixed. The new government blocked access to the video-sharing internet site YouTube after the posting there of a recording of army officers berating Sheikh Hasina over the deaths of their colleagues in the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny on 25-26 February 2009 (see Liz Philipson, "Bangladesh: revolt and fallout", 30 March 2009). The recording was quickly reposted to other internet sites via proxies - a technique developed by cyber-dissenters in China. Such behaviour - reflecting the wider political culture of control and personalism that has handicapped the country since independence - casts doubt over the government's integrity vis-à-vis "digital Bangladesh". Insofar as it has substance, the 2021 vision carries hopes for a different approach: more democracy, transparency, and accountability - ideals that successive Bangladeshi governments have eroded and treated as anomalies. A meaningful "digital Bangladesh" would start at the top: effective websites forgovernment departments, departmental financial accounts published online, citizens' direct email access to public representatives, the voting record of every MP open to scrutiny. Such a "digital Bangladesh" would help to change the political culture for the better. If combined with essential social-development programmes that bring measurable improvements to Bangladesh's rural inhabitants, the result would be a major advance for the country. Are Bangladesh's leaders willing to rise to the challenge? |
President Ziaur Rahman did not allow me to enter our Dhanmondi-32 Residence: Sheikh Hasina President Ziaur Rahman did not allow me to enter our Dhanmondi-32 Residence: Sheikh Hasina Tears rolled down her cheeks and emotion gripped the audience as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina narrated the massacre at Dhanmondi-32 and unkind behaviour of a government after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975.
"When I came back in 1981 from exile, the then government of president Ziaur Rahman did not allow me to enter our Dhanmondi-32 residence where my father along with most of my family members were brutally killed," she said. Speaking at a prize giving ceremony at Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday morning, she said even General Zia did not allow her to organise a milad mahfil seeking eternal peace of the martyrs of August 15 inside the residence. "It was Zia who forced us to hold milad on the road for my parents and others who were killed in the August 15 massacre," said Hasina. Sheikh Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, who along with her younger sister survived the massacre, described as crime against humanity, said president Zia imposed restriction on opening of the residence from where Bangabandhu led all anti-autocratic movements. Later, the government led by Justice Abdus Satter opened the historic house and handed over it to Hasina. "When I entered the house, I saw dried blood everywhere and clothes and other valuables were seen scattered on the floor". The killers not only killed the country's founding father along with most of his family members, they also looted all valuables from the house, Hasina said. There was pin-drop silence in the Osmani Memorial auditorium when the premier was narrating the tale of the blackest chapter of the world's history. People specially the children who joined the function were seen to wipe their eyes when she was describing the barbaric incident. Hasina said after receiving the house, she and her younger sister decided to make it a museum for the people of the country. "I thought that the people of the country are the owner of the house as Bangabandhu launched all of his pro-people movements from the house," she added. The premier said she inaugurated the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on August 14, 1994 and after that the museum remains opened for public. Later, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Memorial Trust was formed on April 11, 1994 with an aim to provide various services for the common people. According to sources, 1,000-1,200 students are being provided stipend from the trust each month to meet their education expenses. The trust arranged free medical services across the country from Jan 10 to March 17 this year when over 8 lakh patients were given medical services. The trust will set up a medical college and a nursing institute in Gazipur to provide medical services for the common people. The Convenor of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum presided over the function while Curator of the museum Syed Siddiqur Rahman, DG of Bangla Academy Prof Shamsuzzaman Khan and Vice-Chancellor of National University Kazi Shahidullah, among others, addressed it. http://skhasinawajed.blogspot.com Bangladesh's history in its first decade of freedom was fundamentally a story of bloodletting. You do not have to go into research to arrive at such a morbid conclusion. But you cannot escape feeling a certain sense of irony as you recapitulate the whole episode of the country's actually claiming, and taking, its place in the global community. If the war of liberation in 1971 saw three million Bengalis dying at the hands of the Pakistan armed forces, the post-liberation era turned into a long tale of blood and gore as most of the new nation's founding fathers and war heroes bit the dust through bloody coups d'etat and internecine armed conflict. The series of tragic happenings that engulfed Bangladesh between August and November 1975, followed by the execution of Abu Tahir, a soldier for freedom, in July 1976, will remain a blot on the conscience of a nation which yet struggles to find a way out of the woods for itself. In May 1981 came the assassination of General Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh's first military dictator, at the hands of soldiers who in the event could not quite succeed in pulling off what they had thought would be a revolution. Within days of Zia's murder, it would be the turn of General M.A. Manzoor, ostensibly the leader of the uprising, to be killed in cold blood by Zia loyalists. All of this is what the country has known over the years. In times that are as far removed from the 1970s and 1980s as they can be, that are clearly a whole lot more transparent than what one could have imagined two or three decades ago, it is now possible for Bengalis to grasp a little more conclusively the factors --- intrigues, conspiracy, et al --- that went into the making of an era that remains sinister in its elemental darkness. And into this story now steps Zayadul Ahsan with his hair-raising account of a failed coup that, once the plot failed to take off, was to leave scores upon scores of soldiers dead after October 1977. Originally conceived and presented as a series of investigative reports for the daily Bhorer Kagoj by the writer, this work is a searing account of the innocent men of the Bangladesh air force who were forced to march to the gallows on flimsy, unproven charges of complicity in the revolt that left some senior and reputed officers of the BAF murdered at the old Tejgaon airport on 2 October 1977. And those were exciting times, not so much for the fact that the struggle for ascendancy among the various politicised factions of the military went on in a seemingly endless pattern as for the truth of what was happening around the hijacked Japan Airlines aircraft at Dhaka airport. The conspirators struck at the precise moment when senior air force men, including their chief Abdul Gaffar Mahmood, remained busy in negotiations with the Red Brigade who had seized the plane and forced it to land in Bangladesh's capital. Competent officers, among whom was Ross Masood, were lined up by rebellious air force men before the hangar and simply mown down. The question remains, though: did these men, egged on by individuals whose identities remain yet unknown, decide to strike on 2 October because the opportunity to stage their coup on 28 September, air force day, was lost when President Ziaur Rahman informed Air Vice Marshal Mahmood he was unable to be part of the celebrations? Ahsan comes up with a hint: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, meeting Zia in Cairo days before 28 September, warned him of a plot to assassinate the Bangladesh leader over the next few days. Zia took the hint seriously; and then came the suddenness of the JAL hijacking. As the talks with the Red Brigade neared an end, elements in the army and air force inside Dhaka cantonment went on the offensive against the Zia regime. A day earlier, in Bogra, disturbances in the cantonment left one person dead, three wounded and two missing. In Dhaka, at Tejgaon airport, eleven air force officers were murdered alongside ten soldiers from the army. Forty soldiers were left injured. The facts Zayadul Ahsan presents are set off in an eerie pattern from the moment Zia loyalists, Mir Shawkat Ali for instance, move resolutely against the mutineers. Over the next twenty days or so, it would be an operation of relentless cruelty as the Zia regime, guided by vindictiveness and palpably oblivious to all norms of civilised behaviour, rounded up hundreds of innocent air force men and inaugurated what would eventually turn into a story of unimaginable horror. Kangaroo courts, officially described as military tribunals, swiftly handed down verdicts of guilty on those taken into custody; and night after night, inside the grim premises of the central jail in the capital, the bodies of hanged men dropped into pits for hours on end. It was Azimpur graveyard which, throughout October 1977, saw brisk nocturnal activity as the dead men were hastily buried, unbeknownst to their families. The case of the widow Aleya remains poignant, and heart-wrenching. In the days and weeks following his disappearance, she moved heaven and earth for news of her airman husband who had gone missing after 2 October. No one deigned to keep her informed until much later, to let her know in a terse notification that he had been executed for his part in the 'conspiracy'. There are other accounts, from men who were among the lucky few to escape the noose but nevertheless found themselves condemned to varied terms of imprisonment. The strand of thought throughout the stories runs along similar patterns. The innocent paid for crimes they did not commit; and ruthlessness was what the Zia military dictatorship employed in its efforts to survive and to ensure that no dissent remained to threaten its grip on power. Ironically, the fearsome Zia was to die in a botched coup slightly over three years later. Zayadul Ahsan's work is much more than a record keeping of one of the more shameful episodes in the nation's history. It is, in very large measure, a call for those who perpetrated the atrocities on the hundreds of innocent men in the armed forces in light of the 2 October 1977 tragedy to be brought to account. Most of the men who presided over the sham trials of these men, sending them to quick death and putting a few others through inexplicable prison terms, are still alive. Some retired as senior officers in the military, especially in the air force. Others, non-commissioned officers who cheerfully served on the tribunals, went on to serve in the forces till their retirement. In the overweening interest of democratic accountability, all these elements responsible for the horrific executions in the dark need to be traced in order to be brought to justice. Ahsan's work is an eye-opener. It is a warning against men who, in the manner of Ziaur Rahman, think nothing of shooting people down in order to entrench themselves in political illegitimacy. Syed Badrul Ahsan is Editor, Current Affairs, The Daily Star. ১৯৩৬ সালের এই দিনে বগুড়া জেলার বাগমারা গ্রামে জন্মগ্রহণ করেন জিয়াউর রহমান -
১। যিনি সেনাবাহিনীতে চাকরিরত অবস্থায় ১৯৭১ সালে বিদ্রোহ করে চট্টগ্রামের কালুরঘাট বেতার কেন্দ্র থেকে ২৭ মার্চ বঙ্গবন্ধুর পক্ষে স্বাধীনতার ঘোষণা পাঠ করেন । ২।যিনি মুক্তিযুদ্ধে সেক্টর ও ফোর্স অধিনায়ক ছিলেন যার বিরুদ্ধে মুজিবনগর সরকার/ সিইনসি ওসমানী শাস্তিমূ্লক ব্যবস্থা নেয় । ৩।যিনি ১৯৭৫ সালে ঘাত-সংঘাতময় সময়ের এক দু্র্বোধ্য চরিত্র ছিলেন ! ৪। যিনি ৭ নভেম্বর '৭৫ এ জাসদের বীরউত্তম কর্নেল তাহেরের [৩]পরিকল্পনা ও উদ্যোগে পরিচালিত কথিত সিপাহি জনতার অভ্যুত্থানে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের বীরসেনানি খালেদ-হায়দার-হুদার লাশের উপর রাষ্ট্রীয় ক্ষমতার কেন্দ্রবিন্দুতে অধিষ্ঠিত হন ২য় ফিল্ড রেজিমেন্টে ও ৪র্থ ইষ্ট বেঙ্গলের অফিসার ও সৈনিকদের প্রত্যক্ষ মদদে । ৫। যিনি তাহেরের সাথে প্রথম দেখায় (৭ নভেম্বর '৭৫) তাকে আলিঙ্গন করে বলেন -"ইউ আর মাই ব্রাদার , ইউ আর মাই সেভার" । আর ক্ষমতার কেন্দ্রবিন্দুতে অধিষ্ঠিত হয়ে তাহের আর সিপাহিদের উপহার দেন ফাঁসি ।"Hang them by the neck till they are dead" -General Ziaur Rahman. বীরউত্তম তাহেরের ফাঁসি তদারকি করেন বীর উত্তম মীর শওকত । ৫। বলা হয়, জিয়া তাহেরের সাথে বেঈমানি করেছেন । কথা সত্য কিন্তু জিয়া কার সাথে বেঈমানি করেননি ? বিধায়, জিয়ার পাওয়ারে আসার পাঁচ মাসের মধ্যেই কর্নেল রশিদ-কর্নেল ফারুক জিয়ার বিরুদ্ধে ক্যুর উদ্যোগ নেয় । ৬। যার আমলে ১৯টি মতান্তরে ২০ টি ক্যু হয়েছে । পিয়ালের মতও আমিও মনে করি "আসলে ক্যুর জুজু তুলে মুক্তিযোদ্ধা সামরিক অফিসারদের হত্যা এবং ফাঁসি দেওয়ার নীলনকশা ছিলো মাত্র।" তবে, শুধু "মুক্তিযোদ্ধা হত্যা" না বলে আমি বলব জিয়া তার নিরংকুশ ক্ষমতা বজায় রাখার স্বার্থে বিরুদ্ধ বা সম্ভাব্য শত্রুদের নির্মমভাবে হত্যা করেছেন । "He was a man who could kill with one hand &eat with the other"-A Zia colleague during the liberation war in Chittagong. আর জিয়ার এই সব গণহত্যায় তার ডান হাত ছিলেন জেনারেল মন্জুর বীরউত্তম ,মীর শওকত বীরউত্তম আর লেজেহুমো এরশাদ । ৭। যিনি সেনাবাহিনীতে শৃঙ্খলা প্রতিষ্ঠা করেছিলেন এমন কথা জোরেশোরে বলা হয় যা একটি মিথ বৈ কিছু নয় । ৮। যিনি সংবিধান থেকে 'ধর্মনিরপেক্ষতা'র উপরে কাঁচি চালিয়ে অন্তর্ভুক্ত করেন 'বিসমিল্লাহির রাহমানির রাহিম' মুলনীতি হিসেবে স্থাপন করেন - 'সর্বশক্তিমান আল্লাহর উপর আস্থা আর বিশ্বাস'কে। সংবিধানের ১২ নং অনুচ্ছেদের উচ্ছেদ করে ধর্মভিত্তিক রাজনীতি করার সুযোগ পুনঃ প্রতিষ্ঠিত করেন । ৯। রাজাকারদের শুধু রাজনীতি করার অধিকারই দেননি তাদের মন্ত্রীসভায়ও স্থান দেন । আন্তর্জাতিক রাজাকার শাহ আজিজকে বানান প্রধানমন্ত্রী । আরেক রাজাকার মওলানা আবু জাফর মোহাম্মদ সালেহ (শর্ষিণার পীর সাহেব)কে স্বাধীনতা পদক দিয়েছেন । ১০। মুজিব হত্যায় তিনি জড়িত ছিলেন কিনা সেই প্রশ্নে না গিয়েও বলা যায় তিনি আগে থেকে জানতেন কিন্তু ঠেকাতে চাননি এবং পাওয়ারে এসেও তাদের বিচারের সম্মুখীন তো করেননি বরং বিচারের পথই রুদ্ধ করেন । হত্যার রাজনীতি যে ভাল নয় তা' স্বয়ং জিয়া নিজের জীবন দিয়ে প্রমান করেন । ৩০ শে মে ১৯৮১ , রোজ শনিবার , ভোর সাড়ে চারটা , চিটাগাং সার্কিট হাউজ । বর্ষন শ্রান্ত রজনীর শেষ প্রহর , চট্রগ্রামবাসীদের চকিত শংকিত করে জেগে উঠল নৈশ স্তব্ধতা ভঙ্গকারী গোলাগুলির শব্দ । সার্কিট হাউজ চত্বর ভরে গেল ধোয়া আর বারুদের গন্ধে । সার্কিট হাউজে ঘুমিয়েছিলেন তিনি ।গোলাগুলির শব্দে উঠে বসলেন । কি ব্যাপার ? ঘটনা প্রত্যক্ষ করতে বেরিয়ে এলেন দরজা খুলে , পরনে রাতে শয্যার পোষাক । গভীর আত্মপ্রত্যয় আর অগাধ আস্থা নিয়ে বেরিয়ে এলেন । কি চাও তোমরা? কাছে দন্ডায়মান লে. মোসলেহউদ্দিন রীতিমত ঘাবরে যান । সে জিয়াকে আশ্বস্ত করে-‘‘স্যার আপনি ঘাবরাবেন না । এখানে ভয়ের কিছু নেই ।’’ মোসলেহউদ্দিনের ঠোট থেকে জিয়ার প্রতি আশ্বাসবানী মিলিয়ে যাবার আগেই লে. কর্নেল মতিউর রহমান তার এসএমজি থেকে অতি কাছ থেকে ব্রাশ ফায়ার করেন জিয়ার শরীরের ডানদিক একেবারে ঝাঝরা করে ফেলে । দরজার কাছেই মুখ থুবরে মেঝেতে লুটিয়ে পড়েন জিয়া । লেখার ইতি টানছি জিয়াকে নিয়ে প্রফেসর আহমদ শরীফ স্যারের মূল্যায়ন দিয়েঃ "জিয়া ছিলেন যুগপৎ ধূর্ত কপট প্রতারক ষড়যন্ত্রকারী।….এমন অমানুষ সত্যি দুর্লভ " রেফারেন্সঃ ১। http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/95814/ ২। http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/73858/ ৩।http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/6290/ ৪।http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/33928/ ৫। http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/96183/ ৬। Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood, by Anthony Mascarenhas, Hodder and Stoughton, 1986 ৭। প্রাগুক্ত ৮।http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/96432/ ৯। Anthony Mascarenhas, প্রাগুক্ত ১০।http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/96511/ ১১।http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/95745/ ১২।http://omipial.amarblog.com/posts/88171/ ১৩।http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indemnity_Act ১৪।http://nmanik.amarblog.com/posts/107649/ বিচারের আগেই তাহেরকে ফাঁসিতে ঝোলানোর সিদ্ধান্ত ছিল জিয়ার, এই বিচার অসাংবিধানিক ও রাষ্ট্রীয় অপরাধ ---- কালের কণ্ঠ সামরিক ট্রাইব্যুনালে কথিত বিচারের আগেই জিয়াউর রহমান ব্যক্তিগতভাবে লে. কর্নেল এম এ তাহেরকে ফাঁসিতে ঝোলানোর সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছিলেন। এ কারণে ক্যাঙ্গারু আদালতে সাজানো বিচার করে তড়িঘড়ি ফাঁসি কার্যকর করা হয়। কর্নেল তাহেরসহ অন্যদের বিচার ছিল একটি অসাংবিধানিক ব্যবস্থা। এটি একটি রাষ্ট্রীয় অপরাধ। এসব কথা লিখিতভাবে হাইকোর্টকে জানিয়েছেন হংকং থেকে প্রকাশিত ফার ইস্টার্ন ইকোনমিক রিভিউর দক্ষিণ এশিয়াবিষয়ক সাবেক প্রতিনিধি লরেন্স লিফশুলজ। জিয়াউর রহমানের এ পরিকল্পনার কথা তাঁকে জানিয়েছিলেন সেনাবাহিনীর উচ্চপদস্থ কর্মকর্তা সেইসময়কার মেজর জেনারেল মোহাম্মদ মঞ্জুর। লিফশুলজের এ লিখিত বক্তব্য গতকাল বৃহস্পতিবার বিচারপতি এ এইচ এম শামসুদ্দিন চৌধুরী ও বিচারপতি শেখ মোহাম্মদ জাকির হোসেনের বেঞ্চে উপস্থাপন করেন অতিরিক্ত অ্যাটর্নি জেনারেল এম কে রহমান। হাইকোর্ট গত ২০ জানুয়ারি এক আদেশে লরেন্স লিফশুলজকে ২৬ জানুয়ারির মধ্যে আদালতে উপস্থিত হয়ে কর্নেল তাহেরের বিচার সম্পর্কে তাঁর অভিজ্ঞতা বর্ণনা করার অনুরোধ জানিয়েছিলেন। আদালতের এ অনুরোধ রাষ্ট্রপক্ষ ই-মেইলের মাধ্যমে লিফশুলজকে জানান। কিন্তু তাঁর ছেলে মারাÍক দুর্ঘটনার শিকার হওয়ায় তিনি এ সময় বাংলাদেশে আসতে অপারগতা প্রকাশ করেন। তবে তাঁর বক্তব্য হলফনামা আকারে বাংলাদেশের দূতাবাসে দাখিল করেছেন। একই বক্তব্য ই-মেইলে এম কে রহমানের কাছে পাঠিয়েছেন। ই-মেইলে পাঠানো এ বক্তব্যই গতকাল আদালতে উপস্থাপন করা হয়। কর্নেল তাহেরকে ফাঁসি দেওয়ার পর তাঁর বিচার নিয়ে লিফশুলজের তিনটি প্রতিবেদন ১৯৭৬ সালের ২৩ ও ২৪ জুলাই ডেইলি স্টার প্রকাশ করে। লিফশুলজ ১৯৭৬ সালে কর্নেল তাহেরের বিচার পর্যবেক্ষণ এবং এ-সংক্রান্ত প্রতিবেদন তৈরির জন্য ঢাকায় অবস্থান করছিলেন। কর্নেল তাহেরের গোপন বিচার সম্পর্কে আগে থেকেই মেজর জেনারেল মঞ্জুরের কাছ থেকে তিনি জানতে পেরেছিলেন। মঞ্জুর তাঁকে এই বিচার বিষয়ে বিদেশি সংবাদমাধ্যমে প্রতিবেদন প্রকাশের অনুরোধ করেন। কিন্তু তৎকালীন সামরিক কর্মকর্তারা তাঁকে বিচারের সংবাদ সংগ্রহ করতে দেননি। তাঁকে কারাগারের সামনে থেকে আটক করে বাংলাদেশ থেকে বের করে দেওয়া হয়। আর এ কারণেই আদালত লিফশুলজের বক্তব্য শুনতে চান। ওই তিনটি প্রতিবেদন তাঁর বক্তব্যের সঙ্গে অন্তর্ভুক্ত করা হয়েছে। এদিকে কর্নেল তাহেরের বিচারের সময় সেনাবাহিনীতে কর্মরত মেজর জেনারেল নূরুল ইসলাম শিশুকে আদালতে হাজির হওয়ার সময়সীমা ১৩ ফেব্র“য়ারি পর্যন্ত বাড়িয়েছেন আদালত। লিফশুলজ আরো জানিয়েছেন, তাহেরের বিচার ও ফাঁসি ঠেকাতে চেষ্টা করেও সফল হননি জেনারেল মঞ্জুর। সব আইন-কানুন ও বাংলাদেশের সংবিধান লঙ্ঘন করে তাঁকে ওই বিচারের মুখোমুখি করা হয়। এ বিষয় নিয়ে তিনি জিয়াউর রহমানের একটি সাক্ষাৎকার নিতে চেয়েছিলেন। কিন্তু জিয়া তাতে রাজি হননি। লিফশুলজ আরো বলেন, ‘আমার অভিমত, ১৯৭৬ সালের জুন ও জুলাই মাসে ঢাকায় একটি হƒদয়বিদারক অপরাধ (ট্র্যাজিক ক্রাইম) ঘটানো হয়েছিল। আমিই ছিলাম এ ঘটনার একমাত্র নিরপেক্ষ সাক্ষী।’ তিনি বলেন, ১৯৭৬ সালের ২৮ জুন ঢাকা কেন্দ্রীয় কারাগারের সামনে দাঁড়িয়ে প্রত্যক্ষ করেছি। তাহেরের বিচারকে কেন্দ্র করে সেখানে একটি যুদ্ধাবস্থা বিরাজ করছিল। দেখে মনে হয়েছিল, যেন সেনাবাহিনী যুদ্ধের প্রস্তুতি নিচ্ছে। কারাগারের দেয়াল ঘেঁষে মেশিনগান বসানো হয়। তিনি বলেন, ‘১৯৭৬ সালের জুনের প্রথম দিকে কাঠমান্ডু থেকে ঢাকায় আসি আমি। এর আগে ১৯৭৫ সালের আগস্টে বাংলাদেশে শেখ মুজিবুর রহমানের হত্যাকাণ্ডের মতো হƒদয়বিদারক ঘটনা সম্পর্কে প্রতিবেদন তৈরি করেছি। একই বছরের ৭ নভেম্বরের ঘটনা সম্পর্কেও রিপোর্ট করেছি।’ লিফশুলজ আরো বলেন, ‘আমি ঢাকায় নেমে মেজর জেনারেল মঞ্জুরের সঙ্গে যোগাযোগ করি। মঞ্জুর একসময় সেনাবাহিনীর চিফ অব জেনারেল স্টাফ ছিলেন। এর আগে ১৯৭৪ সালে তাঁর সঙ্গে নয়াদিল্লিতে পরিচয়। তখন মঞ্জুর বাংলাদেশ সেনাবাহিনীর হয়ে ভারতে দায়িত্বরত ছিলেন। তাঁর কাছ থেকে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের অভিজ্ঞতা শুনেছি। তিনি, কর্নেল তাহের ও মেজর জিয়াউদ্দিন একসঙ্গে পাকিস্তান থেকে কাশ্মীর সীমান্ত দিয়ে ভারতে পালিয়ে এসে মুক্তিযুদ্ধে অংশ নেন। কর্নেল তাহের মুক্তিযুদ্ধে সেক্টর কমান্ডার ছিলেন। রিভিউর বাংলাদেশ প্রতিনিধি হিসেবে দায়িত্ব পালন করার কারণে বাংলাদেশের অনেক সামরিক ও রাজনৈতিক ব্যক্তির সঙ্গে আমার আগে থেকেই জানাশোনা ছিল।’ তিনি বলেন, ‘ঢাকায় আসার কথা শুনে মঞ্জুর খুব খুশি হয়েছিলেন। তিনি আমাকে একদিন সেনাসদরে ডাকলেন। এক রাতে তাঁর সঙ্গে সাক্ষাৎ হয়। সে সময় তিনি (মঞ্জুর) আমাকে কর্নেল তাহেরের গোপন বিচার সম্পর্কে তথ্য দেন এবং এ নিয়ে আন্তর্জাতিক সংবাদমাধ্যমে রিপোর্ট করার অনুরোধ জানান। ওই সময় মুক্তিযুদ্ধবিরোধী শক্তি সেনাবাহিনীতে প্রভাব বিস্তার করছিল।’ লিফশুলজ বলেন, ‘আমি জেনারেল জিয়ার একটি সাক্ষাৎকার নেওয়ার চেষ্টা করি। এ জন্য তাঁর ব্যক্তিগত কর্মকর্তা আমাকে প্রশ্নের তালিকা তৈরি করতে বলেন। আমি তালিকা করি। সেখানে ফারাক্কা সমস্যাসহ ভারত ও বাংলাদেশের মধ্যে বিদ্যমান বিভিন্ন সমস্যা সম্পর্কে প্রশ্ন ছিল। ১৯৭৫ সালের ৭ নভেম্বর সম্পর্কেও প্রশ্ন লিখি। সেখানে লিখি কর্নেল তাহেরের নেতৃত্বে আপনার জীবন রক্ষা করা হয়েছিল। কেন তাহেরকে গ্রেপ্তার করা হলো, কেন তাঁকে মুক্তি দেওয়া হচ্ছে না, কেন তাঁকে আটক রাখা হয়েছে? এসব প্রশ্ন লিখি। কিন্তু আমাকে সাক্ষাৎকার দেওয়া হলো না। এতে আমি আশ্চর্য হইনি। কারণ ওই জেনারেলের অন্য পরিকল্পনা ছিল।’ লিফশুলজ আরো বলেন, ‘আমি ইংল্যান্ডের ক্যাম্ব্রিজে বসবাস করছিলাম। তখন মঞ্জুর আমাকে বলেছিলেন, তিনি তাহেরের বিচার বন্ধ করার চেষ্টা করেছিলেন। কিন্তু সেনাবাহিনীর তৃতীয় ব্যক্তি হওয়ার পরও তখন তিনি ছিলেন ক্ষমতাহীন। সামরিক আদালতে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের অন্যতম সেক্টর কমান্ডার কর্নেল (অব.) তাহের এবং তাঁর সঙ্গীদের বিচারের বৈধতা চ্যালেঞ্জ করে দাখিল করা পৃথক চারটি রিট মামলা বিচারাধীন। এরই মধ্যে এ মামলায় হাসানুল হক ইনু এমপি, মেজর (অব.) জিয়াউদ্দিন, ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের শিক্ষক সমিতির সভাপতি অধ্যাপক মো. আনোয়ার হোসেন, তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারের সাবেক উপদেষ্টা ড. এ এম এম শওকত আলী, সাবেক আওয়ামী লীগ নেতা মাহমুদুর রহমান মান্না, জাসদ নেতা বদরুল আলমের বক্তব্য গ্রহণ করেছেন আদালত। কর্নেল তাহেরের স্ত্রী লুৎফা তাহের, অধ্যাপক মো. আনোয়ার হোসেন ও একই বিচারে যাবজ্জীবন সাজাপ্রাপ্ত তাঁর আরেক ভাই প্রয়াত ফ্লাইট সার্জেন্ট আবু ইউসুফ খানের স্ত্রী ফাতেমা ইউসুফ, জাসদ নেতা হাসানুল হক ইনু ও রবিউল আলম ও মেজর (অব.) জিয়াউদ্দিনসহ ৯ জন চারটি রিট আবেদন করেন। তাহেরের বিচারের বৈধতা নিয়ে প্রথম রিট আবেদনের পর গোপন বিচারের নথি তলব করেন হাইকোর্ট। একই সঙ্গে তাহেরের বিচারের জন্য সামরিক আইনের মাধ্যমে জারি করা আদেশ এবং এর আওতায় গোপন বিচার ও ফাঁসি কার্যকর করাকে কেন অসাংবিধানিক ঘোষণা করা হবে নাÑতা জানাতে সরকারকে নির্দেশ দেওয়া হয়। কিন্তু সরকার বিচারের কোনো নথি আদালতে দাখিল করতে পারেনি। ১৯৭৬ সালে সামরিক আদালতে কর্নেল তাহের, হাসানুল হক ইনু এমপির সঙ্গে মেজর (অব.) জিয়াউদ্দিনসহ অপরাপর ব্যক্তিদের বিচার করা হয়। কর্নেল তাহেরসহ ১৭ জনকে সামরিক আদালতের গোপন বিচারে ১৯৭৬ সালের ১৭ জুলাই সাজা দেওয়া হয়। এরপর ২১ জুলাই ভোররাতে তাঁর ফাঁসি কার্যকর করা হয়। রিটে ১৯৭৬ সালের ১৬ নম্বর সামরিক ফরমানের আওতায় আদালত গঠন ও বিচারকে অবৈধ ও অসাংবিধানিক ঘোষণা, দণ্ড বাতিল ও তাঁদের হারিয়ে যাওয়া সামাজিক মর্যাদা ফিরে পাওয়ার আবেদন জানানো হয়। |