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Ruhul and Rahela

Suruja Rokan

Summary

Ruhul was an Engineer and Rahela a writer, the wife of Hakim, the Director of NSI (National Security Intelligence) of East Pakistan. Ruhul was active in student politics and the President of the Liaquat Hall Students Union (Menon Group). His family name was however Sikder and the first name Siraj. He rebelled against the Communist Party dictation and formed “East Bengal Worker’s Movement” with a hypothesis that East Bengal had been turned into a colony of Pakistan. Siraj Sikder got first class in Engineering in 1967 but inspired by the “Red Guard Movement” he went to his own village Damodya in Madaripur to organise the poor peasants. Whimsically, on a bid he married a young daughter of a poor peasant. Ruhul faced soon family problem.

In 1968 Siraj Sikder alias Ruhul Alam went to Burma for guerrilla training and tried to dig tunnels in Chittagong Hill Tracts in the spring of 1968. But when five young Bengali boys who accompanied him disserted and he was left with only two non-Bengali boys Azmi alias Ruhul Kuddus and his younger brother Ascchu, a first year Honours in Chemistry of Dhaka University. During the fall of 1968 Ruhul opened “Mao-Tse-Tung’s Thought Research Centre” in Malibag, Dhaka to recruit revolutionaries. He took the job of Lecturer at TejgaonTechnicalCollege with a salary of 450 rupees. He lived in Khilgaon in his parent’s house along with his wife and his three younger siblings: Nazmul, Shamim and Shibly. The elder brother of his village wife stayed with the family and started a tiny groceries shop beside KhilgaonGovt.High School. Rahul’s father was away on Government service. Ruhul’s first child, a daughter, was named “Shikha”. When he got a son, he left the job as a teacher and was appointed in the Firm of Zaharul Islam with a salary of 1,400 rupees and Rahul with his spouse moved to a rented one-storied flat on Rampura Road in Dhaka. For unknown reason he got full salary without working at all for the firm and he devoted his time for liberation movement. According to Ruhul Alam and his Political Commissar Ruhul Kuddus alias Azmi, the pro-imperialist leader Sheikh Mujib of Awami League was like Chiang-Kaishek of China and Pakistan was like that of Japan in 1939.

Rahela was the house wife of Hakim, the Director of NSI (National Security Intelligence). Her real name was however, Jahanara who used to write poems and articles in the Women’s Monthly Begum. She had two young sons to nurse but she had conflict with her husband because of her feminist views. Director Hakim cordoned her and prohibited her movements outdoor. But she managed to escape with the help of her maternal parallel cousin Rokanuddin of S M Hall of Dhaka University who introduced her to his leader Siraj Sikder alias Ruhul Alam. Jahanara got a peudonym Khaleda and she got a sheltar in a house of two policemen in Dayaganj of Dhaka.

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Ruhul and Rahela were in deep relation but the party cadres disliked their affair. Furthermore the pair madly hunted by NSI had to be always on move and the members of “East Bengal Worker’s Movement” were imprisoned and segregated in Kafka Cases with the allegation of seducing a house wife. Ruhul Alam alias Siraj Sikder became then a poet and started to write revolutionary poems togethher with Rahela.

On 21 February 1971, Ruhul sent Mohsin, a school boy to bomb BNR (Bureau of National Reconstruction) with a call of independence for which Sheik Mujib was accused by Yahiya Khan in his White Paper. In April 1971 Ruhul changed the name of the organisation to “Sarbohara” (Proletariat) Party and waged a guerrilla war against Pakistan. He sought an alliance with Awami League but his Commissar Azmi aling with four other delegates were killed treacherously after the talk in Savar, Dhaka by the Mujib Bahini there.

Ruhul was once caught by Bangladesh Army in Madaripur in 1973 and the military commander Mohshin let him flee because many army men were against the Indian hegemony. Ruhul and Rahela moved to Chittagong Hill Tracts. They got a son who was named “Arun”.

The year of 1973 was troublesome for Ruhul although it was at the peak of his fame to refute Indian and Russian dominance during One-Party terror of Sheikh Mujibis and its Rakshi Bahini. Many Hindus who had fought for National Liberation War were reluctant to continue. Siraj Sikder's relation with Rahela was unacceptable to many Central Committee Members, such as Selim Shah Newaz, the Commander of Barisal-Khulna Sector, the seventh in CC Member and Humayun Kabir, Lecturer in Bengali of Dhaka Univeristy, sixteenth and last CC Member.

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The endeavour of Director Hakim ended ultimately in joy when Ruhul and Rahela were caught in Chittagong on 30^th December 1974. They were flown to Dhaka the next day.

Myth of Siraj Sikder and Jahan Ara

Ruhul was an Engineer and Rahela a writer, the wife of Hakim, the Director of NSI (National Security Intelligence) of East Pakistan. Ruhul was married and he had a little daughter and a baby son. Rahela was the mother of two very young sons. Ruhul met Rahela in 1969 when she had fled away from her husband. Shortly after that Rahela and Ruhul began to live together and they got a son. Ruhul Alam alias Sirajul Huq Sikder was a radical political comet who was wanted by NSI dead or alive. The pair was caught after six years endeavour of NSI, on 30 December, 1974 in Chittagong and flown to Dhaka on the next day. Ruhul was killed on 1 January, 1975 at Savar, Dhaka.

Ruhul alias Siraj Sikder had been active in student politics and the President of the Liaquat Hall Students Union (Menon Group). The students of BUET were not open in politics and feared for their career because a police report could damage one's future. Siraj Sikder's closest associate Azmi of Quid-i-Azam college, collected a book of General Giap who defeated France at Dien-Bien-Fu in 1954. When they rebelled against the Communist Party (pro-chinese) dictation to support Pakistan against US imperialism and its lackey Awami League, and when they formed “East Bengal Worker’s Movement” with a hypothesis that East Bengal had been turned into a colony of Pakistan, it was reported to the intelligence. Siraj Sikder got first class in Engineering in 1967 but inspired by the “Red Guard Movement” he went to his own village Damodya in Madaripur to organise the poor peasants. Whimsically, on a bid he married a young daughter of a poor peasant. Ruhul faced soon family problem.

In 1968 Siraj Sikder alias Ruhul Alam went to Burma for guerilla training and tried to dig tunnels in Chittagong Hill Tracts in the spring of 1968. But when five young Bengali boys who accompanied him disserted and he was left with only two non-Bengali boys, Raziullah Azmi alias Ruhul Kuddus and his younger brother Ascchu, a first year Honours in Chemistry of Dhaka University. During the fall of 1968, Ruhul opened “Mao-Tse-Tung’s Thought Research Centre” in Malibag, Dhaka to recruit revolutionaries. Here he met Suruja Rokan, a student leader of Students Union (Motia Group) who was inspired by Ho-Chi-Min of Vietnam and Comodore Moazzem Hossain, the second accused of Agartala Conspiracy Case. Rokan was a neigbour of Siraj Sikder who appointed Rokan as the Incharge of "Mao Tse Tung's Thought Research Centre". Rokan, because of his good hand-writing, got the task of writing the manifesto of "East Bengal Worker's Movement" on cyclostyle papers. One midnight in January they got the manifesto printed from Islamic Foundation at Baitul Mukarram. When Siraj Sikder went inside to print out, Rokan waited outside on the Siraj Sikder's Honda motocycle parked beside the GPO building.

Ruhul alias Siraj Sikder took the job of Lecturer at TejgaonTechnical College with a salary of 450 rupees. He lived in Khilgaon at his parent’s house along with his wife and his three younger siblings: Nazmul, Shamim and Shibly. The elder brother of Siraj Sikder's wife stayed with the family and started a tiny groceries shop beside Khilgaon Govt.High School. Rahul’s father was posted away from Dhaka on Government service. Ruhul’s first child, a daughter, was named “Shikha”. When he got a son, he left the job as a teacher and was appointed in the Firm of Zaharul Islam with a salary of 1,400 rupees and Rahul with his spouse moved to a rented one-storied house on Rampura Road in Dhaka. For unknown reasons he got full salary without working at all for the firm and he devoted his time for liberation movement. According to Ruhul Alam and his Political Commissar Ruhul Kuddus alias Azmi alias Taher, the pro-imperialist leader Sheikh Mujib of Awami League was like Chiang-Kaishek of China and Pakistan was like that of Japan in 1939.

A brigade of NSI men haunted after Jahanara and in a year they could trace her pseudonym Khaleda. During the fall of 1969, Rurul took another name: Hakim Bhai. Ruhul alias Hakim Bhai and Jahanara alias Khaleda alias Rahela. They lived together in a house in Sabujbag in Dhaka. They moved outside as man and wife, at night. Rokanuddin was sent to bomb Pakisatan Council which rewarded Interwing Marriage to promote integrity of Pakistan. He threw a molotov cocktail made of sulphuic acid and petrol in a bottle with a thin ampoule inside it. Then Rokanuddin had to hide himself in Fatikchhari in Chittagong. He became like Uriya who was sacrificed for Betsheva.

The bomb was not taken seriously by the Government and was assumed to be of Naxalites who opposed election. But when EBWM circulated a leaflet that they want to crush the illicit integration, the case was taken by the Central Government. NSI arrested S D Khan of Gopibagh 4th lane, Dhaka, a school friend of Rokan. S D Khan alias Mintu hated his father's profession of Building contractor because of corruption in constructions. He opened a book-shop in Gopibagh where he received a registered post sent to Khaleda. Searching the book-shop the NSI men found a book of poems “Mritadeha O Smashaner Ghat” written by Rokan (a pseudonym) and suspected that it could be Rokanuddin. Within a month they could trace that little known poet living in a village as a science teacher and a hundred heavily armed policemen were sent to arrest him. The NSI man Israfil became angry when it was not the same Rokan but his team would not set the victim free unless his parents had paid him a sum of 20,000 rupees. Then started the war of independence and Rokan’s parents thought their son was safer in the jail while teachers, students, physicians, engineers, and intellectuals were being killed by the Pakistani army. It is said that Siraj Sikder’s elder brother, an Executive Engineer posted in Dinajpur, a secret supporter of Awami Leage, was killed by Pakistani army.

Ruhul and Rahela were in deep relaton but the party cadres disliked their affair. Furthermore the pair madly hunted by NSI had to be always on move and the members of “East Bengal Worker’s Movement” were imprisoned and segregated in Kafka Cases with the allegation of seducing a house wife. Ruhul Alam alias Siraj Sikder became then a poet and started to write revolutionary poems togethher with Rahela.

On 21 February 1971, Ruhul sent Mohsin, a school boy to bomb BNR (Bureau of National Reconstruction) with a call of independence. Paradoxically, Sheik Mujib was accused by Yahiya Khan for this act in his White Paper in August 1971. In April 1971 EBWM (East Bengal Worker's Movement) decided to change the name of the organisation to “Sarbohara” (Proletariat) Party instead of Worker's Party and waged a guerilla war against Pakistan. Siraj Sikder sought an alliance with Awami League but his Commissar Azmi along with four other delegates were killed treacherously after the talk of alliance in Savar, Dhaka by the Mujib Bahini in August 1971. It was a blunder of Azmi who realized at his death that Mubib Bahini was not of Mujib's but of RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) which formed in India by assistance of CIA in the year 1962 during the war against China.

The year of 1973 was troublesome for Ruhul although it was at the peak of his fame to refute Indian and Russian dominance. Many Hindus who had fought for National Liberation War were reluctant to fight against India. Ruhul's relation with Rahela was unacceptable to many Central Committee Members, the supposed Chiang-Ching of East Bengal. Selim Shah Newaz of Patharghata in Barisal was the Commander of Barisal-Khulna Sector, the 7^th in CC Member. The fire flaged when the Standing Committee refused to accept the marriage of Selim Shah Newaz with a close relative of Humayun Kabir, Lecturer in Bengali of Dhaka Univeristy, 16^th and the last CC Member, on the plea that the girl (who had secretly helped the dacoity of her own home by Selim and his friends at one night during the summer of 1970) was a petty-bourgeosie. Many of the cadres of South Bengal were Hindu boys who felt uneasy in the party line and Selim Shah Newaz led a division to keep his cadres in Party by Naxalite Class Struggle instead of a National Democratic Struggle. Ruhul then appreciated the killing of Selim Shah Newaz by Khasru of Gauranadi, a killer disserted from Kazi Zafar. Humayun Kabir was also later killed.

Ruhul, however had some well-to-do protectors. Zahurul Islam, the leading industialist of Bangladesh was Ruhul's patron and he let Ruhul and Rahela to hide at Navana Motors during there visit to Dhaka under the reign of terror after the emergence of Bangladesh. The national traitors soon became great patriots and the dreamers of freedom were killed, jailed as enemmies of independence or degenarated. The world helped Bangladesh 20 billion dollars to make a thousand men rich overnight but one million Bangladeshis died of hunger. So this was a golden opportunity of Siraj Sikder to wage a popular struggle.

Rakshi Bahini was active to annihilate the Sarboharas. At night some of Rakshi Bahini men went out in civil dress chanting slogans "Sarbohara Zindabad" and "Siraj Sikder Zindabad" and staged an attack against the police station. Next day morning the same men in their unifom took the young boys to the camps and beat them to death for the crime of looting the police station. Khasru was one of them to be beaten to death. Rakhi Bahini could kill 62000 young boys during the reign of terror which ended in August 1975, however a few Hindu suspected Sarboharas could escape death.

The endeavour of Director Hakim ended ultimately in joy when Ruhul and Rahela were caught in Chittagong on 30^th December 1974. They were flown to Dhaka the next day. Ruhul was killed in Savar in Dhaka where his Commissar Azmi was killed. Director Hakim was a victor like Manulus of Greece who took back escapee Helena after a long war killing Paris. But Rahela was sent back to her brother in Comilla. Ruhul and Rahela’s son Arun was handed over under the care of Ruhul’s father who was a retired Government officer living in Khilgaon, Dhaka. Director Hakim, however was married once again shortly after Jahanara eloped and he died in Singapore under medical treatment there. Siraj Sikder's son Sanjib Sikder went to USA in 1991 and his application for political asylum there in 2005 the appeal was refused because his visa had expired in 1999.

OM SHANTI

About the author

The author was a polio-hitted boy who fell long behind Minerva's piper for Liberty and thus survived to narrate you Bangladesh people's "Dream for Freedom" and the rise of the Red Sun in the East.

The author is a physicist, former Assistant Professor in Physics of Dhaka University of Bangladesh and retired Research Associate in Physics of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

Rokan was his pseudonym when he belonged to student cell of East Pakistan Communist Party (Moni Singh Group) during the years 1965-68. The turmoils of 1968, the 6-points Movements, Agartala Conspiracy Case and the Naxalite upsurge in West Bengal diverted a dreamer of Nuclear Physics and neither Comrade Forhad's private meetings or Motiya Chowdhury's song "Milke Cholo Bhaiya" for Integrated Pakistan could prohibit the author's aspiration of "Democratic Republic of Bengal" and he then came in contact with his neighbour Siraj Sikder who had formed the "Test Tube" group, a splinter of the Pro-Chinese Communists by openning "Mao-Tse-Tung's Thought Research Centre" in Malibag, Dhaka, a rented room of about 15 square meter situated in a small lane.

Then Siraj Sikder had been marked as an "adventurist" for digging tunnels in Chittagong Hill Tracts where all his followers had disserted him except two non-Bengali boys, Azmi and his younger brother Ascchu. Mahbubullah, GS of Students Union (Menon) had cut-off all relation with Siraj Sikder and joined with Matin of Pabna. After returning back to Dhaka, Ascchu became inactive. The author and his intimate friend Mahbubul Alam (who stood 3rd in East Pakistan Matriculation Examination in 1962), CC member of East Pakistan Students Union (Motiya) had then had visited a few watery tracts of East Bengal and studied the census report at the Public Library, were inspired by Ho-Chi-Min and collecting information of the Vietcongs from USIS in Dhaka. They had returned after working with the peasnats at Raipura, Dhaka and joined with Siraj Sikder and Azmi with the goal of a EBNLF (East Bengal National Liberation Front) for "Sovereign Independent, Democratic, Neutral, Peaceful and Progressive" "Democratic Republic of Bengal".

Rokan got another pseudonym, Suruja. Siraj Sikder had psedonum Ruhul Alam and Azmi's Ruhul Kuddus. Unfortunately, the author cannot recall the Pseudonym name of Mahbubul Alam. The last contact he had with him was in 1976, when the author was Lecturer in Physcis of Dhaka University. After the killing of Siraj Sikder and almost all of his party, Mahbub, the then Political Commissar of the Party was set free by minister Manjur and City SP Mahbub (who stood 7th in the Matriculation Examination in 1961 and came from same "Brown Compound" of Barisal). Before Mahbub left Dhaka for Netherland to his eldar brother, he met the author and told him all about the incidents. After a year Mahbub requested the author for recommendation letters for higher studies in UK. The author, the secretary of the Academic Cimmittee of the Physics Department, collected recommendation letters from Professor A K Rafiqullah, the Dean of the Faculty of Scince and Professor Mutasham Hossain, Chairman of the Department. Mahbub got admission but not a visa.

Before the author left his Alma Mater for Sweden, his intimate friend Achintya Sen, Assistant Editor of Weelky Hiloday told him that perhaps Mahbub has returned to Bangladesh.

In 1983, the author read in the newspaper that twelve members of Siraj Sikder's Sarbohara Party were caught in Kalkini and their eyes have been upprooted by using palm-tree thorns at the order of the local Chairman there and then they were sent to jail. In 1985 the author came to learn from his parents that Mahbub's father had told them Mahbub was then blind and mad, all the time he delivered lectures without any audience. Sometimes the author feels guilty for that because in 1970, when the author was arrested and interrogated day and night at the "White House" in Segun Bagicha which was directly connected to Islamabad, he saved his friend as much he could and thus when Mahbub also was arrested, NSI set him free after a month. After the killing of Azmi by the Mujib Bahini in August 1971, Mahbub became the Political Commissar of the newly build Sarbohara Party (which was according to the author in the jail was a deviation to extremism. EBWM, East Bengal Worker's Movement was to build the Workers Party following Vietnam and embrace all patriots, including patriotic landlords and bourgeosie). Still Mahbub got another chance to change when he was released in 1974 after a year a prison. The author took him to the LawCollege and paid for his admission there. Joy Kumar Sarogi, Assistant Professor of Physics of DU arranged private tution for him for his economic support. But ill-fated Mahbub, followed by NSI, was caught one night in Urdu Road at the house of author's class-mate Lutful Karim along with many other party comrades at his first meeting after the release. Mahbub had a strong Line of Saturn both hands, perhaps that's why he could not escape!

The author had never ambition to become a political leader. He had been like a JOKER of playing cards at the arena of politics and did whatever he felt one should do. The political leaders like Motiya Chowhury were like loud-speakers and seldom can they do the right. She/he has to sell her/him to the customers (the voters) as Shakespeare told us through Antinio in Julius Ceaser. All political party is ultimately leads by gangs and serves the interest of the gangs. According to the last prophet of Israel, "in fair democracy people have however a choice to change the rule of a gang". But what often we see it is changing the used socks which were similarly dirty.

The leaders become heroes. The victors get honour and wealth and the matyrs get fame. But “What passing bells for those who die as cattle!” When you think about the fate of Siraj Sikder, think also of Selim Shah Newaz who was the only son of a landlord family, editor of the JournalJhalkathiCollege. Think of Lecturer Humayun Kabir of DU, a devotee of Jibananda Das, who had left behind two children Kheya and Setu. The list is long!

The Piper of Hamelin takes revenge because of political leaders fault. But innocent children have to pay for it!

The romantic story of Siraj Sikder and Jahanara as “Ruhul O Rahela” can be a cinema as that has been in Germany of RAF leaders. Those who are intrerested may contact:

bengaliska@live.se

Bangaldesh: The Sun is Red

Part 1

A Dream for Freedom

Muhammad Suruja Rokan

Muhammad Suruja Rokan

Bangaldesh: The Sun is Red

Part 1

A Dream for Freedom

Part 2

A Visit of Liberty

Footnote to the Second Edition

Today is 19 November 2009, World Toilet Day. When yesterday evening I was listening to Tagore’s song as I do each and everyday, the song “Sharod prate amar rat poahalo”, it came to me that I am also “nishi shesher tarar moto” and thought about “banshi tomay diye jabo kahar hate”, I made my mind to make an attempt to disclose “je kotha roy moner bhitore ogochore”. Then I will feel myself relieved as going to toilet.

Perhaps now the reader will be confused of my footnote. So I want to clarify my footnote to the second edition of “A Dream for Freedom” written in Uppsala twenty five years ago, in December 1984. After that I could not make time to continue till I was marked by my peers that I was “a scientist going downward” and then I decided to return to “a virtual Bangladesh” for retrieval of my biological hard disk. But I had many other things to do before I took a look at the old writing “A Dream for Freedom”. It was written in the central computer of UppsalaUniversity and saved on magnetic tape which is now obsolete after twenty five years. A part of it was re-written in Macintosh which I preferred for writing in Bengali, but that also now abandoned and written in MS Word 5 is incompatible to modern Macs. So, I have to rewrite it. On the “World Toilet Day” I found it was appropriate start.

My toils for freedom was bifurcated on 9 July, 1970 when I became a detainee under 16A, 60A MLR read with 436 PPC and came out of my segregated cell on 17 December 1971. Then I found an oasis at my Alma Mater where I spent twelve years like a “Bidura” in the epic Mahabharata when Bangladesh was a mini “Kurukshetra”. The first thing I did in January 1972 was to make a Shaheed Minar in my village by organising “Samatat ShaheedSmriti Parishad” and the foundation stone was laid by Professor Muzaffar Ahmed. A few bags of cements were bought and bricks were carried by ricksaws from a site for road construction. Then I had to hurry for admission in DhakaUniversity and I devoted to my studies leaving the responsibility to two teachers, the Headmaster and President of the Parishad and another teacher who was the treasurer. When after three months I was back in my village to my grandparents, I was informed that the bricks and cements were used by Bashar, the nephew of Professor Muzaffar Ahmed and a brother of the Headmaster, to make a toilet because “Shaheed Minar” was a holy shrine and should not be made out of stolen bricks kept for road construction. The cements were however bought from donations of the villagers, but that would be useless when those would be hard in the rainy season. Bashar would pay for the cement when the Shaheed Minar was to be built. So my endeavour for a Shaheed Minar ended in the first private brick-built toilet in the village.

The second brick-built toilet was made out of my sole contribution. It was when my father requested me to donate a sum for a mosque in the village. This mosque was first built in 1930s by donation of the villagers. But afterwards it was discovered that one of the contributors had secretly taken interest on loan to a peasant. My paternal grandfather who had read in till Jamate-Ula in a Madrasha in Comilla, found the prayer in such a mosque would be “na-jayez” and so the mosque was demolished and reconstructed form new materials brought out of pure money in which my grandfather contributed the major share. That made him economically poorer but gave him a higher status. After fifty years, in 1980s, my father desired to reconstruct the mosque having a two storied foundation. He knew that his “rebel” son would not comply with his request and the major part of the cost was borne by his Marine Engineer son settled abroad. However, I complied with my father’s request by contributing for the cost for a large and good toilet with a water tube-well inside it.

One day I was watching Swedish state TV program on Bangladesh together with some of my Swedish family friends. They were surprised when a part of it contained Bangladesh toilet made at the corner upon the pond from where people took water for cooking and drinking. It was horrible to them. Then I recognised that unconsciously I had contributed something better than to contribute for Shaheed Minar or a Mosque. After that my father asked me to make a good translation of the holy Quran to Swedish but it has been recently done better by a Swedish Ambassador in Saudi Arabia who converted to a Muslim, after his hard work of ten years. I wrote instead one prayer book for Muslim children (Bönbok för Muslimska Barn) along with Islamic history which is the only one in the market where I cited that prophet Muhammed (sm) considered the Earth as a pure and gigantic mosque. A Muslim can pray almost anywhere but not in the toilet. I cannot make toilet anywhere, although as a male I have the advantage to write my name on the snow behind a tree while I drive far away from the city. Then I have not to be anxious of swine-flu or forgetting to wash my hands lest my daughter threw away the food I had touched,-“Pappa, you have not washed your hand after you closed the door of the public toilet and you have touched the handle of the door by your hand while got out of the toilet!”

It is said that we spend three years of our life in the toilet. IKEA’s founder Ingvar Kamprad, the 4^th richest man in the world says, -“My dream is each and every man in the world has got a bed to sleep”. Then why not our dream of “each and every man would get a good toilet”.

So, when we recall our past “Dream for Freedom”, our dream today could be “a toilet for each and every citizen on the Earth” and it is more important than constructing Shaheed Minar or Mosque. “A Dream for Freedom” is reflected in our Shaheed Minar but it is not pleasant to find faeces of Bengalis’all over the “anchal” of the “Mugdha Janani” Banlga Maa. We can say our prayer anywhere except in the toilet. IF the entire Bangladesh is a vast toilet, THEN we must build mosques for our prayer. If we have good toilets, we can say our prayer anywhere in Bangaldesh- boter muleOR nadir kule kule.

Preface

Uppsala, December 1984

I had an urge for making a sketch of my survival in turmoil. But I had to wait a long time, as I did not dare to write it before. Now the past is dimming away in amnesia and anachronism. I realise the decay of my memory when I cannot recall the names of some persons.

The nationalist movement of Banfladesh

(available in photoprint)