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Special prayers held for Mujib

Special Correspondent

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

NEW DELHI: Even as India was celebrating its Independence Day on Saturday, the rain-soaked afternoon provided the perfect setting at the Bangladesh High Commission here to remember Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was killed on the same day 34 years ago.

Flag at half mast

With the national flag at half mast, Bangladesh High Commission staffers offered special prayers for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members, who were also murdered in their sleep.

Indian well-wishers of the former Bangladesh President and Prime Minister recalled their association with him.

Major-General (retd.) J.F.R. Jacob, a 1971 war veteran, recalled that as the Pakistani forces unleashed attacks on the unarmed people of the then East Pakistan, the people followed the directives of their leader and waged a war against them.

Recalled

Muchkund Dubey, a former diplomat, described a public meeting addressed by Mujib as the biggest he had seen in his life. The former police officer, Ved Marwah, recalled his journey with Bangabandhu from the Heathrow airport to Dhaka, through New Delhi.

When Mujib came to know that he knew some Bengali, he was asked to sit next to the leader, who outlined his vision on the yet-to-be-born Bangladesh.

Sharp memory

He had a very sharp memory; years later, during a visit to London after becoming the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, he invited Mr. Marwah and his wife for tea.

Arjun Sengupta, who served in the Indian High Commission shortly after the liberation of Bangladesh, recalled that whenever Bangabandhu saw him, he would call him by his name. “I was surprised how he could remember my name.”

In his speech, the newly appointed Bangladesh High Commissioner, Tariq Ahmed Karim, paid rich tributes to Bangabandhu. “Without his appearance, there would have been no Bangladesh.” Subsequent bloodletting could have been averted, had the killers been tried and punished; rather, they were given lucrative postings abroad.

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