Bangabandhu most charismatic personality
Says former Indian governor
In the eyes of a former governor of India, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the most charismatic personality among the many leaders he had met.
"I have met many charismatic personalities during my service career, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and many world leaders, but I must say that among them he was the most charismatic personality I had met," Ved Marwah, former governor of Manipur and Jharkhand, wrote while recounting his memory with Bangabandhu.
Ved Marwah, first secretary in the Indian High Commission in London during the Bangladesh War of Independence, was asked by his High Commissioner to accompany Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to New Delhi on way to Dhaka.
"I got a telephone call from the High Commissioner, the late Apa Pant. I was told to pack up my bag and reach the Heathrow airport immediately. He did not tell me anything more. It was only after reaching the airport that I discovered that I was to accompany Sheikh Mujib to New Delhi on way to Dhaka.”
"I could never have imagined that I was going to be a part of this historical journey! We were only five persons in the plane. Apart from Bangabandhu, there were Kamal Hossain, his wife, Bannerjee, an attache in the Indian High Commission, and myself," wrote Marwah. It was in an article titled "My memories with Bangabandhu" on the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the late leader.
While describing the incidents inside the aircraft after it had taken off, the former governor said, “After about an hour he went round the plane to greet Bannerjee and myself.”
“When he came over to my seat I respectfully introduced myself. He put me at ease by speaking to me in a very informal manner. During this brief conversation, he discovered that I could speak Bengali. He was so pleased to know this that he asked me to sit next to him. For the next hour or so I had the privilege of sitting next to him.”
“His warm and affectionate personality simply overwhelmed me. He talked of all sorts of subjects. I was an admiring listener. Here was a man who had just come out of the Pakistan prison where he could have met his end if Bhutto had not taken over the reins of power. But he displayed no bitterness or rancour against anyone. He was only thinking of his people in Bangladesh and their problems. He referred to them as 'my people'. ”
Narrating the experience, he said the Delhi airport wore a festive look as the plane landed in the morning. “Prime Minister Indira Gandhi received Bangabandhu. She by nature was a very reserved person. But this occasion was an exception. I had not seen a bigger smile on her face. She was smiling and prancing like a young girl. One could see an immediate personal rapport had developed between the two.”
"I was to travel only up to New Delhi. As I went over to Bangabandhu to say good-bye, he asked me why I was leaving and 'didn't I want to make the journey to Dhaka'. When I explained that my instructions from my government were only to accompany him up to New Delhi, he immediately told me that from then onwards I would be his guest up to Dhaka.”
The former governor described Bangabandhu as 'first a very warm human being and only then a great leader.'
Recalling his meeting with Bangabandhu as he visited London as prime minister, Marwah said, “My wife and I were in for a pleasant surprise when Bangabandhu invited us for a tea at the Claridges Hotel where he was staying. I expected a big tea party but to our utter surprise we found that it was an exclusive invitation meant only for my wife and me.”
“He had not forgotten me and the tea-invitation was a gesture on his part to express his affection. I, a lowly first secretary in the Indian High Commission being invited by a prime minister of his stature! That in brief sums up for me his personality.”
"For me he towered over all the political leaders of his time," he added.
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