Retracing our steps into the past
Harun ur Rashid takes us back to history
Former Bangladesh ambassador Barrister Kazi Ahmed Kamal's book, A.K. Fazlul Huq, Suhrawardy And Bhashani, is an exceptional addition to the political history of Bangladesh. It is a study of the lives of some of the towering politicians of Bangladesh. On the subject of reading, Francis Bacon writes: "Some books are to be tasted, some others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested." In my view, the book under review falls into the last category. It is a fascinating book because it contains so many interesting and amusing incidents of their lives which are stranger than fiction. Reading it engages one's attention from start to finish. Though the title of the book speaks of only three eminent politicians, the writer discusses also the lives of Khwaja Nazimuddin and Mohammed Ali Bogra. All five of them left their indelible footprints on politics in Bangladesh. Although written in 1970 before the birth of Bangladesh, the writer provides illuminating facets of their lives which are relevant even today as they had influenced the course of political history in Bangladesh. He provides for the first time an insider's view of many little known aspects of their lives to fill in many gaps in facts and interpretation of historical events. The new edited book with an attractive cover runs into 182 pages and has five chapters, each chapter devoted to one politician. Each chapter, again, is filled with hitherto un-divulged aspects of their lives. The book provides intimate glimpses of the personal and political lives of five great political figures and records in vivid detail their strengths and weaknesses, their passions and contradictions and the impact of their personalities on politics in Bangladesh. Their lives are strewn with important political events, such as the Lahore Resolution of 1940, the birth of the Awami League in 1949, the founding of a political platform of the United Front in East Pakistan in 1954 under the banner of the 21-point manifesto and the setting up of the National Awami Party in 1957. The book reveals the inside stories of 'love and hate' relationships among the leaders who dominated the political field in the territory now known as Bangladesh. Barrister Kamal's analysis in sharp and crisp language has brought out beautifully their personalities as well as political beliefs and is seen as a major contribution to the political history of Bangladesh. This book is informative, insightful, thought-provoking and yet enjoyable. It describes the unique style of each of the politicians in a manner for the readers to reflect on and relate to the present. On Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Huq, he writes about his unique hospitality for others, thus: "One day two men had come to stay in Fazlul Huq's house. In the drawing room Fazlul Huq shared his quilt with the two men. In the morning Mrs. Fazlul Huq found Fazlul Huq lying on the floor and the two men comfortably snoring on the bed under the quilt. It was too much for Mrs. Talat Begum, a lady of no-nonsense personality." On Suhrawardy's daring conduct as chief minister of undivided Bengal in dealing with Calcutta communal riots in 1946 where the Muslims constituted only 24% of the population in Calcutta, the author records: "Suhrawardy having lost the confidence of police decided to sit in the police control room at Lalbazar, to take the phone and direct the operations himself. He prowled in the streets of Calcutta alone in a jeep unarmed and unprotected to save Muslims from the riot." On Bhashani's tactics behind his captivating speeches before the crowd, he writes: "It is told (sic) that while proceeding to the venue of the meeting, he usually used to go by boat and on the way collect information of the price of different items of necessary things of life. During the speech he rattled off the prices of essential items in impressive details…and would compare to those of in British days. In comparing such prices, he would use more of his commonsense and imagination rather than genuine price indices." Barrister Kamal's analysis is seen as a major contribution to the debate which attempts to fill many gaps in facts and interpretation of political events in Bangladesh. . It is a "must read" book and should be on everyone's bookshelf. The book will be particularly useful to those who are interested in knowing of the lives of the stalwart politicians who played a significant role in politics and had an impact on people in Bangladesh. The book will be valuable resource for researchers who wish to deal with the political history of undivided Bengal and thereafter. Extracts from this book have been quoted widely by many authors inside and outside the country as reference materials. The book was out of print for a long time and the AHDPH decided to publish it owing to its vast canvas and unlimited scope for an interpretation of the lives of five politicians to illustrate the past, present and future state of politics in Bangladesh. Barrister Kamal passed away in April 1987 in London and could not complete his work, "Rise and fall of Ayub Khan". He wrote a book titled "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Politics in Pakistan" He was a fellow student of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib in Calcutta and was Bangladesh's ambassador to East Germany (1972-74).
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