BNP and Zia
The BNP is clamouring as to why the name of the late Ziaur Rahman was not cited in the president's speech in the inauguration of the ninth parliament. They are very unhappy and hurt. Our reaction is 'why the hell?' Historically, Ziaur Rahman is not at par with the other national leaders of Bangladesh. His contribution towards the political movements, mass upsurge, emancipation, freedom of Bengali nation, liberation war etc. is not at all comparable to the contributions of Bangabandhu, Sher-e-Bangla, Moulana Bhashani, Shaheed Suhrawardy, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Monsur Ali, Kamruzzaman, Gen. Osmani etc. His name can not be taken at the same breath and with the same respect and honour as the above mentioned ones. Contribution of Ziaur Rahman is comparable with that of Shafiullah , Khaled Musharraf and other sector commanders.
We know the circumstances of how Ziaur Rahman was vaulted into limelight by Belal Mohammad and a few dedicated workers of Chittagong Radio Station. It was an act of God. Ziaur Rahman kept on cashing that 'good will' till the end. He entered into our political arena through the back door and was the supreme beneficiary of the killing of the founder of nation, Bangabandhu. Seventeen coups were reportedly staged during his tenure of less than six years and he was killed in the last one. It is true that he was the founder of the BNP whose undemocratic constitution vests all the power to a single person-- the chairman of the party.
If the name of Ziaur Rahman requires to be included in the president's speech, why should HM Ershad be deprived? Factually, Ershad's contribution towards economic development of Bangladesh is more than that of Ziaur Rahman.
In our opinion, Ziaur Rahman does not merit or deserve a place among the 'big ones'.
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