Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in our consciousness

Civilised social system is formed by living with mutual cooperation and sympathy. social order is very important for people to live together, otherwise every man has to live in isolation which is not desirable in any way. People are inspired by human spirit when they live together. If not motivated by human sense, disaster occurs in the social system. That is why the state makes various rules and regulations by formulating laws. People follow that rules as violation of the law is punishable offence. So, social ideologies play a viral role in developing  human consciousness. Laws must be obeyed to maintain harmony with each other. When a person follows the law in accordance with the social ideals or spirit of life, then he is known as an ideal person. Everyone respects him and visit him for suggestion when necessary. 

Social values are not developed without an improved cognitive aspect. Lack of proper social values make lives vulnerable. In a society, people cannot act as they want. And that’s why an undisciplined man creates problems for others. Therefore the preservation of social ideologies is the minimum condition of containing social values.

Bangabandhu learned to nurture social ideals and high cognitive valus within himself from his teacher Abdul Hamid from his teenage. Bangabandhu wrote in his book 'Unfinished Memoirs', "At this time, Abba (father) keeps Kazi Abdul Hamid MSc, popularly known as Master Saheb, at home to teach me. He also made a separate room for him. The house in Gopalganj was built by my father. Master Saheb formed a 'Muslim Sebha Samiti' in Gopalganj, through which he helped poor boys. He used to collect rice from people’s houses. We used to carry sacks and collect rice from door to door every Sundays and by selling this rice he would pay for the books, examination fees and other expenses of the underprivileged boys. He would also oversee other activities and I had to assist him. He died suddenly of tuberculosis. Then I was in the charge of the Sebha Samiti and used to lead it for many days. And all the money was deposited with a Muslim master. He was the president and I was the secretary. If any Muslim did not contribute, I would force him with my team.” Thus he established social ideals and elevated consciousness in his life.

When Bangabandhu became a politician in his mature years, he used to refer to his masses as 'miserable people' in his speeches. He always thought about them. After the independence, he became the head of the state. He made a statement on the radio and television on the occasion of the announcement of the nationalisation policy on March 26, 1972. He saud, “My dear countrymen, for the past twenty five years you have fought against hunger, deprivation, illiteracy and death. The imperialist exploiters turned our beloved motherland into a squalid colony. We were spending days in miserable and horrible conditions. We were exploited and while we are drowning deep under poverty and hunger, the Pakistani rulers have been busy looting our hard-earned wealth worth about 3000 crore rupees and was developing their West Pakistan.

The cold touch of death descended upon us as justice demanded. In the most brutal war of independence in modern times, 3 million people lost their lives and 30,000,000 more lost their valuables. All this happened as we sought freedom. Today when I look at my Sonar Bangla, I see a war-torn land, destroyed villages, starving children, naked women and despondent men. I hear the cries of childless mothers, the cries of oppressed women and the pleas of crippled freedom fighters. Our freedom is a big lie, if it cannot help them overcome the conflict of hope and despair and put a smile on their faces, if it cannot give a handful of food to the mouths of millions of hungry children, if it cannot wipe away the tears of mothers and the pain of sisters. All the sacrifices are false then. On the eve of the anniversary of our hard-earned independence, let us take this oath today, we will build the devastated Bangladesh. Not a few opportunists, but 75,000,000 people will enjoy the results. I promise to establish a happier and better life for the future generations.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her article 'Onarjito roye gechhe shopnopuron' stated, 'After the 1970 elections, my father could have become prime minister under Yahya if he had wanted. And we could come to Dhaka by BIA flight from Pindi. Maybe one day I would look at the people of this soil with pity. But my father never did any kind of politics to get the power, he repeatedly asked for the rights of the people of this country.'

Bangabandhu dreamed of building Bangladesh without exploitation. He was concerned about the fair wages of people. On May 1, 1972, Bangabandhu addressed the nation on the occasion of May Day, "My dear brothers and sisters, this is the first historic May Day being celebrated on the free soil of independent Bangla.... You have responded to my call many times in the past and jumped into the fearless war of liberation. I believe, this time too you will come forward and response to my call. In the past we were trapped in a tragic capitalist economic system. A few opportunistic individuals and groups had axed the national wealth and the production of labourers. The country is independent today. Now the people own all its wealth. Therefore, this wealth will not be allowed to be wasted for the indulgence and greed of any class. Our aim is to establish socialism. In this system, all the produced and natural resources of the country will be distributed equitably among the farmers, workers and all classes of people. Although the hurdles are many, the problems are endless, we must move forward to achieve our goals.”

Bangabandhu's speech shows that he wanted an end to discrimination. The capitalist economy exploits the working class and as a result, it does not develop social ideals or a better sense about human life. A society of discrimination is created in the conflict of interest between the the exploiter and the exploited. He also mentioned four principles in the constitution of Bangladesh. They are--nationalism, democracy, socialism and secularism. He did not refer to socialism from Karl Marx's theoretical assessment. The experience he gained from 23 years of exploitation and deprivation during the Pakistan era was a major aspect of his assessment. That is why he further mentioned in his speech of May 1, “My poor working brothers and sisters, you should take an active role for the establishment of a socialist economy. We have to work hard, achieve production goals. By increasing the country's wealth, we will succeed in improving the real standard of living. Today, on this May Day, let us take this oath that we will continue to work to build a socialist economy.”

Former President Md Abdul Hamid in his article 'Bangabandhu: Amar rajniti o songsod, 'I often noticed a different thing in the Parliament. If someone spoke against Bangabandhu in the Parliament, it was the speaker who got embarrassed, but not Bangabandhu. If he was not liberal and democratic, he would not act normally hearing criticism.  In 1973, Ataur Rahman Khan, MN Larma and some other opposition MPs were in the parliament. They got chances to talk whenever they wanted. Bangabandhu often told the speaker to give them a chance to speak. This was possible because of Bangabandhu's distinct focus on the opposition. Irrespective of the differences in political ideologies, Bangabandhu never spoke sarcastically to the leaders of the opposition parties but spoke to them with due respect. Political etiquette was a notable feature of his life.'

Bangabandhu went to China to attend the peace conference. About the visit, he wrote in his 'Unfinished Memoirs', "I am not a communist myself. But I believe in socialism and do not believe in capitalist economy. I think of it as a tool to exploit people. Exploitation of the people cannot be stopped as long as the capitalist system exists in the world. The capitalists are determined to initiate a world war for their own benefit.”

Learning from the history of exploitation and deprivation during the Pakistan period, he developed faith in socialism with a strong love and responsibility for the people in sufferings. But he did not get the opportunity to create such a developed consciousness and social ideals. He had to give his life at the hands of treacherous thugs.

He evaluated the need of equality between men and wosociety as per his high valued ideologies. In order to give economic freedom to the women, the second part of the constitution, includes, "Measures shall be taken to ensure the participation of women at all levels of national life." To protect the social status of women oppressed in the Liberation War in the independent country, he awarded them the title of 'Birangana' means brave woman.

At that time the certificate given to the freedom fighters contained 'Bir / Birangana Sainik'. In the certificate, 'Bir' was put before men's names, and 'Birangana' before women's names. But the term Sainik was not removed in any certificate. He set an example of social ideals by upholding the status of women as freedom fighters. But social values did not accord this recognition to women. Women lived in great humiliation. When Bangabandhu introduced training and employment for the Biranganas, many fathers did not allow themselves to be named as fathers in the application. Bangabandhu said, if a father does not want to write his name, write my name instead of his name. In this way he tried to uphold the place of social ideals. But due to lack of social values, women did not get the seat of dignity. Oppressed-neglected, they had been living in the post-independence period. If the whole society is not built on the dignity of human beings, then the values are degraded. That is why building social ideals is an important step for the head of the government. Even though Bangabandhu presented the aspect of social ideals to the people, people caused social disaster due to unsophisticated values. They made Biranganas lives miserable. Man could not exalt women in the horizon of freedom. The values of social ideals have been damaged. People did not want to understand that men and women hold the same place is the main stream of mankind.

Bangabandhu in his book 'Amar Dekha Nayachin' mentioned about the place of equality between men and women in terms of land acquisition, 'I have not seen a piece of land in Nayachin which is lying uncultivated. The pits that lie along the railway lines are also harvested. If any land is deliberately fallow then the government imposes severe punishment. The distribution of land is not limited to men; Whatever land the husband gets, the wife gets an equal amount of land and both have to work hard. Because both are land owners. The custom of husbands working outside and wife sitting inside home is not applicable in China. I saw many men and women working together on lands from the train.

 In 1972, Bangabandhu took initiatives to develop the education system during his tenure. He engaged in far-reaching goals of building an educated society. He established 11,000 primary schools while regularised 40,000 more. The aim was for children to receive free education up to primary school. Education of children of poverty-stricken communities is a major aspect of social norms. Bangabandhu retained his position as head of government here. 

Bangabandhu was always vocal against corruption. Corruption undermines social norms. In society, people live with mutual cooperation and sympathy. So the concept of social ideals was the major aspect of Bangabandhu's philosophical thought. He said in 'Amar Dekha Nayachin', 'I heard about an incident of corruption, a government employee took bribe, he was caught by the public. He was hanged for bribery. Because of that incident, fear had spread among the employees. No one dares to take a bribe.'

Besides, if patriotism and national unity are strong, the country does not even suffer from natural causes. People can overcome it easily. In this context, he wrote in 'Amar Dekha Nayachin', 'China is a very big country, farming can be done in all over the country. The government has started excavating polluted rivers and canals with the help of people. Millions of acres of land were destroyed by floods every year earlier; Today, crops can no longer be destroyed by monsoon rain. The government called on the people to build a dam on the Hwang Ho River. Millions of people helped the government for food. Hwang Ho is called the sorrow of China. The Chinese have never been able to build this dam before. But after the revolution, the Chinese have achieved the impossible goal with the determination of patriotism and national unity. There can be no more flooding in the Hwang Ho.'

He cherished similar socialist ideals in this political philosophy. There are so many such quotes throughout the book which can be mentioned. On August 4, 1966, he wrote in 'Karagarer Rochnamcha', 'Renu has left some food for me- how can I eat alone? I loved to eat Koi fish, so she fried it. She fried a few fish, roasted chicken, but who can eat them all? I ate some and distributed the rest among the prisoners. How happy they are to get the food! Many of them were staying in the jail for seven years, five years or three years  living on a monotonous diet.'

He also mentioned, 'I do not eat without giving them what I get. Same rule is applicable in my house. They will work for me in the prison, cook for me, so no separate meal for them! Today new industrialists and businessmen prepare separate meals in their houses. Different food for masters, different for servants. When there was monopoly feudalism in our country, even this tradition was not exist in the houses of zamindar, talukdars. Today, when the monuments of industrial and commercial civilization have started to be built on the grave of feudalism, this kind of mental change has started, this exploitation is more terrible than the exploitation of feudalism.'

Bangabandhu thus assessed the place of human rights. Deprivation of human being is termed by him 'terrible'. This deprivation of the poor man is abhorrent to his human consciousness. In this way he saw people in the light of his understanding. Dr. Neelima Ibrahim wrote in her article 'Sheikh Mujib: Ekti songram ekti ononno bektitw, 'I saw the softness like flowers in Bangabandhu where he was not a hero, not seer sage. He was everyone's good-natured, sweet-spoken, affectionate Mujib brother. Mujib brother belongs to everyone, there. There is no difference between small and big, there is no gap between rich and poor,  scholars and illiterate.' 

In the light of his life and philosophy, Bangabandhu himself spoke about the rights of the people, "In my opinion, people will have the right to receive rice and clothes, and at the same time, people should have the right to preach their own doctrine." If not, people's lives become as dry as stone.' From this ideological base, he is the father of the nation, a dreamer of consciousness. 

National Professor Anisuzzaman said in the article 'Jananayaker abirbhav  o tirodhan', 'Bangabandhu has been tried to be erased from history for a long time, but he could not be removed from the hearts of the people of Bangladesh.' 

So I want to say, Bangabandhu will remain in the consciousness of people and will inhabit in history of Bangalis always as a sun.

Selina Hossain: Writer, President, Bangla Academy