Let conspiracy theories on Zahir Raihan’s murder come to an end

One of the indispensable elements of war is propaganda. War means terrorising with information, distorting information. War means the constant attempt to occupy the psyche with distorted and false information. War means the battle of forgetfulness against memory. In the twentieth century, Hitler’s Propaganda Ministry (Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda), headed by Joseph Goebbels, set an extraordinary precedent in war propaganda. His central philosophy was: If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.

That model of spreading outright lies and capturing the imagination of the people was followed by Yahya’s Pakistan in 1971. After the crackdown on the fateful night of 25 March 1971, the Pakistanis began their efforts to justify genocide. They wanted to show that India-backed miscreants were carrying out barbaric attacks in Dhaka and across East Pakistan, against whom the Pakistan army was simply taking action.

A section of mercenary journalists and intellectuals also worked to establish this ideology of the Pakistani military junta. But there was one Bengali who stood against this propaganda—Zahir Raihan. One of the brightest filmmakers and writers in the history of Bangladesh. He gave an interview to a widely circulated foreign media outlet, which is still available today on the social media video-sharing platform YouTube.

In that interview, Zahir Raihan said: “In Bangladesh the most surprising aspect that was when a military unit was moving for an operation, they were (Pakistani army) destroying and killing people, they were taking shots by a movie camera of the dead body, after burning a house they were taking shots of the burnt house by a movie camera, after unveiling the people to loot a shop they were taking shots of those looters by a movie camera and later on when I heard and when I saw they edited those portion and release it to our people telling and showing that the Bangalis killing Non-Bangalis and because of this chaos and confusions, they had to intervene, It was an utter lie.”

This statement by Zahir Raihan had a significant impact on world media. Through Simon Dring (The Telegraph) and Anthony Mascarenhas (The Sunday Times), the world had already come to know of the genocide in East Pakistan. Later, people came to know of the Pakistani brutality in many other ways. Zahir Raihan’s statement matched this reality, making it easier for the world to comprehend the Pakistanis’ atrocities.

Another outstanding contribution of Zahir Raihan during the war was Stop Genocide. It is one of the foremost authentic documents of the genocide committed in East Bengal. In this 18-minute documentary, Zahir Raihan portrayed the brutality of the Pakistanis in Bengal, comparing their massacres to those of Hulagu Khan and Adolf Hitler.

The film also depicted the extreme suffering and misery of millions of refugees who had taken shelter in India. It vividly described how people, in fear for their lives, crossed treacherous roads in adverse conditions to reach the border. The depiction of the muddy, perilous paths is simply extraordinary. Another talented filmmaker, Alamgir Kabir, gave wholehearted assistance in the making of this film. It also bore the clear influence of Cuban filmmaker Santiago Álvarez. Shot in black and white on 35mm, the central aim of this documentary was to build global public opinion in favour of the Bengali liberation struggle.

After the formal establishment of the Mujibnagar Government on 17 April 1971, a section called the ‘Film and Publication Department’ was created under it. Many talented individuals who had taken refuge in Kolkata were associated with this department. Unfortunately, Zahir Raihan did not receive any assistance from this department while making Stop Genocide. At that time, youth leaders staying in Kolkata opposed him. However, Zahir Raihan had the support of Tajuddin Ahmad.

In this matter, he received Tajuddin Ahmad’s unreserved support. Alongside, the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi, also showed keen interest in the film. She purchased it and instructed the concerned department to exhibit it at home and abroad. This short 18-minute documentary thus became an authentic record of the genocide committed on the soil of Bangladesh in 1971. It played a special role in creating public opinion in favour of Bangladesh. The main footage of this documentary was shot in refugee camps set up in Kolkata, which brought forth a particular appeal to conscientious people across the world.

Although Zahir Raihan played a significant role in Kolkata during the war, terrible news awaited him in independent Bangladesh. At the dawn of victory, his brother, journalist and writer Shahidullah Kaiser, was abducted by the Al-Badr forces. Zahir Raihan frantically roamed around searching for his brother. Finally, on 30 January 1972, in search of his brother, he went to Mirpur with a group of soldiers. Mirpur was still a dangerous place at that time. The defeated Pakistani soldiers had handed over large quantities of weapons to the Biharis, turning Mirpur into a fortress. It was in this enemy stronghold, while searching for his brother, that Zahir Raihan was martyred.

Zahir Raihan’s death in testimony of a general
There are many stories, accounts and conspiracy theories regarding the disappearance or death of Zahir Raihan. Many have used these conspiracy theories to embarrass their opponents. However, a particularly credible account of his death can be found in the book Silent Testimony of a General by retired Major General Moinul Hossain Chowdhury, Bir Bikram. He wrote:
“He (Zahir Raihan) went to Mirpur in search of his brother Shahidullah Kaiser. When he reached Mirpur at dawn, soldiers barred him from entering. Later, they took him to Company Commander Captain Helal Morshed at Section No. 2. Captain Morshed was then busy in a coordination meeting with the police and his platoon commanders. After hearing his purpose, Captain Morshed said, “Alright, he may go inside with the police.” Then Captain Morshed got busy again. During the preliminary investigation, a few soldiers deployed in Section 11½ stated that around 9 or 10 in the morning they saw a thin civilian man walking alone on the road between Sections 11½ and 12. After seeing Zahir Raihan’s photo, some soldiers confirmed that they had seen a man of similar build. Around 11 o’clock, the Biharis attacked the soldiers. In that sudden attack, he too was killed along with the soldiers. However, no one could say exactly where he was killed. Among the 42 soldiers, the bodies of only three or four were recovered. The bodies of Zahir Raihan and the rest were never found.” (pp. 33–34)

This remains to this day the most credible sequence of events regarding Zahir Raihan’s disappearance.

Murder of Zahir Raihan and investigation by Dainik Bhorer Kagoj
The murder of legendary novelist, journalist and filmmaker Zahir Raihan has stirred much controversy in Bangladesh’s political arena. Many engaged in false propaganda, drawing on his negative relations with the youth leaders of the Mujibnagar Government in Kolkata, with attempts to reap political advantage. However, the investigative journalism of Zulfiqar Ali Manik of Dainik Bhorer Kagoj somewhat put a stop to these efforts. On 1 September 1999, the newspaper published a report titled ‘Not Missing, Zahir Raihan Was Killed by Gunfire’ on this much-discussed murder in the nation’s history.

Zahir Raihan’s son, Anol Raihan, was also involved in this investigation. With the assistance of freedom fighter Nayek Amir Hossain, the investigation unearthed the truth. It was revealed that Nayek Amir Hossain, who was the only civilian with the army and police that day, saw with his own eyes the gentleman journalist being shot and collapsing. He also saw him (Zahir Raihan) being dragged away to the execution ground. A senior army officer had introduced him as a ‘journalist’. Amir was instructed to guard him and others.

This was more or less the mystery of Zahir Raihan’s murder. To this day, no official statement has ever been issued on this matter. No government office or police department has carried out any investigation or enquiry. Yet such an investigation was absolutely necessary. The indifference shown by the state regarding the death of a valiant freedom fighter, both then and now, is simply inexcusable.

Rahat Minhaz: Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Jagannath University