Kader Siddiqui (was Hindus in Bangladesh)
Dipen Bhattacharya
>Kader Siddiqui is in jail for murder. I hope people remember the
>gruesome killings of Biharis by him at the Dhaka Stadium. He is
>also charged with treason. He led an armed group which terrorised
>parts of Mymensingh around 78-79.
>Being a freedom fighter does not grant someone immunity from
>the law. A criminal, though he may be a patriot, is still a
>criminal. He must be tried, as must Ershad, the killers of
>Mujib and Zia.
Please elaborate on this issue a little more. As far as I know,
Kader Siddique killed a number of Razaakars (without summary trial, and
that was wrong), and not Biharis per se. The killed included one son of
of a Muslim League leader from the village Ellenga in Tangail; this son
and his brothers were infmous Razaakars and dacoits who terrorized the
whole Tangail district during 1971 (please take it from my personal
experience).
Would you please elaborate on the murder charges brought against
him. I thought that he was jailed on some other grounds.
So you want to try the killers of Mujib (many of whom roam the
streets of Dhaka), and you also want to try Kader Siddiqui on the grounds
that he tried to fight against these killers. I, personally, do not
endorse or support insurgencies of 1976/77 (by KS), but after the fall
of Ershad, wasn't there an atmosphere of national reconciliation. Even on
this net, we argued to let bygones be bygones and even embrace Jamaat into
the mainstream politics. Proven killers like Salahuddin Kader Chowdhury
(evidence documented by Bangladesh Govt.) are now members of the parliament.
What will you do about it? How about Major Rafique? Is he the President
of the glorious Freedom Party?
The arrest of Kader Siddiqui is a political move. It seems it
served some unknown purpose of both BNP and AL. In the long run, such
moves can only strengthen the hands of ultra-rightists in Bangladesh.
>-Zunaid Kazi
Shubhechha, Dipen
P.S. I have a personal stake in writing about Kader Siddiqui. During 1971,
we were attacked a number of times by the local Razakaars and dacoits when
we were fleeing from village to village to escape the Pakistani Army. After
the month of June, those attacks became rare as Kader Siddiqui's force
almost neutralized them. I never thought of him as a sophisticated politician
and had doubts about his personal style of commanding, but to a certain
degree, many of the villages of Tangail were saved by his forces from being
ravaged.
Shawkat Bhuiyan
Just after 16th December, 1971, Kader Siddiqui himself
and his group bayonetted 2 razakars (I believe one
may be a bahari) to death in the Race Course
(Sarwarthy Uddan). He invited all foreign jounalists.
I have a photograph of that scene.
I agree with Dipen Bhattacharya that he should be pardoned (!)
by the government at least for his political crimes when
people like Major Rafiq or Salauddin Qader have been
pardoned even for worst crimes that a person can do.
Shawkat Bhuiyan
Ihtisham Kabir
One of the most bitter ironies about the Liberation War is the
following. Three million Bengalis were massacred, but arguably
the most famous photograph of the War is that of Kader Siddiqui
and his cronies bayoneting some collaborators in full view of
the public in Dhaka.
Don McCullin, the British photographer whose "Hearts of Darkness"
has some haunting photographs from the Liberation War, was in
Dhaka when this event took place. He said that the journalists
staying in Intercontinental were informed well ahead of time by
Kader Siddiqui that this would take place, and many photographers
were ready for the action. There was one photographer (I think
McCullin himself) who refused to participate, because he felt
that this was a show for the press, and did not want to encourage
it further.
Zunaid Kazi
They [Rafique et. al] have not been pardoned.
Convenient amendments [Or decrees?] were brought
about by Mushtaq and his cronies [Deliberately
derogative term]. I believe they should be repealed
by the parliament. Are the amendments constitutional?
If not, then we should go to the courts. I have a
feeling the repeal of the amendmends might not
garner sufficient support in the parliament.
Regarding the Razakars who have been pardoned,
is there any way to overturn a Presidential
pardon? [Any lawyers on the net?]
> Shawkat Bhuiyan
--
| Zunaid Hamid Kazi ka...@udel.edu |
| Computer and Information Sciences ka...@asel.udel.edu |
| University of Delaware ka...@brahms.udel.edu |
| 11-3 Thorn Lane, Newark, DE 19711 (302)-456-3493 |
Shawkat Bhuiyan
I am extremely sorry to use Major Rafiq's name as an
offender in one my previous articles. Rather it should
be Cornel Rashid or Major Dalim.
Major Rafiq is one of our best "Muktijoddha" and
well known for him partiotism. His book "A Tale of Millions"
is a great asset for our history of independence.
Shawkat Bhuiyan
SM...@cunyvm.bitnet
always confess our faults.-Doha