Bangabandhu, the name that is synonymous to Bangladesh, is the greatest Bangalee of a thousand years. As we are going through Mujib Barsho, we would like to present before readers some of the untold stories, which have been adapted from the book ‘Ausamapta Atmajiboni’ (Unfinished Memories) by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman published in 2012 by The University Press Limited.

1

Many a time we use verbally abusive words to address politicians and in some cases, we hate them. But the fact is that the good and great politicians undergo a lot of things in their personal life which are sometimes really harsh to accept. Here is such a heart-aching story taken from the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman narrated in his words:

Once my wife and I was gossiping while Hasu (Hasina) and Kamal were playing on the floor. Hasu came to me in the middle of the game and addressed me as ‘Abba’ (father). Kamal used to keep looking at me but would not say anything. Suddenly Kamal said to Hasu, “Apu (sister), can I call your father ‘Abba’ (father)?” Then, I went to Kamal and took him in my lap and said, “I am your father too.” It is astonishing that your own children forget your face if you stay away from them for a long time. When I went to jail, Kamal was only a few months old. Who will realize that it is a heinous act to keep someone away from his kith and kin by putting him behind the bars without any kind of trial for political reasons?”

2

Bangabandhu, as a political leader, was different from other politicians. While many other politicians of his time were busy conspiring against each other, he was far away from such filthy political games. While he was serving a prison term along with Maulana Bhashani in the jail, the then prime minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan was shot dead by an assassin during a public meeting. The assassin was immediately shot by the police and he succumbed to death at the hospital. This was sure that this was a conspiracy hatched by some very powerful people as the assassin was shot dead. Consequently, there was no scope of unmasking the actual motive and the conspirators behind the assassination. Bangabandhu hated such kind of political conspiracies. He stated, “We don’t believe in the politics of conspiracy. It is an utterly despicable act to assassinate your political opponent. We, who believe in democracy, detest such kind of loathsome activities completely.”

3

In his early political career, Mujib once went to China to join a peace conference along with other senior leaders. He was pleased as well as surprised by the strategies taken by the then Chinese government to develop the socio-economic condition of their country. Sheikh Mujib did not have the habit of going to saloons. He used to shave his face by himself. In China, he faced an inconvenience as blades were not available there. He tried to buy blades during his stay in china, but he failed to do so. Finally, he found a few blades in a shop but those were rusty and rather unusable. When asked, the shopkeeper replied that they did not use anything that they were unable to produce or manufacture. Mujib was surprised by such mindset of the Chinese people. Such sprit and patriotism of the Chinese people really rejuvenated Sheikh Mujib.