SUBSERVIENCE IS NOT FREEDOM

SUBSERVIENCE IS NOT FREEDOM : MAINUL HOSEIN : CITY PUBLISHING HOUSE LTD. Copyright © Mainul Hosein 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has pledged to donate all royalty earnings from this book to Manik Mia Foundation the objective of which is to promote human rights and press freedom. This edition first published 2012, Revised edition published 2015, Cover design: Selim Ahmed, Book design: ANM Wahiduzzaman : Registered Office: Ittefaq Bhaban, 1 RK Mission Road, Dhaka-1203, Bangladesh, Tel: 880-2-7122654 / 7114514, Fax: 880-2-7122650, email: [email protected] — Price: BDT 995, US$ 50, EURO 45, ISBN: 978-984-33-5563-8 : Page – 488 ——- Dedication — To my beloved father whose life of suffering and selfless devotion to the cause of his people, more than his writings, has been a message to me — Preface: If anything, I wanted to be a good lawyer and when the time came, despite other demands on my time, I took up the legal profession in all earnest. I am aware of my own limitations as a writer. But I may have inherited the gene of my father, a great journalist, popularly known as Manik Mia, to feel deeply concerned about the wrongs in public life and an abiding urge to find expression for them. There has also been a compelling desire within me to seek answers thereto. I returned from London as Barrister-at-Law in 1965. I had dreams to be in politics in the traditions of our great leaders. Mr. H. S. Suhrawardy was my role model. I felt inspired by him to be a Barrister and in my young days his personality, intellectual eminence and selfless-dedication to politics had a profound influence on me. I could not forget the pain and suffering my father had to put up with in his struggle to secure the rights and respectability of his people. Like in many others, chance and circumstance had their due shares in my life too. My father’s death in 1969 came as a bolt from the blue at a relatively early age of mine. Eminent journalist Mr. Serajuddin Hossain was to succeed father as the editor of the Daily Ittefaq, in case of anything happening to him. But he insisted that I should take the responsibility, my inexperience as a journalist notwithstanding. With his enviable foresight, he was more worried about the overall interest of the Daily. He was aware of the outside pressure that would come to the fore in the void created by the absence of my father’s huge personality. Thus, the position of editor of the most popular daily was thrust upon me by the circumstances. Though I agreed to be in this position on a short term basis yet, holding of such an exalted position made me feel ill at ease. But when responsibility came I did not shirk. I took the challenge of the situation with all seriousness. Luckily, I also got help and cooperation from everybody including Mr. Serajuddin Hossain. He was devoted to my father and was very close to all our family members. The pity that I could not save Mr. Serajuddin Hossain when he needed help most has always haunted me. He lost his life at the hands of the Pakistan army during the Liberation War when we were all vulnerable and unsafe. The articles in this book were published in the Daily New Nation over a long period and relate to the events of the time. My writings are not to be seen and evaluated as pieces of either journalism or literature. These writings can best be seen as expressions of a man in anguish, eager to see independent Bangladesh as a free, happy and prosperous country. I felt I must do it also as an obligation to taking my father’s cause forward. This is more than a compilation of articles and in most of these articles I dealt with the crisis of democracy as it was unfolding itself in our context and situation. Repetition of ideas and analysis of events became unavoidable because the problems remained unresolved and kept on resurfacing. But while editing, some portions have been left out and some portions have been re-written for greater clarity of the themes and the messages of the articles. While expressing my thoughts and ideas, I very much kept in mind the upcoming younger generations, they being the future nation builders. I knew in my heart that it would be easier for them to be forward-looking to build success stories of their own, and not be basking in the usurped past glories of others. I found it most horrid to see university students being used as violent party activists. I cannot be so obstinate as to claim that everything I have said in these articles is right but this much I shall surely claim, that I have said what I honestly felt must be said and did so in the hope that others more knowledgeable than me should also do the same to make democratic good governance work as an essential foundation for building a free, prosperous and happy Bangladesh. I responded and reacted to events of the time while emphasizing the lasting values of democracy and the need of solving the problems in a democratic manner of debate and discussion. In my writings and public utterances I have most emphatically pointed out: We have to be brave to be free and enjoy freedom. Subservience is not freedom. Arrogance has no place in a democracy and the independence of Bangladesh should be seen as triumph of democracy over arrogance – the arrogance of power. Through my articles published in this book I have wanted to provide a basis for hope in the midst of hopelessness. In conclusion, I must not forget to express my gratitude to those who have helped me in choosing the articles and in arranging them in a book form by going through them patiently, editing them for further clarification. For the factual account of events I had to rely considerably on the Daily New Nation for which I especially thank the editorial staff of the New Nation. I am indebted to my wife who offered me mental support and my able law associates in the law chamber who had been a constant source of encouragement to this difficult venture. It will be remiss of me if I do not record my appreciation for my Personal Assistant Mr. A.N.M Wahiduzzaman who worked most enthusiastically to help me in typing and retyping the manuscript. — Mainul Hosein — 15 June, 2015, [email protected]