by Mujahidul Islam Selim

[Translated to English by the AlalODulal Editorial Collective]

Call-Ready — a very familiar name. In many images of historic 7th March speech we have seen the Call-Ready logo emblazoned under the cluster of microphones.

Continue reading “Call-Ready”

Our history is never still, and there are always processes of rewriting Bangladesh’s history. The best response to such history wars is to let the record speak, when possible. In an Alal O Dulal exclusive, we have translated a 37 page interview of Kamal Hossain (from Shaptahik magazine, 2014). This is the second part. Continue reading “Kamal Hossain Interview (Part 2)”

By Shafiqur Rahman for AlalODulal.org

Recently a friend, who is usually the image of equanimity, uncharacteristically expressed shock and disillusionment at the way the social and cultural elite of Dhaka comported themselves in the wake of the contempt of court verdict. Continue reading “The Long War”

A Man of Peace

by Tanvir Haidar Chaudhury

‘He’s a great humanitarian, he’s a great philanthropist
He knows just where to touch you, honey, and how you like to be kissed
He’ll put both his arms around you
You can feel the tender touch of the beast
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace’ Continue reading “A Man of Peace”

“One of the reasons that so far GA and JI got all the leniency and privileges is partly due to the divisions in the anti JI, pro war crimes trials and Shahbagh/Projonmo Chottor lobbies.”
[Asif Munier is the son of Munier Chowdhury, a playwright and intellectual killed by Al Badr forces in 1971. He is the Vice President of Projonmo 71, an organization of the children of the martyrs of the liberation war of Bangladesh]
Continue reading “Munier Chowdhury’s Son Speaks”

Our history is never still, and there are always processes of rewriting Bangladesh’s history. The best response to such history wars is to let the record speak, when possible. In an Alal O Dulal exclusive, we have translated a 37 page interview of Kamal Hossain (from Shaptahik magazine, 2014). This is the first part.
Continue reading “Kamal Hossain Interview (Part 1)”

 1971:  Neither the Beginning nor the End of the Liberation War

by Anu Muhammad

Translated by Emon Sarwar for AlalODulal.org

1971 was neither the beginning of the war of liberation for the people of Bangladesh nor was it the end of it. 1971, the War of Independence, is a very important episode in the struggle for the liberation of the people of Bangladesh, or for that matter, the people of this region. Continue reading “1971, Neither the Beginning nor the End”

“So our old freedom fighter wanders the streets. He will go to the wrong meeting, the wrong gathering, the endless newspaper offices. Suddenly he will fly into a rage at a tea shop and start screaming…The more you travel downwards in our classist society, the more this hate [for war criminals], this obstinate rage. And in the upper echelons, only honey and unity.” Continue reading “Our old freedom fighter wanders the streets”

I was lucky to have had a preview of Naeem’s essay on history before it came out. This past week, I read the comments from AoD readers and they provided much food for thought. Great writing in response to the same.

A few thoughts on the comments over the fold.

Continue reading “Bangladeshi History: Rah Rah or Complexity?”

When a demand is de-contextualised from the power forces at play, it risks this occupation by those forces. Now the ultimate effect of Shahbagh has been dividing the nation even more dangerously, rather than uniting us or showing us a path forward — for at the end of the day they did not risk enough to go against the state as well as Shibir, and thus, fell into an old identity dichotomy rather than creating a new synthesis for a new identity.
Continue reading “Seema Amin: Shahbagh slides into old identity dichotomy”

The crocodile-tear sentiment of the middle-class and liquid, emotion-filled nationalism smothered the radical face of the 1952 language movement in one way or another. That is why we need to return to history and raise this noise very loudly: just as the language movement at one time was a movement to establish our language rights, it was also ultimately a movement to fight for the rights of the country’s farmers, workers and the toiling masses.

Continue reading “Azfar Hussain: Recover the radical politics of 1952”

History is hard work, but are we willing?
by NAEEM MOHAIEMEN.
[Forum Magazine, March 2013]

Continue reading “History is hard work, but are we willing?”

“The stain of genocide that still haunts Bangladesh can’t be erased with stains of revenge and show trials. Or by our refusal to acknowledge the ‘others’ amongst us, be it the adibashis or voices of dissent. We cannot challenge intolerance with intolerance, parochialism with more parochialism. We can and should do better.”
Continue reading “Questions about Shahbagh”

While describing Shahbag Square movement, frequent references are being made to Tahrir Square, the site of recent anti -autocratic movement in Egypt. However, although there are more similarities, Shahbag has not yet been discussed in reference to the famous Tiananmen Square movement of 1989 in China. The reason of missing Tiananmen reference may be two pronged. One, in ultra-short memory span of the minds of the analysts of Shahbag Square movement, an event of 1989 is not much distinct now. Continue reading “From Tiananmen to Shahbag, via Tahrir”

Another blogger, who has spent the greater part of the week at Shahbagh, who is gratified at the ‘abject rejection of the BNP-Jamaat and JP [Jatiya Party] narrative of 1971’ stirringly writes, and I quote:
‘I will never agree on the death penalty for anyone…If it is handed down for a convicted war criminal, I’ll continue to work so that it is commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or Presidential clemency. Confiscate their property and compensate their victims, and let their children find their way out of the public humiliation and shame brought upon by the exposure of truth. Let us be better than them. I will continue to be there in Shahbagh even if I’m the last man standing, and I share this belief with millions of my brothers and sisters across our land’. (greaterboka, ‘A Week in Shahbagh’,  Alal o Dulal, February 14, 2013). Continue reading “Reclaiming Ekattur: fashi, Bangali”

Lubna Marium participated in the 1971 liberation war by working in the Refugee Camps and later an Advance Dressing Center of Sector 7, with her mother Sultana Zaman and sister Naila Khan. Her father, Quazi Nooruzzaman, was Sector Commander of Sector 7, where her younger brother Nadeem was a muktijoddha. Continue reading “Lubna Marium on Shahbag”

How does the movement connect to the garment worker imprisoned in some factory not so far way? What’s its relation to the “informal sector worker” eking a living by shifting through garbage? What hope does the movement give to the farmer on the brink of losing his land and livelihood in some village? What message does the movement send to the Adibashi fighting for autonomy and dignity in Hill Tracts of Chittagong?
Continue reading “This is Shahbagh!”

I have a different take from Naeem as to what’s going on in Shahbagh. It is a more pessimistic take. If you are one of those people who think that a 18 year old speaking against Zafar Iqbal (Sir) should be treated like a Rajakar, please stop reading now and go elsewhere. Continue reading “The Meaning of Shahbagh-er More”

This is the month of my birthday. Parades, marches, speeches, celebrations, congratulations are in order. A particularly nice time of the year in my household, too, when temperature drops to a level that allows balmy joviality to set in. All get a well-deserved reprieve, albeit temporary, from incessant load-shedding. Along with the winter harvest, festoons, banners, flags and photographs of my golden children decorate cities and villages alike. Patriotic songs echo aloud out of loudspeakers and people lift their chests just a bit more. Indeed, it is a great pleasure to see my children happy, enthusiastic and proud. Only a mother knows how good it feels to see her children well and having fun.

Continue reading “Whose fault am I?”

When a nation loses its intellectuals, it loses its backbone.
Continue reading “When a nation loses its intellectuals, it loses its backbone.”

This is a short essay written by Monaemuddin Ahmed (1914-2003)  for Salimullah Hall’s reunion magazine. At 89, he was at the time, the oldest alum alive. He passed away before he could see this in print. 

Those Days
– Monaemuddin Ahmed 

Salimullah Hall in our days was known as Salimullah Muslim Hall. The word “Muslim” was dropped in 1972.

I was a resident of the Salimullah Hall from July,1935 to September, 1939 by virtue of my becoming a student of the Dhaka University ( then written as “Dacca University”) in 1st year B.A. (Hons.) class in the department of Mathematics with English and Persian as subsidiary subjects. Those years were the best years of my life, the creative years and the jolliest years. In 1935-36, I occupied a seat room # 151, in 1936-38, of room # 163 and in the final year, i.e. 1938-39, of room # 94, all in the West House.

Continue reading “Salimullah Muslim Hall”