Rough road ahead for Kabir

kolkata: he may have been released on interim bail, but shahriyar kabir is destined to live an eventful life, if he pursues the goals he has set for himself. if he writes the history of the bangladeshi freedom movement the way he wants to, the bnp-jamaat government and other fundamentalists will not spare him. during his last visit to kolkata in the latter half of 2000, kabir was busy meeting people with first-hand knowledge of the events of l971, and insisted on getting as close to the truth as possible.he had earlier spoken to various people in mumbai and delhi. he was convinced that what goes by the name of the history of the freedom movement was off the mark by a long shot, and that it had been doctored to suit the powers that be. he had been working on this for quite some time and had made enemies. the immediate provocation for his arrest and condemnation may have been his exposes on the atrocities committed on the minorities in bangladesh, but his posture against fundamentalists was well-known because of the way he wrote against fundamentalism and distortion of history. enough testimony to this is available from his l999 publication, muktiyuddher brittabandi itihas (the circumscribed history of muktiyuddha). what fundamentalists perhaps find most galling is his stand that india's contribution to the bangladeshi freedom movement has not been given due recognition. in the first article in this book, he suggests that a martyrs' column should be built in dhaka to show respect to the memory of the indian soldiers who died to liberate bangladesh. over the past three decades, specially since the exit of mujibur rehman from the scene, it has been considered safe in bangladesh to play down india's role. in another chapter, provocatively titled, how the history of muktiyuddha is distorted, kabir has criticised the writings of some well-known leaders on the subject, and named them. he has alleged that many historians have been unfair to mujib and tajuddin ahmed, the first prime minister of bangladesh, because they had their own axe to grind. he derides the khidmatgars of pakistan in bangladesh, who wish to reconvert the country into east pakistan. "the servants of pakistan who make hay in bangladesh and want to start a rebellion against delhi should be put in cages and sent to pakistan", the book says. kabir has written more than 30 books, at least three of which deal with such themes. when i met him in 2000, he said he had made a lot of progress in his work on a history of the freedom movement, in which he wanted to do justice to all angles. he is a secular-minded man who wanted to write history objectively. that does not appeal to many in bangladesh. according to reports, an old controversy has resurfaced in bangladesh which is not quite irrelevant to the kabir issue. who gave the call for independence in march l971? the present dispensation, headed by begum khaleda zia, has ordered that history books must ascribe it to her late husband, former president ziaur rehman, who said it on radio on march 26, l971. but the tape of mujib's speech at the historic paltan maidan meeting on march 25, l971, which used to be broadcast over swadhin bangladesh radio in l971, is proof that it was mujib who said, "ebarer sangram muktir sangram, ebarer sangram swadhinatar sangram (the fight this time is for liberation, for independence)." it is such tampering with history that the likes of kabir oppose, and they will have to pay for it.