Zunaid Ahmed Palak
Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib's contribution to the Bengali nation is immense. Her love for the people was unconditional and genuine. Hence, she became Bangamata, the Mother of the Bengali nation.
Bangamata was the source of inspiration in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's 24 years of struggle against the Pakistani misrule and oppression. In this long struggle, Bangabandhu spent almost 14 years in prison cells. Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib has kept close contact with the people so that the movement does not subside in his absence. That is why people used to call her Bhabi. (sister-in-law) and Bangabandhu was called Bhai (Brother).
She was born on 8th August in 1930 in the Tungipara village of Gopalganj district. On the night of August 15, 1975, he was brutally killed along with the other members of his family by the assassins of the Father of the Nation.
Everyone’s heart is filled with respect for the Bangamata, wife of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the dear mother to the leader of the people Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Rehana, Sheikh Rasel.
She is the charioteer of our freedom and liberation struggle. She was born in August and died in August. The occasion of her birth is hence crowded with grief. On the 91st birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s life partner Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, I pay my deep respects to Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, a true friend and companion of Bengalis.
The political activists of our generation have not had the opportunity to work under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu. There was no opportunity to see a self-sacrificing majestic woman like Bangabandhu's wife Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib.
Bangabandhu-daughter Sheikh Hasina in a memoir about her mother Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib has given a brief description of how a woman has made an extraordinary contribution to the beloved leader of Bengalis Sheikh Mujib from Bangabandhu out of self-sufficiency with family, husband and children.
Sheikh Hasina has already freed the nation from that responsibility by publishing Bangabandhu's 'unfinished autobiography'. After the publication of the book, the present generation has come to know the influence and contribution of Begum Mujib in Bangabandhu's political life.
Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib can be understood only by analyzing as soon as the autobiography written by Bangabandhu reaches the hands of the reader. Numerous examples of her political wisdom and far-sightedness can be found.
Bangabandhu had weakness in the love of the people. He loved the leaders and workers with all his heart. We see 100 percent of Bangabandhu's worker-friendly qualities in Begum Mujib. She was the companion of happiness and sorrow of the party workers. Be it the best political activist or the common man, no one would ever return empty-handed without her help.
Begum Mujib was by the side of all political activities like shadow from Bangabandhu's student politics to martyrdom. Begum Mujib has suffered a lot in the struggle for independence from independence and subsequent nation-building. Even during the student-politics, Begum Mujib used to support Bangabandhu with the money earned from her father's property. She has even sold his jewelry to carry forward the patriotic struggle.
In an Awami League publication, Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Rehana wrote in a memoir, "My mother had an impossible support for my father's political activities. My mother's patience, sense of principle, family reform, love and affection were different. In this way, the contribution of the great personalities remains in the background.”
Bangabandhu had to spend day after day, month after month inside the jail, struggling. At that time Begum Mujib was the center or refuge of the young activists of the Awami League, especially the student leaders. He loved political activists dearly.
Prominent columnist Abdul Ghaffar Chowdhury wrote about Begum Mujib: “A student leader or a political activist who had been hiding for a long time without caring about her arrest entered the house number 32 in the middle of the night in a state of starvation.”
In many complex situations of Bangabandhu's political life, Begum Mujib has helped to make the right decision with good advice. During the riots of 1947, Begum Mujib did not forbid her husband to go to the riot-hit areas even though she was ill. At that time Begum Mujib wrote in a letter to her husband, “You were not just born to be my husband, you were born to work for the country. Serving the country is your biggest job. Feel free to go to work. Don't worry about me. Leave my burden to Allah.”
How old was Begum Mujib then? Born in 1930, he was 16 years old. A young woman of this age gave up her happiness, peace and comfort and gave priority to the needs of the country. This example of sacrifice for the country is unimaginable at the present time.
Even during the difficult period of the 6-point movement declared by Bangabandhu in 1966, Begum Mujib, the bloodshot eye of the dictator ruler, cooperated with her husband with courage and determination from all temptations. Begum Mujib was always in touch with the youth, students and youth of the party. He used to stand beside them in happiness and sorrow. Begum Mujib was well aware of the uncompromising attitude of the youth towards the movement and inspired her husband to jump into the struggle for freedom.
Begum Mujib believed that there could be some hesitation among the elders in question of the movement. However, Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu and the thousands of youths of Chhatra League will never back down from the path of freedom movement.
Begum Mujib's timely decision in the fiery days of 1971 is considered as a turning point in the history of the struggle of freedom. Sheikh Mujib was then in jail in the Agartala conspiracy case. To bring the situation under control, General Ayub Khan invited the political leaders to a round table meeting. It was proposed to release Sheikh Mujib on parole and go to the proposed round table. Many of the accused in the Agartala conspiracy case agreed to the proposal. At that time the people's demand was to withdraw the conspiratorial case. Begum Mujib was against participating in the roundtable meeting on parole. If she agreed to the release on parole, she also sends a strong message of severance to Mujib, a prisoner in the cantonment. Like her husband, she was uncompromising on the question of the policy. The dictatorial Ayub government was forced to release Sheikh Mujib under the pressure of a strong movement in the streets.
Begum Mujib was the inspiration behind Bangabandhu's historic speech on March 7. She advised her husband Bangabandhu Mujib to give a speech based on his conscience. The epic quote "This time the struggle is for liberation, this time the struggle is for freedom" was generated because of having a wise woman like Begum Mujib by Bangabandhu's side.
Begum Mujib's memory was very sharp. She could remember the political events correctly. For this reason, Bangabandhu used to call Begum Mujib his 'living diary for life'. While in prison, she used to bring all Bangabandhu's instructions from the jail to the Awami League and Chhatra League. Moreover, she used to go to the jail gate and inform Bangabandhu about all the incidents of the movement.
Begum Mujib was a bridge with the leaders and workers in Bangabandhu's long prison life. Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib has been a tireless worker for the Bangladesh Awami League, the traditional political organization that has built the history of Bangladesh, in line to go down in history. All the policy-making meetings including the meeting of the executive committee of the Awami League were held at the house No. 32 in Dhanmondi.
Sheikh Hasina inherited the blood of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib. Today, she is serving as the Prime Minister of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh for the fourth time.
Bangabandhu loved the party leaders and workers as well as the people of the country with all his heart. He had close relations with grassroots leaders and activists. Due to this great quality, he has become 'Bangabandhu' from everyone's favourite 'Mujib Bhai'.
Begum Mujib was also a close relative of the leaders and workers. Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina is the most beloved 'leader' or 'mother' of the leaders and workers because of her outstanding qualities of service to the country acquired from her parents. Sheikh Hasina is the last resort of the pro-liberation people as the blood of the great Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib flows in the arteries of Sheikh Hasina.
In the midst of all the sorrows and pains, the divine blessing of her parents is the support of Sheikh Hasina to move forward. If you want to know Begum Mujib, you should read Bangabandhu's 'Unfinished Autobiography' and 'Prison Diary'. A study of the two sources will reveal more unknown information about Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, which will enrich our history and protect the nation from distortion of history.
National poet Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote in his poem, “Of all the great creations in the world that are eternally successful, half of them are done by women, half by men.”
The best achievement through long struggle under the leadership of Bangabandhu was the independence of Bangladesh. Fazilatunnesa Mujib, the majestic woman of Bengal, is the inspiration behind all these struggles and movements of Bangabandhu and the source of inexhaustible inspiration in every political activity is following the whole political life of Bangabandhu like a shadow.
