How the Steel Was Tempered

After the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, on his trip to East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, when Pakistan's Governor General Muhamamd Ali Jinnah met some young student leaders of this land, he was infuriated when he was informed that some of them were not students anymore and has began doing jobs as well. Shamsul Huq, a colleague of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman locked his horns with Jinnah about the matter and had to reveal some bitter truths about the life of young political leaders, who used to come from middle class families of the society.

No one can deny that a steady source of income and support of all the family members are a must for a middle class family to have their livelihood. The absence of permanent income sources and lack of family support cut short the political life of many talented politicians with a middle class background in those days.

Bangabandhu was fortunate enough to have a better-half and a family who were always there beside him, whatever the situation was, and helped him shape his life. Many may find Bangabandhu only as the most popular political leader this land has ever had, he was a good son, responsible husband and the best father to his children. His family served as his permanent support system throughout his whole life.

During his time as a student in Islamia College of Kolkata, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman once went to Delhi to join a conference of the Muslim League presided over by Jinnah and lost almost all his belongings along with his suitcase on his way back to Kolkata, and face a lot of trouble. He wrote to Begum Mujib about his sufferings and eventually came to visit his paternal home for money and clothes. Before returning to Kolkata, when he entered the room of Begum Mujib to bid farewell to her, to his surprise, Bangabandhu saw his spouse holding some money in her hand-- money she managed to save for her husband who was in trouble.

Even in the early days of Pakistan, Bangabandhu's struggle was paramount. In 1948, after only one year of the establishment of Pakistan, he went to jail. It was 1953 when he could start his family life in Armanitola of capital Dhaka, when Begum Mujib joined him.

His frequent coming and getting out of prison did not allow Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to lead a family life like other common people, but his wife never complained about it. Sheikh Mujib's struggle in those days also strengthened Begum Mujib a lot, the reflection of which was seen in 1971, when the liberation war of Bangladesh broke out.

Bangabandhu's children used to miss their father and could rarely see him while they were growing up. In his autobiography, “The Unfinished Memoirs” he stated a poignant story with his eldest son Sheikh Kamal. When Kamal was very young, Bangabandhu used to get arrested so often that he could not manage to meet his children much. One day when Sheikh Kamal was two and a half years old, and fortunately, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was out of jail for a while, Bangabandhu was reading the newspaper and his eldest son and his eldest daughter Sheikh Hasina were playing on the stairs. All of a sudden Bangabandhu found his son asking his sister: “Hasu Apa, can I also call your daddy my daddy?”

This distance could never build a wall between Bangabandhu and his children as all of them used to love him a lot, and it was evident. It was Sheikh Kamal who came downstairs to fight out the killers in the early hours of August 15, 1975 and was martyred.

Begum Mujib's role during the 1969 mass uprising to save the situation is still something we know and commend everyday. In February 1969, while Bangabandhu was being held at Kurmitola Cantonment in connection with the Agartala Case, he received an invitation to join the round table conference of political leaders at Islamabad. Many senior Awami League leaders was in favour of receiving the offer of letting Bangabandhu go to Islamabad in parole to join the meeting and they even convinced him to apply for a grant of parole.

When Begum Mujib learned this news, she realised that the decision would be a not a wise one and would only let Ayub Khan extend his regime, whose days were already numbered. Begum Mujib with her ready-wit managed to persuade Sheikh Mujibur Rahman not to accept the parole, and subsequently the offer, until and unless the government unconditionally withdraws the Agartala Case and releases all his fellow prisoners. Eventually the mass uprising took place and Ayub Khan's regime ended.

Bangabandhu's political life was to some extent shaped by his family. He had always valuedd the rational opinion he received from his family. His family was never a burden to him in his days of struggle, rather a blessing that inspired him to prosper to become the emancipator of Bangladesh. For any future leader, one of Bangabandhu's greatest acts for the younger generation to learn from is how much his loved and valued his family. Nowaday's, in the rat-race that is life, we often forget the most important people in the pursuit of success. In this month of mourning, let us remember Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with our families, and learn from his ways.