Tofail Ahmed Reflects on the Contributions of the Four National Leaders and Jail Killing Day

Tofail Ahmed
Legendary leader of Bangladesh’s freedom movement and struggle.

I am writing a memoir on the contribution of the four national leaders and the Jail Murder Day. On November 3, 1975, a gang of murderers brutally murdered four national leaders in the dark cells of the prison. The murder of Bangabandhu along with his family on August 15, 1975 and the prison murder on November 3 are intertwined. This brutal murder was basically carried out to make the Awami League leaderless.

Every year, when the 3rd of November returns to national life, the nation remembers with deep respect the sacrifice of the four national leaders, Sarbjanab Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain M Mansur Ali and AHM Kamaruzzaman. They have repeatedly led the Awami League in the absence of Bangabandhu. They have successfully led us to independence during the bloody days of the great Liberation War.

The day four national leaders were killed in the dark cells of the prison, I was imprisoned in Mymensingh Prison. Our lives were miserable then! I was kept in the condom cell of Mymensingh Prison, where the condemned are kept. My fellow prisoner was Mr. Abidur Rahman, the editor of ‘The People’ newspaper. He has already left the illusion of this world. We both lived like condemned prisoners in two cells.

Suddenly, news came that four national leaders had been killed in the prison. Everyone in the prison, including the prison guards, had been put on high alert. The jail superintendent of Mymensingh Prison was Shri Nirmalendu Roy. He was a wonderful person. He was sympathetic to those of us who were imprisoned in the prison. Bangabandhu also loved him very much. When Bangabandhu was repeatedly imprisoned in prison, Nirmalendu Roy saw Bangabandhu from close quarters. Bangabandhu, after becoming the Prime Minister of independent Bangladesh, drew his dearest friend Nirmalendu Roy close to him.

Late that night, Nirmalendu Roy came to my cell and said, ‘Mymensingh’s Superintendent of Police Mr. Farooq—who is now deceased—has come to meet you.’ I asked, why so late at night? He said, ‘Four of your leaders have been killed in Dhaka Central Jail. We have surrounded the prison with police all around, the jail police have surrounded it. The SP has come to take you away.’ I said, ‘No, there is no rule to go like this. Even if I am killed, I will not leave here like this.

Later I heard that an army major had tried to enter the prison that day. But Nirmalendu Roy had said, ‘I will not allow anyone to enter the prison with a weapon.’ Among those who were on duty around the prison that day to protect me, my classmate in the Department of Soil Science in university, Mr. Odud—we passed our MSc together and who joined the post of Assistant Superintendent of Police in ’73 after the country’s independence—led the way to protect the prison. I am indebted to Nirmalendu Roy and Odud.

On August 15, 1975, the day the Father of the Nation and his family were killed, we were destitute. Immediately after the assassination of Bangabandhu, we were under house arrest along with four national leaders. On August 22, many of our prominent leaders, including the four national leaders, were arrested and lined up in Suhrawardy Udyan to be killed. For whatever reason, the assassins did not kill them in the end. Later, the leaders were taken to prison. On the same day, from the state of house arrest, I, Zillur Rahman and Abdur Razzak were arrested and kept in the police control room located at the corner of Suhrawardy Udyan for six days and subjected to inhuman torture.

Hearing the sad news of the murder of four national leaders while they were imprisoned in Mymensingh, my heart became heavy. What a contribution the four national leaders, the best sons of the nation, made to the national liberation struggle. They are now resurfaced in the pages of memory. After the party was revived, Bangabandhu was again elected General Secretary and Tajuddin Ahmed was elected Organizing Secretary at the Awami League conference in 1964. On February 5, 1966, at the all-party leaders’ conference in Lahore where Bangabandhu raised the six points, Tajuddin Bhai joined Bangabandhu. After Bangabandhu gave the six points, on February 18, 19 and 20, at the Awami League conference at Hotel Eden, Bangabandhu was elected President, Tajuddin Ahmed was General Secretary, Syed Nazrul Islam was First Vice President, Captain M Mansur Ali was one of the Vice Presidents and AHM Kamaruzzaman was elected General Secretary of the All Pakistan Awami League.

When Bangabandhu and Tajuddin Bhai and many other leaders and activists of the Awami League were thrown into prison along with him, we observed a hartal on 7th June 1966 in protest. After the successful hartal, Syed Nazrul Islam gave a historic speech in a huge public meeting explaining and analyzing Bangabandhu’s tireless efforts to implement the six-point program, the Bengali freedom program. He was a prolific orator, Tajuddin Ahmed was a skilled organizer, and Kamaruzzaman Saheb, as an MNA of the National Assembly of Pakistan, raised the demand for Bengali freedom in his historic speech in the Parliament.

In the historic elections of ’70, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed and Kamaruzzaman Saheb were elected members of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Bangabandhu decided who would be appointed to which position when the Awami League formed the government. I was elected MNA in the ’70 elections at the age of just 27. On 23 February 1971, at the meeting of the Awami League Parliamentary Party, Bangabandhu was elected as the leader of the National Assembly, Syed Nazrul Islam as the deputy leader, Tajuddin Ahmed as the leader of the Parliamentary Party and Kamaruzzaman Saheb as the secretary, Mr. Yusuf Ali as the Chief Whip and Mr. Abdul Mannan and Barrister Amir-ul Islam as the whips respectively.

And Captain M Mansur Ali was elected as the leader of the Provincial Council. If Bangabandhu becomes the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Captain M Mansur Ali will be the Chief Minister of East Pakistan. For this reason, Bangabandhu nominated Mansur Ali Saheb to the Provincial Council. This was how Bangabandhu had set up. But when the National Council session announced on March 1, 1971 was unilaterally postponed, the first phase of the Non-Cooperation Movement began on Bangabandhu’s call. After the declaration of complete independence in the historic speech of March 7, the second phase of Non-Cooperation began.

The Awami League High Command, formed under the leadership of Bangabandhu and the four national leaders, managed every day of the non-cooperation smoothly. We made various plans sitting at the residence of our late leader Mohsin Saheb in Khulna at Lalmatia. During the non-cooperation, Bangabandhu had decided where we would go and what help we would get. According to his plan, we used to stay at Rajendra Road in Kolkata during the Liberation War. And our four national leaders used to stay at Theatre Road No. 8. I was in regular contact with the leaders.

On April 10, 1971, the ‘Bangladesh Constituent Assembly’ was formed in Mujibnagar by the National and Provincial Councils and Bangabandhu’s ‘Declaration of Independence’ and ‘Declaration of Independence’ were approved in that assembly, and on that basis, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was formed. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected as the Head of State of the Republic and Syed Nazrul Islam as the Vice-Head of State. The government’s Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain M Mansur Ali as the Finance Minister and AHM Kamaruzzaman as the Home and Rehabilitation Minister took oath on April 17 and duly discharged their assigned duties and liberated the beloved motherland from the invaders on December 16, 1971.

During the great liberation war, Tajuddin Ahmed, as the Prime Minister of the government, performed his duties with foresight. He used to consult with us. The four of us were given the responsibility of Mujib Bahini. The job of the four of us was to sit with the Prime Minister and make plans. I traveled from border to border with Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, went to the battlefield and the camps of the freedom fighters, and worked together. I lived in Kolkata at the Mujib Bahini headquarters in Barrackpore, Mani Bhai in Agartala, Siraj Bhai in Balur Ghat and Razzak Bhai in Meghalaya.

After the country’s independence, on January 11, 1972, Bangabandhu took all the plans for the governance of the state and government at Tajuddin Ahmed’s residence. Bangabandhu would return to parliamentary democracy. Bangabandhu himself would be the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Syed Nazrul Islam would be the Minister of Industry and Commerce; Tajuddin Ahmed would be the Minister of Finance and Planning; Captain Mansur Ali would be the Minister of Communications and AHM Kamaruzzaman would be the Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation. I was fortunate to become the Political Secretary to the Prime Minister on January 14 with the rank of Minister of State. Since then, I have remained with Bangabandhu until the last day.

The cherished dream of the Father of the Nation and the four national leaders was to bring smiles to the faces of the suffering people of Bangladesh and ensure economic freedom, transforming our beloved Bangladesh into a golden Bangladesh. Only if the dreams of the great leaders can be realized will the souls of the leaders find peace, and we, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, are committed to that goal.

Tofail Ahmed, late member of parliament and former minister of Bangladesh Awami League