NATIONAL MOURNING DAY TODAY

The man, the murder and his destiny.

It is quite astounding that he lived for only 55 years (1920-1975) and achieved so much. He may not have written treaties in philosophy, literature and science but he brought to life a social and political epic that transformed the life of millions of his people and channelled history in a direction that Bangalees only dreamt of but hardly believed that it would happen.

If we allow the first 18 years of his life for personal growth -- the universal age for young adulthood -- then within the subsequent 37 years he developed himself to be a man of strong personal character, found his calling of freeing his people, convinced them to follow his path, unified them into a political force, emboldened them to demand justice and freedom, and finally led them to their destiny of creating an independent state -- together making for a most successful political life in modern history.

In between, he spent nearly 13 years in jail, which amounted to almost one-third of his adult political life. To think that he organised, prepared and led his people to an armed struggle within a period of only two decades is nothing short of a miracle of achievement for any leader anywhere.

It is quite amazing how from the start he evolved into a people's man.

His taking charge of a situation came naturally and given his personality he would in no time become the central figure of any situation. What attracted others towards him was his dependability. He would not take up a cause today and forget about it tomorrow. If he made a commitment he would honour it. Along with dependability came the question of trust. He exuded trust because of his nature.

It was not in the birth of Pakistan -- in the struggle for which he was intimately involved both from his home town and in British Calcutta -- that he found his calling. It was in the gradual unfolding of the reality within which the Bangalees in East Pakistan lived and his intimate exposure to the oppressions they suffered that would strike a deep cord with his inner feelings thus transforming him from within.

The rights of the class-IV employees of Dhaka University, the founding of the Awami Muslim League, the Jinnah's speech triggering students and public outrage ("Urdu shall be the only state language of Pakistan"), the language movement and the wider issues of cultural identity, democratic rights, the fact of no election being held in the new state, military takeover and marginalisation of politicians and the throttling of almost all major dissenting voices transformed the young supporter of Pakistan of the early and mid-40s into the budding Bangalee nationalist of the late forties and early fifties. It was during this time that he came to instinctively feel that the ultimate solution of a separate country may be the only way for the true emancipation of his people.

The early, clear and powerful articulation of the aspirations of the people of East Pakistan came in the form of Ekush Dafa (21-point programme), the election manifesto of the Jukta Front (United Front) in 1954. The significance of this political programme is that it came within less than nine years of the formation of the new country.

It galvanised the people of the eastern wing and literally led to the obliteration of the Muslim League as a political party. Seldom the founding party of a newly formed state faced such a massive rejection by the people in so short a time. Writings were clearly on the wall only if anybody bothered to read it. This was especially significant considering that it was the Muslims of Bengal that gave the Pakistan movement its crucial and timely support and consequent credibility.

The coup by Gen Ayub in 1958 and the subsequent 10 years of military rule was the time of the real emergence of the steely, visionary and widely loved leader. His repeated internment, introspection and intellectual maturing while in prison, not to mention the hardening of his core beliefs and developing of his inner strength and the gradual clearing of mind as to steps to be taken next, led to what was his most brilliant move of introducing the famous six-points at the Roundtable meeting convened by dictator Ayub in Lahore.

The beauty of the programme was that it was simple, to the point and incorporated all the important demands of the people. In a short time, it caught the imagination of the people especially when the Pakistani rulers termed it as a secessionist ploy to destroy Pakistan.