Himu's Window

Jamaat trying to reorganise party   Blamed by its major partner BNP for the poll debacle, Jamaat-e-Islami has intensified organisational activities to protect its existence in Rajshahi region, an area that saw rise of Islamist militancy allegedly under Jamaat protection while in power. BNP sources here said they have already suggested party high-ups to 'reconsider' its alliance with Jamaat, saying its popularity dipped for siding with the fundamentalist party. "After the election, we are now busy in organisational activities", said Abul Kalam Azad, general secretary of Rajshahi city Jamaat. Replying to questions, he said, "We are not taking into account what others talk about us. If any one thinks we are no more his friend, he has his liberty. We are not concerned about it", he said. Among the four-party alliance contestants, Jamaat leaders lost in all 17 seats to grand alliance and BNP gabbed only 8 out of 72 in Rajshahi division in the

Six Rajshahi Seats Fates of five senior politicians in Rajshahi have become topic of lively discussion as 28 candidates are contesting with clear signs for major fight between candidates from Awami League (AL)-led grand alliance and BNP-led four-party alliance in six constituencies in the district. The senior politicians are Mizanur Rahman Minu, Kabir Hossain, Azizur Rahman of BNP, Fazle Hossain Badsha of Workers Party and Sardar Amjad Hossain of Awami League. As elsewhere in the country, voting will continue non-stop from 8:00am to 4:00pm at 3921 booths of 551 polling centres in Rajshahi city and nine upazilas of the district that has 15,70,798 voters including 7,70,552 male and 8,00,246 female. Four-party alliance won all the seats in Rajshahi district in 2001 election. In Rajshahi-1, AL candidate Omar Faruk Chowdhury will take on BNP's newcomer Enamul Haque, a former law commission member and former inspector general of police. In 2001 election, BNP's barrister Aminul Haque,

Apart from his rift with party leaders and corruption charges, BNP candidate Mizanur Rahman Minu at Rajshahi-2 constituency is facing criticisms from his own party-men as well as his opponents for his affinity to alliance partner Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. To cover his Jamaat loyalty, Minu's followers circulated leaflets identifying his rival grand alliance's Fazle Hossain Badsha as the godfather of underground operatives. “For his pro-Jamaat attitude, he (Minu) lost trust of maximum party leaders a long ago. Now, he has no way but the support of Jamaat”, said a BNP leader seeking anonymity. His electoral rival grand alliance candidate Fazle Hossain Badsha has talked about Minu's pro-Jamaat attitude and his role behind militancy quite louder than corruption charges during electoral campaigns.  Ignoring those campaigning, Minu said it would not hurt his popularity. “People are aware that it was during our (BNP-Jamaat) rule when militants were arrested and tried”. National h

Bid to befool Rajshahi voters, civil society men say BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami candidates during election campaigns in Rajshahi constituencies have given a 'false version' of the dreadful rise of so-called Islamist militancy in the country to befool voters, civil society members alleged.Jamaat candidates once again brushed aside the dreadful events, saying thees are no more. BNP candidates claimed that the four-party alliance government did not abet militancy, rather it brought militants under justice.They said, the problem of militancy is no more now. Their election campaigns ended yesterday midnight.BNP candidate Mizanur Rahman Minu in Rajshahi-2 constituency in an interview with a local newspaper in Rajshahi termed the allegation of his abetting militancy as 'pre-planned' to tarnish his image. “During alliance rule, we brought militants under law, took them to court, and did not help them. BNP is a liberal party where there is no shelter for militants and extremists. W

In Rajshahi-3 (Paba-Mohonpur) constituency, grand alliance candidate Miraj Uddin Mollah is in a better position than the candidates of four-party alliance belonging to BNP and Jamaat-e Islami who are locked in internal feuds. Former BNP lawmaker Kabir Hossain is fighting here with the symbol of paddy sheaf against Rajshahi city Jamaat Ameer Ataur Rahman with scale symbol. Voters said Miraj has intensified his campaign as his chances of winning the seat has become brighter amid fighting between Kabir and Ataur. While addressing several election meetings, supporters of Kabir, also liberation war affairs secretary of central BNP, have called for resisting Jamaat candidate at any cost.On the other hand, Jamaat leaders at their election meetings are criticising Kabir as 'unfit' candidate as he is physically ill with parts of his body are already paralysed.Kabir, a senior politician of local BNP, is a 'victim of Jamaat politics' to capture the BNP stronghold of Rajshahi, said

The daily Azad news and photograph published just five days before the Victory Day shows Jamaat's Ali Ahsan Mojahid talking as Al-Badr chief against the birth of Bangladesh. Photo: STAR Collection A band of key players, who made a botched attempt to abort the birth of Bangladesh, is none other than the top brass of Jamaat-e-Islami, young in 1971.They had joined forces with the Pakistani occupation army to commit what shaped up into a full-blown genocide in the nine-month bloody war.For Motiur Rahman Nizami, now chief of Jamaat and the then president of Islami Chhatra Shangha, it was a parallel struggle to protect every inch of Pakistan during the Liberation War.The head of the Islamic party said the activists of the student front had been pledge-bound to attack the mainland Hindustan [India] to protect a united Pakistan.Nizami's speech is evident in the September 8, 1971 issue of the Daily Sangram that carried a report headlined “Chhatra Shangha activists will protect every inc

Call to boycott war criminals through ballots gets louder Just before the surrender of the Pakistani forces on December 16, 1971, a skirmish breaks out between them and freedom fighters near the then Hotel Continental in Dhaka. Moments later they too surrendered. Two paper cuttings from Bangladesh Observer and daily Azad show reports on the government seeking information about Al-Badr and the government ban on five parties that opposed liberation. Photo: Star File Photo Julfikar Ali Manik and Emran Hossain writes in THE DAILY STAR The government of independent Bangladesh in its first decision banned five communal outfits including Jamaat-e-Islami, which not only opposed the nation's independence but also actively helped Pakistani occupation forces commit genocide and other war crimes.Thirty-seven years into independence, those who won freedom of Bangladesh through a nine-month bloody war are waging another fight against the defeated anti-liberation forces in a battle of vote.

'Election tactics' in Rajshahi-2 sparks protest The authorities of Rajshahi Islami Bank Medical College Hospital (IBMCH) dominated by Jamaat people has organised a free eye camp for freedom fighters on the Victory Day today to befool freedom fighters as well as deceive voters. About 200 freedom fighters at a meeting held at Miapara General Library auditorium here Sunday strongly condemned the move saying it was aimed at humiliating freedom fighters.Badiuzzaman Tunu, Bir Protik, chaired the meeting. Speakers said the killers and collaborators of 1971 organised the eye camp with an ulterior motive to create confusion among freedom fighters ahead of general elections. They called upon the voters to vote for Grand Alliance candidate Fazle Hossain Badsha in Rajshahi-2 constituency and its other candidates in other constituencies to thwart the evil design of anti-liberation forces. Among others, Fazle Hossain Badsha, eminent freedom fighters Dr Emdadul Haque, Shafikur Rahman, Motahar

Freedom fighters, mayor and professional bodies seek vote for him Grand alliance candidate Workers Party leader Fazle Hossain Badsha campaigning at Shaheb Bazar in Rajshahi city yesterday. Awami Leage leader and RCC Mayor Khairuzzaman is also with him. Photo: STAR Freedom fighters, professional bodies and cultural activists at different meetings yesterday in Rajshahi city sought vote for grand alliance candidate Fazle Hossain Badsha in Rajshahi-2 constituency in the upcoming parliamentary election.On the other hand, Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton and grand alliance candidate Badsha jointly launched election campaign in the city and sought vote for Badsha.They also went from door to door, business centres, houses and different areas in Rajshahi city and appealed for vote in favour of Badsha.Freedom fighters of Rajshahi yesterday held a meeting at Public Library auditorium and extended their support to grand alliance candidate Badsha.Badsha was present

Liton warns others for taking the same road he rode before ! Rajshahi city Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, centre, introduces six Awami League nominees for constituencies in the district at a meeting of grassroots AL leaders yesterday as nomination deprived party leaders continue agitation. Photo: STAR R ajshahi City Corporation (RCC) Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, who himself opposed party decision during the last RCC polls, yesterday said the protesters against the Awami League nominations for six seats in Rajshahi district will lose their right to do AL politics.“Sheikh Hasina's [AL chief] decision for nomination is the final. Those who are protesting should stop it immediately or they will have no right to do Awami League politics in future,” he said at the party's special workers' meeting at Rajshahi Zila Parishad auditorium.Rajshahi AL General Secretary Omar Faruk Chowdhury, also AL nominee for Rajshahi-1 constituency, chaired the meeting.A large AL faction led by dis

T he 37th death anniversary of martyred Rajshahi University teacher Mir Abdul Quayyum passed off yesterday without any programme by the university authorities. Several senior teachers said the authorities did not do anything in the recent past in memory of university teachers Prof Habibir Rahman, Prof Sukharanjan Samaddar and Mir Abdul Quayyum who borrowed martyrdom during the 1971 Liberation War. Even the Department of Psychology, where Quayyum worked, took no initiatives to observe the day and let students know of his supreme sacrifice. Despite the tradition of remembering martyred Quayyum at all events, the department observed its two-day Golden Jubilee in October without remembering him. When Quayyum's daughter Dr Mahbuba Kaniz Keya, a teacher of the department, complained about it to the departmental academic committee (DAC), it was revealed that department Chairman Prof Nurullah had ordered scraping the event of remembering Quayyum from programme schedule. Nurullah, also gen

  Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh remained unnoticed for several years before the grenade attack on the British high commissioner at Hazrat Shahjalal shrine in Sylhet over four years ago. Though it has been banned in Asian and European countries and even in the Middle East, its chapter here has been operating overtly and unhindered for the last few years. Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh had posted anti-British and -US posters around the Shahjalal shrine two days before the attack on the then UK High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury on May 21, 2004. This made the investigators suspect that the shrine attack was carried out by Hizb ut-Tahrir. Since then, the outfit has been alleged to have militant links at home and abroad, said a law enforcement official who was involved in the probe. Rajshahi police yesterday rounded up some of their leaders and activists as they were preparing to hold a press conference in the divisional city. According to information from different websites, Hizb ut-

Published On: 2008-09-16 Front Page   A case was recorded yesterday at the Mohonpur Police Station against 19 people on charges of killing 15 villagers during the liberation war. The case was recorded following higher authority's approval on September 13 after primary investigations, said the police. A Rajshahi court one and a half months ago directed Mohonpur police to investigate and take necessary actions after day labourer Nezarul Islam of Birsoil filed the case with the court against 19 people. The accused include Shafiullah, Moyen Uddin, Boyen Uddin of Modonhati, Daud Ali, Nur-e-Alam, Shamsuddin, Sirajul Islam, Matiur Rahman and Awal of Berabari Bamonbari, Alam, Abdul Hai, Abdul Mannan of Mohisbathan, Abu Sayeed of Durgapur, Jan Bux, Abdul, Merajul and Kalim of Paba upazila. The plaintiff alleged that the accused helped the Pakistani forces to abduct 15 villagers, who assisted freedom fighters, in Mohonpur on November 30, 1971. All the abducted people were

    Anwar Ali, Rajshahi AHM Khairuzzaman Liton sailed through the race on the back of the BNP's image crisis and a congealed pro-liberation force to fend off Jamaat that backed BNP candidate Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul at the last moment. The AL victory in the BNP-Jamaat stronghold is first in the last 35 years after Liton's father and national leader AHM Quamaruzzaman was elected in the 1973 parliament elections. The election results show despite rivalry in the AL-led 14-party combine over nominations, Jamaat support for BNP is not always effective. Meanwhile, in a rare democratic stance after the election results, AHM Khairuzzaman rushed to his nearest competitor BNP's Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul, who also readily accepted the defeat. "I was fresh in the race... In fact, the central BNP was boycotting the polls. None of the senior leaders helped me," Bulbul was describing the reason behind his defeat after admitting it before The Daily Star. "Many

Twelve mayoral candidates of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) polls during a meeting with people of the city yesterday vowed to resist crime and corruption. They took an oath holding each other's hands that they would not use or raise musclemen for winning the elections or to confront their opponents. They promised to ensure people's participation in planning and implementing development schemes, if elected. They also promised to accept defeat in the election and help the winner in the work for development of the city. They pledged that they would try to increase the use of local resources in augmenting development, hold open budget sessions and maintain regular interaction with the people to ensure accountability. Three mayor candidates, Awami League (AL) leader Nasir Ahmed Biddyut, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh Rajshahi city President Akhtaruzzaman Bablu and independent candidate Forman Ali, did not show up at the meeting. Prof Muzaffar Ahmad, eminent economist a

Published On: 2008-07-15 Front Page Rejoinder, our reply Bangladesh Chashi Kalyan Samity (BCKS) in a rejoinder protested a report headlined "Five lakh depositors swindled by Jamaat's farmer wing" published in The Daily Star on July 7. It said BCKS considers the report "a malicious attempt to spread venom against a political party which has clean image amongst people and has no working relationship with BCKS". It claimed BCKS to be a "non-political" and "non-profit" organisation for farmers' welfare and said it is not true that BCKS acted as financial front of Jamaat through illegal banking. It claimed that central BCKS did not decided on closing down branches and the allegation of selling offices was irrelevant. The rejoinder contradicted that Tk 100 crore was swindled out of five lakh people. It said they now have Tk 4,23,81,920 unpaid savings of 32,370 people and Tk 5,06,81,689 distributed loans among 12,832 people

Bangladesh Chashi Kalyan Samity (BCKS), farmers' wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, but also registered as an NGO, remained the party's financial front through illegal banking in at least 17 districts over a decade, sources say. Following a changed scenario after 1/11, the NGO has shut down its offices and swindled a huge amount of money collected through deposits, special deposit schemes and investment on loans among members since 1997. The BCKS business was also unlawfully sold to Jamaat supporters for covertly continuing the financial activities.Dissident BCKS officials, involved Jamaat leaders and victims say the accurate amount of misappropriation cannot be found out without proper inquiry. But they add the figure would be minimum Tk 100 crore collected from about five lakh people. The sources say each of seven BCKS branches in Rajshahi earned around Tk 2.5 crore annually and the NGO staffs were engaged in misappropriation from the very beginning. A large number of officials and emp

Published On: 2008-06-06 Front Page Menon warns about perils of constitutional review Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi Workers Party (WP) President Rashed Khan Menon yesterday warned about the dangers that would result if an unelected government does a review of the constitution. "Our constitution is based on our independence. Only an elected government can review it. If it is reviewed by an unelected government, a dangerous situation will be created," Menon said at a press conference in Rajshahi. "If a review of the constitution is opened up, Jammat-e Islami can claim for establishment of Islamic rule, for example, or some other can say that the liberation of the country was a wrong thing," Menon said illustrating his point. The press conference was held at a city hotel prior to a WP city and district level workers' conference. Gono Forum leaders on June 2 proposed a review of the constitution and post-election national unity government. On

Nazrul birth anniversary -- the Rajshahi way   Artistes take part in the cultural event Photo: STAR   The 109th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was celebrated in Rajshahi on Sunday. Samilito Sangskritik Jote, Rajshahi organised a colourful cultural function at the open stage of Shahid Minar Mancha, Buban Mohon Park in the evening. Different cultural organisations rendered songs, recitation, and dances. Students from Shailee Art and Sangeet Biddyapit, Udayan Sangeetaloy, Sri Sangeetaloy, Sur-Dhoni Sangeet Biddyaloy, Silpasram Lalitakala Academy rendered Nazrul's songs. Students from Sundaram Shilpalok Academy recited Nazrul poems. Mancha Katha Theatre held a discussion followed by a cultural function at its premises. Nazrul exponents Abdus Salam, Aleya Mahmud, Abul Hossain, Mahmud Sarker, Monwar Hossain and Kajal Rekha participated in the discussion. Habib, Sohag, Amjad and Rakib recited Nazrul's poetry, while Ayen Uddin, Jyoti and Sharier

Process on to modernise BDR, raise its strength BDR chief says at Rajshahi flag awarding ceremony   Director General of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed yesterday said initiatives are underway to modernise the paramilitary force and increase its strength within a short time. A 'quick reaction force' is being raised in every BDR sector to face emergencies while each battalion will be equipped with an anti-tank platoon, he said. Armored Personal Carriers (a kind of vehicle) were already sent to some sectors to raise the special force, he said. Maj Gen Shakil was addressing 10 BDR Battalion's prestigious colour-flag awarding ceremony at Rajshahi BDR compound. The BDR chief also called upon the troops to dedicate themselves for the cause of the country with utmost honesty. He lauded the success of BDR-run 'Dal-Bhat Operation' and 'Fair Price Shops' in controlling prices of essentials. "You have done this beyond your duty of patr