Retract comment on Bhashani; Anis Chowdhury asks H.A.K. Rano

Anis Chowdhury, leader, Moulana Bhashani Parishad, Australia.

Anissuzzaman Chowdhury, leader of the Moulana Bhashani Parishad, Australia in a statement issued on Tuesday criticised Haider Akbar Khan Rano, a leader of the Communist Party of Bangladesh for terming Bhashani’s post-independence politics as communal and requested him to retract the comment.

The statement reads: I, on behalf of the Moulana Bhashani Parishad, Australia, unequivocally condemn Mr Rano for his ill-judged comments on Moulana Bhashani.

Haider Akbar Khan Rano, veteran politician

Comments by veteran politician Haider Akbar Khan Rano on Moulana Bhashani, the globally revered leader of Afro-Asia-Latin America's toiling masses,  in an special interview with the vernacular daily Prothom Alo, published on 26 December 2021 has shocked every individual upholding the universalist, humanist, anti-imperialist and anti-expansionist political ideology of the Moulana. I, as the convenor of the Moulana Bhashani Parishad, Australia, unequivocally condemn Mr Rano for his deplorable attempt to colour Moulana Bhashani's post-Bangladesh independence politics as communal, and demand that he rescind his comment. Mr. Rano sees stance against India's expansionism and hegemony as communal just as the Zionists portray any criticism of the apartheid state Israel's gross voilation of human rights and illegal occupation of the Palestinian land as anti-Sematic. Mr. Rano is vocal against "Islamic fundamentalism" which he defines as "anti-India, anti-Hindu, anti-Bengali culture and female hatred"; but he has nothing to say against "Hindutva" of Mr. Modi and his BJP. 

Mr. Rano's comment on the Moulana contradicts what he wrote about him in a piece included in "Moulana Bhashani: Leader of the Toiling Masses", edited by me on behalf of the Moulana Bhashani Foundation (New York). Here is the extract from his writing on Bhashani:

"The ever protesting Bhashani was not quiet after the country was liberated. He raised his voice against the misrule and corruption of the ruling Awami League. He also took a stance against Indian hegemony. He foresaw that the hard-earned independence at the cost of the blood of millions of people could be endangered. However, some, including myself did not like his anti-India stance. It appeared to me that his anti-India stance was tinged with communalism. I could not accept this from a man who fought all his life against communalism. So, one day I went to see him when he was under treatment in the P.G. Hospital, and asked him about his anti-Indian stance. He replied, “What I am doing is my tactic. Let me do what I am doing; but you and others should stay far away from me”. Moulana Bhashani used many political strategies and we could not agree with all of them. But he never compromised his principle and struggle to realize the freedom of the masses. He advised me similarly in 1972. “There is no need for you to do the politics of NAP. You are a communist; you should be in a communist party; communist party is no longer illegal. There is a need for a true communist party. The pro-Moscow communist party is not a true communist party. Form a true communist party”. What he said next was even more startling. He asked, “Can a country be civilized if there is no true communist party? No matter how small Bangladesh is, there is a need for a genuine communist party. If it does not exist, the future of this country will not be good.... Moulana Bhashani was not a communist, but was very close to them. Communists could depend on him. Moulana Bhashani was a socialist in and out. He believed in class struggle. Most importantly, he was a revolutionary.Moulana Bhashani was a modern man; he never was a conservative." (pp. 251-252)  

Mr. Rano's comment in the Prothom Alo interview does not reflect his above recollection of Bhashani. The above recollection also reveals Mr. Rano's affection for India and his belief that standing against India's hegemony is "tinged with communalism".

Unfortunately, Mr. Rano failed to appreciate Bhashani's advice to form a true communist party; instead, he returned to the Pro-Moscow communist Party which Bhashani did not regard as a true communist party.

Bhashani was a farsighted politician who foresaw the evils of India's hegemony endangering our hard-earned independence. 

He foresaw our independence when he uttered Assalaamulaikum to West Pakistan in 1957 at the historic Kagmari conference. 

He also foresaw the perils of failure of the kinds of Mr. Rano to form a true communist party.

We believe Mr. Rano's adverse comment on Moulana Bhashani at this critical juncture of our nation struggling to restore democratic rights and protecting its sovereignty is ill-judged. It will confuse the nation, and will aid India's expansionist design in Bangladesh.

Thus, we demand unconditional retraction of his comment on Moulana Bhashani, the statement said.