‘Dadabhai’ sick in New York

Diplomatic Correspondent: Serajul Alam Khan, widely known as ‘Dadabhai’, a political theorist and one of the organisers of the country`s war of independence in 1971, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in New York City in USA.

He was admitted to Elmhurst Hospital in New York with critical condition on Friday evening. He is suffering from pneumonia. It is known that he felt quite well on Sunday afternoon.

He told them who visited him that infection in his lungs was diagnosed but pneumonia weakened him most. Now he is facing severe breathing trouble even getting to speak for.

73 years aged ‘Dadabhai’ went to New York on July 20 this year. From then, he is staying JSD central leader Masum Mohammad Mahasin’s residence at Jackson Heights in New York.

Serajul Alam Khan, a political theorist and the founder of Nucleus (1962) that spearheaded the war of independence, has put forward a 14-point proposal for adjustments of governance to keep up with the changing national and international situation.

He has suggested establishment of Upazilla based ‘Industrial Zones’ funded by the expatriate Bangladeshi community. These proposals came as an ‘open letter’ in Bangla in March 2000 addressed to all political parties, bureaucrats, professional communities, intellectuals, NGOs, and leaders of different social organizations.

In 1962 Serajul Alam Khan, along with Abdur Razzak and Kazi Aref Ahmed, spread the network of Nucleus and formed Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF) & ‘Joi Bangla Bahini’. During 1969-70, the BLF worked as the political wing, and ‘Joi Bangla Bahini’ worked as the armed wing of the Nucleus.

Later on, in 1971, on request from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the BLF high command was reconstituted with Serajul Alam Khan, Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, Abdur Razzak, and Tofail Ahmed. BLF was renamed as ‘Mujib Bahini’ in India during the 9-month armed struggle for the liberation of Bangladesh from the Pakistan army.

While Nucleus secretly started working for the independence of Bangladesh, it planned and organized mass movements through the historic 6-point and 11-point programmes, made the flag of Bangladesh, wrote and published the ‘declaration of independence’, and worked out its modalities.

Then, on 2nd March 1971, Nucleus hoisted the flag of Bangladesh: needless to say the flag was the creation by Nucleus. On 3rd March 1971, under the supervision of Nucleus, the ‘declaration of independence’ was made public. Nucleus also selected ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ as our national anthem, and coinned the slogan ‘Joi Bangla’ as the theme of independence.

The Nucleus and BLF leadership helped Bangabandhu to prepare the historic 7th March speech along with accompanying words, “this is our struggle for emanicipation, this is the struggle for independence.” The BLF also organized the non-cooperation movement and parallel civil administration from 7th March 1971.

Serajul Alam Khan, from an activist and a planner of movements, turned into a political theorist using his vast practical experience. In his theoretical endeavour, he collaborated with the prominent political scientist Prof. Zillur Rahman Khan, ex-chair and Rosebush Professor in the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, USA.

Professor Khan proved to be his best intellectual compatriot since 1980. Both the ‘Khans’ are still working and researching together on the theoretical aspects of politics of our country. In preparing the economic development model for Bangladesh, Serajul Alam Khan found Professor Razia Ahmed & Professor Mohiuddin Ahmed Bulbul (researcher and writer) as his fellow thinker.

As a political prisoner on three different occasions, Serajul Alam Khan had undergone almost seven years of imprisonment and experienced a long underground life. In Bangladesh, Serajul Alam Khan is generally known as the Architect of Bangladesh Independence Movement.

Serajul Alam Khan served as a professor (adjunct) of political science in the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, USA in 1997.

risingbd/Aug 13, 2014/Aminul