Motiur Rhaman Nizami and Jamat
The chief of operations of the al-Badr (Jamati death squad) forces, Motiur Rahaman Nizami is responsible for the murder of thousands of Bengalis involved in or connected to the liberation war. Son of Khondokar Lutfar Rahman of Monmothpur village under Sathia PS in Pabna district, Motiur has nothing to do with the title Nizami (Nizam means aristocrat i.e. Nizam of Hyderabad, India) at all . Like his other Islamist peers Motiur took up his title Nizami in order to make his name sound respectable, conceal his lowly origin and his base nature. The people of his village hated him so much for his shameless betrayal of his own countrymen that they still call him Moitya Dalal (traitor). Motiur is presently the minister for industries in Khaleda Zia's cabinet--a reward for Motiur's support of the Pakistani hunks Khaleda desrted her husband for in 1971.
Motiur Nizami's War Crimes in 1971
Motiur Nizami in 1971
Motiur carried out a wide range of activities against the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971. Motiur was the president of Jamat's youth front, the Islami Chhatra Sangha (now known as Islami Chhatra Shibir or the Islamic Students' Association). Under Motiur's direct supervision and leadership, the al-Badr (para-militia) force was organised in order to eliminate the freedom fighters and supporters of liberation movement. Motiur was the commander-in-chief of al- Badr forces. Apart from killing the freedom fighters and supporters of liberation movement, the aim of ideological warfare waged by the al-Badr forces was to Islamization (Talibanisation) of Bangladesh. One of the main objectives of al-Badr forces was to short list the secular Bangalee intellectuals and eliminate them. Horrifying stories of killing of intellectuals by Motiur's al-badr forces were published in newspapers, home and abroad, during and after the liberation war.
1. During the war Motiur acted as one of the top Jamati ideologues instigating his cohorts and followers by means of public speech and newspaper articles to support the Pakistani occupation army in killing the freedom fighters and supporters of liberation war. In one of the issues of Daily Sangram, the Jamati mouth piece, Motiur wrote : The day is not far away when the young men of al-Badr, hand in hand with the armed forces, will defeat the Hindu forces (enemies) and raise the victorious banner of Islam all over the world, after the destruction of India. (Daily Sangram Nov 14, 1971)
2. On April 12, 1971, Motiur joined Gholam Azam and other leading collaborators such as Sabur Khan to lead a procession in Dhaka to demonstrate their support for Pakistan. The procession, under the banner of peace committee ended with a special prayer for the victory of Pakistan. (Daily Sangram April 13, 1971).
3. In Jessore, a bordering district, Motiur, in addressing the assembly of the para militia forces at the district head quarter of the Razakar force, said: In this hour of national crisis, it is the duty of every razakar to carry out his national duties to eliminate those who are engaged in war against Pakistan and Islam. (Daily Sangram Sept 15, 1971)
3. People from Motiur's home district, Pabna, have brought allegations against Motiur's direct involvement in killing, rape, arson and lootings. One such person is Aminul Islam Dablu of Brishlika village under the Bera Police Station (in Bangladesh, due to the colonial legacy, all administrative units below districts are organised under a police station, PS, hence all sub-districts are called Thana or PS). Dablu told the commission that his father Mohamed Sohrab Ali was killed on the orders of Motiur. Dablu further said that a number of people from the area were killed on Motiur's orders such as: Profulla Pramanik, Bhadu Pramanik, Manu Pramanik and Shashthi Pramanik. Dablu said there were many eye witnesses to those killings.
4. Abdul Quddus, a freedom fighter from Madhabpur village in Pabna, once spent two weeks in an al-Badr torture cell following his arrest in an uneven war. Quddus said he heard plans to kill freedom fighters and local supporters of the war were discussed and drawn up by al-Badr men under Motiur's supervision.
5. On November 26 a razakar commander named Sattar took Pakistani troops to the Dhulaupara village where 30 freedom fighters were arrested and subsequently killed. As per Quddus's testimony, Sattar carried out the execution on Motiur's order. Quddus told the commission that he managed to attend a secret meeting of al-Badr forces which Motiur presided and gave instructions to kill freedom fighters. In the meeting the al-Badr men listed the houses of Awami League leaders and the bases and hide-outs of the freedom fighters. Motiur sternly ordered his men to finish off Awami League supporters and possible bases and safe houses being used by freedom fighters were identified. Quddus said Motiur gave orders to finish off Awami League supporters and destroy bases of the freedom fighters. The day after the meeting, Al-Badr forces, in cooperation with Razakars, surrounded Brishlika village and burnt it to the ground.
6. Quddus also said Motiur himself bayoneted to death one Bateswar Saha of Madhabpur village in Sathia PS.
7. In Pabna Motiur led the killing of a young freedom fighter Latif and his group. Latif was only 19 years old and a first year student of Pabna Edward College. Latif's small group was captured by the Pakistani occupation army in an uneven combat at Dhuliuri. They were then handed over to Motiur's gang for execution. Motiur's lieutenants publicly slew Latif's co-fighters with big camp knifes especially used for slaughtering bulls for sacrifice (during Islamic festival called korbani) as a part of Islamic ritual. The bastards in Motiur's group celebrated the killing of the captured freedom fighters with cannibalistic zeal. They gouged Latif's eyes, chopped off his genitalia and tied his dead body on a stick at Shanthia (Badshah, a socialist activist was killed in the same way by one of Motiur's top killer gang-JMJB in May 2004, please see Islamist Extremism in Bangladesh page). Latif's father Sufian Paramanik is a witness to his son's brutal murder and the razakars' frenzied outburst of pleasure in killing the brave sons of the soil.
8. Latif's brother Shahjahan Ali, a freedom fighter himself from Madhabpur village, nearly met the same fate. After slaughtering Shahjahan, along with his co-fighters, in Islamic manner, Motiur's people left him taking him for dead. But Shahjahan was a die hard freedom fighter. The slayer's knife could not take his life. Deadly wounded, Shahjahan lay on ground for hours. Foxes smelled at him, dogs bit him. Fortunately his relatives came by before it was too late and saved his life. Motiur's knife could not take Shahjahan's life, but took away his voice: now Shahjahan is paralyzed and can't talk carrying a big scar on his throat-Motiur's kiss of death.
In 1971 Motiur was personally involved in killing of hundreds of Hindus and confiscating their assets and properties. By confiscation and extortion of large amount of money, jewellery and assets from the wealthy Hindu families, Motiur became a millionaire within nine months of the war. During the Sheikh Mujib government (1971-75) Motiur went underground in order to escape conviction as a war criminal. In 1976, as a part of General Zia's razakar rehabilitation program, Motiur resurfaced and took charge as the second in charge of Jamat-e-Islam. Motiur is presently the chief of Jamat-e-Islam.
Besides his involvement in assassination, murder, extortion and confiscation, Nizami is also committed to establish Jamati ideological hegemony (a Maududi version of Islamic fundamentalism) to perpetuate the Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh. Since 1976, thanks to the political backing of the so-called freedom fighter Gen Zia and financial generosity of the Islamic countries like Saudi Arab, Iran and Libya, Motiur and his gang invested millions of dollars to open hundreds of Islamic kindergartens around the country. The syllabi and curricula of those kindergartens are based on the precepts of Maudoodi, the spiritual guru of Jamat-e-Islam. This network of schools enabled Jamat-e-Islam to sustain a huge number of their cadres as employees of those schools. From organizational point of view, those schools are a big success for Jamat-e-Islam: it secured them a sustaining source of income (education is the most thriving business in Bangladeshi cities) and employment for its cadres in education industry. But intellectually those schools cripple the students forever as they teach pre Copernican /Ptolemaic world views, orient them to alien Arabic culture and emotionally invest them with jejune Islamic sentiments.
Jamat's goal to render intellectual bankruptcy is not confined to pre school stage only. Motiur successfully expanded its mission to the tertiary level as well. Motiur's wife founded an English medium college in the most aristocratic residential area in Dhaka city. The college boasts of having international educational standard as its name indicates " Manarat International College". The off-springs of the Muslim Bangladeshi elites swarm into that so-called English medium college. Manarat is an English medium college in the limited sense that it disseminates its knowledge in English language. But what constitutes its epistemological corpus? Koran and all forms of Arabic medieval precepts. The graduates from Manarat college are apparently smart (as the definition of smart in Bangladesh means ability to speak trash in English) but intellectually and attitudinally medieval: perfect elements for Islamic fundamentalism. Politically Gholam Azams and Mainuddins are feared monsters, but culturally Motiur's and Saidi's are more corrosive and their impact on society is far reaching.
Other crimes by Motiur Nizami
1. After the election in 2001, Motiur Nizami's armed men forced the members of 20 Hindu families in Pagla Haldar Para, part of Nizami's constituency, to eat beef. (Daily Janakantha 10 Oct 2004)
2. Although Jamat preaches Wahabism its head Nizami gave a lavish Iftar party in the most expensive hotel in Bangladesh (Sonargaon) on 11 November 2003 when the northern districts of Bangladesh were devastated with famine. In the Iftar party Nizami invited top 550 elites of the country and spent 300,000 taka.
