Before the fall of Sheikh Hasina, my friends would often ask me why I was still out of jail! I would reply, I am certainly in prison, but not confined to four walls. Metaphorically speaking, we have been in prison for a decade. Many members of my family and I were more or less prisoners. We faced so much deprivation, restrictions, harassment and threats during those days.
a special force of the government took up a specific plan to silence my voice and that of four others. Had Sheikh Hasina not fallen on 5 August, our very existence would have been at stake
I began facing injustice from the start of the nineties. During the caretaker government rule in 2001, I was made a member of the Bangladesh Academy of Rural Development (BARD)'s board of governors. But when the new government was installed, I was removed from this position.
Then there were injustices against my family. My elder son Mahbub Majumdar graduated from MIT, did his Masters from Stanford, earned his PhD degree in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from Cambridge and obtained a post-doctoral degree from Imperial College. Then he returned to the country. Despite having such educational qualifications, Dhaka University refused to appoint him as a teacher.
Next, allegations of bias were levelled against me. After SHUJAN was established in 2002 as a citizens' organisation, Professor Muzaffar Ahmad and I were extremely vocal about cleaning up the election process and also spoke out against the various incongruities in society. We were accused of being Awami League supporters. Later during the Awami League rule, we were dubbed as BNP men. These allegations persisted, particularly from Obaidul Quader, till the very day that Awami League toppled from power. These allegations went to such an extent that a special force of the government took up a specific plan to silence my voice and that of four others. Had Sheikh Hasina not fallen on 5 August, our very existence would have been at stake.
In Sheikh Hasina's eyes I had gradually become her formidable foe. The first big blow I received from Awami League was during the 2013 city corporation elections in Barishal, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet. We analysed the affidavits of the mayor candidates in those elections and held a press conference on behalf of SHUJAN. All of the mayoral candidates of Awami League were the incumbent mayors on their way out. We pointed out that their incomes, wealth and debts were sky-high compared to the BNP candidates. After the press conference, newspapers headlines read "The Magic Wand of Power".
Those in power immediately came up with a press release accusing us of fabricating figures to spread lies about their mayor candidates. Our facts and figures were based on the affidavits submitted by the candidates to the election commission. In the subsequent elections too, we highlighted the various discrepancies. We faced all sorts of threats.
Then there was the eleventh Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election of 2018. Prior to that on 4 August 2018, students and youth involved in the safe roads movement were forced to leave the streets in face of assault from the police and the "helmet forces". The renowned photographer Shahidul Alam was arrested.
On that day the American ambassador Marica Bernicat had come to my house at attend a farewell dinner in her honour. On her way back home, her convoy was attacked by goons of the ruling party. My house came under attack too. The objective of the attack was to deliver a clear message to the foreign diplomats and the local civil society ahead of the national election.
During the attack, we called 999. The police arrived after it was all over. They left without even talking to us. The next day when I went to the police station, they didn't even want to record our case. A few days later they made our complaint into a case. In the charge-sheet the police claimed that we were were hatching a conspiracy with the US ambassador at my house.
In another instance of political vengeance, the government committed another serious misdeed against my family. My in-laws had donated their land in a district of North Bengal for a hospital to be constructed for the local poor people. A highway was constructed over this land. Three power lines were taken over it. Last year the police were brought in and initiative was taken to set up two 132KV high-voltage power lines on the same land.
From last year the Detective Branch and NSI began intensive investigations against us and this probably is still going on. NBR was actively in the investigations too. The NGO Bureau halted the release of all funds to The Hunger Project. And whenever I went out of the country, the airport immigration made me wait. On 5 September I was leaving to attend a conference in Bangkok. I was held up at the airport until permission was granted from the higher authorities.
Due to all of this, it is only natural to wonder that even after the fall of two autocrats (in 1990 and 2024), are their black laws still stalking us? If a democratic Bangladesh is to be established, the existing autocratic structures must be demolished.
* Badiul Alam Majumdar is secretary, Shushahoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN)
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir