I couldn’t believe the news when I first read it. Surely a boy couldn’t want to commit suicide because his father was a Jubo Dal or BNP man? After reaching 18 years of age, a person has the right to take decisions on any matter. In culturally developed countries, even before 18, the parents can’t forcefully impose certain pressures on their child. Just as the parents don’t force their opinion on their offspring there, individual freedom is given priority at all levels, from the family up till the state. But here, it is all about force.
According to a Prothom Alo report, a 22-year-old Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader of Rangunia, in Chattogam attempted to commit suicide when he saw a picture of his father taking part in a BNP road march. The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at Alkaj Pandit Bari in Pomra union of the upazila. The Chhatra League boy, Nirob Imon, is the organising secretary of Pomra union Chhatra League. His father is Mohammad Zahir (45) and the vice president of Pomra union Jubo Dal. Imon is presently under treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
According to local sources, Chhatra League leaders and activists of Pomra union were preparing for a peaceful programme. Chhatra League leader Nirob Imon was among them too. Suddenly one of Imon’s associates, another Chhatra League leader, sent him a picture over Messenger of Imon’s father taking part in a BNP road march in Chattogram city. Furious at the picture of his father in a BNP road march, Imon rushed home and vented his anger with his family. He then drank poison. He was rushed to the upazila health complex first and then was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. He is said to have recovered now, after treatment.
When asked about the matter, Imon’s father Mohammad Zahir told Prothom Alo, “I was in the city. I had no idea what had happened at home. But I learnt that Imon drank poison because I was in a BNP programme.” Pomra union Jubo League president Md Mohiuddin said, “Imon’s father in my cousin. I wasn’t on taking terms with him because he was involved in BNP politics. But Imon would often tell his father to leave BNP politics. But even after that when his father joined the BNP road march, Imon took this action in anger.”
However, the father Zahir, in a different newspaper denied any conflict with his son over politics. He said, “I was shocked that my son would attempt to take his own life because I am in BNP politics. Someone surely must have instigated him.”
A father cannot accept his son’s politics. A son cannot tolerate his father’s politics. Is that why the boy tried to commit suicide after seeing the picture of his father in a BNP road march? What politics is this!
From the bottom of our hearts, we wish Imon full recovery and good health. At the same time we wish good health for Bangladesh politics. To what level has politics descended that a son will attempt to commit suicide because he saw a picture of his father in the BNP road march! Imon joined Chhatra League at his own behest. Imon’s father Mohammad Zahir Uddin is also in BNP politics at his own will.
Perhaps Imon’s main concern is not his father’s involvement in BNP politics. This concern was sparked off by the picture sent to him over Facebook Messenger. His father apprehends that someone may have added a comment to the picture. Whoever sent this picture to Imon was reminding him that even though he was in Chhatra League, his father was a BNP man. Imon is the organising secretary of the local Chhatra League. He must have ambitions to scale up to higher positions in the future. This picture may hinder such ambitions. His friends in the organisation may tease him about this. Is that what drove Imon to attempt suicide?
There are many families in this country with members involved in the politics of different parties. There are brothers and sisters, uncles and nephews, so many different relations of important leaders in the two major political parties who are in different political camps. But they haven’t broken off family ties or social bonding. In fact, the offspring of one party’s leader often weds that of a different party’s leader, serving to strengthen ties.
It is an alarming message that emanates from the suicide attempt of Imon in Rangunia, Chattogram. It is as if a father cannot be in BNP if the son is in Awami League, or the son cannot be in BNP if the father is in Awami League. They can try to persuade each other to join their respective parties, but they can’t exert force. During Pakistan times, the offspring of many Muslim League and Awami League leaders were with Chhatra Union. Some were even active in the banned Communist Party. There weren’t any problems over that. At that time, most of the journalists who worked in Tofazzel Hossain Manik Miah’s newspaper Ittefaq were left leaning. He called them ‘Lal Miah’ (’red men’), but never questioned their politics. He never even forced them to write against their beliefs.
Even after independence, the offspring of many Awami League leaders were involved in JSD politics. Some even joined Gono Bahini. But there are no incidents or any father disowning his son because of that or any son shooting his father as a ‘public enemy’. Again, one son of a father may have been in Chhatra League and the other Chhatra Union, but that did not disrupt either the family or the social fabric. That is only natural in a democratic society. But if we try to force a son to join his father’s party or a father to join his son’s politics, then there won’t be any different parties in the country. There won't be any variety of views and opinions.
When the elections to local government bodies had been non-partisan, there used to be multiple candidates from a single family. They would carry out their respective campaigns. Husband and wives, brothers, fathers and son, fathers-in-law and sons-in-law, uncles and nephews would vie for the same office. After party symbols were introduced to the local government polls, divisions emerged in homes, in localities. People shunned each other. Normal pleasantries were done away with and now there are even sharp divisions in the same parties. Different factions of the same party hold separate programmes. They see each other as foes.
Politics is the basis of running the state, but not running human lives. Outside of politics, there is family and society. There are personal lives. But our leaders have taken politics to a level where walls divide homes. A father cannot accept his son’s politics. A son cannot tolerate his father’s politics. Is that why the boy tried to commit suicide after seeing the picture of his father in a BNP road march? What politics is this!
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir
Sohrab Hassan is joint editor at Prothom Alo and a poet. He can be contacted at [email protected]