Special Correspondent
Air Vice-Marshal (retd) AK Khandaker on Wednesday resigned as chairman of the Sector Commanders Forum (SCF), citing personal reasons.
His resignation came apparently in the wake of widespread criticism, especially from the ruling Awami League, for his recently published book ‘1971: Bhetore Baire’.
AK Khandaker, who was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Armed Forces during the War of Liberation in 1971, sent a resignation letter to acting SCF secretary general Haroon Habib around 8pm.
In the letter, he mentioned that he is unable to continue as chairman of the Sector Commanders Forum due to his old age. Members of the Sector Commanders Forum also openly criticized Khandkaer’s views expressed in his book.
AK Khandaker shed light on different aspects of the Liberation War in his book which was published recently. He also made some controversial claims in the book.
He claimed that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had uttered ‘Joi Pakistan’ as the last word of his historic March 7 speech in 1971.
He also wrote that Mujib Bahini members had not been seen in the war field in 1971. The activities of the Mujib Bahini desecrated the liberation war instead of bringing any glory, and some of its members led looting after the war.
He also came under fire in Parliament on September 4. Harshly criticising the former Planning Minister ruling party MPs demanded that a case be filed against him on sedition charge for ‘distorting history and undermining Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’ and that the book be banned.
As the controversy shrouded , the Sector Commanders Forum came out with a statement disowning AK Khandaker’s views expressed in his book. In a state on September 6, the Sector Commander’s Forum (SCF) said what SCF chairman Air Vice-Marshal (Retd) AK Khandker Bir Uttam narrated in his book, ‘1971: Bhetore Baire’ was solely of his own opinion.
In the joint statement signed by SCF acting secretary general Haroon Habib, the SCF leaders said there is no similarity between his statement and remarks in his book and the policy, ideals and realisation of the historic truth of the Forum.
In the statement, the SCF leaders feared that the widely controversial book of Khandaker could be used as a new tool for the local and foreign conspirators engaged in distorting the history of the independence of Bangladesh and hoped that the information contained in the book would soon be corrected and rectified.
The SCF leaders said, “In his book Deputy Chief of Staff in the war of liberation AK Khandaker has presented misleading statement of the historic independence speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered on March 26 in 1971 long 43 years after Bangladesh’s independence, which we think as utterly unfortunate and beyond objectivity. We believe that Bangabandhu’s independence speech is an established historic truth, which is preserved round the world.”
The SCF leaders termed the statement contained in the book as unwarranted and unacceptable to all those who participated in the war of liberation and the people who have minimum knowledge of the history of the Bangalee nation.
Meanwhile, a Mujib Bahini member filed a case with a Brahmanbaria court against AK Khanadker on September 10 for defaming the Mujib Bahini and the freedom fighters.
Source: Weekly Holiday