The passing of the ‘mystery man’ in politics

He was more of a fictional character than a real person. Most of our countrymen never saw him; they only heard stories about him.

The stories fascinated the youth and, in all likelihood, they'll continue to do so. In them, sometimes he appears like Kapalik from Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay's "Kapalkundala", while some other times he is the "Dada Bhai" of politics. In the words of ASM Abdur Rab, leader of a faction of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, "He is the leader of our leaders, a great leader, a philosophical leader." His secretive lifestyle made him the mystery man in our politics. What we don't know about him far outweighs what we do.

I am talking about Serajul Alam Khan.

I saw him walking on the Banglamotor footpath. He had long, flowing hair, white as kash flowers, a thick mustache, and a long white beard. He dressed in white--pajamas and panjabi, or a fatua. He looked exactly like a portrait of a sage or dervish from a book. He would walk briskly towards Shahbag. Sometimes he held a walking stick. Later on, I came to know that he was headed to the Sheraton hotel. It was his everyday routine.

That's as much as I got to know him. I never met him face to face, nor did I have a talk with him. I tried reaching out to him a few times. But I was told that he was not interested to meet or talk to anyone other than his political disciples or people he knew well and considered loyal to him.

From an influential student leader, most favoured by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he became the leader who had founded the first opposition party against Bangabandhu after independence. Keeping his political activities shrouded in mystery, he left us forever.

He breathed his last yesterday at the intensive care unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for old age complications, according to DMCH Director Brig Gen Nazmul Haque.

Born in 1941 in Noakhali, he was 82 years old. He spent the last years of his life in quiet negligence. The media did not show much interest in him.

But he was one of the key organisers of the country's liberation war, as well as its political polarisation afterwards.

Mohiuddin Ahmed and Shamsuddin Peyara wrote two books on Khan. Both were connected to the JSD, and both were close to Khan. Mohiuddin wrote "Protinayok" and Shamsuddin wrote "Ami Serajul Alam Khan".

Initially, Khan was a prudent, far-sighted and creative student leader. He considered Bangabandhu as his one and only leader.

According to Mohiuddin's book, Bangabandhu formed Bangladesh Liberation Force which consisted of his most trusted student leaders--Khan, Abdur Razzak, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni and Kazi Aref Ahmed, among others. Khan, among others, deftly led the Bangladesh Chhatra League in the late 1960s.

The two books by Mohiuddin and Shamsuddin help us understand what then triggered the rift between Bangabandhu and Khan:

Khan's rivalry with Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni was no secret. During the liberation war, he stayed in India, yet the rivalry kept on increasing. It came out in the open after the country was liberated. Fuelled by conflicting ideological stances on key political issues, Khan and Moni led two separate factions of BCL. In 1972, both factions announced rallies in separate locations, and both wanted Bangabandhu to inaugurate their respective programmes. Finally, Bangabandhu came to inaugurate the programme organised by Moni's faction. The rift between Bangabandhu and Khan started from that point onward.

In 1972, Bangabandhu formed Jubo League with Sheikh Moni and Mostofa Mohsin Montu at the helm. Many may find it hard to believe but Khan formed the JSD within the next 4-5 days. He announced the party committee by naming Major Jalil (retd.) and ASM Abdur Rab as joint conveners. Khan did not hold any post in the JSD. His name could not be traced anywhere, and yet he was the brains behind the major decisions carried out by the party.

How was it possible to form a political party within such a short time?

Khan never responded to this question and many others regarding the mystery hovering over his personality. He hardly gave detailed answers to these questions. He didn't write anything either. After taking his dictation, a few short booklets were written but those did not answer any of the major questions about his life.

In his book, Mohiuddin makes many attempts to answer these questions and unravel the mysteries. He engaged Khan in long conversations and asked many questions. He asked the same questions over and over. Sometimes he got incomplete answers, but on most occasions, Khan stayed silent. Though this book sheds light on many events of his life, many mysteries remain as they were.

In Shamsuddin Peyara's book, Khan talked about the formation of JSD. Regarding incidents like the activities of JSD's Gonobahini and the attack on the Indian High Commission, Khan says that these were done without having informed the JSD leadership.

These books also reveal how he had formed the Biplobi Shoinik Songstha within the army, which was led by Colonel Taher. He also published the Gonokontho, the mouthpiece for the JSD.

But how did he fund all these different JSD activities?

Before independence, when he was involved with the BCL, he talked about monetary problems, and also mentioned how Bangabandhu and his wife had given him monetary support. His daily meals at Sheraton also raised eyebrows.

About the brutal killings of Bangabandhu and his family members, he says in Shamsuddin's book, "I heard about this brutal killing at around 11:00am. I was in Kolkata. Naturally, I could not accept it … his demise came in such a brutal way, and that too, along with his family members. I struggled a lot to make peace with this reality."

Many JSD members rejoiced upon the brutal killing of Bangabandhu. They printed and distributed leaflets about it, according to "Jasoder Utthan Patan: Uttal Somoyer Rajniti", another book written by Mohiuddin Ahmed.

Although Khan was not present in the country at that time, it is hard to believe that these activities were carried out without his knowledge.

With the passing of Serajul Alam Khan, many unknown chapters of history remain unknown. We will hear a lot of stories and myths now. Many stories will surface, and his near and dear ones will relate many others, but that's what they will be--stories. It is unlikely that they will become a part of history.

He will live on as the "mystery man" in our politics, as Kapalik, or "Dada Bhai".