A champion of social justice

The time dial of rotating years has once again brought us to the birth anniversary of perhaps one of the most distinguished sons of the country, Syed Mahbub Murshed, popularly known as Justice Murshed. Born a little after the first decade of the last century, Murshed remains a prominent figure in the country. Although he came from a privileged background, he was an articulate spokesman for the repressed and subjugated people. He had brilliant academic results both at home and abroad, which led to him becoming a barrister in England at the honourable Lincoln Inn society in 1938. 

Justice Murshed rose to eminence of the highest order as a jurist with an imbued sense of social justice. His contribution to the field of literature and belles-lettres was no less outstanding. Murshed bestowed upon us wisdom on various issues, ranging from constitutional law, jurisprudence, literature, politics, and not to forget innumerable social causes. As a judge, and later as Chief Justice, he was a fearless exponent of the rule of law. Justice Murshed chose never to yield even to the highest provocation. The greatness of his legal mind was that he drew inspiration from a variety of historical, philosophical and theological sources. Yet, he was able to interpret these themes in his own inimitable fashion. Justice Murshed's genius lay in the ability to fathom these diverse intellectual influences in his own individualistic way. He was acutely aware of the fact that excessive insistence on the letter of the law could violate the spirit, as he stated, "It is not the use but the abuse of power that the Courts should seek to readdress." Murshed's judicial pronouncements, while sitting at the bench of High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan, where he served as an ad-hoc judge, then as Chief Justice, reflected the ideals of liberty and justice. Some of his judgements created constitutional history, and became landmark judgments, winning him international acclaim. His verdicts also often went against the Ayub-Monem dictatorship. 

Around five decades ago, when our country was under the rule of occupying forces, when those who governed our land from more than 1000 miles away were determined to impose their culture upon us, and erase our cultural heritage, it was Murshed who fought for the age-old traditions and cultural identity of Bangladesh. He organised the centennial celebration of Tagore in 1961 in Dhaka and other parts of the county, in defiance of the Pakistani regime. When the great tide of nationalism swept the country in the 1970s, the person to figure most prominently in the process to liberation which began from the 50s was Syed Mahbub Murshed. The fight for a separate identity thus became through a process of metamorphosis a battle for nationalism. The passion of a nation's struggle for independence found eloquent expression in the manifold speeches, judgements and writings of Justice Murshed. He thus became one of the most articulate spokesmen of Bangali nationalism. 

In his professional life as a lawyer, despite professional preoccupations, Murshed found the time to write, speak and also participate in various social and humanitarian activities. His article "Quo Vadis Quaid-e-Azam", where he criticised the policies of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, in defence of his uncle Fazlul Haque, which was printed at The Statesman in Calcutta and The Telegraph in London, created a stir. During the famine of 1943, and later the communal riots of 1946, Murshed worked actively with Anjuman Mofudil Islam. Murshed was a Sufi and liberal Muslim, and spoke of tolerance which was against any form of communalism. During the communal violence that shook the subcontinent during the partition, Murshed was one of the people who were primarily responsible for setting the process, which resulted in the Liakat-Nehru pact, in motion. 

Another of his significant contributions was the final touches that he gave to the drafting of the historic six-point demand in 1966 for provincial autonomy of the then East Pakistan – a demand of the Bangali intelligentsia. In early 1954, while he was still a practicing lawyer, Murshed was one of those to draft the 21-point manifesto of the Jukta-front government. This was later summarised into the now popular six-point manifesto by him. Later in 1966, Mazharul Haq Baki, the then president of Chhatra League, recorded that no one except Chief Justice Murshed dared to accede being the chief guest in their annual conference. This is where Murshed, like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, made the clarion call for provincial autonomy of then East Pakistan. 

When the then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan celebrated his so-called "Decade of Reforms", Murshed resigned from the post of Chief Justice to join the masses in the fight for democracy. Organising the defence of the Agartala conspiracy case was among the first things he did after his resignation. Following this, Murshed entered politics, which gave major momentum to the anti-Ayub movement. It was because of Murshed who was leading the charge during the mass upsurge while others were jailed that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was not released on parole but rather released unconditionally. It was also on account of Murshed's constant public demands that all the co-accused of the Agartala conspiracy case were unconditionally exonerated. 

During the roundtable conference in 1969, Justice Murshed demanded 'one man, one vote.' Prior to this new demand, there was parity of 150 seats each for East and West Pakistan in the then Pakistan National Assembly. Murshed's 'one man, one vote' proposal was accepted, and because of this, 169 seats out of 300 went to East Pakistan in the next national elections. 

Murshed's resignation as chief justice in protest of the occupying Pakistani forces led the Bangali intelligentsia to consider him as the only acceptable presidential candidate against Ayub. His refusal to collaborate with the ruling military junta during the Liberation War has also been recorded in history. He thus played an important role in shaping Bangali nationalism. Justice Murshed will remain in history as someone who served his community rising above his self-interests. 

The writer is the founder secretary of the Syed Mahbub Murshed Memorial Committee.