O captain! My captain!
Mazhar and Badhon on their reception day. Photo:Ahmed Nafiz Momen
I passed out from Faujderhat Cadet College almost 30 years ago. Many of my seniors, class-mates, year-mates, and juniors have worked or are working for Bangladesh army. Many of them joined our liberation war, many sacrificed their lives and many have achieved gallantry awards for their contribution to the nation. I am sure more will join. However, I never thought we would have to revisit mass graves in independent Bangladesh. But yet mass graves, cold-blooded murder of innocent army officers, families, and civilians are revisiting us. We mourn our loss. We mourn the loss of many brilliant sons of the soil, reminding me of the stories of killing our intellectuals in December 1971. Our cadet college fraternity has lost 20 colleagues and comrades, with whom we shared the same rooms, attended physical training and parades, played soccer, volleyball and cross country together. While I was there Colonel Enshad the very shy and gentle cadet was also there, my one year junior friend Lieutenant Colonel Kaiser was there, and soccer star Major Hasan also joined us at the end. However, they all were killed on February 25, for no fault of theirs, at least not known to me or their families. Same is the case with many of my fellow cadets from Mirzapur, Rajshahi, Jenaidah, Barisal, Pabna, and Comilla My fellow cadet from Comilla Cadet College Nafiz Momen shared with me the story of Captain Mazhar, who could not even attend his honeymoon after the marriage and had to shorten his leave to attend the Darbar on February 25. More such stories are coming. Someone expecting his or their first child, someone planning for their child, planning for the post-retirement days, and so many other stories. The course of their lives has irreparably changed. Losing our loved ones is very painful. Passed from Comilla Cadet College in 1998, Captain Mazhar got commissioned from Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA) on November 26, 2000. In 2006, he was posted as ADC to DG, BDR and this young and bright officer became very popular with everyone. Academic excellence, charisma, sporting ability, discipline, and rare dedication to the nation made Captain Mazhar a successful army officer. Mazhar got married to Nusrat Noor Badhan, a student from North South University, the other day only. They were only into about 80 days of their marriage. Colonel Mujib, Colonel Gulzar, Lt Colonel Enayet, Brigadier Bari, Major Momin, and many others. After significant losses such as these, we as a country are experiencing all kinds of difficult and surprising emotions -- shock, anger, and guilt. It seems like the sadness will never let up. The very thought of the whole event is frightening and overwhelming. What we must remember though is that murder is never justified. The action of a few unruly BDR personnel went against everything they used to stand up for. They were the forces that are supposed to be fighting for the country, not against it, and in doing what they did they have negated justification of any demands they have made. The government may have owed them better pay, living situation, etc pre-mutiny, but the mutineers have proven themselves to be undeserving of even holding their jobs, let alone receiving better conditions. The mutineers should never have held the positions they did to begin with if they are capable of perpetrating such acts. It was wrong, regardless of what conditions lead them to take those actions. We offer silent prayers in solidarity with the families who lost their loved ones as well as with those who are anxiously waiting to know the fate of their loved ones. That it could all come to an end with this tragedy is very hard to believe and I can't console myself. The soldiers, who were groomed to protect the country from outsiders, were not able to protect themselves in their own country. However, the nation must remember them for their commitment, gallantry, discipline, and ability to fight till death. We will not forget our fellow brothers, fellow cadets, fellow soldiers, who were trained to lead from the front, holding the baton of a captain. We salute you.
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