- Prof. Dr. Asif Mizan
A humorous statement on contemporary politics:

Recently, an unprecedented and historical discrepancy has emerged in the discussion and criticism of parliamentary politics and the media in Bangladesh. The controversy that has arisen over a parliamentary claim by Hafez Abdul Muntakim, the newly elected MP from Nilphamari-4, could be a new text for students of political science and crime researchers. Standing in the budget session of the National Parliament, this public representative claimed that his father was martyred in the great liberation war of 1971. However, the official documents of his own affidavit submitted to the Election Commission say that he was born on January 10, 1981. This huge historical and biological gap has exposed the culture of narrative-making of political history in Bangladesh to an extreme irony.

A detailed analysis of historical and biological inconsistencies:
The distortion of historical information for political purposes or to prove family nobility is not new, but the construction of such a narrative by completely ignoring biological reality is truly unprecedented. How a person could have been martyred or died in 1971, and then a long decade (10 years) after his death, have a legitimate child born to him in 1981 is against common logic and science. This discrepancy cannot be lightly viewed as just a `factual error` or `clerical error`; it is a manifestation of a well-planned and institutionalized political lie. The practice of `pathological liars` or psychological lies that we have seen in the past in the politics of Bangladesh in one-party statements, the current incident has taken on an unrealistic and miraculous form.

Is Jamaat-e-Islami`s ideological transformation or political opportunism?
The historical role and position of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in the great liberation war of 1971 is well known and documented as anti-independence. The party`s then leadership and ideological position were against the emergence of Bangladesh. But in the changed political situation and in the aftermath of the 13th National Parliament elections, an extreme drive to make itself acceptable in mainstream politics is becoming visible.
The huge statistics presented in Parliament by MP Abdul Muntakim that out of 47 freedom fighters, 4 uncles and 19 grandfathers in his family, 11 were freedom fighters, is basically an attempt to create a `political shield`. Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury once sarcastically used the metaphor of the `strange machine that produces freedom fighters`, in the current context, this statement by the Jamaat leader seems to be giving that metaphor a real form. Just as the Awami League`s long rule was fraught with the use of the label of `freedom fighter family` for the sake of power and immunity from responsibility, Jamaat`s current political strategy is also just an imitation of the same cycle.

Criminology and the crisis of political morality:
In the view of a criminologist and analyst, providing such false and contradictory information in a government or state forum is not only political immorality, but also a legal offense like forgery of documents or filing a false affidavit. If the information in the affidavit is true (which is legally binding), then his statement in Parliament is completely baseless and fabricated. And if his statement is assumed to be true, then he has resorted to major fraud in his affidavit about his age or birth identity. Either of the two crises is enough to determine the moral lapse and legal qualification of a member of Parliament.

Although the history of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh is rich in ups and downs and humorous incidents, such a supernatural and unbelievable statement like `a child is born after ten years of a martyr` is perhaps rare in the history of world parliaments. Such an unwise statement from a top public representative of a cadre-based and disciplined demanding party like Jamaat-e-Islami reveals the bankruptcy of the entire political culture. This tendency to turn national history, the memory of martyrs and biological truth into elements of humor should be stopped. This cheap drama of distorting history for the purpose of gaining political benefits deserves to be strongly rejected by a conscious society and future generations.

[Author: Professor Dr. Asif Mizan, Vice-Chancellor, University of Dar es Salaam, Somalia and international politics and crime analyst.]