The great achievements of a moderate and modest man

Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman passed away today bringing the possible end of the last of the fellow travellers of Sheikh Mujibur Rhman who had walked together all his and their political life. He was a veteran of the 1952 Language Movement which erupted only three years after the founding of the Awami League. It was then still the Awami Mulim League which dropped the 'Muslim' after separate electoral system for Hindus and Muslims ended in Pakistan in 1955. So Zillur Rahman was part of a transition to a new Bengali society where the goal was a more equitable one seeking a society of all communities as equals. It was a dream he shared with his mentor Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

What distinguished his generation from that of others was their commitment to a political cause that was also social and cultural. Zillur Rahman was born in a world of collective discrimination. It was not just the humiliation of living under colonial rule but also having to compete and contest the privileged position of the majority Hindu community. The autobiography of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman bears testimony to the anger and outrage the young Muslims faced at all levels but this didn't embitter the person and nor did it poison the mind of the late President. In the post 1947 scenario after the birth of Pakistan, all the memories were dropped and by 1949, the young students and activists had formed their organisations and he was part of the long struggle that led to Bangladesh.

If one recalls the major historical milestones that led to Bangladesh, the Language Movement, the Jukto Front election of 1954, the resistance to the martial law of Ayub Khan from 1958 to 1969, the Liberation War of 1971 and the subsequent events of post 1971, one would see his presence in every one of them. He was there too in the very difficult days after 1975 and later in the fight against Ershad in 1990, he played a major role. He had begun as a foot soldier of the party when it was founded and ended his life as the President of the state, an honour he shared with his leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It was a very successful life in those terms but his greatest success was to remain a moderate in politics when no one else was willing to be so.

He had every reason to be unreasonable having lost his wife to a grenade attack at a public meeting. But he toiled on and in many ways set an example of calm and moderation that was totally missing in Bangladesh. He bore his personal grief in private and carried himself with a reserved calm that created a space that Bangla politics sorely misses and few step into. He had in his own way had become a symbol of a long gone politics of moderation and mutual respect.

He was never an exhibitionist or a firebrand but his place in history will be of one who spoke softly and gave no violent orders; even as he sat in the middle of mayhem, he spoke the words of peace and hope. To be such a person in this world is indeed a truly great achievement. He was always a modest and moderate man who even as the head of the state exuded the charm of being everyone's kindly father figure.

May he rest in peace.

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Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist, activist and writer.