Graphic novel ‘Mujib’: A unique form of storytelling

You may get someone imprisoned unjustifiably and try every possible way to torture him both physically and mentally. But, you cannot get him off the ideas that he lives by. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lived on this planet for around 55 years. But, the time he spent in jail accounts for 4,682 days or close to 13 years. The reason this punishment was doled out to him was his voice roared out for giving people's rights a chance, protesting against injustice and discrimination and, above all, being the prime mover of the nation's independence. He wrote Oshomapto Attojiboni (Unfinished Memoirs) and Karagarer Rojnamcha (Diary in Jail) somewhere in 1967 and 1968 when the gallows were waiting for him. But he was calm and uncompromising. Even the worst of time could not betray his memory.

The vignettes of his family, his growing up, pursuing education and political career became alive through his writing unmistakably. When I read the intelligence reports, news reports and memories of his relatives, contemporary of the authoring of these two books, I can relate them very well that just intrigues me.

You would hear people saying now and then with a deep sigh that political leaders of our country hardly wrote books. That is the reason many priceless elements of our history were lost in the lanes and by-lanes of history. The memoirs of Bangabandhu are an exception. He unveiled for the posterity a huge treasure of his observation and experiences during his political career. That too met with a long silence spanning decades. It is through Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehena that these writings came to the light and get heard by the world.

A brilliant feature of his writing is simplicity and spontaneity. From casual meeting to his March 7 address to the millions just before the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, an address which is now recognised by the UN as a part of Memory of the World, he proved to be the master of communication. His writings also testify to this art. When the autocrats threaten to let him rot in jail for paving the path to freedom – the six-point demand for greater autonomy – Bangabandhu found solace inside the jail in writing his memoirs.

Oshomapto Attojiboni (Unfinished Memoirs) and Karagarer Rojnamcha (Diary in Jail) are now two widely read and translated books. More than 1,300 books were written on Bangabandhu as well. There are initiatives on the way to publish more books celebrating the twin events – the centenary year of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu and the golden jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh.

There are some initiatives to publish books to hook up children as well. Mujib Comics Series of Centre for Research and Information is a great initiative to that end. The idea of the graphic novel based on the unfinished memoirs of Bangabandhu was advanced by Radwan Mujib Siddiq, who was also a co-producer of 'Hasina – A Daughter's Tale', a docudrama based on the Bangladesh premier and her younger sister Rehena as daughters of the Father of the Nation.

One thing carefully taken into consideration while making the graphic novel was child psychology. Children adore kind-hearted and courageous people. At that stage, they start learning how to single out the good from the bad. They give a close look at how supermen offer support to the battered and helpless people and how they destroy the evil. Then children knit stories of their own and dream of being the one with that courage. Bangabandhu was the leader of that lion's heart.

The effort to inform them of Bangabandhu and the country's Liberation War has just begun to a limited extent in the last decade though at present, there are more than 50 million students in the country who are mostly youth. But no one should be oblivious to the fact that three decades out of 49 years after the Liberation War witnessed distorted history in textbooks. The biggest irony was that there was a ban on the mention of Bangabandhu. Not just were efforts underway to obscure him but also to cast a slur on him, who sacrificed his life to liberate the Bengali nation. That is the kind of environment an entire generation was raised in. Marina Tabassum, one of the architects of Swadhinata Stambha (Independence Monument), said in an interview that she wasn't left with any option to gather undistorted information about the independence from textbooks during the 1980s. She had to keep wandering in search of books on the Liberation War for making the architectural design.

For 'Mujib', contents were plucked from the 'Unfinished Memoirs' of Bangabandhu. The graphic novel starts with some untold stories of Bangabandhu such as wearing spectacles at an early age. Even his study was grounded for a handful of years due to the eyesight issue. But, he wasn't a man to call it a day. He could easily get in touch with juniors in the school. He had to land in jail during his school life. The punishment was doled out to him as a reward for his altruistic act of staying beside his friends. While he was advised to escape the scene, he simply replied that he was not a man to run away out of fear. We have always observed him that way. In 1939, Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, then Prime Minister of Bengal, and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a Member of his Legislative Assembly and Labour Minister, went to visit the school in Gopalganj that Bangabandhu was a student of.

There wasn't the faintest vacillation in Bangabandhu to come forward and bring about issues existing in the school. All of these events lend moral insights to children. He got involved in politics since childhood. At the same time, he had to follow his father's advice – he had to play, he had to study, serve humanity when it is required and dedicate himself to social welfare.

These events came alive through comics in the book. As the operation on his eyes was successful, he wore his spectacle and roar in joy, "I can see. I can see clearly." The comic drawn to bring that event to life will be as shining as the North Star in children's minds.

Six volumes of the graphic novel have been published. Four more are underway. Radwan, son of Rehana, is overseeing the project scrupulously. In different countries of the world, there are graphic novels on the people who changed the course of history. He adopted the idea in Bangladesh to educate kids and youths. The graphic novel 'Mujib' was first published on Mar 17, 2015, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Bangabandhu.

We know that Rehana, the youngest daughter of Bangabandhu, had to stay abroad over quite a few years following the assassination of the Father of the Nation on Aug 15, 1975. Consequently, Radwan was raised abroad. But, growing up in a foreign country couldn't resist him from having his attachment to Bangladesh and the Father of the Nation. The source of the contents was aptly chosen – the 'Unfinished Memoirs, written by Bangabandhu himself. Despite being raised aboard, the grandson of Bangabandhu had Bangladesh in all his heart. Never did he get detached from his root. That is why he could present Bangabandhu in a way that children would read it with bated breath. These children will one day be the architects of 'Digital Bangladesh' and also the 'Golden Bengal' that Bangabandhu once dreamt of. These comics will surely be a stepping stone towards that goal.

Those who were made to read the dark, distorted chapters of history will be illuminated by the true history. The publication of 'Mujib' comics undoubtedly comes as a milestone in the continuation of that journey.

However, the heartfelt efforts made by the sisters – Hasina and Rehena – behind this journey hardly come to the limelight. Since the graphic novel centres on the life story of their father, also the liberator of this country, both daughters enriched the book with their comments and recommended on cartoons. There are places that their suggestions propped up. Take the case of the draft of the seventh volume when they commented that their grandfather Sheikh Lutfur Rahman had a longer beard than it was portrayed.

It won't be exaggerated to say that the graphic novel unveiled the two daughters' labour of love for the children's book. We could observe the same level of aptitude when they edited the 'Unfinished Memoirs' of Bangabandhu, 'Diary in Jail', and the book based on Pakistan Intelligence Branch reports on Bangabandhu.

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