Print | Not a debate, but a time to face the truth. Analysis of the political debate, reality and position surrounding Md. Kamal Uddin

প্রিন্ট এর তারিখঃ জুলাই ২৯, ২০২৬, ৬:১৩ পি.এম || প্রকাশের তারিখঃ জুলাই ২৫, ২০২৬, ৭:২৩ এ.এম

Not a debate, but a time to face the truth. Analysis of the political debate, reality and position surrounding Md. Kamal Uddin

Biplob Das Gupta: Controversy over individuals, ideologies and history is not new in Bangladeshi politics. However, in recent times, due to the spread of social media, rumors spread faster than truth in many cases. Propaganda has now become a regular tactic to undermine political opponents or satisfy personal resentment. In that reality, various discussions and controversies have also arisen around journalist, researcher, writer and television presenter Md. Kamal Uddin. Some call him a friend of the Awami League, while others call him an accomplice of fascism. On the other hand, due to his continuous critical writings after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, another party is also trying to call him close to the BNP. In reality, these two contradictory allegations prove that an attempt is being made to limit an independent writer to a political identity. A review of the history of Md. Kamal Uddin's political life shows that he was associated with the BNP student politics in the eighties. At that time, when the BNP split, he served as the general secretary of the Chittagong Metropolitan Committee of Bangladesh Chhatra Dal under the leadership of Secretary General K. M. Obaidur Rahman. He played an active role in the anti-Ershad movement. Later, he withdrew from party politics and took up writing, journalism, research and social movement as his main fields of work. After that, he worked for a long time as the central president of the Student Struggle Committee, the president of the Bangladesh Unemployed Rehabilitation Struggle Council, one of the organizers of the Greater Chittagong Unnayan Sangram Committee and the founding secretary general of the Chittagong Citizen Forum. The main topics of his writing were anti-corruption movements, civil rights, development inequality, education, environment and social justice. His research and writing on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is long-standing. He has written many articles on Bangabandhu's life, the Liberation War and the political history of Bangladesh. Similarly, he has also highlighted martyred President Ziaur Rahman, Maulana Bhashani and various national leaders as research subjects. For a researcher, history is not a party property; rather, it is the collective heritage of the nation. In this context, his involvement with the Bangabandhu Sainik League was temporary and aimed at organizing a conference. Although he was given the responsibility of convener for three months, later that committee was canceled and a new full-fledged committee was approved by the central decision of the organization. As a result, he currently does not hold any position in that organization. Still, he is being attacked with that identity, which is not in line with reality. After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, he has consistently written about abuse of power, corruption, money laundering and administrative irregularities. He himself has said that it was not possible to write freely on many issues when he was in power. The political and legal reality was different then. The information and analysis he is presenting after the change of government is part of his independent expression of opinion. Recently, some quarters have tried to create controversy over his participation in a dinner at the invitation of Honorable Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. But being present as an invited guest at a political or state event does not mean being a member of a political party. Dialogue, exchange of views or courtesy meetings with people of different opinions is a natural political culture in a democratic society. Md.Kamal Uddin himself has clearly stated that he does not want to create controversy. Instead of blind support for individuals or parties, he believes in principle-based politics. He will take a positive stance towards the country's democracy, good governance, corruption-free administration, independence of the judiciary and state reform programs that will contribute to the welfare of the people. He has also mentioned that he is interested in working on the implementation of the 31-point state reform announced by the alliance partner, the Undivided People's Party. However, it is not as part of personality worship or power politics; rather, it is about civic responsibility and the development of the state.

The greatest strength of a writer, journalist and researcher is his independence. Party positions often limit that freedom. Kamal Uddin himself has admitted that journalists' active party positions create controversy in many cases and raise questions of impartiality. Therefore, in the future, he wants to give more importance to writing, research, social movements and public interest related work. Political tolerance is needed in Bangladesh more than ever before. There may be differences of opinion, but false propaganda, slander and character assassination cannot be part of any democratic culture. It is also not fair to judge a person's decades-long career by limiting it to a single political incident.

Md. Kamal Uddin's long journey proves that he has sometimes worked as a student political activist, sometimes as an organizer of social movements, sometimes as a researcher, sometimes as a journalist, and sometimes as a historical investigative writer. Just as Bangabandhu is present in his writings, so is Ziaur Rahman; just as there is an evaluation of Sheikh Hasina's positive work, so is there criticism of her government. This is the identity of an independent writer. History is ultimately evaluated not by party propaganda, but by an impartial judgment of truth, information, and time. Therefore, judging his statements and works in the light of facts and evidence, not the individual, will be the hallmark of a healthy democratic society.