Obstruction of FF Manik Pashari's Burial a 'Violation of Fundamental Rights'

Twenty-eight prominent civil society personalities have expressed their deep concern, anger, and condemnation over the incident in Pirojpur where Jamaat-e-Islami obstructed the burial and state guard of honor for Bir Muktijoddha (Freedom Fighter) Manik Pashari.

They described the incident as a "violation of fundamental human rights" and demanded strict legal action against those involved through a proper investigation. In a statement sent by ALRD Executive Director Shamsul Huda on Saturday, they said that the situation created in Pirojpur centering on the guard of honor and burial of Bir Muktijoddha Manik Pashari after his death on October 24 was extremely unfortunate, unwanted, and condemnable.

According to information from various sources, after the grave was dug for the first time, local Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists filled it in. Later, after approximately 2 AM, Manik Pashari's daughter and two sisters, with the help of village police, dug the grave again with the little light of mobile phones and completed his burial under police protection about 15 hours after his death, the statement said.

The citizens also noted that such a situation surrounding the final farewell of a Bir Muktijoddha 55 years after independence raises deep questions and concerns about the state, society, and political culture. The statement said that Bir Muktijoddha Manik Pashari, a resident of Chitlia village in Shankarpasha Union of Pirojpur Sadar Upazila, had been staying at his daughter's home in Gopalganj since the mass uprising of August 5, 2024. He died there on October 24.

According to state rules, arrangements were made to bury him with a guard of honor as a freedom fighter. But Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed the Liberation War in 1971, obstructed his burial, raising the question of whether he was a freedom fighter or not. The signatories said that after a person's death, the right to burial is a fundamental human right. No individual or group, not even the state, can violate this right. Later, a guard of honor was provided to his body at the Pirojpur Police Lines. According to information, his burial was stalled for about 15 hours due to obstruction by local Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists. The statement further said that only the state has the authority to determine whether a person recognized by the state as a freedom fighter is indeed a freedom fighter. The state can verify the matter if it deems necessary. But no anti-liberation party can decide who is a freedom fighter and who is not. In 1971, the party not only opposed independence and the Liberation War; many of its leaders have been proven through documentary evidence to have been involved in war crimes, including the killing of intellectuals.

The signatories alleged that the party has never acknowledged responsibility for these crimes nor offered even the slightest public apology for opposing the Liberation War. They said that the actions carried out against Manik Pashari amount to criminal offenses. Obstructing anyone's funeral prayers and burial due to their political stance or past role is in no way acceptable. Properly burying the deceased with due dignity is considered an injunction of Islam as well as of all religions and an obligatory teaching. They said they lack the words to condemn the disrespect shown to Manik Pashari by ignoring that teaching. The statement strongly demanded appropriate and strict legal action against those involved in such criminal offenses through a proper investigation. The statement was signed by: Advocate Sultana Kamal, human rights activist and Founding Chairperson, Manobodhikar ebong Sanskriti Foundation, Khushi Kabir, Coordinator, Nijera Kori, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director, TIB, Advocate Z I Khan Panna, Senior Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court, Shaheen Anam, Executive Director, Manusher Jonno Foundation, Rasheda K Choudhury, Executive Director, Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), Shahidul Alam, Photographer, Shamsul Huda, Executive Director, ALRD, Dr. Samina Lutfa, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dr. Sumaiya Khair, Professor, Department of Law, University of Dhaka, Dr. Tanjimuddin Khan, Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Dr. Zobaida Nasreen, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Dhaka, Robaet Ferdous, Professor, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Dhaka, Dr. Swapan Adnan, Visiting Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science, Dr. Nova Ahmed, Professor, North South University, Rehnuma Ahmed, Writer and Researcher, Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Senior Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court, Advocate Tabarak Hussain, Senior Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court, Advocate Salma Ali, Executive Director, BNWLA, Md. Nur Khan, Human Rights Activist, Pavel Partha, Writer and Researcher, Rozina Begum, Researcher and Rights Activist, Zakir Hossain, Chief Executive, Nagorik Uddyog, Adv. Saidur Rahman, Chief Executive, Human Rights and Culture Foundation, Saeed Ahmed, Human Rights Activist, Deepayan Khisa, Human Rights Activist, Dr. Hana Shams Ahmed, Rights Activist and Muktashree Chakma, Rights Activist.