Our house is on BCC Road (Wari) in Old Dhaka. In the early sixties, my father got admitted to Notre Dame after studying at the famous Nawabpur School in Old Dhaka. His mother died when he was just 28 years old and his father, the then Deputy Director working in the Directorate of Information, lived a lonely life with his four young children in a huge house full of trees and bushes, and decided not to marry again. At that time, politics was in full swing, and the struggle to liberate the country was going on. While studying in his second year at Notre Dame, he was forced to leave the college on charges of engaging in politics. He was sent to Jagannath College to take the final exam. After passing there, he got admitted to the Physics Department of Dhaka University, the main focus of studies and politics at that time.
He did not go to class much, politics was the most important thing at that time. Due to lack of proper attendance in class, his name did not appear on the final exam list, and he had to appear before the department head. After seeing the results of the remaining exams of the class, the head of the department let him go, telling him to take the final exam properly, because even though he had 20% of the class, he had the 2nd highest number!
Starting with the Chhatra League, he later participated in the freedom struggle in pre-independence Bangladesh from the Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League. In the meantime, this talented gentleman took the EPCS exam and secured 2nd place in the whole of Pakistan, and his job posting was in West Pakistan. But his father, who was also a first-class employee, was not very interested in sending the eldest son of the family from Dhaka to West Pakistan at that moment. He did not get a chance to think about it for long, within just a month, his healthy and normal father died, and he had to take care of the family.
Then came the War of Independence. A terrible chaos descended on Dhaka. Monayem Khan’s right-hand man was a gangster’s hideout just one house away at the most post office. He started running away with his three younger siblings and changing homes repeatedly, along with attempts to counterattack, during the war, the local Razakars could not find him and killed his close friend, he miraculously survived.
After the country became independent, he passed the bar exam in a short time and started working as a lawyer and also served as a government PP. But his heart was probably in the civil service, he again took the exam for a government job, I heard from his mother that he did not study at all, this time he got 7th and joined the service.
In his professional career, he served in various important government positions, starting from Mymensingh District Munsef to the Civilian Staff Officer of the Martial Law Administrator (for 6 consecutive years), Finance, Establishment, Defense, and other ministries.
Throughout his government career, this highly talented (always 1-3 in the service exam) and skilled officer’s ACR score was 93 (/100) and his normal score was 98. Despite such a high ACR assessment, the gentleman’s career did not go very smoothly.
The root of the trouble was honesty and morality. This gentleman, who had a modern mind, did not compromise in these two areas in his career. His morality said that a civil service officer can never get involved in any politics while serving and must remain neutral. He did not believe in lobbying, he never even wanted a plot as a government official, because the prerequisite for applying was that he and his pets could not have any land in Dhaka, and they were the owners of houses in Dhaka through ancestral lineage. We were not allowed to use government vehicles, if we did, the driver would have to record even 1 km in the logbook.
He was an example to many in his personal life for his innate leadership, extraordinary personality and simple life. He studied a lot on all subjects, could explain difficult subjects very easily. He had immense interest in computers and technology, played a leading role in introducing computers in the Bangladesh Secretariat and government offices. He could play excellent chess, and used to stay up late watching cricket and football matches. Although he did not do any politics due to his job, his high government position never became an obstacle in associating with the common people. He was involved in various important public works in the area, including the chairmanship of the mosque committee.
On this day, January 13, 2002, he died of a heart attack while in the LPR at Gulshan Sikder Medical Hospital, leaving only some of his pension money for my mother.
Today, our lives might have been different if only my father were alive. Everyone should pray for my father, may Allah grant this honest man eternal peace.
Toronto, Canada
