A strong school of thought prevails that the necessity to strike at the incarcerated leaders rose after the dividend of the August 15 putsch was about to slip off the hands of the junior officers who executed the plot. The counter putsch by forces loyal to Khaled Mosharrof, then Chief of General Staff (CGS), propelled the plotters to exterminate the leading elements of the Awami League at any cost, fearing a backlash from within the military.

Whatever stratagem the coup plotters had devised, the legacy of November 3 remains mired in a national tragedy that is as yet un-mitigated. The coup makers felt jubilant and cheery that day because Mujib and his heirs apparent were no more and leading lieutenants of him too were brutally murdered in custody. But the act itself, from all standpoints, failed to stand up to the scrutiny of sanity. It was abhorrent and unethical to say the least, and it set in motion a 'bad precedent' in the annals of our tragic history.

As the nation passed through a series of tragedy since August 15, it became evident that the military command was not only ruptured by the 'loose cannons' who undertook such a bonapartism, the loyalty of the forces was also torn between the new Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Ziaur Rahman, and the Chief of General Staff, Khaled Mosharrof. This shook the confidence of the plotters and primed their focus on exterminating the remnants of the AL's political leadership.

Killing in custody is tantamount to crime against humanity. One thus expected the captive leaders to remain under the protection of law during the captivity. But law had been thrown into oblivion on August 15 and the nation groaned under anarchy as the tragedy of November 3 hit the vacuum.

The agony of the day further multiplied with the passage of time due to the assassinated leaders being legends of our national history and politics. They were politicians representing the grassroots sentiments and leapt upward in the national scene through dedication and diligence. They also have had important portfolios in the exiled Bangladesh government cabinet that was formed on April 10, 1971, and later.

Of the slain leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam replaced Mujib as the Acting President during the war while Tajuddin Ahmed, Capt. Monsur Ali and AHM Qamruzzaman were Prime Minister, Commerce Minister and Home Minister, respectively. They all formed a unique team of statesmen to pull the nation off the stagnation burgeoned by the ravages of a liberation war that left over 3 million dead and maimed millions of others. The economy too teetered with the scars of ravages needing urgent reconstruction and salvaging.

That said, one must remember that the credentials of the slain leaders transcended all political denominations, for a few in a nation are afforded the opportunity to play so vital a role in their national history as did those four valiant sons of the soil.

Tajuddin steered the nation toward independence in Mujib's absence. A dedicated politician, economist and lawyer, he brought his political weight upon Indira Gandhi during the war and presented himself to the international community as Mujib's rightful heir and deputy. His charisma and vision helped us weather the shortfall left by Mujib's captivity in Pakistan during the war.

Tajuddin's devotion toward organising the war of liberation, both militarily and politically, convinced the world to come in aid of a people left to groan under a cruel siege laid by Pakistani forces. The enemy was irrational and averse to the rule of law. They'd virtually slaughtered a constitution through intransigence and arrogance with respect to sharing power despite a popular mandate.

The Bengali nation united under Mujib and those four leaders to teach a lesson to a military junta that refused to heed reasons. The same leaders also sought recognition for an independent Bangladesh from the comity of nations while boys fought in battlefields to cripple the enemy's wherewithal that went into committing genocide against a people rendered helpless.

The offences committed on November 3 are constitutionally untenable. Nothing under the canopy of law can sustain the logic of killing in custody; let alone the killings of people who'd endured the birth pang of a nation.

Another way of looking at the event is to dig into peoples' minds to unearth what one might call the 'popular sentiment'. By voting the AL in the 1970 election, people had mandated the party to lead the nation toward independence, especially after the Pakistani junta's refusal to hand over power peacefully and its brutal crack-

down on the night of March 25. These leaders took the challenge with courage and commitment.

The right of any citizen, irrespective of his/her socio-political standing, is ensured by the constitution. The irony of November 3 rests on the brutality of the crime committed, which nixed to deaths the lives of leaders deemed as 'safe' under the custody of the law. If seeking justice was an elusion then, why should it be now?

Justice is the only remedy that can set those leaders' departed souls in peace. They grew in the torment of politics to win over the heart and mind of this nation. They risked their existence to snatch away from the Pakistani junta our democratic rights and freedom. They are the true architects of a nation that now stands tall among others in the community of nations.

And, they had the gird to cobble together a government in exile; to build a provisional armed force from the scratch; to garner regional and international support for our war of liberation and to gift the nation with a flag and a map.

Almost three decades on, the trial of the jail killing is hostage to peripheral procedural complications. Can't we reciprocate their contributions by holding a trial of their killers?

Abu Noman is a free lance journalist and political commentator.