No plan to write autobiography, only wish is to fulfil Bangabandhu’s dream: Hasina

When many are drawing inspiration from in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s ‘The Unfinished Memoirs’, his daughter Sheikh Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister of Bangladesh, is unwilling to write autobiography.

Hasina has penned some books in her busy political career, with her friend AN Mahfuza Khatun Baby Maudud by her side.

Speaking at a Ganabhaban press conference on Wednesday, Hasina sounded sad to have lost her long-time comrade Baby Maudud.

Writer-editor Imdadul Haq Milon asked her whether she would write a full autobiography at the press conference on her recent US and India visits.

“I'm not eager to write autobiography because I don’t know what I shall write in this Bangladesh and why should I,” she replied.

Hasina has been leading the Awami League for around four decades. She has been heading the government for over 15 years in total and over a decade in a row.

After a recent meeting, Indian opposition Congress party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi wrote in a Twitter post how Hasina’s strength in overcoming “deep personal loss and hardship and fighting for what she believed in with bravery and perseverance is, and always will be a great inspiration for me”.

Hasina has written and edited more than two dozen books, including ‘Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita’, ‘Samoriktantra Bonam Ganatantra’, ‘Ora Tokai Keno’, ‘Biponno Ganatantra’, ‘Sada Kalo’, and ‘Swirotantrer Jonmo’.    

While speaking about these writings, she remembered Baby Maudud.

“I am actually not a writer. You know my friend Baby Maudud. We both went to university together,” she said.

“I sometimes wrote something and she used to see those and ask me to finish them. Much of the credit goes to her for my writings.

“She used to collect those and publish as books. That’s how the writings came out,” Hasina said.  

She said Baby Maudud had also sometimes sought her advice on her own feature writings.

Hasina and Baby Maudud studied Bangla literature at Dhaka University together. Baby Maudud also played a role in publishing Bangabandhu’s ‘The Unfinished Memoirs’. 

She died of cancer in 2014 .Baby Maudud was social affairs editor at bdnews24.com at the time.

Though she cannot write regularly now, Hasina said she still writes if someone asks.

She puts top priority on her work for the country to fulfil Bangabandhu’s dream, she said.

Recalling the assassination of Bangabandhu and most members of the family in 1975, Hasina said: “Those who lose everything like me don’t have willingness to work.”

“But I returned home with only one thing in mind, that my father had a dream to get a better life for the people, to pull them out of poverty, give meaning to their lives. My work is aimed only at advancing that cause."

“I don’t care whether anyone will remember me or talk about me,” she added.