SAJJAD JAHIRAFTER A lot of soul searching I decided to write this narrative just to let you know loud and clear my assessment of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. Like a meteorite, he rose to the limelight of world’s attention. In the global arena, he became the defender of freedom and human rights and a vocal champion of Bangladesh’s rapprochement with Israel.
I did not hear much about Mr. Choudhury until a few years ago, when I first saw his name in a few web based journals. Nowadays, I see him everywhere, in US Congress’s website, in Youtube. Suddenly Salah Uddin Shoaib became Jim Carrey’s Bruce Almighty. Unfortunately at a closer look this “almighty” does not come across as an intellectual, nor does he appear to be a human rights crusader. I feel he is just a “Karma Chameleon” (to quote Boy George).
How Salah Uddin continues to fool a sizable portion of world’s influential people, is still a puzzle to me. His career in Bangladesh shows his checkered past. If you look into his resume, you will see his service for two notorious individuals. From 1995 to 1999 he worked as the Founder and Managing Director of A-21 TV. This TV station was owned by Aziz Mohammad Bhai, a notorious smuggler and a Mafia don of Bangladesh. Mr. Bhai is no more living in Bangladesh as he had to flee the long arm of the law. It was alleged this tycoon had connection with Islamist Jihadists of India. My clear point is anybody with a little bit of ethical mindset would never work for such a questionable character. We should not skip another gem from the resume. In 1995, Mr. Shoaib Choudhury translated an Iranian book in Bengali “The Rise and Fall of Pahlavi Dynasty”. It is quite evident from the resume that in order to finish the project he had to work closely with the diplomats of Khomeini’s Iran. What a checkered past!
In the resume anyone will see Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury served Inqilab from 2001-2002. This paper was owned by a very despicable individual. He is Maulana Mannan, an Islamist leader. Mr. Mannan was alleged to be the mastermind behind intellectual and professional killing during Bangladesh War of Independence. Like Radovan Karadzic, he changed his façade and became a media mogul. Any Bangladeshi with a little sense of dignity would never work for such a crook. While working for Maulana Mannan’s Inquilab newspaper, Salah Uddin Shoaib constantly hurled epithets on secular activists of Bangladesh. He called Shahriar Kabir, a notable human rights activist, a Mossad agent. Mr. Kabir still has the documentary evidence to prove that. Not only that, Salah Uddin Shoaib virulently attacked Saleem Samad also. Now the question is why and how he was kicked out of Inquilab? Wasn’t he an Islamist to the teeth? In the resume he claimed he was ousted from the conglomerate because of his refusal to attend a pro-Saddam Hussain rally. It is beyond anyone’s comprehension how an intelligent and ever alert person like Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury missed this important piece of information that Inquilab was funded by none other than the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain himself! The story is something like this. Salah Uddin was sent to Singapore to purchase major equipments for Inquilab Television. Instead of purchasing the tools he pocketed the money. Sources say, after the management found out the grand theft, they were starting to take legal measures. In the meantime something happened. What is that?
This is my satirical chain of events that led Mr. Choudhury to the world of bright stars. One night an angel told this dedicated Islamist to be the lone bridge builder between Bangladesh and Israel. He asked the angel what ought to be his modus operandi to attain this noble objective. The angel replied he should make an attempt to travel to Israel carrying hard copies and discs of sensitive documents. Salah Uddin complied. Any tenth grade kid in Bangladesh may be aware that it was dangerous to carry documentation while going to Israel, which was still a forbidden country. Salah Uddin Shoaib is a computer savvy man. He must have known the art of digitizing hundreds of pages of documents. So, why carry those discs and papers to the airport? Isn’t it like this “Arrest me! Arrest me! I am going to Israel with lots of papers”. It goes without saying that the conman was arrested at the Dhaka airport in no time.
That particular incidence came to this juggler like the manna from heaven. He drew big outpour of support from the world’s mightiest and wealthiest of nations. He got a “pro bono” lobbyist within no time. Salah Uddin Shoaib became a widely known name in many parts of the world.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the human rights crusader and defender of Israel’s right to exist showed his other side of talent. He had been the founder and publisher of a trashy tabloid BLITZ, whose main motto is to sensationalize events. His primary enemies are the liberal intellectuals in Bangladesh. Salah Uddin had special grudge against activists who demand trial of 1971’s war criminals. He cannot go alone in his diabolical venture. Like a ventriloquist, he created a character named Sunita Paul. Many times this “Sunita Paul” did the dirty game for Salah Uddin Shoaib.
Unfortunately, Salah Uddin Shoaib did not do a good job in creating a make belief background of this Paul lady. Anyone would burst into laughter seeing the image of Sunita Paul, said to be born in Kochin, India. The picture looks so fake it seems he might have decided to insult the average reader’s intelligence. Wait a second! This Sunita Paul, who is more knowledgeable about Bangladesh than any veteran journalist of that country is caught red handed in a cookie jar! What am I talking about? I found a wise blogger noticed “Sunita Paul” adept in plagiarizing other people’s works. See for yourself at doctorsglove.
Sunita or Salah Uddin Shoaib, how long will you fool people and continue to have the last laugh?#
First published in Deshi Voice, April 4, 2009
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