Following the death of 87-year-old Manik Pashari on Saturday morning, October 24, complications arose regarding his burial. According to the family, although a grave was dug initially, local Jamaat-e-Islami activists filled it back in with dirt. Later in the night, Pashari's daughter and two sisters, with the assistance of village police, dug the grave again to arrange for his burial.
The burial was completed past 2:00 am on Saturday at the family graveyard in Chitalia village under Shankarpara union of Pirojpur Sadar upazila. Family members laid him to rest nearly 17 hours after his death.
Manik Pashari was the plaintiff in a case filed against former Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayeedi in connection with crimes against humanity.
In a Facebook post on Monday, October 26, Tasnim Zara detailed the situation that arose over the burial.
Tasnim Zara wrote that normally upon a person's death, local residents spontaneously come forward to help dig graves and carry out burials. However, the situation was completely different in Manik Pashari's case. According to her statement, announcements declaring that he would not be allowed to be buried, along with microphone broadcasts and social media campaigns, kept the family in prolonged uncertainty.
She noted that Pashari's daughter, Seemu Akter, told local journalists that some people came and filled up the initially dug grave. Later, she had to dig the grave again along with her aunts. Zara also mentioned in the post that due to the circumstances, no one else could be found to help dig the grave. Ultimately, Manik Pashari was buried in the grave dug by his family members late at night under police security. She claimed that aside from administration personnel, hardly anyone from outside the family was present there.
Tasnim Zara stated in her post that Manik Pashari was a government-gazetted freedom fighter. However, she alleged that an assistant secretary of the Pirojpur district Jamaat had claimed he was a fake freedom fighter, objecting to a guard of honor and stating that he would not be allowed to be buried in Pirojpur.
According to Zara, if anyone wanted to question Manik Pashari's identity as a freedom fighter, proper mechanisms such as state institutions and courts exist for verification. However, resolving such disputes by blocking a burial or making public announcements is unacceptable.
She further noted that after the burial was completed, the concerned Jamaat leader stated that their party leaders do not engage in politics over dead bodies. Highlighting the inconsistency between this statement and their previous stance, Zara raised questions.
In her post, Tasnim Zara said that in Bangladesh, before a funeral prayer, the relatives of the deceased usually ask everyone for forgiveness. People also try to rise above personal disputes and grievances to be forgiving after someone's death. She remarked that Manik Pashari's family did not even get the opportunity for that normal social process.
Zara also questioned who gave political party activists the right to determine whether a person will be buried in their own village family graveyard. In her view, blocking anyone's burial based on political power or influence is unjust.
In the post, she also brought up the context of Jamaat-e-Islami's anti-independence role in 1971. Her statement was that the party's activists, who once faced political opposition, are now trying to dictate others' identities as freedom fighters, state honors, or burial locations.
Finally, Tasnim Zara compared Jamaat's rhetoric of establishing justice, human rights, and human dignity with the situation that occurred around Manik Pashari's burial. She also raised the question that if a family's right to a final farewell is obstructed even while in an opposition position, what the situation might look like if they acquire greater power in the future.
