Dear Friend Goon, At your request, I am sending some photographs. However, please grant me one favor. Do not print any photographs showing me distributing relief in books of poetry. Print as many pictures of human suffering as you can. My impression is that people have grown disgusted seeing such images—namely, relief distribution—on television and in newspapers. They are poor, but is that their crime? If a certain class had not accumulated wealth in excess of their needs, would these people have been poor? Whose wealth is being given to whom? If whatever exists were shared and enjoyed collectively, there would have been no need for anyone to hold out their hand to another.

I cannot mentally accept the endeavor of plundering their wealth to become rich, and then—taking advantage of their plight under the guise of aid-giving, handing things directly to them, and having photographs printed—seeking personal image or establishment. It hurts my conscience. Yet, often compelled by surrounding pressures, many things have to be done. I do them too. Strangling my conscience, at times for the sake of protecting society, at the request of comrades, or to preserve the honor of others, one certainly has to do such work or take such photographs. However, whoever donates or distributes whatever they may be, this is the right of those poor people, it is what is due to them. It is their wealth seized through the brute force of power, or begging brought from home and abroad by displaying their hunger, to donate to them. Where is the opportunity to take credit here?

Isn't taking this credit a weakness? Isn't it self-deception? How long will you continue to cheat your conscience? I do not like the method of building an image by snatching the morsels from the mouths of these poor people and then handing charity back to them with photographs printed. I believe that whatever I give should be given silently, in secret. Because this is a matter of shame, not a matter of pride at all. It would have been a matter of pride if this society could have been dismantled to build a new society. It would have been a matter of pride if not a single destitute person had to extend a hand asking for help.

It would have been a matter of pride if they did not stretch out begging hands with skeletal bodies on the pavement. That day—when will it arrive, the day that my father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, dreamed of? My request to you is: do not print that photograph where a hand has extended asking for help, and I am placing something in that hand while looking toward the camera. Many people take such photos. I feel deeply culpable myself. It brings shame to show my face to the poor people. We live in society. We can eat to our full stomachs twice a day. We can live well. But what are they getting? Why make such a mockery of them? They will not tolerate it; one day they will surely awaken. On that day, no one will be spared. I hope you will honor my request.

With good wishes, Sheikh Hasina 09/10/1988 AD

"Aid is No Favor": Reflection of Humanistic Philosophy in Sheikh Hasina's Letter The letter written by Sheikh Hasina to poet Nirmalendu Goon in 1988 is not merely a personal correspondence; it is a unique document of profound political philosophy, human dignity, and immense respect for humanity. Every line of this letter radiates her profound, untainted love for ordinary people and her soulful accountability. At the very beginning of the letter, by forbidding the publication of relief distribution photos in a book of poetry, Sheikh Hasina demonstrated an uncompromising mindset that serves as a shining example of upholding human dignity. She clearly realized that using images of the misery of the poor or scenes of relief distribution in the media to build one's personal image or establish oneself is a form of self-deception and a mockery of the helpless. In her view, this wretched condition of the people is the result of the excessive wealth accumulation and deprivation by a tiny fraction of society. Therefore, so-called "aid" is actually no favor at all, but rather the rightful due of those deprived people. She considered it a matter of utmost shame to claim credit while returning wealth that was seized by the force of power.

A visionary thought process regarding social transformation is also expressed in Sheikh Hasina’s letter. She believes that donations or aid should be given silently and secretly, because it is a matter of shame, not pride. A situation worthy of pride would have arisen only if this discriminatory society could have been shattered to build a new egalitarian society, and no hungry person on the pavement had to stretch out a hand for help. The goal of the Golden Bengal dreamed of by her father, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was precisely the establishment of such a discrimination-free society.

In conclusion, this letter is an immortal monument to Sheikh Hasina’s deep reverence for fundamental human rights, self-respect, and humanitarian consciousness. It reminds us that capitalizing on human suffering to gain publicity is inhumane, and true humanity lies in standing beside people in silence.

Author: Dr. Abul Hasnat Milton, Journalist, Political Analyst, and Editor-in-Chief, The Source News Bangla