Benefit for FFs: Some questions

People of East Pakistan were always worried as they got less development funds and less attention from the Pakistani rulers. The Awami League secured a clear majority in the 1971 elections of Pakistan National Assembly but Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was deprived of the Pakistan's prime ministership following opposition from the leaders in West Pakistan. Finally Pak army launched attack on unarmed Bangalees on March 25, 1971 night.
Then no option was left for the people of East Pakistan but to resist and fight the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators. People from all walks of life joined the war to free their motherland. Most of the freedom fighters were young. However some 40 to 50 years old people also took part in the liberation war actively.
Thousands of brave sons of the soil did not hesitate to take maximum risks and sacrifice their lives to free the country from the clutches of the occupation army. Many more fought valiantly and got injured in the war fields. Some of them were crippled totally.
There were two types of freedom fighters (FFs) during the War of Liberation.
Active freedom fighters: This group took part actively in the liberation war. Many of them embraced martyrdom while fighting and many others did not sustain any major injuries. Some of them were not injured at all.
Less active freedom fighters: Such FFs were not so much active in the war as the severity of war was not same in all the districts. They took part some minor skirmishes or they did not took part any war at all as the Pak army did not enter their area where they were posted.
Then again there were freedom fighters in different areas who did not play any role in war-related activities for various reasons. They were almost inactive in the war.
Even there were some freedom fighters who actually worked as spies of the occupation forces. Definitely these spies also collected certificates as FFs and later enjoyed or are now enjoying the benefits offered by government to freedom fighters, their children and grand children.
So, is it justified to evaluate all types of freedom fighters with same importance? Definitely not.
Unfortunately there is no list of martyred freedom fighters who made supreme sacrifice for the motherland in 1971. Even there is a big confusion about the figure of martyred freedom fighters.
Most of the countrymen, specially the elderly people and women, extended all sorts of support to the freedom fighters. But they did not actively take part in war. They helped the Mukti Bahini (freedom fighters) with money, foods and sheltered them in their houses endangering their own lives. A good number of them were either killed or brutally tortured by the Pak army and Rajakar-Albadars for sheltering the Mukti Bahini. Contribution of these people was no less than the freedom fighters in the liberation war. It would have been very difficult for the Mukti Bahini to defeat the heavily armed Pak army if these people did not help the FFs in different ways.
Yet these patriotic people were not enlisted as freedom fighters. For their valuable contribution they should have been recognised as FFs.     
FFs get allowance from government. There are so many rich FFs who do not need financial assistance. Yet they are also getting it. On the other hand some old and poor FFs are pulling rickshaws to run their families. Government should increase the amount of their allowance.
Health Secretary M Neazuddin Miah and Public Service Commission Secretary AKM Amir Hossain, who had got their jobs extended with fake freedom fighter certificates, have retired on health and personal grounds.
What was more interesting was that former Liberation War Affairs secretary (now OSD) KH Masud Siddiqui also obtained a fake freedom fighter's certificate to get his job tenure extended.
According to the Liberation War Affairs Ministry, around 11,150 people including several senior officials had taken freedom fighter's certificates from the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka) during the past six years.
Why have so many people collected certificates 38-43 years after the independence of the country? Most probably just to avail the facilities offered by the government.
Government should reconsider its policy regarding benefits given to freedom fighters in the context of recent controversies centring the FF certificates.  
There are so many FFs who did not collect certificates. On the other hand so many fake FFs have collected the same. It was easy to get such certificates during Ershad's rule. One of my relatives obtained a certificate at that time in exchange for money though he was not a freedom fighter. There is allegation that FFs certificates were even given to genuine Razakars in different districts in exchange for money.
People fought against the Pak army with an expectation that there would be no discrimination in the new born Bangladesh. Citizens would enjoy equal rights.
Benefit for FFs could have been justified if there were no fake FFs' certificate holders. But it is undoubtedly true that so many fake FFs are enjoying benefits depriving the meritorious candidates.  
Government should either cancel the benefits given to freedom fighters' sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters or stop giving certificates to new applicants as there is valid reason to raise question why are they trying to avail certificates after such a long period.
If government wants to issue new FFs' certificates then should be issued after special scrutiny as people are taking the same just to enjoy benefits offered by government. It is really funny that even grandsons and daughters are getting government jobs under the quota for freedom fighters.  
Are the children and grand children of martyred FFs getting same government benefits? Most probably all such FFs' close relatives are not getting the benefits as they are not on the government's list.
The writer is Shift-in-Charge (news) of the FE. He can be reached at [email protected]