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| Major Faruk Ahmed (Retd) |
| Introduction |
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| Bangladesh has achieved her Independence through a bloody War of |
Liberation continued for 9 months from March to December of the year 1971. The victory was achieved by fighting against the West Pakistani occupation Forces sacrificing blood of 30 million martyrs. Bangladesh is indebted to India for the support that she provided during this war but the nation cannot accept that our hard-earned victory should be hijacked by India as an exchange of the given assistance. |
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Today, it is imperative for us to see - how our victory was hijacked by India on the very Victory Day in 1971. Such study will help in identifying difference between agendas of India and Bangladesh in 1971. In order to determine today’s Bangladesh-India relations, we cannot overlook such a significant event of our history. |
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| This paper will endeavour to briefly highlight followings : |
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| a. | How the concept of an Independent nation was conceived. | | b. | How were the people of the then East Pakistan forced to start armed resistance? | | c. | India’s motive behind supporting Bangladesh’s Independence. | | d. | How the Victory of Bangladesh was hijacked on the very Victory Day. | | | | |
| How the concept of an Independent nation was conceived |
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We need to recognize which historic event was the turning point for achieving our separate identity. Following event will make it clear why today Bangladesh, the then East Bengal of British-India is an Independent country and why West Bengal of India is not. |
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| The historic Lahore Resolution. |
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The Lahore Resolution1, commonly known as the Pakistan Resolution was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the occasion of its three-day general session on March 22-24, 1940. It called for the creation of 'independent states' for Muslims in British India. The constituent units of these states were to be autonomous and sovereign. This was later interpreted as a demand for a separate Muslim state, Pakistan. The resolution was presented by Abul Kashem Fazlul Huq, the then Chief Minister of Bengal who is titled ‘Sher-e-Bangla’ meaning ‘Tiger of Bengal’. |
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Muslim League working Committee at the Lahore session
(Sher-e-Bangla at the centre of front row) |
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| The statement declared : |
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“No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.� | |
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The Resolution rejected the concept of United India and recommended the creation of an independent Muslim state consisting of Punjab, N. W. F. P., Sindh and Baluchistan |  | in the northwest, and Bengal and Assam in the northeast. | | | On the basis of this Lahore resolution, on 14th August, 1947- the state of Pakistan emerged on the map of the world. Thus, the then East Bengal; later East Pakistan which is today’s Bangladesh has achieved independence jointly with West Pakistan. | | | |
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Later on, in 1971, through an armed struggle- we have partitioned from West Pakistan and the then East Pakistan emerged as a sole Independent country of today’s Bangladesh. |
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Our nation will remain ever indebted to Sher-eâ€"Bangla Abul Kashem Fazlul Hoq for his great contribution in laying the foundation stone of Independence through Lahore Resolution without which we could never get separated from India and would have remained as a mere province of India same as West Bengal. This is why the Lahore Resolution is the fundamental source of spirit and a prime enabling factor behind the achievement of Independent Bangladesh. |
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| How were the people of the then East Pakistan forced to start armed resistance? |
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| a. | Cultural and economic deprivation. The declaration of Urdu to be Pakistan’s only state-language and economic deprivation caused grievances in the minds of East Pakistani people. Detail description of this is avoided here. | | | | | | b. | Political deprivation. In the General Election of Pakistan held in December 1970, Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won majority seats. But President | | |  | Yahiya was not handing over the power to Sheikh Mujib as the Prime Minister of Pakistan as West Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto opposed to accepting Sheikh Mujib as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. In order to exert pressure on Pakistani Govt to expedite the handing over of power, Sheikh Mujib held meeting in Dhaka Race Course Ground on 7th March 1971 and placed 4 points demand in his speech2. The first demand was:Immediate handover of power to the elected representatives. Of course, in the last sentence of his speech, he mentioned that this time our movement is for freedom and independence. | | | | | | | As a democratic leader of Pakistan, Sheikh Mujib’s politics was based on united Pakistan. After the meeting of 7th March 1971, he sat for round table dialogue with President Yahiya Khan and West Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto which continued till 23rd March 1971 at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel (now Ruposhi Bangle Hotel). | | | | | | | Though separation was not an agenda of democratic movement of East Pakistani people but it was imposed on the nation by brutal armed massacre conducted on 25th March 1971. | | | | | | c. | Conduct of the massacre leading to armed resistance and separation. West Pakistani Army launched Operation Search Light on the night of 25th March 1971 and killed thousands in Dhaka and Chittagong. That very night, Sheikh Mujib surrendered from his Dhanmondi residence and later taken to West Pakistan. | | | | | | | The massacre by West Pakistani soldiers made the separation of East Pakistan from West Pakistan inevitable. Nation was at a loss because of the absence of |  | direction as all political leaders took shelter in India and Sheikh Mujib surrendered. At that juncture, Major Zia, Secondâ€"in-Command of the 8th Bengal Regiment stationed in Chittagong, revolted and claiming himself as the Provisional Head of State, he declared Independence4 through Chittagong Kalur Ghat Radio Station3. Later on, he amended the message and re-declared the Independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. | This declaration was broadcast hourly and the impact of this broadcast, which were picked up by the civilians and isolated Bengali units fighting the West Pakistanis, was significant. | | | | | | India’s motive behind supporting Bangladesh’s Independence | | | | | The 7 point Agreement that India compelled the exile Bangladeshi Govt led by our great leader Tajuddin Ahmed, to sign which planned to convert Bangladesh into a semi-state of India devoid of any sovereign right. Let us have a glance on that secret Agreement4: (Quote) | | | | | | (1) A para-military armed force for Bangladesh will be raised under supervision of the Indian military experts; this force shall be stronger and more active than the regular armed forces of Bangladesh. | | | | | | | (2) Bangladesh shall procure all military equipment from India and under planned supervision of the Indian military experts. | | | | | | | (3) Bangladesh shall direct her foreign trade under supervision and control of the Indian government. | | | | | | | (4) Yearly and five-yearly development plans for Bangladesh shall conform to Indian development plans. | | | | | | | (5) Foreign policy of Bangladesh must be compatible with and conform to that of India. | | | | | | | (6) Bangladesh shall not unilaterally rescind any of the treaties without prior approval of the Indian government. | | | | | | | (7) In accordance with the treaties signed before December (1971) war of Pakistan and India, Indian force shall enter into Bangladesh at any time and shall crush any resistance that may erupt there. (Unquote) | | | | | Such motive of India encouraged her to hijack the victory of Bangladesh. | | | | | | How the Victory of Bangladesh was hijacked on the very Victory Day | | | | | | |  | The armed resistance was joined by all units of the East Bengal Regiment (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th unit), EPR (East Pakistan Rifles), Police and youths from all over the country which continued for 9 months. The Freedom Fighters inflicted heavy casualties on West Pakistani Forces and shattered their morale to fight which compelled them to accept surrender. | | | | | | | | Though Bangladesh has come into being through armed resistance at the cost of 3 million martyrs’ blood and enormous sacrifices put by the whole nation but the victory of our Freedom Fighters was hijacked by Indian Forces during signing of the instrument of surrender in Dhaka on 16th |  | December 19715. The Pakistani Forces were compelled to surrender to Indian Eastern Command Commander General Amrit Sing Arora instead of the C-in-C of Bangladesh Freedom Fighters General Ataul gani Osmani. Even no Sector Commander of the Freedom Fighters was allowed to remain present in the surrender programme. India’s investment in sheltering few million Bangladeshi refugees and providing material support to the Freedom Fighters might worth a million USD; but what India took from Bangladesh worths more than thousand trillion USD | Photo: Commander of Pakistan’s Eastern Command- General AK Niazi forced to surrender to General Jagzit Singh Arora, Commander of Indian Eastern Command instead of Bangladesh Prime Minister in exile Tajuddin Ahmed or General AG Osmani, C-in-C of the Freedom Fighters | | | | | and that was the victory over Pakistan which was earned by Bangladeshi nation through 9 months long struggle sacrificing 30 million martyrs. | |
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| Conclusion |
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Around 94000 Pakistani soldiers were taken to India as prisoners. All arms and ammunition left by Pakistani Forces worth more than a billion dollar were also taken |  | away by India. Sector Commander Major MA Jalil (Sector-9) was arrested for resisting the looting of our assets by Indian Forces. (Image of Major MA Jalil) Since 1972, every year India observes Victory Day in the Eastern Sector against Pakistan. After 1971, the then Prime Minister of India- Ms Indira Gandhi declared in the parliament saying ‘Hazar Saal ka badla le lia’ meaning India has taken revenge of thousand years (of Muslim rule in India). | | | The investment made by India during our Liberation War in 1971, has been taken return with million times profit. | |
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India has successfully created Bangladesh as her economic colony as the market of Bangladesh is inundated by Indian goods. |
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Indian culture on Bangladesh is dominant with ruling regime’s assistance. |
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Bangladesh is militarily dominated by India as the later is bleed by India’s proxy war launched in CHTs. Bangladesh’s border is fenced by birbed wire and Indian trigger happy BSF has created a killing zone at our border by killing and injuring Bangladeshi |  | citizens like Felani which depicts today’s Bangladesh-India relation. Our Govt is very submissive to India in protesting such killings, torture and rapes on our citizens. India controls the lives and livelihood of Bangladeshi people by controlling 54 international river waters through constructing dams and barrages such as Farakka. Every year half of Bangladesh can be submerged by water released at a time from Farakka point causing prolonged flood. India’s political influence on Bangladesh’s current regime is so obvious that some Indian writer wrote an article about the current Bangladeshi regime terming Awami League regime as ‘Friendly Govt in an enemy nation’. | |
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The corridor facilities given to India through ‘Framework Agreement of Co-operation’ signed by Hasina and Monmohon in September 2011 will facilitate India in implementing the ‘7 point Agreement’ signed in 1971 as this corridor will seriously impact our economic interest including national security and sovereignty. |
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Now it is up to the Bangladeshi people to resist such selling out of national interests in order to safeguard our Independence and sovereignty. |
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India should no longer deceive the world claiming that in 1971- it was sole India’s victory over Pakistan. The study of the then situation in Bangladesh indicates that India only committed her troops when the defeat of West Pakistani Forces was inevitable in the hands of few lac Freedom Fighters supported by 75 million population of Bangladesh. |
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Bangladesh has every legitimate right to claim back the assets taken by India including the document of the ‘Surrender of Instrument’ signed by Pakistani Eastern Commander on 16th December 1971 as our victory should be only our’s. |
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Writer: Major Faruk Ahmed (Retd)
Email: farukbd5@yahoo.com
9 September 2012 |
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