IT IS VERY likely that some of my readers may not be familiar with the genesis of the struggle for Independence, and the establishment of the sovereign state of Bangladesh, which was won after a bitter civil war. This brief introduction is intended to be an 'historical' appendage to the stories which follow. In 1905, the then province of Bengal in British India was partitioned, and a new province, namely Eastern Bengal & Assam, came into being. The basis of this partition, conceived and achieved by the then Viceroy, Lord Curzon, was that the Muslims of Bengal were under the domination of the Hindus, and thus victims of discrimination and oppression. After five years, as a result of organized and relentless pressure by the Hindus of Calcutta, this partition was undone. The powerful Hindu lobby succeeded in its machinations during the Imperial Durbar held at Delhi in 1911, when their Majesties, King George V and Queen Mary, visited their Indian Empire. Thirty-six years were to pass before it became necessary to partition Bengal again, this time in a larger context. The demand for Home Rule pulsated throughout the 20s, and at herd momentum as the 30s sped headlong towards the disaster of the Second World War. By that time, Mr Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leading the All- India Muslim League, had adopted a rigid, implacable attitude, with his demand for a separate homeland for the Muslims of India, carved out of the sub-continent, consisting of Muslim majority areas. This land was to be known as Pakistan--Land of the Pure. the philosophy behind this demand of the Muslim League was that the sub-continent mainly consisted of Two Nations -Hindu and Muslim. After protracted negotiations, during which all kinds of compromise formulas were considered to preserve an united India, the British government accepted Mr JinnahÕs plan, and appointed Lord Louis mount batten Viceroy, to bring the curtain down on the British raj, and preside over the partition of the sub-continent.
    I had always been a little doubtful about Mr Jinnah's Two Nation Theory, but on a memorable occasion, whilst traveling by train in pre-1946 Bengal, I was finally convinced that Pakistan indeed was inevitable. The train stopped at a scheduled station, and I noticed, among the many vendors perambulating along the platform, two tea-sellers, who were shouting: "Muslim Tea"; "Hindu Tea". I concluded, somewhat sadly, that if Hindus and Muslims could not drink the same tea, they could hardly be expected to live together as one nation! So, on the 14th of August 1947, the sub-continent was partitioned , and the two dominions of India and Pakistan came into being. One again, east Bengal was separated from west Bengal the former becoming a province of Pakistan, the latter a state of the Indian Union. After several attempts to frame a constitution which would reflect the ideals and aspirations of the country as a whole, the politicians of Pakistan failed time and again to arrive at a consensus as to what sort of constitution would best suit a country split into two wings, with over a thousand miles of uncertain Indian territory between them. For years discussions and debates went on, but fruitlessly. Finally, in 1956, nine years after Independence, a so-called Islamic constitution was produced, and the country ceased to be a dominion of the British Empire, and became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
    During all these years, it became increasingly evident to the East Pakistanis that their brothers in the west were determined to dominate and exploit the east wing, and that unless the Bengalees asserted their rights in a forceful manner, they would remain backward and oppressed, as they had been for centuries, under alien rule.
    Instead of realizing this, and taking steps to bring the east wing as near as possible to the west, on the basis of overall parity, the problem was ignored and an attitude of complacency and arrogance adopted, in spite of grave warning signals. One of these was the Language Movement, which forcefully claimed that Bengalee be declared a state language of Pakistan, side by side with Urdu. In 1948, the Muslim League government at the center had refused to accede to this demand. By 1952, the Movement had grown in momentum, and on the 21st of February a violent clash took place between the frenzied and militant students on the one hand, and government forces on the other. Eventually the police were forced to open fire on the student demonstrators. Some were killed, and became martyrs. Many others were sent to jail, as political prisoners. One of them was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who thus began his long journey to charisma, absolute power, and assassination.
    In 1958, Field Marshal Ayub khan took over the government the country after martial law had been imposed, and for four years he ran the government with an iron fist , clenched in a kid glove. Then, in 1962, he introduced a new constitution, his own brain child, which was a complete departure from the British parliamentary system. Ayub believed in "controlled" democracy, and imposed this strange concept on the people of Pakistan, until Nemesis overtook him.
    In 1969, which was scheduled to be observed as a triumphant festival year, commemorating Ayub's Decade of Achievements, a dramatic series of events took place. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had been held in captivity since 1966, was released, and at once became the undisputed leader and champion of 75 million Bengalees. He had again gone to jail in 1966, because of a formula he had evolved, with the assistance of certain experts, which was a blueprint for the coexistence of the two wings of Pakistan in a new spirit of cooperation and understanding, with the primary and uncompromising objective of full provincial autonomy for East Pakistan.
    This 6-point Formula completely upset the apple cart in the west wing. Politicians and the ruling bureaucracy, strongly backed by the top brass of the armed forces, saw in this very reasonable Formula, evil and sinister designs for subversion, and ultimate secession.
    In the meantime, as a result of a great patriotic movement launched by the people of East Pakistan, and supported towards the end by the student community through out the west wing, which had chosen Mr Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the dynamic super-politico of Sind as their leader, Ayub Khan, who had so long turned a blind eye to the twitting on the wall, realised that he could no longer continue to impose his will and despotic rule on a people completely hostile to him, without inviting bloodshed on a large scale. It should be remembered to his credit, that whereas many stubborn dictators would have made a last ditch stand, Ayub Khan chose to step down humbly and gracefully, and was succeeded by General Yahya Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan army.
    The new President-Dictator presented an honest and forthright proposal to the relieved country. He gave his pledge that national elections would be held for the first time on the principle of One Man, One Vote, bringing into existence a constituent assembly, which would be given 120 days' time to produce a fresh constitution for the country.
    These elections were ultimately held in November 1970, and when the results were announced, it was found that the Awami League Party of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had gained an overwhelming majority.
    In the west wing, Mr Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party won an unexpected and stunning victory, particularly in the Punjab, making it the second strongest political party in the country.
    And then the trouble began. Mr Bhutto saw himself as merely Leader of the Opposition, a vision which hardly appealed to him. He was ambitious, and wanted to reach the top in a hurry. From his point of view there was only one way to do that, namely to prevent at all costs Sheikh Mujibur Rahman becoming Prime Minister of Pakistan. This he eventually succeeded in doing. As to how it was managed is alas outside the scope of this brief introduction. Perhaps other observers have written about the various intrigues and manipulations which led inevitably to the break-up of Pakistan.
    Throughout February and the fatal weeks of March lengthy conferences were held to find ways and means to reach agreement on the summoning of the National Assembly. But it became evident from the start that Mr Bhutto was out to sabotage the desperate efforts being made to save the country from a constitutional impasse, and the anarchy that would inevitably erupt.
    The talks finally failed and General Yahya Khan decided to use force. He deployed the entire strength of the army stationed in east Pakistan to stage a massive crackdown, during the early hours of the 26th March 1971. This tragic blunder led to the horrors of genocide, brutal repression, terrorism, and the War of Independence, fought so valiantly by the Freedom Fighters.
    In November 1971, Yahya Khan launched a 'pre-emptive' attack on certain Indian airfields, and thus provoked war.
    On the 15th of December, the Indian forces invaded East Pakistan, and the Pakistan army surrendered. On the 16th morning, at Dacca, the sovereign state of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh formally and legally came into being. Facts and accurate information are the stuff from which history is made, but history is primarily chronicle of events, and the historian can give his own interpretation as to the significance of these events, as he paints on a small or large canvas. But there is a dimension which is usually missing. Let me call it the 'soul' of history, or the spirit which lies behind the flesh and substance of events and their consequences. To capture this 'soul', which is certainly ephemeral and elusive, is the task of the creative writer.
    I have attempted in these stories to portray another side of the grim events of 1971 - a human side. Most of what I have to narrate is fictional. But what is fiction, when it comes to a question of creative writing? Many writers base their characters on 'real' people and draw upon experience to give their work validity, I have sought to illustrate traits of personality, and motivation, and treated all this with sympathy, irony, and sometimes, a little fun! Ultimately, it is the reader who has to decide what to consider 'gospel' truth and what to take with a pinch of salt!

Back to Contents