It is now the month of December, our victory month. After nine months of imposed war, Bangladeshis earned their liberation from the clutches of the Pakistani occupation forces. If we trust our historians and learn from the pages of the 1965 Indo-Pak war, even the Indian army was deemed to have been wary of the Pakistan army.
But the common people from then East Pakistan -- our uncles, brothers, farmers, factory workers, young Mufassil political activists, and college and university students taught a serious lesson to their mighty opponent, the Pakistan army. Bangladeshis in this part of the world had finally gotten their own, independent motherland.
AK Khandker was right, the casualty would have been much less if the forces’ personnel were in command and the Mukti Bahini was put under their command and been made to go through disciplined training process. However, if everything was again left to the armed forces or their trained commandos, the Muktijuddho would have never become a “Jonojuddho,” a people’s resistance.
History tells us that this nation was only able to resist its oppressors because of the role played by the people’s leader -- Bangabandhu. He was, of course, joined by many of his political rank and file and his armed forces commanders later on. History also speaks of the “Z,”“S,” and “K” forces, with the composed war leadership of MAG Osmani and the tough coordination of the level-headed Tajuddin Ahmed.
But the journey had begun much earlier. Economists, sociologists, and political scientists like Rehman Sobhan, Nurul Islam, AR Khan, AR Mallick, and many others have testified that things were not going very well under the forced one-nation Pakistan.
In fact, it was actually two nations sharing space under one name and one flag. Needless to say, they did not get along very well. One felt isolated from other -- rejected, deprived, and marginalised. The so-called “basic democracy” didn’t work that way, with the grand distance between both nations only exacerbating the situation.
People in this part of the world felt the urge of having a sovereign state of their own, and that urge was further fueled by many social activists, teachers, and political leaders. West Pakistan didn’t want East Pakistan to let go, eventually imposing a war on us, on the common, peace-loving people of Bangladesh. Our Indian friends joined us with a shared goal: They wanted to retaliate and take revenge against their defeat in 1965.
Many lost their lives and loved ones, but the Bangladeshi flag was eventually hoisted in the League of Nations.
Today, we pay due respects to the war commanders, political leaders, and freedom fighters who, with very little in the way of training but a lot of impassioned patriotism, won us an independent Bangladesh.
I always think about what I could have done had I been of an appropriate age back in 1971. I asked my mama as well as my brother-in-law exactly what was it that prompted them to leave their homes and join the Liberation War. “It was the only thoughtful thing to do at that point in time,” they echoed each other. I never got to fight for our liberation. Yet, many others and myself are enjoying all the benefits of an independent nation.
A gentleman named Hussein Muhammad Ershad from the then Pakistan army came to East Pakistan for vacation back in 1971. His friends requested him to join the war. He didn’t think it to be right, going back to West Pakistan soon after his vacation had ended.
There were plenty of other people who didn’t join the war against the Pakistani occupation forces. On the other hand, we turn to Ziaur Rahman, who, on behalf of Bangabandhu, declared our independence and actively lead and fought in the war.
We also look up to Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman and many of their colleagues. Disobeying their commanders in the Pakistan army, they not only joined, but led the war forces.
At Faujdarhat Cadet College, we had a terrific motivator in our adjutant and parade commander Major Shahedul. If our “digging” in the parade was not up to the mark, he would tell us: “Beneath the ground lies all our freedom fighters. By digging the ground hard, let them know that they have not left the country in the hands of cowards.”
Today, we should also get our acts together, march forward, take position in favour of what is right for this nation (no matter who says what) and let our freedom fighters resting eternally in the ground know that they have not left the country in the hands of confused economists, obstinate politicians, opportunist businessmen, mediocre teachers, corrupt civil bureaucrats, or lousy military personnel.
