Wrong decisions at the wrong time breed many problems. Some such decisions were taken in the early ’70s when Pakistan lost its eastern wing
DHAKA was tense. So were other towns and cities of East Pakistan. It was not a lull before the storm. The storm was already in the vicinity. The hapless people who had braved many such storms along with the destruction they caused could hear the sound of the furious winds.
Though the tension had been building up since the day the postponement of the National Assembly session was announced, the climax came a little later — to be precise on March 25, 1971. It was on this day when the rulers finally abandoned a part of their own country and left it at the mercy of chaos, confusion and uncertainty. The army was in action to teach a lesson to the people who had raised their voice demanding justice and fair play.
No, the people of East Pakistan were not secessionists. Neither were they henchmen of India. In their outlook and temperament, they were India-haters. They still are. Even today, despite all the persecution they suffered at the hands of their own countrymen, they do not conceal their affinity with the people of the present Pakistan. Their goodwill for Pakistan is abundant. They still cherish the memory of united Pakistan.
It would be wrong and wholly unjustified to pick up Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and blame him for the cataclysmic development in the eastern wing of Pakistan. It is true that the subsequent events did prove that Mr Bhutto was desperately in a hurry. He knew that the Awami League had secured the required majority in 1970 election and it should be asked to form the government. General Yahya Khan, chief of the army staff, chief martial law administrator and president of Pakistan (he fondly relished pinpointing his official status in this order), had publicly declared that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would be the future prime minister of Pakistan.
Several elected members from smaller provinces — Sindh, the NWFP and Balochistan — had already landed in Dhaka to attend the Assembly session. Meanwhile, what went wrong and what happened to heat up the situation is a mystery that has not yet been fully resolved. Mr Bhutto was the first politician to have discovered the secret of power equation in Pakistan. He knew it for certain that no government can be formed or successfully run without entering into a bargain with the real wielders of power. The army did not enter the body politic of the country through back-door. It did so with a bang when top military men and serving generals like Ayub Khan and Iskander Mirza were inducted into the government.
It was ironical indeed that the exercise of first army takeover was rehearsed in East Pakistan in the name of “Operation Close door”. Army units were deployed along the sensitive areas of the province euphemistically to check smuggling through the border areas. The full-dress rehearsal paved the way for the proclamation of martial law in the country in 1958. There was absolutely no justification for the imposition of martial law as at that time all democratic institutions were functioning normally.
Mr Bhutto had realized the power and strength of the armed forces when he had described the army as the third major political party of Pakistan. This reality continues to be recognized even today. Ms Benazir Bhutto, who has inherited her father’s political acumen, is fully aware of this reality. She knows that if she wants to govern this troubled country, she has to make compromises with the visible and invisible rulers
It appears that from day one, our policymakers failed to understand the psychology of the people of the eastern wing. The Bengalis are by nature very emotional people and they love their language and culture. But at the same time they were patriotic Pakistanis and fully supported the cause of Pakistan. It is a matter of historical record that they looked to Pakistan for their salvation. It is common knowledge that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had travelled to New Delhi riding a bicycle to have a glimpse of Mr Jinnah. How could he turn into a rebel?
The fact remains that from the very beginning the establishment assumed a patronizing attitude towards the Bengalis. In the process, they became hostile as their grievances and just demands continued to be ignored. Although they were in majority and could have demanded that Bengali alone should be the national language of Pakistan. But they did not do so. On the contrary, they only wanted the authorities to declare Bengali as one of the national languages of the country.
In their mindlessness, the rulers banned Rabindranath Tagore from the curriculum and the media. They also propagated that 80 per cent teachers of Dhaka University were Hindus who were polluting the minds of Muslim students. Nothing could be further from truth. After partition, many Hindu teachers who loved their homeland decided to stay back in Pakistan. Among them were genuine academics, leading luminaries and internationally acclaimed experts in their faculties. Neither were they communal nor biased. Unfortunately some of them were killed during the army action.
Tagore was a revered poet of Bengal. His poems are free from all prejudices. There is an aura of international humanism in his songs. The love of the Bengalis for him can be gauged from the fact that Bangladesh has chosen a Tagore song as its national anthem.
While the economic woes of the Bengalis were many, they could have tolerated them. What was too much for them was an assault on their language and culture. In fact, the seeds of discord were sown during the famous language movement in which several people were killed. The authorities reacted violently to a just demand closing the door to any negotiated settlement.
Now that history has already changed its course, let us admit that it was because of our reckless policies that we lost East Pakistan and along with it we pushed back the advent of a progressive era in our history. East Pakistan had abolished the hated feudal system a long time back. Feudalism, indeed, was the backbone of a society drenched in injustice and foul play. It was amazing that no government ever thought of abolishing this menace in West Pakistan where the landowners reigned supreme. Had we had allowed history to take its natural course, Pakistan would have been rid of many of its ills.
As the leaders of West Pakistan did not listen to the voice of reason and sanity, the complaints and grievances of the desperate people assumed a defiant form. In the year 1971, the Pakistan day on March 23 was celebrated in an unusual way. No Pakistan flag was hoisted atop offices and houses. Instead, hundreds of “Bangladesh flags” were unfurled all over Dhaka. It was an open rebellion. The writ of the military government was confined to Kurmitola cantonment. The Bengalis had finally come to the painful conclusion that the establishment was determined not to share power with them. On March 25, all hell was let loose in East Pakistan. Nobody had the patience to count the dead.
A wrong decision at a wrong time breeds many problems. The army action was directed against the Bengalis who were condemned as traitors. The establishment, to meet the situation, tried to befriend the non-Bengalis. Innumerable arms and ammunitions were distributed among the Urdu speakers to “defend themselves against the mukti bahinis”. Thus the gulf between the Bengalis and the Urdu speakers was widened. Hatred intensified. The two communities who have lived together in a climate of peace and amity turned into sworn enemies.
The fire that was lit on the night of March 25 engulfed the whole of East Pakistan. It was an amazing phenomenon that the government had itself decided to divide its own people for its survival.
Despite all these unfortunate developments, many Bengalis still believed that the crisis would end and some solution would be found. To save their skins, thousands of Bengalis had crossed over to West Bengal. A government-in-exile was formed in Kolkata. But the most important player of the whole drama had opted to stay back in Dhaka waiting for the army to arrest or kill him. This is enough to prove that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the unchallenged leader of the Bengalis, had no intention of betraying Pakistan. The army could have settled the issue with him. Charismatic as he was, he would have changed the course of history even at that fateful moment.
Wrong decisions at the wrong time breed many problems. Some such decisions were taken in the early ’70s when Pakistan lost its eastern wing 
