Govt. revoked 'illegal' ex-president Ziaur Rahman's 'Independence Award'

[kobiraaz]

 

[Arefin007]

I have read this book (I have my issues with some of her analysis but thats another topic)...but I did not read anywhere that she wrote that "millions" were killed/thrown out in the reprisals.

Certainly I can see the elite (of pakistan supporters) being thrown out in return for having all their stuff taken away by the mobs....and those with nothing get decimated (but not exterminated) because they got nothing to give/bribe with.

Thats pretty standard stuff, it happened for many years in Russian civil war if you want 20th century example....same with Vietnam war too.

Tell me your story. How did your family get thrown out of Bangladesh exactly? Did they go to UK straight away?

I have never come across this side of the whole episode and am interested to know some details on it.

Thanks for asking My family lived in Gazipur Dhaka. Grandfather was soldier in Pak Army He used to be stationed mostly in Sylhet and Rajshahi border areas. He went to Punjab Wagah four/five times maybe I heard

In February '71 tensions were running high in Dhaka areas over general election nonsense Then suddenly in third week of February some mobs attacked our neighbourhood led by Awami leaders. We refused to fly Bangladesh flag still proudly flew Pakistan flag It was our country. Police presence was heightened in the area and family decided to move to Saidpur where Awami zero influence and they were quite safe there

Then in March our family was shocked as news came that Awami declared independence of East Pakistan Anyone not supporting secession was beaten, killed or thrown out of home. Then some mob attacks by Awami happened in Chittagong I believe Family was quite scared formed defence groups along with our Saidpur neighbours. It was also around same time that Mukti terrorists started infiltrating our borders with help of you-know-who and targeted pro-Pakistani Bengalee, Sylhetis and Biharis. The Hindus were supporting them revealing locations giving critical information away I don't why Makes me sad In this way many Bengalees, Sylhetis and Biharis were massacred in initial days of March

Then Pak establishment said enough was enough First declaring independence and then killing proud Pakistani Bengalees Biharis It was threat to national unity. Then Operation Searchlight started against Mukti terrorists and their collaborators The intellectuals were spreading anti-national propaganda and encouraging civil war They had to be eliminated Country comes first They live in country and abuse same country how dare they

Then civil war started I read somewhere that the Agortola conspiracy case sought to bring about this exact same scenario It wasn't coincidence There was much deeper to it We know where Muktis got training from their weapons etc. Some defections happened and it was total mess Grandpa bravely held out the Muktis in Sylhet. Meanwhile family formed armed patrols around Saidpur along with Pak Army for vigilance against Muktis Everyday news reports came in of massacre of Bengalees and Biharis by the Muktis It was tough times The Mukti terrorists had sophisticated guerilla training wonder where they got it from. Still we held out It was bloodshed everywhere

Month of December nothing much changed it was pretty much same except that Muktis had sieged Saidpur suburbs Then Pakistan got hold of fact that India was providing support to insurgency Launched pre emptive strikes as warning. Then suddenly India entered war and as expected with Indian support, it didn't take more than a few weeks for the Muktis to annex Saidpur The Biharis were immediately taken into protection by the Indian Army but Bengalees were left to the mercy of the Muktis. It was total slaughter Grandpa somehow managed to slip us out of the city and we quickly fled to Karachi And then news of the surrender came. They also came to know of neighbours death at the hand of Awami mobs Mom and Dad cried like anything Grandpa's head hung low It was very sad day for us We were called traitors dogs by Awami leaders and never allowed to return again

Grandpa then retired from Pak Army and stayed in Karachi for two years before immigrating to Britain with the rest of our family in '73. Pak Army funded it entirely and family bid goodbye to dear Pakistani friends The sadness of '71 still lives on in heart of family

Now tell me something plz becoz I'm just kid and bit confused- is it crime to fight for country, to defend its territorial integrity I just don't know what type of crime it is Plz help me I'm confused

 

[kobiraaz]

Your family formed defence Party means Your family were Part of Rajakar group and had to flee the country once Pakistan is gone.

I don't need to say what rakajars did in the name of Defence Party.

My father's side was strictly religious too, had cordial relation with Pak Army during the war and still used to send food to local Mukti Camp. We didn't need to flee as we weren't part of any defence group.

 

[bdslph]

Our mindset is stuck in 1971 so we will never improve

 

[Arefin007]

Your family formed defence Party means Your family were Part of Rajakar group and had to flee the country once Pakistan is gone.

I don't need to say what rakajars did in the name of Defence Party.

My father's side was strictly religious too, had cordial relation with Pak Army during the war and still used to send food to local Mukti Camp. We didn't need to flee as we weren't part of any defence group.

But Mukti terrorists were killing pro-Pakistani Bengalees and Biharis Why would my family remain silent we had every right to defend ourselves. When someone mounts attack on you do you remain frozen like statue receive blows? No you either fight or flee We didn't flee like cowards but fought off the Muktis for eight months straight with minimal weaponry We are quite proud of what we did We fought for country in most hostile circumstances didn't betray our country

Unlike Mukti terrorists who killed innocent Bengalees and Biharis just becoz they supported Pakistan, my family killed none We aren't cold-blooded murderers like those Mukti terrorists and that Razakar propaganda is absolute rubbish They were right killing Mukti terrorists Terrorists deserve to DIE

I wanna ask you question plz answer- Today if some armed insurgents from CHT try break up Bangladesh (hypothetically) would you not fight them with weapons kill them before they start killing civilians whose loyalty lies to country Would you not defend Bangladesh territorial integrity Same case '71 just under different name so stop shaming us How dare you Bangladeshis abuse my family

 

[kobiraaz]

I wanna ask you question plz answer- Today if some armed insurgents from CHT try break up Bangladesh (hypothetically) would you not fight them with weapons kill them before they start killing civilians whose loyalty lies to country Would you not defend Bangladesh territorial integrity Same case '71 just under different name so stop shaming us How dare you Bangladeshis abuse my family

That is a good question. No I won't go to a killing spree. I would look into the cause. Though I do not support Tribal Separatists I have sympathy for their concerns. They want to save their culture society from being bengalized. I also criticize Bangladesh Army crack down on innocent chakmas.

 

[Anubis]

But Mukti terrorists were killing pro-Pakistani Bengalees and Biharis Why would my family remain silent we had every right to defend ourselves. When someone mounts attack on you do you remain frozen like statue receive blows? No you either fight or flee We didn't flee like cowards but fought off the Muktis for eight months straight with minimal weaponry We are quite proud of what we did We fought for country in most hostile circumstances didn't betray our country

Unlike Mukti terrorists who killed innocent Bengalees and Biharis just becoz they supported Pakistan, my family killed none We aren't cold-blooded murderers like those Mukti terrorists and that Razakar propaganda is absolute rubbish They were right killing Mukti terrorists Terrorists deserve to DIE

I wanna ask you question plz answer- Today if some armed insurgents from CHT try break up Bangladesh (hypothetically) would you not fight them with weapons kill them before they start killing civilians whose loyalty lies to country Would you not defend Bangladesh territorial integrity Same case '71 just under different name so stop shaming us How dare you Bangladeshis abuse my family

Google the word genocide...

 

[Nilgiri]

Thanks for asking My family lived in Gazipur Dhaka. Grandfather was soldier in Pak Army He used to be stationed mostly in Sylhet and Rajshahi border areas. He went to Punjab Wagah four/five times maybe I heard

In February '71 tensions were running high in Dhaka areas over general election nonsense Then suddenly in third week of February some mobs attacked our neighbourhood led by Awami leaders. We refused to fly Bangladesh flag still proudly flew Pakistan flag It was our country. Police presence was heightened in the area and family decided to move to Saidpur where Awami zero influence and they were quite safe there

Then in March our family was shocked as news came that Awami declared independence of East Pakistan Anyone not supporting secession was beaten, killed or thrown out of home. Then some mob attacks by Awami happened in Chittagong I believe Family was quite scared formed defence groups along with our Saidpur neighbours. It was also around same time that Mukti terrorists started infiltrating our borders with help of you-know-who and targeted pro-Pakistani Bengalee, Sylhetis and Biharis. The Hindus were supporting them revealing locations giving critical information away I don't why Makes me sad In this way many Bengalees, Sylhetis and Biharis were massacred in initial days of March

Then Pak establishment said enough was enough First declaring independence and then killing proud Pakistani Bengalees Biharis It was threat to national unity. Then Operation Searchlight started against Mukti terrorists and their collaborators The intellectuals were spreading anti-national propaganda and encouraging civil war They had to be eliminated Country comes first They live in country and abuse same country how dare they

Then civil war started I read somewhere that the Agortola conspiracy case sought to bring about this exact same scenario It wasn't coincidence There was much deeper to it We know where Muktis got training from their weapons etc. Some defections happened and it was total mess Grandpa bravely held out the Muktis in Sylhet. Meanwhile family formed armed patrols around Saidpur along with Pak Army for vigilance against Muktis Everyday news reports came in of massacre of Bengalees and Biharis by the Muktis It was tough times The Mukti terrorists had sophisticated guerilla training wonder where they got it from. Still we held out It was bloodshed everywhere

Month of December nothing much changed it was pretty much same except that Muktis had sieged Saidpur suburbs Then Pakistan got hold of fact that India was providing support to insurgency Launched pre emptive strikes as warning. Then suddenly India entered war and as expected with Indian support, it didn't take more than a few weeks for the Muktis to annex Saidpur The Biharis were immediately taken into protection by the Indian Army but Bengalees were left to the mercy of the Muktis. It was total slaughter Grandpa somehow managed to slip us out of the city and we quickly fled to Karachi And then news of the surrender came. They also came to know of neighbours death at the hand of Awami mobs Mom and Dad cried like anything Grandpa's head hung low It was very sad day for us We were called traitors dogs by Awami leaders and never allowed to return again

Grandpa then retired from Pak Army and stayed in Karachi for two years before immigrating to Britain with the rest of our family in '73. Pak Army funded it entirely and family bid goodbye to dear Pakistani friends The sadness of '71 still lives on in heart of family

Now tell me something plz becoz I'm just kid and bit confused- is it crime to fight for country, to defend its territorial integrity I just don't know what type of crime it is Plz help me I'm confused

Son, thank you for your account and perspective of what happened with your family and neighbours.

I have previously known about the atrocities commited on the "razakars" and related groups...which I guess your family would have fit under....but still it is useful for me to hear it first hand so directly.....as your grandpa and folks have passed it down to you and you will to your own kids etc.

Now let me tell you something about war, war is depravity and it is senselessness for the most part. It has always been the case in history. Warriors have made their codes that they try to follow....but at some point the whole thing breaks down the longer something goes on....and there is a cascade and it just gets worse and worse till one side wins by being the last one standing.

Now do I wish this war to have happened to your family? Absolutely not! I wish no war upon anyone. But 1971 war is a consequence of partition no matter how we try to say partition was a good thing and was inevitable etc etc. The seeds of this all started in the belief that people are fundamentally different nation of people based entirely on just their religion....rather than say overall culture etc...

Then the worst thing about partition was it was enforced quite violently and brutally by street thugs and even the elite on both sides involved. This whole thing you talk about where people are thrown out of their homes and even murdered....it happened on an unimaginable scale during partition in the border areas both in west and east.

In this way its somewhat similar to US war of independence....which sowed the seeds of the war of 1812 (i.e initial violent conflict followed by inevitable rematch just like 1947 and 1971). Brother raised fist against brother.....and the one that lost had to flee (in that case it was Canada) and leave everything behind. It was not so brutal since the population was not so huge and densely packed....neither was there the element of religion (which amplifies everything viciously by 10 or 100 times)....but the same root causes are the same as are the inevitable result.

In the Vietnam war and Russian civil war, similarly whole families on the "losing side" had to pack up their bags and leave....in fact to this day you will find a number of French people with Russian surnames....because their ancestors were ones that fled Russia to escape exactly the things your family had to escape (i.e communists were winning and were purging and decimating them....whole towns and villages at a time immediately as they came under their control - this caused the elite with means to flee...and those with no means to face the wrath of the red hammer and sickle). You can ask @Vergennes about it.

I have a couple Vietnamese friends who's family to this day despise their home country political class because it was the same people as they see it that ransacked their belongings, stripped them of their citizenship, kicked them out.....even killed people they knew and loved because they were of the losing side and it is the simply easy solution for the victors to dispense "justice" and bring order and stability.

Why I am telling you all this is important. You should not feel that your case, sad as it is, is something that has not happened to anyone else in the world. It is something that makes humanity united more than anything else....our emotional barbarity. In general, you can take humans out of the caves and jungles....but you cannot take the cave and jungle out of the human. That is the sad truth.

So it is important that we as human beings learn that nothing that happens to us in tragedy or humour is anything isolated or unique. As in the words of the Shakespeare that you found boring:

If you prick us, do we not bleed?

If you tickle us, do we not laugh?

If you poison us, do we not die?

And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

But you must not let this cloud you forever, humans are capable of great things as well when we put aside our differences.

You are young and have a whole life to live and enjoy, do not be saddled and consumed by a cold black heart.

So I hope that you may one day have in your heart to forgive those that commited such sin, accept that they also were victims of sin in many cases and to pray one day such sin and tragedy will never exist in our human kind. For do we not all come from the same creator my friend....one that we all return to when twilight is upon us?

There are those chosen few who understand what that truly means, people we can at least strive to be like....people that can see beyond hate, mistrust and ego and see only the divine in another human being.

Like the person that said these words that I will leave you with, :

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

@PARIKRAMA @anant_s @waz @The Sandman @Joe Shearer

 

[TopCat]

I think the Independence award was given in the last BNP tenure which was a wrong move same a Khaleda celebrating 15th August.

AL will never do that for Bangabandhu, awarding him with some medal.

 

[Vergennes]

@Nilgiri

In the Vietnam war and Russian civil war, similarly whole families on the "losing side" had to pack up their bags and leave....in fact to this day you will find a number of French people with Russian surnames....because their ancestors were ones that fled Russia to escape exactly the things your family had to escape (i.e communists were winning and were purging and decimating them....whole towns and villages at a time immediately as they came under their control - this caused the elite with means to flee...and those with no means to face the wrath of the red hammer and sickle). You can ask @Vergennes about it.

Like you could find a number of people in europe with french surnames.
When the protestants were persecuted after Louis XIV revoked the "Edit de Nantes",many protestants,including the elites had no other choices to pack their bags and flee to other european kingdoms.

 

[Nilgiri]

@Nilgiri


Like you could find a number of people in europe with french surnames.
When the protestants were persecuted after Louis XIV revoked the "Edit de Nantes",many protestants,including the elites had no other choices to pack their bags and flee to other european kingdoms.

I remember a bunch of Scots during the Jacobite revolt also had to flee to France after they were defeated.

History is replete with such examples everywhere. It continues every century. At least now I think south asia has somewhat stabilised for the most part.

 

[Mentee]

I am not sitting in Canada right now....but anyway it seems to me that there are always 2 sides to every story in Bangladesh and there is no absolute truth available to a 3rd party (i.e it always depends who you ask).

I wish they could just keep their sob stories to themselves and not annoy other PDF members on daily basis, one guy stands among em and blames Pakistan, then the other comes forward and blames India then another rambo starts cursing his own country.

the way they argue with each other is like , listen and accept my version or you gonna die. Bangalis , i mean seriously,phallllllleeeeeeez give us a break guys :hitman:
Ghm or bhi hain zmanay m Bangladesh k siva
Raahtay'n or b hain 71 ki rahat k siva

 

[Nilgiri]

I wish they could just keep their sob stories to themselves and not annoy other PDF members on daily basis, one guy stands from em and blames Pakistan, then the other comes forward and blames India then another rambo starts cursing his own country.

the way they argue with each other is like , listen and accept my version or you gonna die. Bangalis , i mean seriously,phallllllleeeeeeez give us a break guys :hitman:
Ghm or bhi hain zmanay m Bangladesh k siva
Raahtay'n or b hain 71 ki rahat k siva

lol I know what you mean. I am going to try my best now to disengage from this subforum and only limit to people I have some respect for/interest in here. Too many just go into troll/annoy mode and it becomes a waste of time looking back at what has been written.

 

[kobiraaz]

I wish they could just keep their sob stories to themselves and not annoy other PDF members on daily basis, one guy stands from em and blames Pakistan, then the other comes forward and blames India then another rambo starts cursing his own country.

the way they argue with each other is like , listen and accept my version or you gonna die. Bangalis , i mean seriously,phallllllleeeeeeez give us a break guys :hitman:
Ghm or bhi hain zmanay m Bangladesh k siva
Raahtay'n or b hain 71 ki rahat k siva

In a democracy People are supposed to behave in this way, It is Bengali intelligentsia, Not Mao’s China.

 

[Mentee]

In a democracy People are supposed to behave in this way, It is Bengali intelligentsia, Not Mao’s China.

Good sir its your country , sort out your domestic problems by wt ever means anf wherever you folks want , but plz nit here bri mehrbani AP ki hmy maaf krdo