# The Separation of East Pakistan [1971]



## Al-zakir

I know there has been discussion about the 1971 and separation of Pakistan. Weather we like it or not but it's the truth. I am posting this article about 1971 for sake of history and I believe this article present some good points. My intention isn't bring up any bad memory or hurt anyone feeling. 1971 is a truth and biggest blunder made by our forefather in the history of Pakistan. we the new generation of Pak-BD need live with this truth although it could have been avoided if both side compromised for the sake of saving Pakistan but they chose confrontation rather than peace. In 1947 they shed their blood for a separate homeland and in 1971 they bleed each other for separation of the same homeland. 




The separation of East Pakistan was a great setback to Pakistan. By 1970, sentiments for national unity had weakened in East Pakistan to the extent that constant conflict between the two Wings dramatically erupted into mass civil disorder. This tragically resulted in the brutal and violent amputation of Pakistan's Eastern Wing.

The physical separation of a thousand miles between the two wings without a common border, and being surrounded by Indian territory and influences, led to constant political, economic and social conflicts between the two wings; embittering relations bringing the country on the verge of collapse.

As a result of the separation of its Eastern Wing, Pakistan's international credit was depleted and the military, being its most powerful institution, suffered a lot. To some, the very concept of Pakistan as the homeland for the Muslims in Southeast Asia no longer appeared valid.

Trouble started right at the inception of Pakistan in 1947. Almost immediately, East Pakistan claimed that as their population (55 percent as compared to 45 percent in the West) was greater, they were in a majority. Democratically, the Federal Capital, therefore, should have been in Dhaka and not in Karachi.

Since Karachi was the seat of the National Government; ministers, government officials and industrialists exerted immense influence on national and regional affairs, which brought them many benefits. But the East Pakistanis were unable to extract the same kind of advantages, as they were a thousand miles away from the Capital. Moreover, the Capital initially attracted wealthy industrialists, businessmen, administrators, doctors and other professionals who had fled from India

The location of the Capital, it was said, created great economic imbalance, uneven distribution of national wealth and privileges, and better jobs for the people of West Pakistan, because they were able to sway decisions in their own favor.

Secondly, Bengalis resented the vast sums of foreign exchange earned from the sale of jute from East, which were being spent on defense. They questioned how the expenditure for the Kashmir cause would be justified, when it could otherwise have been productively used to build dams and barriers to control floods, eradicate poverty and illiteracy, and supply food and shelter for the ever-growing population in East Pakistan.

Thirdly, the people of the East believed that it was sheer regional prejudice that all white-collar jobs were taken by West Pakistanis.

Many mistakes were made early in the short history of Pakistan. There lived in East Pakistan about 15 million Hindus who, with the help of their fellow West Bengali Indians from across the border, were able to exploit East-West differences that emerged as a result of these mistakes. Grievances were exaggerated to foster anti-West Pakistani feelings that eventually created Bengali Nationalism and separatist tendencies. Bengali political leaders went around depicting the Central Government and West Pakistan as hostile exploiters. However, no effective efforts were made by the Government to check these anti-national trends.

Awami League, formed in 1951, was headed by Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman. He had always been an ardent Bengali nationalist. He began to attract popular support from Bengalis in East Pakistan. He put forward his Six Points that demanded more autonomy for the Provinces in general, and East Pakistan in particular. He was arrested in April 1966, and soon released, only to be rearrested and imprisoned in June the same year. He languished in prison until February 1969. 

Being deeply aware of the explosive political situation in the country, the then Chief Martial Law Administrator, Yahya Khan, set in motion moves to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people, and announced that the general elections would be held on October 5, 1970.

In all his election speeches, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman reiterated his demand for implementation of his Six Points and provincial autonomy plans.

The 1970 elections were postponed from October to December due to heavy floods that caused immense destruction and havoc in East Pakistan. The sheer enormity of the disaster attracted worldwide attention. This gave Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman a golden opportunity to have an international audience for his anti-West Pakistan feelings, which he accused of brutal callousness. The Awami League gained much sympathy and benefit out of this suffering, and Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman and his people were portrayed on the international scene as victims of West Pakistan's indifference.

In the general elections held in December 1970, the Awami League achieved an overwhelming victory. They captured 167 seats, the highest number in East Pakistan and overall. In the West, the Pakistan Peoples Party had won 85 seats. The way was now open to draw up a new Constitution.

The Awami League, now overwhelmingly victors, stood firm on its Six Points plan and refused to compromise on that issue. The Peoples Party in the West maintained that the Six Points Program did not really permit a genuine federation. It was in fact a unique constitutional proposal that proposed a federation that had power only over defense and foreign policy. 

Efforts were made to start a constitutional dialogue and narrow the differences between the two Wings, but all in vain. Mujib-ur-Rahman's adamant stand in support of his Six Points, and his proposal that East Pakistan should have a sovereign status independent of Pakistan, further aggravated the situation.

Mujib-ur-Rahman launched a non-cooperation movement. The civil administration was totally paralyzed. All government and educational institutions were closed. People were asked not to pay any taxes. The transport system came to a standstill. Factories and shops were shut. All government activities between both the Wings ceased. The Awami League setup a parallel government. Gangs of local Awami League freedom fighters, known as Mukti Bahini, led violent demonstrations and howled racial and anti-West Pakistan slogans, inciting the people to more violence.

Amidst these disturbances, Genaral Yahya decided to convene the National Assembly in March 1971. But Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman unexpectedly put forward other demands such as the immediate lifting of Martial Law and power transfer to the elected representatives of the people, prior to the National Assembly session.

Unfortunately, on March 23, the Republic Day of Pakistan, the Awami League declared "Resistance Day" and Bangladesh flags flew all over the Province. There was a great massacre. East Pakistan had reached a point of no return. To quash the armed rebellion of Awami League militants, the Pakistan Army struck its first blow on March 27, 1971. Yahya Khan chose to use force to bring law and order in the country. 

In the meantime, India exploited Pakistan's dilemma to the full. It sought to wring full propaganda and strategic value for itself out of the Bengali suffering and misery. India launched an attack on East Pakistan on November 22, 1971. The use of modern Soviet missiles, geographical separation by a thousand miles lying across the hostile Indian territory, and the collusion of Mukti Bahini and the Indian Army, made Pakistan's military defeat in the East almost certain.

On December 10, 1971, the first feeler for surrender in East Pakistan was conveyed to the United Nations. On December 17, 1971, a formal surrender was submitted and accepted. Forty five thousand troops and an almost equal number of civilians of West Pakistan were taken as prisoners of war.

The text of the Instrument of Surrender document was as follows:

"INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDER"

The PAKISTAN Eastern Command agree to surrender all PAKISTAN Armed Forces in BANGLA DESH to Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA, General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Indian and BANGLA DESH forces in the Eastern Theatre. This surrender includes all PAKISTAN land, air and naval forces as also all para-military forces and civil armed forces. These forces will lay down their arms and surrender at the places where they are currently located to the nearest regular troops under the command of Lieutenant- General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA.

The PAKISTAN Eastern Command shall come under the orders of Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA as soon as this instrument has been signed. Disobedience of orders will be regarded as a breach of the surrender terms and will be dealt with in accordance with the accepted laws and usages of war. The decision of Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA will be final, should any doubt arise as to the meaning or interpretation of the surrender terms.

Lieutenant- General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA gives a solemn assurance that personnel who surrender will be treated with dignity and respect that soldiers are entitled to in accordance with the provisions of the GENEVA Convention and guarantees the safety and well-being of all PAKISTAN military and para-military forces who surrender. Protection will be provided to foreign nationals, ethnic minorities and personnel of WEST PAKISTAN origin by the forces under the command of Lieutenant- General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA.

Signed:

(JAGJIT SINGH AURORA) Lieutenant-General General Officer Commanding in Chief Indian and BANGLA DESH Forces in the Eastern Theatre

(AMIR ABDULLAH KHAN NIAZI) Lieutenant-General Martial Law Administrator Zone B and Commander Eastern Command (PAKISTAN)

16 December 1971"

The surrender led to the disintegration of East and West Pakistan and the establishment of Bangladesh. After 25 years, the East Pakistanis declared themselves independent and renamed their Province as Bangladesh. Pakistan finally recognized Bangladesh at the Islamic Conference in Lahore on February 22, 1974.

http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A070

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## asq

All the grievances by Bengalis were in my opinion superfluous as they were the one who ruled most of the time between 1947 to 1971.

Check the History please. why than they complained. Let alone separated, I think it was a conspiracy by our neighbor India to break Muslims in to small insignificant entities.

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## chindit

asq said:


> All the grievances by Bengalis were in my opinion superfluous as they were the one who ruled most of the time between 1947 to 1971. .




care to prove that?


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## PureLogic

So you would not refrain from blaming India for everything even while accepting your own blunders and complete defeat? 

You just presented India as a villain in just two sentences. What about millions of Bangladeshi citizens who to India and forced the infrastructure here to collapse? What India was supposed to do then? 

It is almost impossible that you do not know these facts, but.....



> *The 1971 war*
> 
> Indo-Pakistani relations deteriorated again when civil war erupted in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against East Pakistanis demanding autonomy and later independence.
> 
> *The fighting forced an estimated 10 million East Pakistani civilians to flee to India.*
> 
> In December India invaded East Pakistan in support of the East Pakistani people. The Pakistani army surrendered at Dhaka and its army of more than 90,000 became Indian prisoners of war.
> 
> East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh on 6 December 1971.
> 
> Regional tensions were reduced by the Simla accord of 1972 and by Pakistan's recognition of Bangladesh in 1974. The Simla accord committed both sides to working through outstanding issues bilaterally and through the mechanism of working groups.
> 
> In relation to Jammu and Kashmir, the two countries agreed that the ceasefire line, which was renamed the Line of Control, would be respected by both sides "without prejudice to the recognised positions of either side".
> 
> In 1974 the Kashmir state government reached an accord with the Indian Government, which affirmed its status as "a constituent unit of the union of India". Pakistan rejected the accord.
> 
> BBC NEWS | India Pakistan | Timeline



This is the first third party reliable article I found when I googled for it. Hope now you will see the things in right light.


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## asq

chindit said:


> care to prove that?



Name Portrait Entered office Left office Date of Birth and Death Political party
1 Liaquat Ali Khan 14 August 1947 16 October 1951 1 October 1896 &#8211; 16 October 1951 Muslim League
[U]2 Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin 17 October 1951 17 April 1953 19 July 1894 - 22 October 1964 Muslim League
3 Muhammad Ali Bogra 17 April 1953 12 August 1955 12 August 1909 - 15 July 1963 Muslim League
4 Chaudhry Muhammad Ali 12 August 1955 12 September 1956 15 July 1905 - 2 December 1980 Muslim League
5 Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy 12 September 1956 17 October 1957 8 September 1892 - 5 December 1963 Awami League
6 Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar 17 October 1957 16 December 1957 15 April 1898 - 13 March 1968 Muslim League[/U]
7 Sir Feroz Khan Noon 16 December 1957 7 October 1958 18 June 1893 - 9 December 1970 Republican Party
0 none 28 October 1958 7 December 1971 There was no Prime Minister due to martial law
9 Nurul Amin 7 December 1971 20 December 1971 15 July 1893 - 2 October 1974 Muslim League
0 none 20 December 1971 14 August 1973 There was no Prime Minister due to martial law
10 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 14 August 1973 5 July 1977 5 January 1928 &#8211; 4 April 1979 Pakistan Peoples Party
0 none 5 July 1977 24 March 1985 There was no Prime Minister due to martial law
11 Muhammad Khan Junejo 24 March 1985 29 May 1988 18 August 1932 &#8211; 16 March 1993 Pakistan Muslim League
12 Benazir Bhutto 2 December 1988 6 August 1990 21 June 1953 - 27 December 2007 Pakistan Peoples Party
13 Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi 6 August 1990 6 November 1990 14 August 1931 - present Islami Jamhoori Ittehad
14 Nawaz Sharif 6 November 1990 18 April 1993 25 December 1949 - present Islami Jamhoori Ittehad
15 Balakh Sher Mazari 18 April 1993 26 May 1993 8 July 1928 - present Caretaker
16 Nawaz Sharif 26 May 1993 18 July 1993 25 December 1949 - present Islami Jamhoori Ittehad
17 Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi 18 July 1993 19 October 1993 16 April 1930 - present Caretaker
18 Benazir Bhutto 19 October 1993 5 November 1996 21 June 1953 - 27 December 2007 Pakistan Peoples Party
19 Malik Meraj Khalid 5 November 1996 17 February 1997 20 September 1916 - 13 June 2003 Caretaker
20 Nawaz Sharif 17 February 1997 12 October 1999 25 December 1949 - present Pakistan Muslim League (N)
22 Zafarullah Khan Jamali 21 November 2002 26 June 2004 1 January 1944 - present Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
23 Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain 30 June 2004 20 August 2004 27 January 1946 - present Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
24 Shaukat Aziz 20 August 2004 16 November 2007 6 March 1949 - present Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
25 Muhammad Mian Soomro 16 November 2007 25 March 2008 19 August 1950 - present Caretaker
26 Yousaf Raza Gillani 25 March 2008 present 24 June 1952 - present Pakistan Peoples Party

Now if u see from 1947 to 1971 u will see mostly P.M,s were east pakistanis. I hope u can desifer this chart.


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## asq

Pure Logic. Again u pick and choose. as per your version of Simla accord in which in third paragraph it is noted that both parties wil work together through understanding issues bilaterally. And through the mechanism of working groups. 

And yet Indian unilaterally and forcefull made Kashmir part of India knowing fully well that it is a disputed territory and that it must be decided by working groups and not by bully tactics.


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## asq

For all those Indians on this i like them to see this Islam hate and false propaganda site and tell if u have ever seen any thing like this by a Muslims. I think not. so who is spreading hate. Not Muslims.

Fact of the matter is that mentioning about Chechnya and Bosnia and Kashmir is that people of those lands want their basic rights to decide as to who they want to be with or without and yet most of the people on this site i see are not willing to give them this right, instead they like to oppress them and keep them under yokes and yet they call themselves the biggest Democracy, and also some call themselves modern by definition , little they know that they fought two world wars killing 200 million people out of them killing 6 million Jews and than they turn around impose Israel on poor unsuspecting Palestinians and , during 40,s when turkey had lost WW1, Middle east was divided into the countries that exist today and the rulers were hand picked and not chosen by the Muslims living in those areas, these rulers were and are not looking out for the betterment of masses but are looking for ruling by hook or by crook only interested in big fancy cars, gambling and buying big expensive jets.

And yet some of the Muslim hating people put a site on internet totally full of lies and insulting materials, so those of you who are on this site should, if you are what you tell me to be modern and very fair, than let us see if u can put some shame to those who are spreading hate against Islam on Internet. 

And here is the site.

Islam Watch - Islam under scrutiny by ex-Muslims-Truth about Islam (Muhammad Koran Quran Sunnah Hadith Bukhari Islamic History Conquest Atrocity Science-Medicine Slavery Women Sex in Islam Caliphs Omar Abu Bak'r Ali Osman al-Rashid al-Mamun Khali


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## rubyjackass

Which of the leaders were east Pakistanis?


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## asq

rubyjackass said:


> Which of the leaders were east Pakistanis?



Ruby-jack-***. Before I answer you question, did you read my post about an Indian site spreading hate against Islam and if you tell me you're very fair minded than let us see if you will put them in their place where they belong with your logical deductive reasoning. Or are you here for fun and games.

Now the leaders names are.
Khawaja Nazim-ud-din
Mohammad Ali Bogra
Choudhry Mohammad Ali
Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy
Ibrahim Ismael Chundrigar
Nurul Amin

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## chindit

asq.. how many of the presidents of pakistan from 1956 to 1971 were bengalis? All the names you mentioned hardly ruled the country for 7 years or 8 years. whereas punjabis and pathans ruled pakistan for the remaining and weilded the true power as presidents


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## asq

chindit said:


> asq.. how many of the presidents of Pakistan from 1956 to 1971 were Bengali's All the names you mentioned hardly ruled the country for 7 years or 8 years. whereas Punjabi and pathans ruled Pakistan for the remaining and wielded the true power as presidents



What are u trying to imply CHINDIP, These names that I gave u were either president or prime ministers and were in top positions in united Pakistan and had good influence, as good as any other Leader, why than they did not realize,act and safe the union. it is that our neighbor used false propaganda to fill the mind of innocent Bengalis specially Hindu population to separate and the promise was that once they separate the milk and honey will flow in the streets, what a big lie. 

The times that iam talking about from 1947 t0 1970 there was no Pathan in rule, 

But let me ask u a question since u Indian guys are long on questions and short on reasonable and understandable answers,"did u or any of other Indian go the site that I mentioned before and write to those who are spreading false propaganda against Islam, did you. everything they quoting is out of context and it shameful that these Indian do this." or are u here only to ask questions. And do not want to be a positive contributer.

Let me give u the site address again.


Islam Watch - Islam under scrutiny by ex-Muslims-Truth about Islam (Muhammad Koran Quran Sunnah Hadith Bukhari Islamic History Conquest Atrocity Science-Medicine Slavery Women Sex in Islam Caliphs Omar Abu Bak'r Ali Osman al-Rashid al-Mamun Khali


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## chindit

okay maybe not pathan (I thought Ayub was a pathan but obviously not), but defnitely no bengali was a president

of the PMs of pakistan

Khawaja Nazim-ud-din 17 October 1951 17 April 1953 *One Year Seven Months*
Mohammad Ali Bogra 17 April 1953 12 August 1955 - *2 Years and four months*

Choudhry Mohammad Ali was from *Punjab*. Even otherwise he served only one year

Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy 12 September 1956 17 October 1957 *One Year and One Month*
Ibrahim Ismael Chundrigar 17 October 1957 16 December 1957 - *Two Months*

Nurul Amin 7 December 1971 20 December 1971 (*Thirteen Days*)

Wow , all your Bengali Presidents and Prime Ministers ruled Pakistan for a total of *Five Years and Two Months *in the 24 years of history till 1971, even though Bengalis were more than 50&#37; of your population - all the rest was by West Pakistanis. And they served *ZERO *years as Presidents. Which were all served by West pakistanis Generals (Ayub, Yahya)

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## Khajur

*I 'll ask every Banladeshi & pakistani member to to read this column that appeared in TIME magazine,Oct. 25, 1971.*

East Pakistan: Even the Skies Weep
By HP-Time.com Monday, Oct. 25, 1971


IN New Delhi last week, one member of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Cabinet was heard to remark: "War is inevitable." In Islamabad, President Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan spent the better part of a 40-minute television speech railing against the Indians, whom he accused of "whipping up a war frenzy." Along their borders, east and west, both India and Pakistan massed troops. Both defended the action as precautionary, but there was a real danger that a minor border incident could suddenly engulf the subcontinent in all-out war. 

Several factors are at work to reduce the likelihood of such an explosion. The Indian-Soviet friendship treaty, signed early in August, deters India from waging war without consulting the Soviets. At the same time, rising discontent and political and economic pressures within West Pakistan have also placed restraints on Strongman Yahya Khan and his military regime. Nonetheless, war remains a distinct possibility. As Mrs. Gandhi said last week at a public meeting in South India: "We must be prepared for any eventuality." 

Intolerable Strain. The current dispute has grown out of the Pakistani army's harsh repression of a Bengali movement demanding greater autonomy for the much-exploited eastern sector of the divided nation. The resulting flood of impoverished East Pakistani refugees has placed an intolerable strain on India's already overburdened economy. New Delhi has insisted from the first that the refugees, who now number well over 9,000,000 by official estimates, must be allowed to return safely to their homes in East Pakistan. 

Before that is possible, however, a political solution must be found that would end the Pakistani army's reign of terror, wanton destruction and pogroms aimed particularly at the 10 million members of the Hindu minority in predominantly Moslem East Pakistan (pop. 78 million at the start of the civil war). 


Once, Sheik Mujibur ("Mujib") Rahman, leader of the Awami League, the East's majority party, might have held the key to that solution. As the overwhelming winner of the country's first national elections last December Mujib stood to become Prime Minister of Pakistan; now he is on trial for his life before a secret military tribunal in the West on charges of treason. 

Though Islamabad has ordered the military command to ease off on its repressive tactics, refugees are still trekking into India at the rate of about 30,000 a day, telling of villages burned, residents shot, and prominent figures carried off and never heard from again. One of the more horrible revelations concerns 563 young Bengali women, some only 18, who have been held captive inside Dacca's dingy military cantonment since the first days of the fighting. Seized from Dacca University and private homes and forced into military brothels, the girls are all three to five months pregnant. The army is reported to have enlisted Bengali gynecologists to abort girls held at military installations. But for those at the Dacca cantonment it is too late for abortion. The military has begun freeing the girls a few at a time, still carrying the babies of Pakistani soldiers. 

A Million Dead. No one knows how many have died in the seven-month-old civil war. But in Karachi, a source with close connections to Yahya's military regime concedes: "The generals say the figure is at least 1,000,000." Punitive raids by the Pakistani army against villages near sites sabotaged by the Mukti Bahini, the Bengali liberation army, are an everyday occurrence. 

The fighting is expected to increase sharply in the next few weeks, with the end of the monsoon rains. Both the Pakistani army, most of whose 80,000 troops are bunkered down along the Indian border, and the Mukti Bahini, with as many as 60,000 guerrilla fighters, have said that they will soon open major new military offensives. 

Plentiful Arms. On a recent trip deep into Mukti Bahini territory, TIME Correspondent Dan Coggin found an almost surreal scene. He cabled: 

"Leaving the road behind, I entered a strange world where water is seasonal king and the only transport is a large, cane-covered canoe known as the country boat. For seven hours we plied deeper into Gopalganj subdivision in southern Faridpur district. The two wiry oarsmen found their way by taking note of such landmarks as a forlornly decaying maharajah's palace and giant butterfly nets hovering like outsized flamingos on stilt legs at water's edge. 

"As darkness approached, we were able to visit two neighboring villages, with about 25 guerrillas living among the local folk in each. The guerrillas were mostly men in their 20s, some ex-college students, others former soldiers, militiamen and police. Their arms were various but plentiful, and they had ammunition, mines and grenades. 

"A Mukti Bahini captain told me that the Bengali rebels are following the three-stage guerrilla warfare strategy of the Viet Cong, and are now in the first phase of organization and staging hit-and-run attacks. So far the guerrillas in the captain's area of operations have lost about 50 men, and larger army attacks are expected. But the Mukti Bahini plan to mount ambushes and avoid meeting army firepower headon. 

"On my way back to Dacca next day, I came upon a convoy trucker who had been waiting for five days for his turn to board a ferry and cross the miles-wide junction of the great Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. As we huddled under the tailgate to keep dry, a shopkeeper joined us. Gazing at the puddle forming beneath us, he said: 'Even the skies are weeping for this land.' " 

Always Hungry. As conditions within East Pakistan have worsened, so have those of the refugees in India. The stench from poor sanitation facilities hangs heavy in the air. Rajinder Kumar, 32, formerly a clerk in Dacca, says he is "always hungry" on his daily grain ration of 300 grams (about 1&#189; cups). His three children each get half that much. "They cry for more," he says, "but there isn't any more." 

Malnutrition has reached desperate proportions among the children. Dr. John Seamon, a British doctor with the Save the Children Fund who has traveled extensively among the 1,000 or so scattered refugee camps estimates that 150,000 children between the ages of one and eight have died, and that 500,000 more are suffering from serious malnutrition and related diseases. 

It is now officially estimated that refugees will swell to 12 million by the end of the year. The cost to the Indian government for the fiscal year ending next March 31 may run as high as $830 million. The U.S. so far has supplied $83.2 million for the refugees, and $137 million in "humanitarian" relief inside East Pakistan. Two weeks ago, the Nixon Administration asked Congress to grant an additional $250 million. 

Senator Edward Kennedy charges that the U.S. is sending another sort of aid to the subcontinent as well. In spite of a State Department freeze on new military aid shipments to Pakistan, says Kennedy, the Pentagon has signed new defense contracts totaling nearly $10 million with the Pakistan government within the past five months. Kennedy's investigation also revealed that U.S. firms have received State Department licenses to ship to Pakistan arms and ammunition purchased from the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. 

Catalyst for Violence. Observers doubt that the situation would ease even if Yahya were to release Mujib and lift a ban on the Awami League. Where the Bengalis once were merely demanding greater autonomy, they now seem determined to fight for outright independence. 

In his speech last week, Yahya also announced that the National Assembly would be convened in December, immediately following by-elections in the East to fill the Assembly seats vacated by disqualified Awami Leaguers. With the main party banned from participation, however, the election is likely to provoke more violence. Already the Mukti Bahini have vowed to treat candidates as dalals ("collaborators"). 

Nonetheless, Yahya may find himself compelled to put his government at least partly in civilian hands. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, leader of West Pakistan's majority Pakistan People's Party and Yahya's most probable choice for Prime Minister, has become more and more outspoken about "the rule of the generals." Recently he said: "The long night of terror must end. The people of Pakistan must take their destiny in their own hands." Formerly that sort of talk would have landed him in jail. Now even Yahya seems to have recognized that unless the military allows some sort of civilian rule it may face trouble in the West as well as in the ravaged East.


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## asq

thid story is only one sided, I will equate this to 4,000000 afghan refugees in Pakistan, India started crying instead of discussing the problem with its neighbor for a genuine solution, But India thinks like a bully had armed Mukti Buhini, Pakistan did never abuse or accused Afghanistan or attacked it, Pakistan looked after all of them and when time is ripe, would send them back, although most of them are still in Pakistan.

All you exhaustive details are one sided and have no weight on us the Pakistan. 

Our friends instead of helping, hindered and situation became worst as our adversaries wanted to become and act bad as they have bad faith and acted extremely bad all the time since partition. 

So the situation became bad and it resulted in deaths of innocent people. But the main thing is Pakistan realized and stopped the fighting at the risk of soldiers becoming POW,s. But if one equates this with Kashmir one see a bully India committing atrocities for 60 years, Why?

So Indians should be last one to teach us how we did in Bangla-desh as they have no leg to stand on.

So take your advice to someone who do not know the bully India.


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## third eye

asq said:


> *All the grievances by Bengalis were in my opinion superfluous as they were the one who ruled most of the time between 1947 to 1971.*
> Check the History please. why than they complained. Let alone separated, I think it was a conspiracy by our neighbor India to break Muslims in to small insignificant entities.



I'd like to read comments of BD members here on this.


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## asq

third eye said:


> I'd like to read comments of BD members here on this.



Hay third eye why are you inciting Bengalis, why don't you reply, if you think you have answer.

"Again Indian way of PATRONIZING PEOPLE NOW BENGALI'S".


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## third eye

asq said:


> Hay third eye why are you inciting Bengalis, why don't you reply, if you think you have answer.
> 
> "Again Indian way of PATRONIZING PEOPLE NOW BENGALI'S".



My view is that the portion highlighted in post # 15 is wrong. It is common knowledege that the PM in Pak carries no weight, its only the Pres ( read military) that calls the shots.

I do not wish to comment on the affairs of what happened in '71. It's done & over with.


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## asq

third eye said:


> My view is that the portion highlighted in post # 15 is wrong. It is common knowledege that the PM in Pak carries no weight, its only the Pres ( read military) that calls the shots.
> 
> I do not wish to comment on the affairs of what happened in '71. It's done & over with.



Very clever, now that I have brought the facts out, you do not want to talk about it, typical Indian answer, when you know that India did wrong. you do not want to talk about it but when it comes to Pakistan, its Atomic assets or history you will talk a storm, What a hypocritical attitude.


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## qsaark

Not only the Bengalis were among the first of the standard bearers of the Pakistan movement, they also saved us from the ultimate humiliation by not annexing into India after 1971. There are several accounts suggesting that East Pakistanis were not treated equally by the military and civil bureaucracy of the West Pakistan. Memoirs from General Ayub's press secretary, Mr. Altaf Gouhar and Mr. Qudrat Ullah Shahab (another high ranking civil servant) give us ample insight. There should be no two opinions on that at least. It is and will always remain debatable however, whether Bengalis should have gone for an independent country. 

Bengalis have historically been more enlightened, educated and democratic, totally opposite to what we find on the western side. I think, they had finally realized that partition was in their best interest since things were not going to change in West Pakistan. And indeed, they were right. Pakistan (of present day) has all the same old and several new problems and the root causes of all these problems are the same i.e. feudalism, no democracy, dominance of one ethnic group, uneven distribution of wealth etc.

It was possible to avoid the separation. There were many people on both the sides who didn't want the partition. I have read the 6 points of Mr Mujib. And I don&#8217;t find a single point that was not workable. However, it was clear from those points that if his demands were accepted, the West Pakistani feudals and military big shots would loose their grip for ever. Something, they simply couldn't afford. It was acceptable for them to let the half country go, but no their powers. The same thing we find even today. The unrest in Balochistan, in Sindh, in Sarhad (NWFP or more recently PashtoonKhwa) is because of the very same mentality.

India was definitely responsible for the separation of East Pakistan, but the leaders of the West Pakistan were far more responsible for that fateful episode.

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## third eye

asq said:


> Very clever, now that I have brought the facts out, you do not want to talk about it, typical Indian answer, when you know that India did wrong. you do not want to talk about it but when it comes to Pakistan, its Atomic assets or history you will talk a storm, What a hypocritical attitude.



How can seeking comments be ' inciting" ?

India did no wrong in '71.. that there is no doubt. It merely corrected a situation which may have gone wrong given the aura the Pak Def forces & dictators like self promoted FM Ayub had built around themselves by " Gibraltar" & the like. It dispelled doubts all over on the capbilities of IA more so after the ' 62 debacle. Relevant lessons learnt were put into practice. The results are history.

I was merely commenting on the point raised that Bengalies were in control for most of the period 47-71 in Pak & hence they had no reason to be upset with how they were treated during the same period.


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## Al-zakir

qsaark said:


> Not only the Bengalis were among the first of the standard bearers of the Pakistan movement, they also saved us from the ultimate humiliation by not annexing into India after 1971. There are several accounts suggesting that East Pakistanis were not treated equally by the military and civil bureaucracy of the West Pakistan. Memoirs from General Ayub's press secretary, Mr. Altaf Gouhar and Mr. Qudrat Ullah Shahab (another high ranking civil servant) give us ample insight. There should be no two opinions on that at least. It is and will always remain debatable however, whether Bengalis should have gone for an independent country.
> 
> Bengalis have historically been more enlightened, educated and democratic, totally opposite to what we find on the western side. I think, they had finally realized that partition was in their best interest since things were not going to change in West Pakistan. And indeed, they were right. Pakistan (of present day) has all the same old and several new problems and the root causes of all these problems are the same i.e. feudalism, no democracy, dominance of one ethnic group, uneven distribution of wealth etc.
> 
> It was possible to avoid the separation. There were many people on both the sides who didn't want the partition. I have read the 6 points of Mr Mujib. And I dont find a single point that was not workable. However, it was clear from those points that if his demands were accepted, the West Pakistani feudals and military big shots would loose their grip for ever. Something, they simply couldn't afford. It was acceptable for them to let the half country go, but no their powers. The same thing we find even today. The unrest in Balochistan, in Sindh, in Sarhad (NWFP or more recently PashtoonKhwa) is because of the very same mentality.
> 
> India was definitely responsible for the separation of East Pakistan, but the leaders of the West Pakistan were far more responsible for that fateful episode.



Excellent analysis and neutral observation. I appreciate your input. East Pakistan didn't want to separate but circumstances changed the whole equation. What's done can not be undone however we can learn form the fast and make it more workable for the future. East Pakistan may became Bangladesh but loved for Pakistan and Pakistani's still exist today and will be there in the days ahead. Overwhelm Bangladeshi wish only the best for Pakistan whom we still think brothers form another mother.....

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## asq

third eye said:


> How can seeking comments be ' inciting" ?
> 
> India did no wrong in '71.. that there is no doubt. It merely corrected a situation which may have gone wrong given the aura the Pak Def forces & dictators like self promoted FM Ayub had built around themselves by " Gibraltar" & the like. It dispelled doubts all over on the capbilities of IA more so after the ' 62 debacle. Relevant lessons learnt were put into practice. The results are history.
> 
> I was merely commenting on the point raised that Bengalis were in control for most of the period 47-71 in Pak & hence they had no reason to be upset with how they were treated during the same period.



Again u r using nonsense to poison the minds of our Bengali friends here on the forum, I said that there were quite a few Bengalis in power in United Pakistan, and why they did not do any thing but than India was well its way to train Mukti buhini to do subversive activities long before elections.

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## paritosh

the video mentions that the indian army protected the pakistani officails from the bangladeshis...wha??
did that $hit happn?


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## srijeesh

paritosh said:


> the video mentions that the indian army protected the pakistani officails from the bangladeshis...wha??
> did that happn?



maybe we did, after all gandhiji is our father of nation.
I wonder wat would those bangladeshis would have done to them.


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## qsaark

srijeesh said:


> maybe we did, after all gandhiji is our father of nation.


Who was murdered by one of his sons.


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## rubyjackass

Is that supposed to be an insult?
DOesn't even sound like one...


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## rubyjackass

asq said:


> Again u r using nonsense to poison the minds of our Bengali friends here on the forum, I said that there were quite a few Bengalis in power in United Pakistan, and why they did not do any thing but than India was well its way to train Mukti buhini to do subversive activities long before elections.



It does not matter to what extent they were subjugated.
Only the perceptions of Bengalis matter. Search yourselves and your history to find what wrong happened that marginalised them.
Bengali members are as sane you and me. Don't worry...


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## zombie

paritosh said:


> the video mentions that the indian army protected the pakistani officails from the bangladeshis...wha??
> did that happn?



This is true. Once the Bengalis(with Indian help) started getting the upper hand of the Pakistani army, it was very obvious that they were just waiting to take revenge on Pakistani army the wanton killing of their people and raping of their women.

No wonder the Mukti Bahini was quickly bought under the control of the Indian army as soon as it was felt this would happen to bring things in control. Else no one knows what might have happened to the 90,000 Pakistani soldiers who surrendered.

Know that is kind of twisted but in some sense the families of those Pakistani soldiers have quite a bit to thank India for saving their lives. In some sense Bangladeshis must be angry with India for not allowing them to take their revenge till today.


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## qsaark

You know what. In this game, both, the West Pakistan and the India lost. We lost because East Pakistan became Bangladesh; you lost, because East Pakistan did not become the part of the greater India "Akhand Bharat". All other things are really irrelevant. Bangladesh is still a Muslim majority country, is still a part of Islamic Ummah. It is still proving the &#8216;two nation&#8217; concept quite contrary to what Indira said &#8220;We have sunk the Two- Nation Theory in the Bay of Bengal&#8221;.

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## BanglaBhoot

qsaark said:


> You know what. In this game, both, the West Pakistan and the India lost. We lost because East Pakistan became Bangladesh; you lost, because East Pakistan did not become the part of the greater India "Akhand Bharat". All other things are really irrelevant. Bangladesh is still a Muslim majority country, is still a part of Islamic Ummah. It is still proving the two nation concept quite contrary to what Indira said We have sunk the Two- Nation Theory in the Bay of Bengal.



Two excellent analysis by qsaark. 

I think most 'Bangladeshis' (Not Bengalis) born after 1971 are bored to death of the subject. We are now having to face the realities of Indian expansionism and hegemony so the situation in 1971 seems now in the distant past. It makes for good academic discussion and is still even useful for political demagoguery but it has little to say about how Bangladesh should proceed in the face of an agressive and interfering India.

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## third eye

qsaark said:


> You know what. In this game, both, the West Pakistan and the India lost. We lost because East Pakistan became Bangladesh; you lost, because East Pakistan did not become the part of the greater India "Akhand Bharat". All other things are really irrelevant. Bangladesh is still a Muslim majority country, is still a part of Islamic Ummah. It is still proving the two nation concept quite contrary to what Indira said We have sunk the Two- Nation Theory in the Bay of Bengal.



As far as India is concerned,it was not about winning or losing. India was & is more than comfortable with the real estate it has & it covets no more.

You could take solace with what you have written abt BD being a muslim country, it was before '71 & obviously would remain one after '71. Discussing the 2 nation theory here would be superflous, it has I think been discussed on another thread.

I cannot comment on what Pak lost in the war for it had already lot the minds of EP even before the 1st bullet was fired in anger.

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## BanglaBhoot

third eye said:


> I cannot comment on what Pak lost in the war for it had already lot the minds of EP even before the 1st bullet was fired in anger.



This is where Pakistan really lost the war - in the hearts and minds of its people. Pakistan had not developed the tools to combat Indian propaganda and it is still far behind India in this regard.

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## qsaark

MBI Munshi said:


> This is where Pakistan really lost the war - in the hearts and minds of its people. Pakistan had not developed the tools to combat Indian propaganda and it is still far behind India in this regard.


I was as a child always told that Bengalis (now Bangladeshis) were traitors. I grew up with this concept. But I was always encouraged to read books. Thank God, I found out who was who. I have no shame to admit after all those readings and my conscious analysis, that if I were in your shoes, I would have done the same. I wish, if this would have not happened but we, the humans are merely the puppets in the grand scheme of the Almighty.

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## zombie

qsaark said:


> You know what. In this game, both, the West Pakistan and the India lost. We lost because East Pakistan became Bangladesh; you lost, because East Pakistan did not become the part of the greater India "Akhand Bharat". All other things are really irrelevant. Bangladesh is still a Muslim majority country, is still a part of Islamic Ummah. It is still proving the &#8216;two nation&#8217; concept quite contrary to what Indira said &#8220;We have sunk the Two- Nation Theory in the Bay of Bengal&#8221;.



The two nation theory indeed was correct wrt Pakistan. It did show that all said and done in the end blood is thicker than ideology.

Wasn't it a Pakistani else who said in another post..if not for Islam what else is common..? and this was in context of current Pakistan and seems to have got lot of thanks from his fellowmen for the post.

Bangladesh has more in common with India(especially Bengal) for more than 10,000 years than with a mere 24 years as part of Pakistan. There was no way a Pakistani Punjabi would have accepted a Bangladeshi ruling his country.


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## BanglaBhoot

qsaark said:


> I was as a child always told that Bengalis (now Bangladeshis) were traitors. I grew up with this concept. But I was always encouraged to read books. Thank God, I found out who was who. I have no shame to admit after all those readings and my conscious analysis, that if I were in your shoes, I would have done the same. I wish, if this would have not happened but we, the humans are merely the puppets in the grand scheme of the Almighty.



Thats really a nice and gracious sentiment.


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## BanglaBhoot

zombie said:


> Bangladesh has more in common with India(especially Bengal) for more than 10,000 years than with a mere 24 years as part of Pakistan. There was no way a Pakistani Punjabi would have accepted a Bangladeshi ruling his country.



I think 800 years of Islam changed East Bengal from West Bengal in many ways including culturally, ideologically and linguistically with many Persian and Arabic words entering our language. The division between the two became irreparable after the upper caste Hindus dismantled the 1905 partition and discriminated against the Bengali Muslims. To be fair Bangladeshis also had objections to Punjabis ruling them and also a Sindhi but Shiekh Mujib did nothing to make himself amenable in West Pakistan. It was probably a case of mutual disenchantment exploited by Indian ambitions and enmity.

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## ejaz007

zombie said:


> The two nation theory indeed was correct wrt Pakistan. It did show that all said and done in the end blood is thicker than ideology.
> 
> Wasn't it a Pakistani else who said in another post..if not for Islam what else is common..? and this was in context of current Pakistan and seems to have got lot of thanks from his fellowmen for the post.
> 
> Bangladesh has more in common with India(especially Bengal) for more than 10,000 years than with a mere 24 years as part of Pakistan. There was no way a Pakistani Punjabi would have accepted a Bangladeshi ruling his country.



Two Nation theory shall remain valid as long as Pakistan exists. 

Islam indeed is a binding force between Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. Another binding force between the people is the anti India factor. I do not wish to start another heated debate but this is reality.

India itself came into being on August 15, 1947. How do you qualify your 10,000 year long bond. Before 1947 India was governed by British and before that for almost 550 years by Muslims and before that India did not even existed in the present form. Remember it was muslims who gave Hindustan the present shape. India only came after British left. For Bengal this might seem some thing like realistic but with India this is not possible.

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## Contrarian

2 Nation theory is not valid as long as India exists. Proof that multiple cultures and religions and ethnicities can live together as one nation.

EDIT: Religion is not a defining force nor a parameter to make or break a nation-as Bangladesh has proven.


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## qsaark

malaymishra123 said:


> Proof that multiple cultures and religions and ethnicities can live together as one nation


And get killed every day in the hands of the terrorist hindus.



malaymishra123 said:


> Religion is not a defining force to separate as a nation-as Bangladesh proved.


Did'nt realy understand. Would you mind rephrasing the sentance, my English is not so good.


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## leonblack08

qsaark said:


> Not only the Bengalis were among the first of the standard bearers of the Pakistan movement, they also saved us from the ultimate humiliation by not annexing into India after 1971. There are several accounts suggesting that East Pakistanis were not treated equally by the military and civil bureaucracy of the West Pakistan. Memoirs from General Ayub's press secretary, Mr. Altaf Gouhar and Mr. Qudrat Ullah Shahab (another high ranking civil servant) give us ample insight. There should be no two opinions on that at least. It is and will always remain debatable however, whether Bengalis should have gone for an independent country.
> 
> Bengalis have historically been more enlightened, educated and democratic, totally opposite to what we find on the western side. I think, they had finally realized that partition was in their best interest since things were not going to change in West Pakistan. And indeed, they were right. Pakistan (of present day) has all the same old and several new problems and the root causes of all these problems are the same i.e. feudalism, no democracy, dominance of one ethnic group, uneven distribution of wealth etc.
> 
> It was possible to avoid the separation. There were many people on both the sides who didn't want the partition. I have read the 6 points of Mr Mujib. And I don&#8217;t find a single point that was not workable. However, it was clear from those points that if his demands were accepted, the West Pakistani feudals and military big shots would loose their grip for ever. Something, they simply couldn't afford. It was acceptable for them to let the half country go, but no their powers. The same thing we find even today. The unrest in Balochistan, in Sindh, in Sarhad (NWFP or more recently PashtoonKhwa) is because of the very same mentality.
> 
> India was definitely responsible for the separation of East Pakistan, but the leaders of the West Pakistan were far more responsible for that fateful episode.



You read my mind sir,Thank you for you excellent reply.I could not have said it better.

As the English saying goes,"no smoke without fire".
There was definite discrimination and for the reasons you already mentioned.

To me there should always have been 3 countries in 1947.With no land connection,cultural connection except religious,Unified Pakistan was always vulnerable to break up.


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## qsaark

To all my Bangladeshi friends:

I have started reading newspapers from the age of 5, especially the editorials and the columns. Only recently i.e. in last couple of years, I have noticed that some daring journalists have started talking about the fateful events of 1971. West-East Pakistan has really been a taboo in Pakistan.

Here I wish to share with you a column by Mr. Rauf Klasra. This column was published in Daily Jang Feb 8, 2009. Jang Group Online. My English is only rudimentary, so it was not possible for me to translate the whole column from Urdu into English as is. Neither could I capture the emotions. I have however tried my best. I have given the link. If someone could translate it better, please do so.

Mr. Rauf was in Dhaka for the coverage of the Elections. 

The title of the column is: *This Bengali Army Officer Fought for Us*.

This was my last night in Dhaka. I would have never met with this Bengali Army officer who, in 1971 fought in Khem Karan sector against the Indian soldiers as a Captain of Pakistan Army, had I had not met with Umar, son of Malik Naveed Hasan, a Pakistani owner of the largest taxtile unit in Bangladesh. Umar Hasan with his two friends had brought me to a club for the foreign ambassadors. Umar&#8217;s friend, Sajid Hasan surprised me by telling that he was born in a prisoner&#8217;s camp established near Jelhum for the Bengali Army officers. Unaware of my surprise, Sajid Hasan kept talking that even though I don&#8217;t remember that prisoner&#8217;s camp, I really wish to go to Jelhum and visit that place. My parents still miss Pakistan and that camp where they spent a very difficult time. I asked Sajid if I could see his father. Umar and Sajid looked at me in surprise and both said &#8220;this late in the night?&#8221; After a few moments, we left our dinner and were on the road out of Dhaka. After an hours&#8217; drive, I was standing in front of this Captain of Pakistan Army who once had fought for us. Even though it was 12 PM, the whole family was still awake. The household members were in surprise to see a Pakistani in their home. The elders and the kids alike were peeking, trying to see how a Pakistani actually looks like. After taking a seat in a very modest drawing room of General Qazi, who had retired in the year 2000 as a Brigadier General of Bangladesh Army, I asked &#8220;Your son has told me that you were arrested after the 1971 war along with your family, even though you had fought on the Khem Karan sector against the Sikh Regiment along side with the Pakistani soldiers? All of a sudden I realized how easily I had asked him a brief question, because after hearing to that, the eyes of the Pakistan Army&#8217;s Captain had flooded with an ocean of memories. As a criminal, I quietly kept listening the story of a Bengali officer who had once fought for us, and how we had treated him.

From his childhood, Qazi Mahmood Hasan wanted to join the Army. He got commission in 1967. When in 1971, the war broke, Qazi Mahmood was a captain in the Army. He was sent to Khem Karan to fight with the Indian Army. His battalion fought gallantly and defeated the Indian Sikh battalion. After that victory, Z.A. Bhutto visited the front. Bhutto couldn&#8217;t ignore that tall Bengali officer who was standing at some distance from the rest of the soldiers. Bhutto stepped forward by himself and shook hand. That hand shake is still preserved in Qazi Hasan&#8217;s memories. All of a sudden it all came to an end. Even though it fought gallantly on the Khem Karan front, Qazi Hasan&#8217;s Army had lost in East Pakistan. Overnight, 120 Bengali officers had been arrested along with their families from the Gulberg Cantt Lahore. Under the shadow of the guns, the Bengalis, who were in great shock and sorrow, were brought to Rawalpindi by train by the same officers along with whom they had once fought with the Indian Army. From there they were sent to Jelhum and were imprisoned in a detention camp of British time. Every thing was changed in one night. From the officers of the Pakistan Army, they had transformed into the POW of an adversary country. They were all made POW. That old detention camp where they were kept was in terrible shape. In the chill nights of the winter, the children of these Bengalis couldn&#8217;t sleep all night. The feelings of what excess were done to them, and that they were imprisoned along with their families in their own country was very torturous. Each Bengali officer was given Rs 350 as an allowance which were simply not enough for the whole family. Because they were not allowed to leave the camp, the financial situation of the household deteriorated. Captain Qazi&#8217;s wife started selling her jewelry to buy the milk for her children. The owner of the canteen in that camp took full advantage of this. In the Jelhum city, the rate of the gold was Rs 120/tola while the owner of the canteen bought the gold for Rs 65/tola from the Bengali family. One after other, all the jewelry was sold. One day, when Qazi&#8217;s wife left her house to sell the remaining last of the gold bangles, Captain Qazi, overwhelmed with emotions, stopped his wife to sell them. He didn&#8217;t want to take his wife back to Bangladesh empty handed so that people would taunt at him that the Pakistanis even took her bangles. He would have never tolerated that. After spending almost 4 years in that camp as POW, atlast, these Bengali officers were handed over to Bangladesh under an agreement. Captain Qazi joined Bangladesh Army and in the year 2000, he retired as Brigadier General.

That night, General Qazi kept remembering his Pakistan Army friends. He remembered the days he spent in Quetta, Karachi, Pishawer, Pindi, Lahore, Abbotabad, Chitral, Landi Kotal and Chaman. He had still remembered the names of his Pakistani friends who had given him a lot of love. He kept saying one thing, what happened in 1971, should have not happened. What was the big deal if Mujib ur Rahman had become the prime minister. At least Pakistan would have not divided. Pakistan should have not divided at least for his reason. General Qazi thought that not all Pakistani officers had misbehaved with the Bengali women, some were definitely involved. 

_If someone happens to know General Qazi, please convey my message to him, that I was not even born when that tragedy took place. But I salute you for what you did for my country. And I am sorry for what my country men did to you. _

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## leonblack08

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you very much for sharing this with us qsaark.


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## gromell

posted on adhunika > article > bengalis in pakistan: the long ordeal


*Bengalis in Pakistan: The Long Ordeal​*

By Nurun Nahar Hashim 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the war started, we were unfortunate enough to be based in Pakistan's capital Islamabad. We lived in different countries as part of my husband Syed Najmuddin Hashim's foreign postings. In 1970, he was appointed Executive Director General of Pakistan Council. In that connection, we found ourselves in the official quarters located in the foothills of Margala Hills in Islamabad. Before that we were in Paris, France. 



While the freedom movement was gaining momentum in the country, there were a few senior Bengalis in the civil administration. Some of these individuals harboured pro-Pakistani sentiments. They were sent to East Pakistan to gather intelligence on the movement under the cover of office inspection. And those Bengali officers like my husband who did not support Pakistan were deprived of the facility of visiting Bangladesh even for official purposes. At one point they were forbidden to come home, although this was unofficially enforced. Then the war started. All links between the two halves of Pakistan were severed. This is how we happened to get stuck there. Immediately after the war began, it became very difficult for Bengalis to move around on the streets. Apart from the usual verbal harassment, sometimes stones were thrown at us. One day a stone hit my leg. This sort of harassment was a daily affair. But there were exceptions. My neighbours and friends were very concerned for our welfare. I remember our milkman in particular. A poor Sindhi, he used to say, 'Mother, you will stay with me if there is any problem. Although I am poor, I will take good care of you.' The government's attitude towards us was very hostile. Government officials and others who did not wish to see this land independent were always suspicious of us. 

We were very depressed about the fact that the country was at war and we were stuck in Pakistan and could not return home. We were totally cut off from friends and family. The only way to learn about home was through radio broadcasts. We used to listen to radio very secretively, having reduced the volume and closed all shutters and windows to the house. Naturally in that state of mind, we were all down mentally, but whenever we learnt of the successes of the Muktijoddhas on the ground, our spirits were lifted tremendously. Although we feared losing the war, we felt in our hearts that no matter what the cost we must gain independence and free Sheikh Mujib. However, none of us suspected that the war would be over so soon. We were heartbroken when we learnt of the killing of martyrs from BBC Radio, many of whom were Hashim's closest friends. The heart rendering news of the killing of Dr. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, Dr. GC Deb and others took their toll on us. I felt helpless about comforting Hashim in any way when he heard the news of the killing his boyhood friends Shahidullah Kaiser and Munier Chowdhury. Anger and hatred for the Pakistanis grew so strong that we didn't feel like staying in their midst for a moment longer. This is how we spent the nine months of the war. The country gained independence on December 16. We were unable to express our joy due to our hostile surroundings. The only solace was that we greeted other like-minded Bengalis stuck there with us in secret and congratulated our brave boys at home in our hearts. 

The Pakistani government gave the option to Bengali officers. Those who opted to remain in Pakistan would not be removed from their jobs. Naturally, with the exception of a handful of officers, all Bengali officers and families wanted to go home. Those officers who chose to stay were made Pakistani nationals and the others who decided to come back were fired from their jobs on July 11, 1972. All travel links between newly independent Bangladesh and Pakistan were severed. However, many retired Bengali officers escaped from Pakistan and made their way back to Bangladesh in this period. Suddenly we found certain families gone. They never shared their plans with close friends and aides, such was the time then. 

There was no question of remaining there since Bangladesh had become independent. But running away secretly was not a mentality shared by my husband and friends. Besides, there were many Bengalis there who did not have sufficient financial resources to take the long road home. These included servants, gardeners, fishermen and many other classes of people with dependents. To help them, Hashim and others had formed a committee during the war to give protection, financial aid and help on their return to the homeland. Committee members included A.K.M. Ahsan, Shafiul Azam, Anwar Uddin Khan and others. Leaving all of them behind and running off into the night was not a notion we entertained. With the expulsion of Bengalis from the civil service, their children were banned from attending school. The ladies, including myself, set up a make-shift school so that our children might not be deprived of education where the ladies used to teach various subjects. 

A few days later, the Pakistani authorities gathered all the Bengali families together from various areas. Two to three families were forced to live in one house. Suddenly one day, we found police patrolling the neighbourhood. The authorities announced that no Bengali may venture out of houses. Around 10:30 pm somebody was banging the door furiously. When we opened it, we found the police who informed us that we were all detained under Pakistani law and would be transported to camps within 30 minutes! We were given the option --- Bengali officers may choose to go alone or with families to the camps. I climbed over the fence to my neighbour's house (Mr. A.K.M. Ahsan's residence) to ask bhabi about what we should do. We decided to let our husbands go alone at this moment because it was impossible to gather everything in half an hour and the children were small. We were totally unprepared to move at this juncture, so we stayed. 

The authorities assured us that the families who stayed behind would be kept together. They took our husbands away in the dead of night. Where they were being taken, how long they would be imprisoned, what would be done to them, when they would be released, if at all, when would the families be reunited were all unanswered questions. Next morning when my two children, Tonmoy aged 7, and Snigdho aged 4, woke up to find their beloved father gone, they showered me with a thousand questions to which I had no answers. After they were taken away, the families were free to move around, but felt no peace of mind. After 3 - 4 days, I received a letter from Hashim. He informed us that the authorities had incarcerated all of them in Kadirabad camp located in Gujranwala district in Punjab, where they had arrived at 3 a.m. in the morning!
We ladies started making preparations to join our husbands. My elderly mother who had come to visit us was also stuck in Pakistan. My mother had decided to come and see her youngest daughter after the war broke out, since there was no way to learn of our fate. It was my mother who gave me the strength to join my husband. 

At this time, my husband's good friend Abdul Baten offered to take me to the camp to visit Hashim. Although he was a Bengali, he taught at the university and so had not been incarcerated with the rest of them. With Mr. Baten's aid, all of us, including the children, moved to Mr. Ehtesham's house which was located near the camp. Mr. Ehtesham and his spouse helped us greatly. The next day we went to visit the camp with a big cauldron of khichuri and some cooked chicken. 
When we arrived at camp, all the inmates were thunderstruck to see me as no other Bengali had gone to visit them. I found 7 - 8 of them living in a single bungalow, unshaven faces attired only in lungi and genji with no one to look after them. I was terribly heartbroken to see them in this state. The camp authorities brought their food while I was there - a couple of chapattis and a large bowl of curry with one / two pieces of meat floating around Thankfully, they didn't have to eat that rubbish on that day. The 20 - 25 inmates all had the food we took with us to the camp. 

My sons were ecstatic to be reunited with their father. The little time they had with their father, they wouldn't let him out of their sight, insisting that he feed them, wash their mouth and sit on his lap. Soon it was time to leave. All of them stared vacantly after us as we left, not knowing when the next visit would come, if at all. After we returned, all the family members of the other Bengali officers swooped down on us wanting to know of the state of their loved ones.
A week or so after my visit to Kadirabad camp, Hashim astonished all of us by turning up at the house one day! He informed us that the Pakistani authorities had decided to move senior Bengali officers with families to Warsak camp in Peshawar. We were informed that this would take place on 5 June 1973. We only took clothing with us. All of us were put on a bus. At least 30 families were crammed on to that bus! What a situation! Nowhere to stand, sit or breathe! On top of that drivers halted frequently for tea and gossip and Urdu songs blasting away loudly all the way to our destination. No consideration at all for the passengers on their minds. We finally arrived the following morning after traveling all night. There began another harrowing experience. The camp was already inhabited by some Bengali air force officers and their families. We shared the stingy accommodation with them. It was terribly hot at that time of the year. My elderly mother was with us and my husband had no job, whether we would ever be allowed to return to Bangladesh, and the sheer feeling of helplessness that came from the fact that we could be killed at any time - all these uncertainties took me to near breaking point. 

Besides, there were other discomforts like cooking and eating in the same room, and that too on a single kerosene stove. Once in a while, meat and vegetables used to come to the camp for which we had to stand in a long queue and if one was late then everything would be sold out. At first, these conditions seemed unbearable. As time went by, I guess we all became used to it. This is how we spent a couple of months. All the while, thoughts of home and loved ones always hovered at the back of our minds. Who was alive, who had been killed, how long we would be stuck in this God forsaken land, all these issues made life a living hell. While the rest of us suffered from depression, Hashim became more and more indignant. He used to say, if and when we return, we shall return with all Bengalis as heroes. I never thought of leaving my husband behind and fleeing with my children. All the time, I believed in the notion that when we returned, we would all come back together. The worst pain during that period was emotional, something that I cannot put into words. Living from day to day was a pain. For relief, we organised regular prayers, qul khwani, etc, praying to Allah for a swift and safe return home and for the safety of those at home. Finally, under international pressure, the Pakistanis were forced to release us on 22 October 1973. Bengalis were granted freedom after the relaxing of Martial Law in Pakistan. Under the supervision of the International Red Cross, planes chartered from Ariana Afghan Airlines repatriated the Bengalis stuck in Pakistan. 

How can one describe one's feelings at that time, especially when the plane was touching down at Kurmitola airport in Dhaka? It was impossible to let anyone know who would be coming home and when. Even then, some anxious relatives of compatriots stuck in Pakistan always used to wait at the airport in case they were on board. Thus, we too found some of our relatives waiting for us. Najmuddin Hashim found his close associate and friend Mr. Enayet Karim, the first Foreign Secretary of independent Bangladesh, waiting to receive us, and it was a very joyous reunion. We felt that a great weight had been lifted from our chests when we breathed the fresh air of Dhaka. Then we went home. Seeing and meeting so many after such a long time, it was an occasion of endless joy and relief. Besides the exhilaration of being free, I also experienced how greatly we had come to hate Pakistan. That is why even after our release from the camp, I didn't feel like going back to our house in Islamabad to gather our things. The abhorrence was so great that we chose to leave everything behind and come home to our dear and beloved sovereign Bangladesh. The relief of having survived the ordeal was overwhelming and cannot be described in words. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nurun Nahar Hashim is a social worker and wife of the late Syed Najmuddin Hashim, The article is a translation by Syed Mansur Hashim from the Bengali version published in Weekly Rupantar.

Source: Dhaka Courier Online December, 2006,
Courtesy: Syed Mansur Hashim


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## salman nedian

zombie said:


> The two nation theory indeed was correct wrt Pakistan. It did show that all said and done in the end blood is thicker than ideology.
> 
> Wasn't it a Pakistani else who said in another post..if not for Islam what else is common..? and this was in context of current Pakistan and seems to have got lot of thanks from his fellowmen for the post.
> 
> Bangladesh has more in common with India(especially Bengal) for more than 10,000 years than with a mere 24 years as part of Pakistan. There was no way a Pakistani Punjabi would have accepted a Bangladeshi ruling his country.



I dont think Pakistani Punjab wont accept a Bangali as a ruler. There is no such thing exists here except that people in administration setup have their personal likings and disliking. Pakistani Punjab and Sindh too have things in common with India but that doesnt mean that they should have a soft corner for India.


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## jetLi

what a pitty to Pakistan
It is India who made the result


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## salman nedian

gromell said:


> posted on adhunika > article > bengalis in pakistan: the long ordeal
> 
> 
> *Bengalis in Pakistan: The Long Ordeal​*
> 
> By Nurun Nahar Hashim
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> When the war started, we were unfortunate enough to be based in Pakistan's capital Islamabad. We lived in different countries as part of my husband Syed Najmuddin Hashim's foreign postings. In 1970, he was appointed Executive Director General of Pakistan Council. In that connection, we found ourselves in the official quarters located in the foothills of Margala Hills in Islamabad. Before that we were in Paris, France.
> 
> 
> 
> While the freedom movement was gaining momentum in the country, there were a few senior Bengalis in the civil administration. Some of these individuals harboured pro-Pakistani sentiments. They were sent to East Pakistan to gather intelligence on the movement under the cover of office inspection. And those Bengali officers like my husband who did not support Pakistan were deprived of the facility of visiting Bangladesh even for official purposes. At one point they were forbidden to come home, although this was unofficially enforced. Then the war started. All links between the two halves of Pakistan were severed. This is how we happened to get stuck there. Immediately after the war began, it became very difficult for Bengalis to move around on the streets. Apart from the usual verbal harassment, sometimes stones were thrown at us. One day a stone hit my leg. This sort of harassment was a daily affair. But there were exceptions. My neighbours and friends were very concerned for our welfare. I remember our milkman in particular. A poor Sindhi, he used to say, 'Mother, you will stay with me if there is any problem. Although I am poor, I will take good care of you.' The government's attitude towards us was very hostile. Government officials and others who did not wish to see this land independent were always suspicious of us.
> 
> We were very depressed about the fact that the country was at war and we were stuck in Pakistan and could not return home. We were totally cut off from friends and family. The only way to learn about home was through radio broadcasts. We used to listen to radio very secretively, having reduced the volume and closed all shutters and windows to the house. Naturally in that state of mind, we were all down mentally, but whenever we learnt of the successes of the Muktijoddhas on the ground, our spirits were lifted tremendously. Although we feared losing the war, we felt in our hearts that no matter what the cost we must gain independence and free Sheikh Mujib. However, none of us suspected that the war would be over so soon. We were heartbroken when we learnt of the killing of martyrs from BBC Radio, many of whom were Hashim's closest friends. The heart rendering news of the killing of Dr. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, Dr. GC Deb and others took their toll on us. I felt helpless about comforting Hashim in any way when he heard the news of the killing his boyhood friends Shahidullah Kaiser and Munier Chowdhury. Anger and hatred for the Pakistanis grew so strong that we didn't feel like staying in their midst for a moment longer. This is how we spent the nine months of the war. The country gained independence on December 16. We were unable to express our joy due to our hostile surroundings. The only solace was that we greeted other like-minded Bengalis stuck there with us in secret and congratulated our brave boys at home in our hearts.
> 
> The Pakistani government gave the option to Bengali officers. Those who opted to remain in Pakistan would not be removed from their jobs. Naturally, with the exception of a handful of officers, all Bengali officers and families wanted to go home. Those officers who chose to stay were made Pakistani nationals and the others who decided to come back were fired from their jobs on July 11, 1972. All travel links between newly independent Bangladesh and Pakistan were severed. However, many retired Bengali officers escaped from Pakistan and made their way back to Bangladesh in this period. Suddenly we found certain families gone. They never shared their plans with close friends and aides, such was the time then.
> 
> There was no question of remaining there since Bangladesh had become independent. But running away secretly was not a mentality shared by my husband and friends. Besides, there were many Bengalis there who did not have sufficient financial resources to take the long road home. These included servants, gardeners, fishermen and many other classes of people with dependents. To help them, Hashim and others had formed a committee during the war to give protection, financial aid and help on their return to the homeland. Committee members included A.K.M. Ahsan, Shafiul Azam, Anwar Uddin Khan and others. Leaving all of them behind and running off into the night was not a notion we entertained. With the expulsion of Bengalis from the civil service, their children were banned from attending school. The ladies, including myself, set up a make-shift school so that our children might not be deprived of education where the ladies used to teach various subjects.
> 
> A few days later, the Pakistani authorities gathered all the Bengali families together from various areas. Two to three families were forced to live in one house. Suddenly one day, we found police patrolling the neighbourhood. The authorities announced that no Bengali may venture out of houses. Around 10:30 pm somebody was banging the door furiously. When we opened it, we found the police who informed us that we were all detained under Pakistani law and would be transported to camps within 30 minutes! We were given the option --- Bengali officers may choose to go alone or with families to the camps. I climbed over the fence to my neighbour's house (Mr. A.K.M. Ahsan's residence) to ask bhabi about what we should do. We decided to let our husbands go alone at this moment because it was impossible to gather everything in half an hour and the children were small. We were totally unprepared to move at this juncture, so we stayed.
> 
> The authorities assured us that the families who stayed behind would be kept together. They took our husbands away in the dead of night. Where they were being taken, how long they would be imprisoned, what would be done to them, when they would be released, if at all, when would the families be reunited were all unanswered questions. Next morning when my two children, Tonmoy aged 7, and Snigdho aged 4, woke up to find their beloved father gone, they showered me with a thousand questions to which I had no answers. After they were taken away, the families were free to move around, but felt no peace of mind. After 3 - 4 days, I received a letter from Hashim. He informed us that the authorities had incarcerated all of them in Kadirabad camp located in Gujranwala district in Punjab, where they had arrived at 3 a.m. in the morning!
> We ladies started making preparations to join our husbands. My elderly mother who had come to visit us was also stuck in Pakistan. My mother had decided to come and see her youngest daughter after the war broke out, since there was no way to learn of our fate. It was my mother who gave me the strength to join my husband.
> 
> At this time, my husband's good friend Abdul Baten offered to take me to the camp to visit Hashim. Although he was a Bengali, he taught at the university and so had not been incarcerated with the rest of them. With Mr. Baten's aid, all of us, including the children, moved to Mr. Ehtesham's house which was located near the camp. Mr. Ehtesham and his spouse helped us greatly. The next day we went to visit the camp with a big cauldron of khichuri and some cooked chicken.
> When we arrived at camp, all the inmates were thunderstruck to see me as no other Bengali had gone to visit them. I found 7 - 8 of them living in a single bungalow, unshaven faces attired only in lungi and genji with no one to look after them. I was terribly heartbroken to see them in this state. The camp authorities brought their food while I was there - a couple of chapattis and a large bowl of curry with one / two pieces of meat floating around&#8230; Thankfully, they didn't have to eat that rubbish on that day. The 20 - 25 inmates all had the food we took with us to the camp.
> 
> My sons were ecstatic to be reunited with their father. The little time they had with their father, they wouldn't let him out of their sight, insisting that he feed them, wash their mouth and sit on his lap. Soon it was time to leave. All of them stared vacantly after us as we left, not knowing when the next visit would come, if at all. After we returned, all the family members of the other Bengali officers swooped down on us wanting to know of the state of their loved ones.
> A week or so after my visit to Kadirabad camp, Hashim astonished all of us by turning up at the house one day! He informed us that the Pakistani authorities had decided to move senior Bengali officers with families to Warsak camp in Peshawar. We were informed that this would take place on 5 June 1973. We only took clothing with us. All of us were put on a bus. At least 30 families were crammed on to that bus! What a situation! Nowhere to stand, sit or breathe! On top of that drivers halted frequently for tea and gossip and Urdu songs blasting away loudly all the way to our destination. No consideration at all for the passengers on their minds. We finally arrived the following morning after traveling all night. There began another harrowing experience. The camp was already inhabited by some Bengali air force officers and their families. We shared the stingy accommodation with them. It was terribly hot at that time of the year. My elderly mother was with us and my husband had no job, whether we would ever be allowed to return to Bangladesh, and the sheer feeling of helplessness that came from the fact that we could be killed at any time - all these uncertainties took me to near breaking point.
> 
> Besides, there were other discomforts like cooking and eating in the same room, and that too on a single kerosene stove. Once in a while, meat and vegetables used to come to the camp for which we had to stand in a long queue and if one was late then everything would be sold out. At first, these conditions seemed unbearable. As time went by, I guess we all became used to it. This is how we spent a couple of months. All the while, thoughts of home and loved ones always hovered at the back of our minds. Who was alive, who had been killed, how long we would be stuck in this God forsaken land, all these issues made life a living hell. While the rest of us suffered from depression, Hashim became more and more indignant. He used to say, if and when we return, we shall return with all Bengalis as heroes. I never thought of leaving my husband behind and fleeing with my children. All the time, I believed in the notion that when we returned, we would all come back together. The worst pain during that period was emotional, something that I cannot put into words. Living from day to day was a pain. For relief, we organised regular prayers, qul khwani, etc, praying to Allah for a swift and safe return home and for the safety of those at home. Finally, under international pressure, the Pakistanis were forced to release us on 22 October 1973. Bengalis were granted freedom after the relaxing of Martial Law in Pakistan. Under the supervision of the International Red Cross, planes chartered from Ariana Afghan Airlines repatriated the Bengalis stuck in Pakistan.
> 
> How can one describe one's feelings at that time, especially when the plane was touching down at Kurmitola airport in Dhaka? It was impossible to let anyone know who would be coming home and when. Even then, some anxious relatives of compatriots stuck in Pakistan always used to wait at the airport in case they were on board. Thus, we too found some of our relatives waiting for us. Najmuddin Hashim found his close associate and friend Mr. Enayet Karim, the first Foreign Secretary of independent Bangladesh, waiting to receive us, and it was a very joyous reunion. We felt that a great weight had been lifted from our chests when we breathed the fresh air of Dhaka. Then we went home. Seeing and meeting so many after such a long time, it was an occasion of endless joy and relief. Besides the exhilaration of being free, I also experienced how greatly we had come to hate Pakistan. That is why even after our release from the camp, I didn't feel like going back to our house in Islamabad to gather our things. The abhorrence was so great that we chose to leave everything behind and come home to our dear and beloved sovereign Bangladesh. The relief of having survived the ordeal was overwhelming and cannot be described in words.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> Nurun Nahar Hashim is a social worker and wife of the late Syed Najmuddin Hashim, The article is a translation by Syed Mansur Hashim from the Bengali version published in Weekly Rupantar.
> 
> Source: Dhaka Courier Online December, 2006,
> Courtesy: Syed Mansur Hashim



Politicians always want people to fight to serve their desires. People are puppets in their hands. I am sure if BDR mutiny had occurred under Pakistani administration Bangladeshi people would have said that West Pakistan is responsible, but now who will they held responsible?

Problems are everywhere and separation is not the solution, we do not realize that we are dependent on each other and every now and then scream for so called independence. We are now seeing an Independent Bangladesh who is even threatened by a country like Myanmar; is that what Bangladeshis wanted?

You should thank God that you got independence from India after 16th December 1971. I would only say that without Pakistan there would have been no BD.

There are many Bengalis living in Pakistan and they were allowed to live freely. No one was killed despite the fact that we received dead bodies of our loved ones and we were disgraced in front of those who were defeated by us before by our own people who were with us in our freedom struggle.

But still we don&#8217;t have any issues with the Bangladeshis. IMO developing a confederation with Pakistan will solve many problems. As Zakir bhai said Bangladeshis are brothers from another mother.


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## salman nedian

srijeesh said:


> maybe we did, after all gandhiji is our father of nation.
> I wonder wat would those bangladeshis would have done to them.



Gandhiji also had thought you how to rape women in Kashmir, how to conduct operation bluestar, how to kill Christians and Muslims. 

Don&#8217;t you think Sikhs too deserve independence after operation bluestar?


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## shravan

asq said:


> I think it was a conspiracy by our neighbor India to break Muslims in to small insignificant entities.



Is Muslim Brotherhood so weak that a Hindu government can break it ?

I would say no.


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## Zob

hasn't this topic been discussed to death already???

and as for muslim brotherhood....WHAT MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD??? it is non existent!!

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## third eye

salman nedian said:


> Gandhiji also had thought you how to rape women in Kashmir, how to conduct operation bluestar, how to kill Christians and Muslims.
> 
> *Dont you think Sikhs too deserve independence after operation bluestar?[/*QUOTE]
> 
> You'll have to do better than this for instigation.

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## chindit

salman nedian said:


> Don&#8217;t you think Sikhs too deserve independence after operation bluestar?



Ofcourse they do - thats why we turned over our country to them and one of the surds now rule our country. One of them took over our army too a while back

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