16th December 1971: From East Pakistan to Bangladesh

[fallstuff]

^^ The first part of the speech takes a different line from the latter part in the clip - I'd say both he and the crowd got caught up in the emotion of the events that were still very recent and painful.

I did notice the clip is incomplete. I can speculate that he might have addressed the concerns of the folks that is not in the clip. In the beginning of the clip seemed like he was talking about some sort of Islamic unity. Later on his speech becomes a rant.

The outburst is simply inconceivable from a leader. An outburst like that is certainly not conciliatory, but pushes the parties even farther.

 

[Solomon2]

I don't know. Come find out. You love playing the Pakistan expert, high time you visited us

Not on my own dime.

Pretty much every Pakistani understands that we - the people and government - made mistakes which contributed to 1971.

Uh-uh-uh! I wasn't writing about what Pakistanis believe now, but what Pakistani leaders thought then. For haven't you ever considered that Pakistanis like yourself could be making the same errors in thinking now as Pakistanis did then?

The India-Pakistan separation happened in 1947 and it very much remains a living dispute. 1971 is more recent, but BD-Pak ties are FAR better than Indo-Pak ties. That's saying something.

Not really. I'm sure it helps a lot that Rump Pakistan and Bangladesh don't share a common border.

 

[fallstuff]

@fallstuff, You have COMPLETELY missed the point. Bhutto was convincing Pakistanis who were angry about 1971 to befriend Bangladesh. He used the word you probably latched on to as something those who oppose this viewpoint would say. And then he deconstructed the opposing argument.

This speech actually asks Pakistanis to embrace Bangladesh as a brother Islamic nation and as a friend.

If that is the case, my apologies. I was looking for a date and location of the speech but couldn't find any.

 

[TechLahore]

Not on my own dime.

Aw, you cheapskate!!

Not really. I'm sure it helps a lot that Rump Pakistan and Bangladesh don't share a common border.

You know what. Your views are welcome, but your insults are not. If you can learn some manners and cease to use abusive terms for Pakistan, you are welcome here. If you cannot, then please find some other pulpit to spew your abuse from. Will you continue to insult Pakistan by using the term you are using for the second time today? Please let me know either way.

 

[TopCat]

And in some way.. I personally feel the separation of bangladesh left pakistan to the real Jackals.. the maudoodi (and various others) inspired "revivalists"..

I agree.. Thats the only thing Pakistan would be missing for the years to come. Bengalis would never let Pakistan to get involved in proxy war with Soviets neither it allowed extremism.

Since the Hindu population of Bangladesh would have provided some balance to these misguided souls.

Then you should not had separated from India in the first place.
2nd Bengalis are Bengalis, Hindus or Muslim would not make any difference. They all will do the same.

Still.. it was this Hindu population that formed the initial core of the Mukti Bahni..

Can you name 10 Hindu name who formed core of Mukti Bahini. No offence to any of my country men. Hindus had very little to say in any political party even within AL.

Even in the employment of forces.. "tiger(read pussycat)" niazi used the worst possible tactic for his forces. deliberately spreading them thin..

He was forced to spread them thin. His opponents were way too smart.

Fate.. it seems.had planned Bangladesh from the start..or were the Bengali's simply tired of pledge never fulfilled and tired of the same history.
Fate..it seems had no love for Pakistan...or are the Pakistani's never tired of repeating history.....

Dont understand what you talking about???

 

[T-Faz]

December 16: Bangladesh’s day of liberation – The Express Tribune Blog

Exclamations of freedom in 1971 as Dhaka is 'liberated'

The newspaper headlines in Dhaka on December 16 gave me pause: “day of liberation”, “victory day” they proclaimed in big black letters emblazoned across the masthead of the papers. In Pakistan, isn’t this day perceived as a somber occasion where Pakistan was rent asunder by the forces of evil? The answer that was evading me while scanning the newspapers came to me when I saw these words of a Bangladeshi columnist.

“The 16th of December 1971 was a day of transformation. It turned caged birds into free birds. On a single day, our life changed for the rest of our life. It was like a knife blade, which severed the past from the future. It forever erased the ignominy of being ruled by others and brought us the resplendent dawn of freedom.”

While travelling to Bangladesh, it would not be remiss to say that I was apprehensive about the feelings of the people there towards Pakistanis. After all, we had fought a war and we had lost half of Pakistan while they had gained a new country, although this chapter had been skimmed over in my school history books. We had not only been unjust towards our own people, but had also been racist and contemptuous. My father’s Bengali batchmates in Chittagong were ridiculed in public by visiting officers from West Pakistan. The drawing rooms in Karachi and Lahore at that time were full of people running down Bengalis with gusto. They were not only Hindus, but were also black, puny, scared and stupid while West Pakistanis, of course, ticked all the right boxes being tall, fair, handsome and smart.

A warm welcome in ex-Pakistan

But my misgivings proved unfounded as I was overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit displayed by Bangladeshis. Far from being hostile, people went out of their way to welcome Pakistanis. Smiling waiters said that their wish was that “our countries should not have been torn apart, because together we would have been so much stronger!” Since most Bangladeshis are great supporters of the Pakistani cricket team, every single victory would be met with unabashed joy and high spirits. When the Pakistani team lost, they would sink into depression and pepper Pakistanis with questions as to why our cricketers were playing so badly. Our shalwar kameezes elicited great admiration while exhibitions by Pakistani retailers like Bareeze were a knockout success.

The memories of war

But it would be unrealistic to expect that the ghosts of the war do not make their presence felt at times. When my father visited Dhaka, he was feted at dinner by his Bengali batchmates who he had not met for decades. Between hugs, news of long lost friends and a sumptuous dinner, I noticed a book in the drawing room which contained graphic images of the murders of intellectuals at Dhaka University during the war. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these pictures took on a surreal quality as I compared the blood and gore on the pages with the bonhomie between my father and his batch mates.

A Pakistani visitor remembered how she told a Bangladeshi fruit seller “Bangladesh Pakistan bhai bhai” (or Bangladesh and Pakistan are like brothers) to which he replied,

“Yes, we are brothers, but you people did not treat us right in 1971.”

An elegant Bangladeshi lady told me how her father and uncle were taken away from home in Dhaka in 1971, never to be seen again. She said she knew they were dead, but she wished that they had got their bodies back so the family could have buried them and got some kind of closure. When I said I was so sorry about what had happened to her family, she smiled, touched my hand and replied:

”It’s all right. These things happen in war time, don’t they?”

The land of Tagore

Hospitable and articulate, the Bengalis are such a multifaceted people. Their song recitals of great poets like Rabrindranath Tagore and Nazrul Islam are so melodious that one cannot help sinking into a reverie even as the unfamiliar lyrics throb in the air. The colourful dances and the joie de vire of the rhythmic dancers tend to cast it’s own spell on Bengalis and non Bengalis alike. Almost every home has a harmonium and tabla, as young and old play and sing and captivate. It is said that there is music in the soil of Bangladesh: even their monsoons have a lyrical quality about them as the trees sway, clouds gather and rain pours forth. Some argue that East Pakistan was an unnatural addition to Pakistan. How could a people so steeped in the love of their rich culture have gelled with a clueless country which has no identity, and which survives on a national security narrative which does not leave much room for anything as frivolous as music, dance and poetry?

Bangladesh: In retrospect

Instead of playing the blame game since time immemorial, and accusing our leaders or institutions or India for leading us to the unbridgeable chasm of December 16, 1971, why don’t we take a good look at ourselves? Are we all also not to blame for not speaking up for our fellow citizens as they were being bludgeoned into submission? To their credit, the Bengalis refused to bow their heads and take such discriminatory treatment. As for India, it took advantage of our disunity and overweening arrogance, but we ourselves opened the door of opportunity to usher Mrs Indira Gandhi in and hand her Bangladesh on a platter. The irony is that some of the very architects of our ignominious surrender appear in today’s talk shows tut tutting over the oppression of East Pakistanis. The faces are the same, but the tune has undergone such a drastic change. Surprisingly, not one anchor has had the guts to expose these spineless guests and their crocodile tears

The tolerance shown by the Bangladeshis towards us, despite the bad blood of 1971, makes me wonder whether we could have displayed this level of understanding towards them if the shoe had been on the other foot? The answer is no, judging by the kind of rabble rousing bigotry and hatred on display against our own people even today. As George Santayana said:

“Those who cannot learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.”

 

[Husnain_Ali]

I think it's good that East Pakistan separated from West Pakistan for several reasons. First, it's more than 1000 miles apart from each other. Secondly, their climate, culture and language is different. Off course there are many different languages in now Pakistan but we share more with each other than now Bangladesh. However, our one kalma makes them our brother nation. we will always be there for them whenever they need us. Whatever happened in the past cannot be changed. We should learn from it and don't let old arguments effect our brotherly relationship with each other.

 

[somebozo]

Bangladesh was bound to separate if not militarily then politicaly. The differences due to separate Geo-political theaters was growing day by day and keeping the union was unsustainable in the long run. Hence there were no feeling of remorse. Large part was played by politicians encouraged by India in to cook up exploitation theories. The same theories were then cooked by another Indian terrorist wing in west Pakistan but were silenced successfully.

The Indian intervention turned the conflict into all out Indo-Pak war further confused by anti-Pakistan Bengali sentiments. And it was shameful of Pakistan army part to solve the conflict with force rather negotiations. Had it not been for incompetent bigoted generals leading PA.

 

[ajtr]

I think it's good that East Pakistan separated from West Pakistan for several reasons. First, it's more than 1000 miles apart from each other.

Only people i here this 1000 mile separation logic frrom pakistanis.i dont think any other country except pakistanis give such a logic.

Secondly, their climate, culture and language is different. Off course there are many different languages in now Pakistan but we share more with each other than now Bangladesh.

fir se be sar-pair ka logic.If you are a diverse country culturally,climate wise will that mean you will claim on on diverse part.do u see india doing it or for that matter china doing it.both are diverse countries.

 

[fallstuff]

if they were with us than must be working for bhartis. traitors. what happened is good for pakistan and wish of allah.

Sad you feel that way. You are a star example why the separation ( to put it in a mild way) ever took place. There was a world that existed beyond the paranoia of some Generals. The dream of the the East Pakistanis.

There were grievances, it was clearly a failure on the part of the then West Pakistani folks to understand that.

Indira Gandhi realized the depth of this grievance, while the Generals in West Pakistan didn't.

I believe we, after becoming Bangladeshis, have moved beyond that, and only interested in the political rhetorics that help building the country we call Bangladesh.

 

[BATMAN]

I don't understand the point in starting discussion of this issue only this year!!!

Bangladesh was a separated by Indian meddling in Pakistan affairs and bunch of political activists.

Some people do not miss the opportunity to start anti Pakistan discussions.

Mods. close the thread, as it is an attempt to baselessly defaming Pakistan and its army.

 

[Al-zakir]

.... reunification is not possible..... but after 2014 BD PAK relationship will be closer than anytime in past.......

Where have you gotten this information from? We are in 2010 and the relation between Bangladesh-Pakistan is 6 feet under so where the hell you have come up with this imagination???

 

[Al-zakir]

Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh: Did They Commit Some Mistake of Judgment?
Posted on 16 December 2010

Faiz Al-Najdi
Riyadh
December 16 is such a day that it reverberates the thoughts of the breakup of Pakistan, creation of a new country Bangladesh and the gory tales of the plight of many that began that day and unfortunately continues to-date. One such people are the 250,000 stranded Pakistanis (also known as stranded Biharis) languishing in the ghetto-like shanties spread over the urban sprawls of Bangladesh, since that fateful day. Despite all odds lined up against them, by Pakistan, Bangladesh, the International community, OIC and the so-called Muslim Ummah, they are waiting in vain in the false hope of getting repatriated someday to their chosen home – Pakistan.
Much has been written and spoken on this subject. The list of the advocates for this cause remains countless, some have passed away and some have grown old. Noted intellectual Ahmed Ilias (an erstwhile Pakistani who was denied repatriation to Pakistan and is now a Bangladeshi citizen) in his book “Biharis: The Indian Émigrés in Bangladesh, An objective Analysis” has dwelt upon in lucid details the political and social developments encompassing whatever happened in the former East Pakistan. It focuses on the accounts of the events before and after the partition on 14 August 1947 to the ultimate debacle that led to the events of the 16 December 1971 surrender of the Pak Army and eventual creation of Bangladesh.
He writes that in today’s Bangladesh, Biharis are the descendants of those optees and emigrants who came to East Bengal after the great divide of India in 1947. It is mentioned that much before 1947, many government employees under the British administration were deputed to various places in East Bengal. Among them a large number of people came from the then province of Bihar to serve in the railways, in the police, judiciaries and other civil departments. It is also often claimed that more than two hundred years ago ancestors of the present day Biharis of Northern Bengal migrated from Bihar and permanently settled down there. And, in 1947 at the time of partition, the British government gave choice to all of its service holders asking them of their option for the country – India or Pakistan – that they wanted to serve. In response, a vast majority of the Indian Muslim employees opted for Pakistan and likewise the Hindus opted for India. Some of the Bihari Muslim optees were sent to the then West Pakistan and the rest were asked to take up duty in the then East Pakistan – now Bangladesh.
Ahmed Ilias further writes that it was a Bihari leader – Moulana Raghib Ahsan (1904-1975) who in fact gave leadership to the historic “Direct Action Day” in Calcutta on 16 August 1946 to forge and demonstrate the support of Indian Muslims for creation of Pakistan. This was followed by Noakhali and Bihar riots. Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy was the main man lending support to the Muslims in Noakhali. A year later, the bloody consequences of both of these riots ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan on 14 August 1947. When Pakistan was established, both Suhrawardy and Raghib Ahsan disassociated with Pakistan Muslim League and formed their own political groups in the then East Pakistan. Suhrawardy pioneered formation of the Awami League. Raghib Ahsan, being his close associate mobilized the Mohajirs (refugees) in East Pakistan and formed the Anjuman-e-Mohajreen-wal-Ansar. This was to protect and promote the Mohajir cause with local support.
At the time of the partition the economic status of both East and West Pakistan was more or less at par with each other. However, as the time elapsed West Pakistan was seen to attain prosperity while the East, down with frequent natural calamities like floods and typhoons, continued to struggle to sustain and survive. The mainstay of the national economy then came from jute which was produced in East Pakistan. It’s an irony that most mill owners of jute mills then were non-Bengalis. And, allegedly the income earned via jute mills continued to be transferred to West Pakistan. So much so that when the new capital city was developed by Ayub Khan in Islamabad, Sheikh Mujib on his maiden visit there was reportedly heard making this comment, “I smell jute in the buildings, the environs and the surroundings of Islamabad”, meaning the capital was built out of the revenue generated from jute – which rightfully should have been spent in East Pakistan.
In the former East Pakistan, the Bihari migrants had the advantage over the local Bengali populace. They spoke Urdu which was declared the only national language by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, were educated, experienced in railways, telephone and telegraphs and civil services. This allowed them an opportunity to fill in the gaps created by the Hindus who had left East Pakistan to migrate to India. Although the Biharis were initially welcomed by the Bengalis however the honeymoon soon had to get over and the relations between them started to get sour. In a way, the Biharis were more to blame as they alienated themselves with the local populace to associate and identify themselves more with the West Pakistani controlled establishment.
Many more instances worked against the Biharis and the Bengalis saw the Biharis as the agents of West Pakistan. During Ayub’s era, the Bihari BD (Basic Democracy of Ayub Khan) members were seen to be submissive to the political programs of Ayub Khan. They performed their duty not as the representatives of their community but rather as agents of the ruling clique. This was not at all appreciated by the Bengalis then.


Easy AdSense by Unreal
Fast forward – during the military rule of Yahya Khan in 1971, the Para-Military forces like Mujahid force and EPCAF (East Pakistan Civil Armed Force) were formed by the Pakistani Army Establishment. Some other forces like Razakars were also formed. Similarly, some political parties were encouraged by the Army to organize their armed cadres like Al-Badar (armed cadre of Jamat-e-Islami) and Al-Shams (armed cadre of Muslim League) to assist the military in its operation against the Bengali insurgents. Most of the unemployed and illiterate Bihari youths, who were sons of the patriotic and pro-Pakistani parents, enthusiastically joined these forces in large numbers. They were also mostly those whose parents or relatives were killed before or after 25 March-1971 army operation against the Bengalis.
The patriotic pro-Pakistani enthusiasm demonstrated by the Biharis, especially by their youths, was not much appreciated by the local Bengali populace. The Biharis in general were already dubbed as the agents of West Pakistan. The Bengali press and the political slogans by Awami League had already poisoned the Bengali brains against the Biharis for their stance in favor of Pakistan and its military establishment in East Pakistan. As a result and because of the political conflicts between the Army and the Awami League, the members of the Bihari community mostly railway employees in many remote places of North Bengal and being the soft target, became the worst sufferers. In Santahar, the local Bengalis attacked them on 21 March-1971 – 4 days before the Army crack-down in Dhaka. From 21 March thru 17 April some twenty thousands were killed in Santahar alone. In Dinajpur, however the carnage was even worse. These attacks on Bihari
settlements continued unabated, until Pakistani control was re-established around end of April 1971. It was claimed that 3 million Bengalis died for the creation of Bangladesh. However, it is not known as to how many Urdu speaking Biharis gave their lives in the country they migrated to as their adopted home. All of them were killed in a cold-blooded and in a premeditated manner just because they openly supported the Pakistani establishment against the Bengali insurgents – just out of their love and patriotism for Pakistan only. It was heavy price that they paid for sheer patriotism for the country they loved.
Geo TV anchor Hamid Mir, during a program organized by a local social organization in Riyadh-Saudi Arabia in April 2009, is on record to have responded to a question put by the scribe to him as follows:
Quote – “The Biharis had made a big mistake by supporting and siding
with the undemocratic forces in East Pakistan (meaning supporting the Pakistani military establishment there) against the local Bengali people. It was a mistake and they have to pay the price of this mistake” -Unquote.
It leaves me wondering if Hamid Mir is right in his assertions. I also wonder if it would serve as a lesson for others if they are put to similar situation in future, as the unfortunate Biharis were put into in East Pakistan.
(Faiz Al-Najdi (aka: Syed Faiz Ahmad) is a Writer and a Columnist based in Riyadh. His email address is: faizalnajdi@gmail.com)

Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh: Did They Commit Some Mistake of Judgment? | DesPardes.com | Breaking News|Latest News|India News |Pakistan News|Politics News |Bollywood News|Cinema News|Hollywood News|Cricket|Business News|Sports News|Health News|

 

[monitor]

dear pakistani members how you remember 16 December in your country ?

 

[monitor]

I don't understand the point in starting discussion of this issue only this year!!!

Bangladesh was a separated by Indian meddling in Pakistan affairs and bunch of political activists.

Some people do not miss the opportunity to start anti Pakistan discussions.

Mods. close the thread, as it is an attempt to baselessly defaming Pakistan and its army.

Bangladesh is a reality because of your total failure of intelligence ignoring the ground reality failure to keep media on pakistans side
and ridiculously using military power to solve political problem .
india just took the opportunity which was given by pakistani themselves .