Bangladesh Memories

An apolgia pro forma to Bangladesh, from Pakistan, for the war of 1971 will only be forthcoming when we, Pakistanis, realize that that our actions were wrong. As long, as the thinking and, the false ideas about that war persit, we will never accept truth and nor learn the consequences from that war.

Nothing much has changed since those dark December days. The lies told, then, are the same ones being told today, but only the difference is the place mentioned; Kashmir instead of Dhaka. If we, as Pakistanis, are so eager to teach our children the games of spears, bow and arrows and guns, we should also, in all fairness, tell them how these games end: a mother crying over the grave of her child.

Much to the disappointment of every sane citizen of Pakistan. It is very much true that we ``Pakistanis`` have never been told our real history. The ``muslim era`` in the sub-continent has been fabricated and mis-told to us during our school days by the teaching of useless bunch of lies known as the text book, whose publication has always been controlled by the government. The real truth about how the division of British India took place has never been told to us. Since childhood we have been told nothing but a bunch of lies about our history. The idea of India is our enemy has been sowed into us from start. The idea that Jinnah was the greatest man on earth and Gandhi was nothing but a pro-hindu, British puppet has been somehow drilled into us. So much so that we do not even want to listen to the real truth. If we don`t go much far back and just take a look at the TV Serial Jinnah, played a couple of years ago by PTV. Jinnah was portrayed to be a man who was devoted Muslim from birth, who spoke absolutely flawless ``Lukhnavi Urdu``. In real Mr Jinnah was hardly a Muslim, records show he didn`t even knew how to say his namaz. He could not speak Urdu at all. Regardless of all I still consider him to be a great person, who did us a great favour by providing us with this nation to mess up.

Similarly regarding the partition of Pakistan, we still have no clue why, what happened. I agree to RR that the attitude of the native Bengalis was hostile towards us, but why was it. Let`s keep in mind that they were of majority in Pakistan. If we were a real democratic country, why didn`t we have a Prime Minister who was from the then ``East Pakistan``? I agree that jute wasn`t the only source of income for Pakistan, but still it was one of the major ones. The Balance of social development between the two factions was definitely not in favour of East Pakistan. But ``East Pakistan`` did have the greater share of industry. Specially sugar cane and Jute.

We shred tears on the wrong doings of Nazis with Jews. We call it inhuman and disturbing. But if we recall the misdeeds of Pakistan Army on Bengalis were very much the same. Perhaps not bad as mass murders, but yes they did gang rapes. Do you think they should be called shaheed?

I personally am not a Bengali. I am a Pakistani. I have had no contact with Bangladesh ever. But I am a realist. I try and learn about the facts using neutral media. I do try to sound neutral, but still I do apologise for any biased attitude that might be portrayed from my above writings. My point was to blame both the parties. But my experiences in life say that we should improve ourselves by blaming ourselves. And not repeat the same mistakes we did with East Pakistan on Kashmir and maybe even Karachi. In our 50-year national history, we have lost a lot. Lets try and keep together the remaining we have.

The seeds for breakup were sown in 1951/2 when the West Pakistani politicians (God knows what they were thinking) tried to impose the Urdu language in Bengal. There are, I think, certainly more memorials (and at least as much official/unofficial remembrance) of the language riots of 1951 in present day Bangladesh as there are for the 1971 war.

If someone wishes to reflect on what went wrong, perhaps that reflection can start with considering the importance of respect for other cultures (be they of the East or of the West). And take it from there...

http://sg.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/asia/afp/article.html?s=singapore/headlines/000326/asia/afp/Victim_of_1971_Bangladeshi_war_finds__great_joy__in_the_truth.html

Victim of 1971 Bangladeshi war finds `great joy` in the truth

DHAKA, March 26 (AFP) -

As Bangladesh celebrated the 29th anniversary of its independence on Sunday, the first woman to go public about the torture she suffered at the hands of the Pakistani army says she has found ``great joy`` in facing the truth.

``There is a great joy in coming to terms with the truth, but the pain and sorrow would never go away,`` Ferdousy Priyabhashini, a celebrated sculptor who was among the at least 250,000 women raped during the war, told AFP in an interview on Saturday.

Priyabhashini explained she had reconciled herself to the fact she was a ``victim of circumstance`` and needed to tell a new generation about the bad months.

Collaborators and Islamic fundamentalists who helped the Pakistani army now want to downplay those events, she said.

``I want to be alone when the melancholic winds of March (the month of independence) start blowing, which at one time made me romantic and now takes me back to those horrific days of pain and anguish,`` she said.

``I can only say I was trapped to my fate.``

Priyabhashini, a mother of six, said that when she decided to go public in Bangladesh`s conservative Muslim society she told her husband she was ``responsible for everything and I have nothing to lose whether the society accepts or rejects me.``

A mere 22-years-old in 1971, she went public in November 10, 1999, when her story was published in ``Tormenting `71,`` a book by prominent anti-fundamentalist Ekkaturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee.

At least three million Bengalis were killed in Bangladesh`s 1971 independence war against Pakistan, and 250,000 women were raped during those nine months, according to official estimates.

Priyabhashini, then a divorced mother of three, fell into a trap set by Urdu-speaking Pakistani collaborators in May of that year after failing to run away and returning to her job at the privately owned Crescent Jute Mills in southwestern Khulna district.

She was alone as the Pakistani army launched its military crackdown code-named ``Operation Searchlight`` to silence the independence movement.

``I can never say or give the real picture of my horrific days in captivity and the killings I saw at that time,`` she said, suddenly becoming silent.

Priyabhashini came face-to-face with her first horror as soon as she stepped into the place she thought would be her ``shelter`` -- the home of her Urdu-speaking boss.

She fell victim to the man, who she said once treated her as a younger sister, immediately on entering the house. Between May and Bangladesh`s Victory Day on December 16 she was tortured and raped by Pakistani army officers based in Khulna and Jessore.

``In that house, owned by the jute mill owners, I saw whisky on the table and I still wondered why was this man who I saw always as my elder brother behaving like that with me ... I was so naive I did not even understand that a war of such great magnitude had broken out,`` she said.

``My boss made me a prisoner and before going to inform his military officers he told me `don`t go anywhere, army officers will come here`,`` she said, still seething with bitterness.

``I was supposed to be killed and often wonder why I am alive. Maybe I feared death and learned to survive during those tormenting days.

``I saw truckloads of Bengalis being brought to the mill and beheaded by a machine at the factory before being thrown into the adjacent river.``

Asked about her experiences after going public, Priyabhashini said ``it was my life`s greatest gift when my fried, and now my husband, accepted me along with my children despite my tragedy.``

``I never want any sympathy from anyone.``

Her husband Ahsan Ullah Ahmed, employed in a private company, said his wife`s decision to publicize her case ``has not changed our life.``

``I think how helpless one can be in her own country and I could not help her, besides there are so many more women who even suffered more than my wife,`` he said.

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