Balkan Tragedy: A Re-enactment of the 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh

re: Truth

Bangladesh-India relations are already quite like Nepal-India relations. At IIT,Kharagpur (my alma mater) we had quite a few students from Bangladesh as also from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Palestine and Nigeria. Lankans, Bangladeshis and Nepalese were completely assimilated into the student body and even held a number of elected student posts. One of my batchmates (north-Indian hindu male) married another from Bangladesh(muslim female).

Recently a Bangladeshi book fair was organized in Calcutta and was received very well. Bangla literature from one side of the border is already quite popular on the other. With the recent bus service between Dhaka and Calcutta (note the almost casual way in which it was started contrary to the hype for the Delhi-Lahore service) relations will receive another boost. Granted that there are some thorny issues like water sharing, royalty for Indian books, etc. but I am sure these will be resolved even better in the future. For example, a joint action by India, Bangladesh and China can be started for better water sharing, perhaps by building a few dams on the Brahmaputra (in Tibet) and Ganga (more upstream than Farakka) to help relieve flooding in BD and Assam. The finance minister has already suggested a common currency on his recent trip to Dhaka to relieve the trade deficit (which can lead to the copyright and other issues being resolved). I hope relations in future are defined more along such positive directions and perhaps more importantly people are made aware of them.

Ashish

To: Ras Siddique and other Pakistani brothers.

Re: Comparing Kashmir to Bangladesh.

From your response it still appears that you believe what you want to believe rather than believe what your conscience says.

Are you refuting the points which Rishi has mentioned as some kind of Indian propaganda, if you are, then probably you will always interpret truth as it suits you. We ordinary Indians question the need for Special Status to Kashmir as our state is based on equality. Our constitution guarantees them every kind of support. It has political representatives from Kashmir itself and not from New Delhi. So there is a democratic structure and one cannot say whats happening there is oppression.

If you say that Kashmiri`s have the right to self determination because they are majority Muslims and have a separate identity than other Indians, then I would say India has a larger Muslim population and they happily co-exist with their counterparts. In India, we have many lingusitic, caste, religion, pockets different from each other with strong identities of their own and so as per your logic right to a country of their own. If you still stick to this point of view then let us go back to the status of 1947 of undivided India and let each community decide wherever they are in majority decide their map, name of their country through self determination. I`m sure alongwith India there wouldn`t be anything called Pakistan because you too have distinct four ethnic groups who have every right to self-determination and if given a choice they would prefer their own independent countries, let this rule apply to all, why only to Kashmir.

The repurcussions in the eventuality of Kashmir separating because of this reason will result in nothing short of catastrophe for both India and Pakistan. I would like to suggest that it will be better for all to maintain this status quo and get on with our other pressing problems together.

Re: Jamal Bhai, let us add that ``Dohi`` from Bogra
to that cham cham and sandesh from Savar.
I also want to thank all Bangladeshis here for assisting my mother during her recent trip to
Makkah for Hajj. She, along with my aunt told me
that the friendliest people she met in Saudi were
the Bangladeshis while KNOWING FULL WELL that
they were Pakistani.
This just adds to the extent of the tragedy that
Bengalis, without whom we would not have Pakistan
were treated so shabbily by us.
In the US we pray alongside each other in the same
mosques, we can talk about world problems and
during cricket matches they CHEER THE PAKISTANI
TEAM when India and Pakistan play. What else can I feel but ashamed today at the events of 1971?

Ras

Re: Satyavdi & Rishi

Coffee may not be our favorite Pakistani drink but
it appears that you both are making the same
mistake on Kashmir that most Pakistanis were and are making on Bangladesh.

Re: mhmaqbool

``It is also imperative that we should not turn a blind eye to similar atrocities being comitted by the Indian Army in Kashmir. History has a cruel way of repeating itself.``

- I have answered this ad nauseum and still let me repeat it again how much ever unhappy it is going to make you.

-- India does not discriminate against Kashmiris (muslims or not). Pakistan did that with the former east pakistanis.

-- India gives the kashmiris more privilege than what the rest of the country enjoys. No Indian other than a kashmiri can buy land or property in Kashmir. This is autonomy at its highest level.

-- India provides constitutional guarantee to the kashmiris on a scale which no other indian enjoys

-- Kashmir has its own state government. It is elected by their own people and functions for them. They are not ruled by new delhi ( except during periods of governors rule .. which any other state be it gujarat , orissa , bihar or Kashmir does go through).

-- Kashmir is heavily subsidised by the central government . Thus a Tamilian or a Bengali is paying Taxes for the upkeep of Kashmir. East Pakistanis never enjoyed such privileges.

-- Today the central government in India (the supposedly Fascist BJP) is in power with the support of the Kashmiri National Conference. Fat chance for the Bangladeshi to dream of these with the West Pakistanis.

-- Pakistanis treated Bangladesh as a step child. India treats the rest of India as a step child compared to Kashmir.

-- Human rights violations by the Indian army does happen, but atleast the Indian government is democratic enough to have its actions audited by the public and the press and the human rights commissions. Vajpayee is not a dictator like Milosevic, nor is he a pseudo dictator like Bhutto.

This is something which a person from a country which was predominantly under Military rule , where one state (punjab) subjugates all the other states based on RACE, and superiority and numerical strength, where people are brought up in a monotheistic quasi-theocratic state will probably fail to understand. Granted such feelings of racial superiority exists in India too. But the numbers game of the democratic system, puts the entire country under the feet of a politician like a Jayalalitha from Tamil Nadu or an Abdullah from Kashmir.

Please Understand the differences before you voice your opinion .

If West Pakistan had given autonomy to east pakistan, if east pakistanis were treated as more than equals by west pakistanis, if east pakistan had had a democratic government which helped keep the central government in power, if human rights had been allowed in east pakistan , and if pakistan by itself had been a democratic country where the voice of the majority was heard,,, then you can compare India and Pakistan in relation to Kashmir and Bangladesh.

If you don`t do that my friend, it is just your hypocrisy and your incapacity and dreams of grandeur that are doing the trick.

Wake up and smell the coffeee

Rishi

Hi,

I agree with mhmaqbool that any tragedy, irrespective of the number of people killed must be condemened. But thats where my agrrement ends. I donot agree with maqbool whe he says that the tragedy in kashmir is the same as that In Bangladesh. In Kashmir all the violence is due to the seccessionist terrorsits , many of whom are imported mercenaries. There Indian army is targetting terrorists only who are killing Hindus and also Pro India muslims. Again, I do believe that the security forces are comitting excesses , but thats an exception not a rule. I guess, we should deal with faltering army personnel with

a heavy hand, if we are not already doing so.

Also, Kashmiris are not oppressed people, because they enjoy or equal ( or in some matters more) rights than other Indian citizens. So if some people say that they want to separate only because of religion, a secular country like India cannot agree with them. So India will fight the terrorists and also help the people so that this problem gets solved soon, and so that it fades away, just as the one in Punjab did.

Its hight time now, some knowledgeabale people also start talking about the plight of the Kashmiris on the Pakistani side of the border.

Thanks

Letter to Mr. Ras Siddiqui April 9, 1999

Dear Mr. Siddiqui:

It is heartening to hear your voice in Chowk.

I agree with you that Kosovo and pre-1971 East Pakistan may not be fully equated. But overall the Balkan picture bears numerous parallels with the events of 1971. In today`s Washington Post one

reader, commenting on Kosovo wrote, ``... Kosovo is Serbian both legally and emotionally if not demographically``. Many Pakistani political thinkers now agree on one point that without the active participation of the Bengali Muslims Pakistan would not even born. Needless to say the Bengalis were left out from playing any

significant role in the nascent country. The rest is history.

I endorse the view that it is imperative to know the WHY of the 1971 genocide. The Freedom of Information Act would presumably reveal the

collusion of Yahya regime and Nixon Administration. It might also disclose the linkage of such war criminals like Rao Farman Ali with

certain Nixon staffers. You definitely have seen that information regarding atrocities in Guatemala have exposed the hidden role of certain US government officials in colluding with the brutal

Guatemalan military junta. Dr. Warren Kimball, a History Professor of Rutgers University is a vocal supporter of release of information in regard to certain dark chapters of US history. Because of people like him we could find out the real story behind the ouster of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq of Iran. Dr. Mosaddeq`s only ``mistake`` was that he

nationalised most of his country`s natural resources.

Regarding the issue of war crime, it is definitely important to know the WHO and HOW. Please do not feel ashamed, the conscientious Bengalis will never blame all Pakistanis because of a heinous crime committed by a section of the army. During that period, Pakistan defense forces had such humane officers like Rear Admiral Ahsan or

Air Marshall Asghar Khan.

You talked about the ``criminals that freely walk the streets``. In this regard I would like to point out a shame and disgrace of our nation- we not only rehabilitated Bengali war criminals but also let them go scot free. This was the mistake done by all of our administrations including Awami League. Now the present Prime Minister of Bangladesh who claims herself a champion of 1971

apparently more interested to put the killers of her father behind bar. I doubt she will do anything regarding the killers of the millions.

The good news is there is no statute of limitation for the criminals who committed a crime against humanity. The UK Televeision`s Channel Four exposed a few of the Bengali war criminals of 1971. Today, the video of the TV documentary titled ``War Crime File`` is available in the market. The process just started. One of the notorious executioner, called Ekatturer Jallad is enjoying the safety and security of North America. He is very much involved in religious activity; he is truly the epitome of a wolf in sheep`s clothing. Hopefully , someday he will be forced to answer for his sordid past.

The liberal and conscientious segment of the Pakistani society can help by building up public opinion against the war criminals by exposing the magnitude of the crimes of 1971 and the identity of the criminals.

Finally, like you I used to be a fan of Savar`s chamcham and sandesh.

Now I miss them very much.

Take care.

Sincerely yours,

Jamal Hasan

Re: firaq # 15

This is an attempt to explain, hopefully with Umair Khan`s permission, what the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia hopes to accomplish.

The nature of the NATO bombing is political and not military and it is tended to force Milosevic back to the table to agree to some sort of a deal on the Kosovar autonomy.

I had written a detailed answer, but due to static my PC froze and I lost that data....will try again later to give you a detailed reason behind NATO`s bombing.

There is a lot of truth to what the author says, but the scale of events is highly exaggerated. However, it doesn`t make any difference whether 300,000 Bengalis died ( which is closer to to correct figure than the 3 million), or that there were a million refugees instead of the 10 million - atrocities were comitted and went unpunished. It was a dark chapter in Pakistan`s history that should not be forgotten.

It is also imperative that we should not turn a blind eye to similar atrocities being comitted by the Indian Army in Kashmir. History has a cruel way of repeating itself.

As an Indian, I am very proud of Indias role in the 1971 war.

We helped a discriminated people form their own country AND despite our own ideology that Curzon`s division of Bengal based on communal lines and the subsequent creation of East Pakistan was wrong, we did not try to enforce that view on the new nation of Bangladesh. We recognized that 25 years as a separate country had created differences between West Bengalis and Bangladeshis and they were not ready for a willing union of the two people.

I see more hopeful signs today with Calcutta-based and Dacca-based politicians developing direct state-to-state (or state-to-country if you wish) relations. It appears to me that in the fullness of time, Bangladesh-India relations will become like Nepal-India relations. An Indian rarely feels he is dealing with a foreigner when he interacts with a Nepali. This attitude will begin in INdia-Bangladesh relations. This assumes that there are no more Babri Masjid type incidents.

I have noticed that a number of Pakistani like to say they are a people with their backs to India and their face towards West Asia. That is their choice. Of course, if my neighbour said something like that to me, I would consider him remarkably rude and not want anything to do with them.

Anyhow, the Bangladeshis are forced to have their faces looking towards India and the day they put out a hand, we will embrace them with love.

Since 1947, when The `Us`(Pakistanis) versus `Them` (Indians/Hindus) policy has started a chain reaction of hate towards Indians and Hindus which is silently becoming a part of our national characteristic and putting our lives on hold. We merely exist; dysfunctional and confused, purposeless and living with paralysing uncertainty.

In 1971 any Hindu in Bangladesh was considered pro-Indian and killed. Same is happening right now. Any violence in Karachi are elsewhere is blamed on RAW agents.

To : Jamal Hassan

Thanks to internet we can have a genuine people

to people contact conveniently. I think in these times it is important to have such a contact in order to understand another human as a human being like me rather than what his religion, colour, caste, nationality is. We must understand that

the more we passionately defend our so called differences we`ll never think twice before attacking the other. In our sub-continent I think that is what plagues our mind and will probably remain an impediment to our unity. Some of us don`t realise that on a personal level that is fascinating but together enmasse we must emphasise and strengthen our commonality. That is the only way we can stop oppression and sufferings of victims.

And a case in point is creation of Bangladesh. The myth of Muslim brotherhood and that only Muslims can understand Muslim issues was exposed.

Instead of appreciating and equally encouraging the differences of people and language of East Pakistan the rulers of Pakistan who mainly comprised people from West Pakistan tried to dominate and impose their language and beliefs on the other side. I would like to believe that most ordinary citizens of West Pakistan did not approve the actions of these rulers but they (especially intellectuals) should have collectively revolted against them to show solidarity with their brothers from the East instead of falling in line with their government propaganda. Perhaps it would have helped to lay at rest that at the ground level one side is genuinely concerned about problems of the other.

Though being an Indian I have a lot of respect for Mr. Jinnah who I think had made maximum effort to keep Undivided India together but because of differences with the Congress was compelled to realise Pakistan, but there was no doubt about his secular credentials and his vision of modern Islamic state of Pakistan. If only he lived longer and genarations of Pakistani`s would have forcefully followed his vision, then Pakistan would have been a model Islamic state for others to admire.

Greetings! - Thank you for that very interesting article! Violence, aggression, and war, in any shape or form are wrong in my opinion. However, I do not know if we can compare Kosovo with BD of `71?! Both sprung from what seem to be different roots. I am going to have to think some more about this, and I appreciate your write up making me think! :-)

mariam

Re: maliani # 3

I accept your conclusions that the author was not trying to draw a comparsion, but in the same token, it is a mistake to draw parallels with Shoah (Holocaust).

The point I was trying to make is that the crime of genocide should stand on its own and should not be equated with another to draw attention to its scale of tradegy. That creates a ``trip wire`` or a level of threshold which offically legitimizes it as such once a certain level of misery has been attained.

Also, I would generally caution people to refrain from drawing conclusions, of the Kosovo genocide, with the Jewish experience in Shoah, because the two, though horrible, are not the same. There is no historic parallel to the Shoah and nor can there be one.

Dear Mr. Hasan,

My name is Wajid Hasan Shah. I wanted to express my sincere appreciation & gratitude to you for writing the article: ``Balkan Tragedy: A Re-enactment of the 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh,`` which I just read.

Aside from having the name Hasan in common, I also share your sentiments on the matter of our Independence War, though, unfortunately, many do not.

My father, Shah Mohammad Farid, is a Muktijodha who was Sub-Divisional Officer of Rajbari/Goalondo at the time. He, along with several fellow friends and

officers (including Toqfique-E-Elahi Chowdhury, Bir Bikram, Syed Rezaul Hayat --who are current Secretaries in our Government) revolted; my father was

captured while fighting the Pak Army on April 17th near Goalondo Ghat. Despite being a civillian officer, he was tortured. Some other civillian officers who were tortured were not lucky enough to make it through the war alive. I mentioned one such person (Shamsuddin Uncle) in my letter to the Josephite 1989 batch mail-server, from where your article was sent to me.

Thank you again. I will also forward you a poem (that is soon to be publiched back home) on my feelings about the traitors to our land, if you want me to. I am also including a copy of my reply to your article that I sent through the list-server...

Sincerely,

Wajid Hasan Shah

The following is the letter I sent through the Josephite89 list-server:

Naurose,

Thanks for sharing that. My father is a Muktijodha who was tortured by the Pak Army in 1971. I have heard of many other people, including civillian officers, who weren`t as lucky to make it out alive. Biplob (who was Agrani room-mate)`s father, Shamsuddin Uncle, was put into a ``bosta,`` which was then hung from a tree and then he was beaten mercilessly for two days. When the bag was taken down and he was taken out, his once black hair had turned white...

I really feel that these Pak military officials, along with Golam Azam and other Razakars, Al-Badars and Al-Shams should be tried. For how can we forgive the people who breathe the air of our country yet choose to

betray her very people? Even 50+ years after World War II, the Israelis still pursue Nazis. Unfortunately, we choose to forget the past. I am not suggesting that we forgo building our future in the process, but we should NEVER let their crimes go unpinished...

Woe to the traitor to Bangladesh! (Perhaps you remember this -- Benjamin Sir

gave us this sentence on a voice test, and no one got it right -- the correct answer was/is: May woe befall the traitor to Bangladesh.)

Bangladesh Chirojibi Hok!

Sincerely,

Wajid

re: Nameless

Not only was the US on the side of the Pakistani army and arranged for indirect provision of arms, it actively encouraged China to join in.

Read the Henry Kissinger transcripts at

http://www.seas.gwu.edu/nsarchive/nsa/publications/DOC_readers/kissinger/item2.htm

Note that this is opposite of what they have been saying all along. If I remember correctly Nixon said in 1986 that the reason for the USS Enterprise presence was to PREVENT China from joining the war. Barbara Crossette, the venerable NY Times correspondent, former editor of the foreign news section and author of ``India: Facing the 21st Century`` makes a lot of noise about this in her book apart from criticizing India for its *aggression * of Nepal, Maldives, etc.!!!

re: Narain

I agree with you completely. It is indeed unfortunate that we are so pathetic when it comes to remembering our past, justifying our actions or countering western propoganda. As a case in point, there was no noise in India about the recent Kissinger transcripts!! The Americans obviously will not talk about issues that embarass them.

Ashish

Satyavadi, I certainly cannot speak for all muslims, but I have just recently finished writing an article of being a muslim in India.

Hopefully, we can have a discussion once that gets published.