December 16, 1971: From East Pakistan to Bangladesh

[Md Akmal]

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I don't know what to say, Akmal Sahib, except that I do apologize for the behavior of my Punjabi brethren ! But I've never known anything but Love and Inclusivity living here in Punjab and so its very hard for me to digest that my Punjabis could be responsible for such racism because it goes against every thing that the Punjabi Culture stands for ! I do, however, agree about the Civil Services part...even here in Lahore, the Civil Servants behave more like the last vestiges of Colonialism then true servants of the People ! By the way, my Grandfather was posted in Chittagong and then someplace called MymenSingh, as part of the MES (Military Engineering Services...I think !), and he was tasked, as a Civil Engineer, to build Army Cantonments in East-Pakistan (and all over Pakistan...from the Tribal Areas to Lahore, before that). In fact, my paternal uncle (taya...if you know what that means) was born in Dhaka in the '50s ! My Grandfather was there in Dhaka in '71 as part of some construction work for the MES and he along with his family escaped when the blood-shed started ! He used to tell some gruesome tales about how officers would come home to find their families slaughtered or poisoned by their Bengali domestic help and then those officers would go on a killing spree out in madness and kill innocent Bengalis ! But these were of course isolated events ! He always maintained that the Bengalis only wanted greater Provincial Autonomy and had Bhutto (and Yahya) relented, there wouldn't be a Bangladesh today !

@ How to answer these historical questions ? Here now in this forum there are 4 types of people. One is Indian, 2nd is Pakistani, 3rd is true Bangladeshi and another is Indian motivated Bengalese like the AL who are still jumping without knowing the ground reality. OK, let me write the actual truth what I saw, what I heard, what I read and what I opine. It might heart many but these are facts. All these truth I lately realize. I tell you Indian and our motivated propaganda was so strong that being a Bengalee it was difficult to come out from this circle and find the truth. all these things were carried out in such a manner that it was justified on falsehood.

@ Look India is a big country. There were many many Bengali Hindu refugees who migrated to India. Many went at their own will. Many were forcefully evicted. Most of these Bengali refugees were not intentionally allowed to be re-rehabilitated in India. So, these people had a dream to return in Bengal this way or that way but definitely not within Pakistan. Most of these Bengali were literate. Basically this force was active from the very beginning to dismember Pakistan. Starting from Language movement up to to the final liberation war. But once the war started hardly any people from this group joined. All those people who struggled for Pakistan by now become old. Rather I will say were made isolated from the society by the propaganda of AL and India. The " Two Nation Theory" was not a fun in the Eastern Wing. The people believed it from their heart and implemented it. But once the language movement started it completely changed the scenario. Definitely to some extend Pakistani Central Govt was also responsible. The demands of language movement were well accepted by the Pakistani govt but dis-integration of Pakistan started.

@ In 1947, nearly 23/25 lac of Biharis came to the then East Pakistan. Besides, around 20/25 lac Bengali Muslims also came from India. Roughly 50 lac of Bengali Hindus migrated to India. Pakistan gave too much importance to these Biharis. Many refugee camps were made through out East Pakistan. Beharis were employed in the Railways and Communication centers. Once the industrialist from India (mainly 22 families) came and invested their money in East Pakistan like Adamjee Jute Mills and other large scale industries soon the non-Bengalis were quickly absorbed in these areas. The Bengali were also taken but since they had no experiences so they remained behind. Moreso, these non-Bengali industrialist had a soft corner for all these non-Bengalis. Soon Beharis were spread throughout the industrial belts. As such even during Pakistan times many a times a riot was broke out between Bengali and Behari in Narranganj where both parties were killed.

@ Once the movement started in East Pakistan against Central Govt these non-Bengalis were feeling in secured. In fact looting and intimidation of non-Bengali started from 01 March 1971. It was intensified after 7 March 1971 after Mujib's address. And killing started in the remote areas after 10 March 1971. By 26 March 1971 it went on free style. People were killed like dogs. It was a complete ethnic cleansing. Tell me where the people were not killed. People had the believe that if we can killed them our freedom is guaranteed. These all people were pro-Pakistani so kill them. All people in the EPR (East Pakistan Rifle), civil administrations, industries, educational institutions were brutally killed. What surprised us in many border belt many Indian volunteers came killed them along with us. In many places in order to killed them India supplied arms/ammo. How many killed that is a big question ? As per my assessment the figure is 3/4 lac.

@ How many Pakistani Troops killed Bengalis I will not not go in detail but definitely while dis-arming Bengalee troops many were killed. Roughly 1000 killed in Chittagong Cantonment, 1000 in Comilla Cantonment, 500 in Rangpur Cantonment, 300 in Saidpur Cantonment, 800 hundred in Jessore Cantonment. I don not know about the killing at Dacca Cantonment, probably not. All these were uniformed person. Killing mission was carried out at Peelkhana and Rajarbag Police lines on 25/26 March 1971.

[Md Akmal]

" Magar yead rakhna, mujh se door rahker tup kabi sukhi na rahe sakogi, mera khiel har wakt tumhare samne aina ban kar reh jai ga".

[Armstrong]

A little late but still an interesting read !

The Other side of History !

History is always written by the victors, and in the case of the 1971 war, the dominant narrative has been that of atrocities committed against the Bengali population. But in her upcoming novel, Of Martyrs and Marigolds, Aquila Ismail dredges up the memories of her traumatic past in order to shine a light on the lesser-known atrocities of that conflict.
“My mother forgot how to speak Bengali after the trauma of 1971. It just went out of her head. She cannot speak it to this day,” says Aquila Ismail, as we sip tea in her sitting room on a winter’s evening in Karachi. One of the few Biharis who managed to flee Bangladesh after what is known in that country as the War of Liberation, Aquila now lives in the UAE. But over 250,000 of her fellow Biharis still live in squalid conditions in Bangladesh today, as a stateless minority.
While the atrocities of the Pakistan Army against the Bengali population during the war are well-documented, little is known about the plight of the Biharis who were left stranded when East Pakistan seceded in 1972, and what they suffered during and after the conflict. According to some estimates, 750,000 Biharis were left in Bangladesh in 1972, and not only did they face persecution at the hands of Bengalis, they were also disowned by Pakistan and became stateless overnight — in December 1971, while Pakistani army personnel and civilians were evacuated from Bangladesh, the Biharis were left behind.
But curiously, little has been written about the persecution faced by the Biharis. That is now changing. Last year, Sharmila Bose’s Dead Reckoning generated controversy for suggesting that Bengalis were not just passive victims, but committed “appalling atrocities” in the war for their liberation. Ruby Zaman’s novel Invisible Lines with its half-Bihari heroine also brought out hitherto unrecognised dimensions of the conflict. This year, Aquila Ismail comes out with her Of Martyrs and Marigolds, a fictionalised account of the conflict, based on her own experiences.
Aquila, who grew up in East Pakistan, and is fluent in Urdu, Bengali and English, remembers a time when there were no distinctions between herself and her Bengali friends. “There was no division between the Bengalis and us. All my friends were Bengali. We never felt a difference — till 1968,” she says.
That, of course, was the year that Ayub Khan initiated the Agartala Conspiracy case against Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman — the leader of the Awami League — accusing him of conspiring to secede from Pakistan.
“My friends used to tell me: ‘West Pakistanis are trying to crush the Bengalis.’ So I used to think that Ayub Khan’s trying to crush us as well,” says Aquila.
But this sense of oneness with her Bengali compatriots was about to change. In 1970, Aquila applied for admission at Dhaka University. Given an option between Urdu and Bengali as a vernacular subject in Intermediate, she had opted to learn Urdu since Bengali was already such an essential part of her life. Placed on the Honours list, Aquila should have been a shoo-in for admission. But to her dismay, her name didn’t show up on the list. When the family tried to find out what went wrong, they were told that since Aquila had opted to take Urdu, “she couldn’t be from here”. The problem was resolved when her father got an affidavit saying she was indeed born in East Pakistan, but a line had been crossed. “Everything was smoothed over but we began to feel that we were being singled out,” she says.
Still, at the time of the 1970 elections, Aquila’s family voted for the Awami League. The results of that election, of course, changed the course of history. Sheikh Mujeeb’s Awami League won a sweeping victory. Meanwhile Bhutto, who had won a majority in West Pakistan, began to delay the formation of the National Assembly with the support of the West Pakistani establishment. Jubilance turned into suspicion in the Eastern wing, finally leading to a mass uprising.
On March 1, 1971, Yahya Khan announced the postponement of the assembly session. Two days later, Aquila witnessed the strange spectacle of the flag of Bangladesh being raised in her university. She also saw armed young men on the streets — Bengali civilians who now comprised the Mukti Bahini, the resistance force against West Pakistan. Meanwhile, on March 25, the Pakistan Army conducted a crackdown on Aquila’s university. She remembers seeing the orange flames rising up late in the night, even though her house was 10 km away. “It was as if an enemy invasion was taking place,” she recalls. “A full-blown military assault with tanks, machine guns, grenades.”
The university had been closed down when the curfew was imposed and the students’ hostels and teachers’ accommodations were sparsely occupied. Knowing this, Aquila was shocked to hear claims that 10,000 people had been killed in the operation. A week later, when she went to university, she found out that at least four to five people she had known were slain. The list put up in the university had 149 names in all. “An army assault had taken place — this much is true. But 10,000 people were not killed — 10,000 is a huge figure. The myth starts from there. There must have been about 200-250 dead in all, from my estimation.”
In the mayhem that lasted from March 25 to April 10, when the Pakistan Army took control, a large number of Urdu speakers were also massacred by the Mukti Bahini. This is when it began to dawn on Aquila’s family that they were not safe in the land they called home. “Nobody was going to ask me who I voted for, it was just enough that I was Urdu-speaking,” she recalls.
The Biharis had become symbols of West Pakistan’s dominance and were attacked in retaliation to the army’s suppression. It was not just Urdu speakers who were in danger, says Aquila. “Bihari was a loose term used for people who came from Uttar Pradesh, Poona, Maharshtra, for Punjabis, Pathans. Every non-Bengali was a Bihari.”
Despite the killings and hatred, Aquila’s family continued to identify with the Bengali cause. “We hated the army for what it had done. You don’t do this to your own people. They’re not the enemy.”
When Dhaka fell into the hands of the rebels on December 16, 1971, Aquila’s family assumed that they’d be presented a choice much like they’d been given in 1947: to live in Bangladesh or to go to what was left of Pakistan. But that illusion was quickly dispelled. Non-Bengalis were attacked, branded collaborators, and shot, bludgeoned and bayoneted to death. The Indian troops had been protecting non-Bengalis during the conflict, but as they withdrew, the pogrom began in earnest.
Aquila’s family was forced out of their home on February 4. “That was the day that we lost everything … we didn’t even have a country. We were taken on a bus through the same route that I used every day to go to university but it was strange because I didn’t belong anymore. At that time I didn’t feel so much pain because my mind sort of shut down.”
Aquila, her mother and her sister were taken to a camp by steamer, while her father and brother were put in jail. At the refugee camp they were given burnt khichri to eat and didn’t even know where the men were. “The camp organisers would point to us and tell western reporters that we were women who had been raped by the Pakistan Army.”
It was months before Aquila’s family was able to leave the camp and make it back safely to Pakistan — and then only because they had friends in high places. But once they made it to Pakistan, Aquila found that the press wasn’t necessarily interested in knowing about their plight. “I actually contacted Dawn to write about this and they did not even want to talk about it. They only wanted to talk about what the Pakistan Army had done. They weren’t even willing to examine the role of the PPP in all of this.”
When the family landed in Karachi, Aquila’s mother had Rs10 in her purse. Since her father was a civil servant, they were able to re-establish themselves, but even today Orangi Town in Karachi is filled with Bihari survivors who weren’t able to rehabilitate as quickly. In fact, the very title ‘Bihari’ is used to discriminate against these people. “Why are those who came from East Punjab called Pakistanis while we are known as ‘Biharis’?” she asks.
Finally, in 2008, Aquila sat down to write the other side of the story. Not the story of the winning side, but of those who suffered and were abandoned. “There have been lies after lies after lies as far as treatment of Biharis is concerned. I think the record should be put straight.”
The result is Of Martyrs and Marigolds, due to be published in February. “I thought it should be a novel because fiction is able to take care of the complexities of conflict, the shades of grey that history does not take into account.”
Writing the book proved to be an unexpectedly painful process. “They say that when you write, it brings closure, but it actually made it worse. There were so many things that I’d forgotten which came back to me when I started writing. You start thinking: this really happened to me and that’s a pretty strange feeling,” says the writer.
Despite all the years, and all the pain, it seems Aquila still has a soft spot for her lost homeland.
“I’m very sympathetic to the Bengali cause, she says. “They deserved to get Bangladesh for what (West) Pakistan used to do to them. It’s not what one does to one’s own countrymen — you have to give political power to the majority in a democracy.”
There are no heroes in Aquila’s life story. While the Mukti Bahini were to blame for the massacre of her fellow Biharis, she also heaps blame on the army and West Pakistani establishment. “The Punjabi bureaucracy used to call them ‘bhookay Bengali’, ridiculing them for being short and dark,” she says.
Meanwhile, it is the Bihari population which has borne the fallout of the conflict. Many Biharis are stranded in refugee camps to this day. “These are 2nd generation, 3rd generation refugees,” says Aquila. “They are stateless … we paid the price for supporting Pakistan.”
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, February 26th, 2012.

[Joe Shearer]

A little late but still an interesting read !

The Other side of Bengali was a Bihari.”
Despite the killings and hatred, Aquila’s family continued to identify with the Bengali cause. “We hated the army for what it had done. You don’t do this to your own people. They’re not the enemy.”
When Dhaka fell into the hands of the rebels on December 16, 1971, Aquila’s family assumed that they’d be presented a choice much like they’d been given in 1947: to live in Bangladesh or to go to what was left of Pakistan. But that illusion was quickly dispelled. Non-Bengalis were attacked, branded collaborators, and shot, bludgeoned and bayoneted to death. The Indian troops had been protecting non-Bengalis during the conflict, but as they withdrew, the pogrom began in earnest.
Aquila’s family was forced out of their home on February 4. “That was the day that we lost everything … we didn’t even have a country. We were taken on a bus through the same route that I used every day to go to university but it was strange because I didn’t belong anymore. At that time I didn’t feel so much pain because my mind sort of shut down.”
Aquila, her mother and her sister were taken to a camp by steamer, while her father and brother were put in jail. At the refugee camp they were given burnt khichri to eat and didn’t even know where the men were. “The camp organisers would point to us and tell western reporters that we were women who had been raped by the Pakistan Army.”
It was months before Aquila’s family was able to leave the camp and make it back safely to Pakistan — and then only because they had friends in high places. But once they made it to Pakistan, Aquila found that the press wasn’t necessarily interested in knowing about their plight. “I actually contacted Dawn to write about this and they did not even want to talk about it. They only wanted to talk about what the Pakistan Army had done. They weren’t even willing to examine the role of the PPP in all of this.”
When the family landed in Karachi, Aquila’s mother had Rs10 in her purse. Since her father was a civil servant, they were able to re-establish themselves, but even today Orangi Town in Karachi is filled with Bihari survivors who weren’t able to rehabilitate as quickly. In fact, the very title ‘Bihari’ is used to discriminate against these people. “Why are those who came from East Punjab called Pakistanis while we are known as ‘Biharis’?” she asks.
Finally, in 2008, Aquila sat down to write the other side of the story. Not the story of the winning side, but of those who suffered and were abandoned. “There have been lies after lies after lies as far as treatment of Biharis is concerned. I think the record should be put straight.”
The result is Of Martyrs and Marigolds, due to be published in February. “I thought it should be a novel because fiction is able to take care of the complexities of conflict, the shades of grey that history does not take into account.”
Writing the book proved to be an unexpectedly painful process. “They say that when you write, it brings closure, but it actually made it worse. There were so many things that I’d forgotten which came back to me when I started writing. You start thinking: this really happened to me and that’s a pretty strange feeling,” says the writer.
Despite all the years, and all the pain, it seems Aquila still has a soft spot for her lost homeland.
“I’m very sympathetic to the Bengali cause, she says. “They deserved to get Bangladesh for what (West) Pakistan used to do to them. It’s not what one does to one’s own countrymen — you have to give political power to the majority in a democracy.”
There are no heroes in Aquila’s life story. While the Mukti Bahini were to blame for the massacre of her fellow Biharis, she also heaps blame on the army and West Pakistani establishment. “The Punjabi bureaucracy used to call them ‘bhookay Bengali’, ridiculing them for being short and dark,” she says.
Meanwhile, it is the Bihari population which has borne the fallout of the conflict. Many Biharis are stranded in refugee camps to this day. “These are 2nd generation, 3rd generation refugees,” says Aquila. “They are stateless … we paid the price for supporting Pakistan.”
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, February 26th, 2012.

There are those who are not to be reconciled. They bitterly call themselves what they think the Pakistanis called them behind their backs - SDREs, Small Dark Rice Eater.

[kobiraaz]

Nice sharing Mr.Akmal. How do you explain following Statement of Zia ur Rahman?

'' in February and beginning of March we noticed abnormal movement of Baluch regiment! They were having implicit relation with local Biharis, Some pakistani soldiers and groups used to go out in civil dress to Bihari settlements! After that we used to get news of Bengali dead bodies being found here and there! I told my bengali colleagues to remain alert of the situation, we took decision to remain silent and watchful'

From his statement, it is obvious that Pakistan Army was trying to neutralize Awamileague by arming Biharis!

[Joe Shearer]

Nice sharing Mr.Akmal. How do you explain following Statement of Zia ur Rahman?

'' in February and beginning of March we noticed abnormal movement of Baluch regiment! They were having implicit relation with local Biharis, Some pakistani soldiers and groups used to go out in civil dress to Bihari settlements! After that we used to get news of Bengali dead bodies being found here and there! I told my bengali colleagues to remain alert of the situation, we took decision to remain silent and watchful'

From his statement, it is obvious that Pakistan Army was trying to neutralize Awamileague by arming Biharis!

Please consider that history is never done effectively by taking one point of view, or another, exclusively, but by gathering as much authentic information as possible, and then carefully sifting the evidence, all the time subjecting everything to peer review.

Gathering data is important. See how the perspective changes with EVERY input. History is never a fixed account, but must be reconsidered with every discovery of new facts and figures.

Your input about Zia urRahman was fascinating, most so because of the context of the discussion.

[Md Akmal]

Nice sharing Mr.Akmal. How do you explain following Statement of Zia ur Rahman?

'' in February and beginning of March we noticed abnormal movement of Baluch regiment! They were having implicit relation with local Biharis, Some pakistani soldiers and groups used to go out in civil dress to Bihari settlements! After that we used to get news of Bengali dead bodies being found here and there! I told my bengali colleagues to remain alert of the situation, we took decision to remain silent and watchful'

From his statement, it is obvious that Pakistan Army was trying to neutralize Awamileague by arming Biharis!

@ What Maj Zia said was absolutely correct. In Chittagong, Maj Zia was the Second in Comand of 8th East Bengal Regiment which was scheduled to move to West Pakistan. The advance party of 8 East Bengal Regiment had already moved. In those days there were lot of Biharis stationed in Sholoshahar, Halisharhar and in almost all industrial sector starting drom Fouzdarhat to short of Shita Kunda. There were many Beharis/non-Bengalis in Chandroghona Paper Mills, Kaptai Hydraolic Projects and also in Rangamati. Once most of the Bengalis aligned with AL so only loyal elements were these Biharis and non-Bengalis. Ofcourse there were many Bengalis also but which was not visible.

@ The Pakistani Baluch was the only Regiment which was stationed at Chittagong Nuton Para Cantonment. The other regiment was the 8 East Bengal regiment. Besides there were few tanks which were kept for annual firing. So, it was natural that Pakistani troops will visit the Behari camps either in uniform or in civil dresses. I don't think that Pakistani Army provided them any arms to them but definitely they might send some forces with arms in civil dresses. Well if there was any arms kept reserve for the Mujahids and than these weapons were given to the Behahis and kept proper accounting what is the harm. You are taking that Maj Zia used to get news that Bengali bodies were found left and right. Question is how many, 2/3, 5/8, 10/15, my dear beloved friend once the Chittgong area came under Zia's jurisdiction 40/50 thousand Beharis were slaughtered just within 15 days. It can only be compared with holocast of Hitler. Pakistan govt knows it very well but they never never disclosed it till October 1971 that too within the Govt itself. Had Pakistan govt disclosed these killing in public our Bengali brothers and sister could hardly reached in Bangladesh save and sound from West Pakistan. Thanks to Pakistan Govt for this.

@ Just for your information before Maj Zia revolted he at once went to the Commanding Officer of 8 East Bengal(His CO) while he was taking his food with his families and killed all of them and fan out from the Cantonment.

@ Everything is permitted in war and love. How you define this action of Maj Zia ??????? By the way I am the blind supporter of Maj Zia.

[kobiraaz]

Zia was very professional, his loyalty to Pakistan as a military officer is unquestionable! He revolted only when death was inevitable for him! After revolting it was war! Bengalis had to vacate their head quarter. Before leaving they killed all the Pakistanis there. Similarly Pakistanis killed many Bangali soldiers and their family member in the cant that night!

[Md Akmal]

Zia was very professional, his loyalty to Pakistan as a military officer is unquestionable! He revolted only when death was inevitable for him! After revolting it was war! Bengalis had to vacate their head quarter. Before leaving they killed all the Pakistanis there. Similarly Pakistanis killed many Bangali soldiers and their family member in the cant that night!

@ Fully agreed with your solid agruments but I dis-agree that Pakistani army killed their families. If it was so why they did not killed the wife and children of Maj Zia knowing fully well that Maj Zia killed his Punjabi CO. There might be some lot rape inside the Cantonment among the Bengalee troops families but so far I know most of them were alive. All most all the East Bengal Regiment recruits were killed while dis-arming. Bengali members of 8 East Bengal regiments already left the Cantonment after revolting.

@ But I know some incidents in Chittagong where our troops behaved in such a manner with the families of West Pakistani officers that cannot be expressed. These were even expressed by the Bengale captured officers.

[Md Akmal]

@ There were many atrocities committed by the Pakistani Army during the process of dis-arming the Bengal elements. In fact it was some sort of personal whims on which Pakistan Army acted. I know some incidents of Rangpur Cantonment but don not ask me whether I have seen with my own eyes or not.

@ Among all the East Pakistan Cantonments, the Brigade Commander here was little bit too much anti-Bengali. It was probably on 27/29 March 1971, the local Bengali people under the leadership of AL surrounded the Cantonment. At one stage they even entered the Cantt area and came across near the Brigade HQ. Pakistani Troops were ready for action. They warned the local people through the load speaker even in Bengali but still people were mad and came just in front of the ambush area. All Bengali officers/troops were brought there to see the show. Once all the people came at the point blank range LMG/MG opened fire and nearly 400 to 500 people died on the spot. Many got injured but all were than burned with gasoline that too by the Bengali troops and buried. Most of these Bengali troops later were killed, hardly any troops could escape. Only three officers were set free at the centre of Rangpur Town indirectly by the order of the CO of 29 Cavalry(Tank Regt).

@ After 28/29 March 1971 it was in this Cantonment where in the name of sending Bengali officers and troops to West Pakistan were brought together and killed in a systematic way at Kaunia (mid point) a railway cum road bridge on river Teesta while transporting them to Lalmonirhat airport(short of Kuch Bihar). It may be mentioned here that this airport was widely used by the Pakistan Army for re-enforcement as well as causality return. Once Rangpur and Saidpur Cantonments were encircled by the people and revoltee it was through this airport the quick reinforcement came by the C-130 American Transport Aircraft. It was a God blessing for Pakistan Army as well as local non-Bengali. I tell you if there was no existence of this airport than all the Pakistani elements were sure to be butchered. More so, Indian BSF and other Indian infiltrators were also very active in this Northern Sectors. Thanks to the American Soldiers who built this airport during the Second World War.

[Md Akmal]

@ So, today I feel like to write something about Zulfikar Ali Butto and Sk Mujibur and his 6(Six) Points.

@ Zulfikar Ali Butto while still young was picked up General Khan in his Cabinet and in early sixties he became a full flagged Foerign Minister. Butto was pro-Chinese and believer of Islamic Socialism. Soon under his leadership Pakistan came closer with China. After the defeat of India by China in 1962, Butto became very active even some times he was behaving like a Defense Minister. Under his direct initiative the "Operation Gibralter" was planned and executed but failed. While planning for this operation the security of East Pakistan was ignored.

@ During the 1965 war he as a Foreign Minster was still adamant to continue the fight with India. But Ayub as a experience soldier quickly realized the grave danger of continuing the war. He at once requested to USA to stopped the war but USA said he should approach to USSR. Soon under the mediation of USSR the war was ended and the "Treaty of Taskhand" was signed. After signing the treaty Butto was forced to resign. Soon Butto formed a new political Party named PPP. All the young lots joined in his party and it became popular. Butto was a very charismatic leader. I remember once I went to "Liaquit Bag" at Rawalpindi with my father to listen his address. O it was a funny. Every time he became annoyed while addressing he just open is "Achcan"(small coat) and throws among audiences. Of course during the process there were somebody to collect his coat. He used to talk nicely with labour class and very frequently used to have food with the day labour. In this way he became popular among the labour class. He was out and out anti-India and could express among the people very nicely.

@ Once "Agartola Case" against Sk Mujib was going at peak, he came to East Pakistan to support Sk Mujib. In this way the case became very light. Butto knew it since the Bengalis were majority so need the support of them to over throw Ayub. He cunningly approaching the people of Pakistan that the case against Mujib was false. Once Ayub called a " Round Table " among the politician at Lahore in 1968 he did not joined. This round table was the last initiative taken by Ayub. Once it was failure Ayub was completely broken. In fact it was due to non-cooperation of Butto that this conference was failure. (Sorry, to be continued)

[monitor]

@ How to answer these historical questions ? Here now in this forum there are 4 types of people. One is Indian, 2nd is Pakistani, 3rd is true Bangladeshi and another is Indian motivated Bengalese like the AL who are still jumping without knowing the ground reality. OK, let me write the actual truth what I saw, what I heard, what I read and what I opine. It might heart many but these are facts. All these truth I lately realize. I tell you Indian and our motivated propaganda was so strong that being a Bengalee it was difficult to come out from this circle and find the truth. all these things were carried out in such a manner that it was justified on falsehood.

@ Look India is a big country. There were many many Bengali Hindu refugees who migrated to India. Many went at their own will. Many were forcefully evicted. Most of these Bengali refugees were not intentionally allowed to be re-rehabilitated in India. So, these people had a dream to return in Bengal this way or that way but definitely not within Pakistan. Most of these Bengali were literate. Basically this force was active from the very beginning to dismember Pakistan. Starting from Language movement up to to the final liberation war. But once the war started hardly any people from this group joined. All those people who struggled for Pakistan by now become old. Rather I will say were made isolated from the society by the propaganda of AL and India. The " Two Nation Theory" was not a fun in the Eastern Wing. The people believed it from their heart and implemented it. But once the language movement started it completely changed the scenario. Definitely to some extend Pakistani Central Govt was also responsible. The demands of language movement were well accepted by the Pakistani govt but dis-integration of Pakistan started.

@ In 1947, nearly 23/25 lac of Biharis came to the then East Pakistan. Besides, around 20/25 lac Bengali Muslims also came from India. Roughly 50 lac of Bengali Hindus migrated to India. Pakistan gave too much importance to these Biharis. Many refugee camps were made through out East Pakistan. Beharis were employed in the Railways and Communication centers. Once the industrialist from India (mainly 22 families) came and invested their money in East Pakistan like Adamjee Jute Mills and other large scale industries soon the non-Bengalis were quickly absorbed in these areas. The Bengali were also taken but since they had no experiences so they remained behind. Moreso, these non-Bengali industrialist had a soft corner for all these non-Bengalis. Soon Beharis were spread throughout the industrial belts. As such even during Pakistan times many a times a riot was broke out between Bengali and Behari in Narranganj where both parties were killed.

@ Once the movement started in East Pakistan against Central Govt these non-Bengalis were feeling in secured. In fact looting and intimidation of non-Bengali started from 01 March 1971. It was intensified after 7 March 1971 after Mujib's address. And killing started in the remote areas after 10 March 1971. By 26 March 1971 it went on free style. People were killed like dogs. It was a complete ethnic cleansing. Tell me where the people were not killed. People had the believe that if we can killed them our freedom is guaranteed. These all people were pro-Pakistani so kill them. All people in the EPR (East Pakistan Rifle), civil administrations, industries, educational institutions were brutally killed. What surprised us in many border belt many Indian volunteers came killed them along with us. In many places in order to killed them India supplied arms/ammo. How many killed that is a big question ? As per my assessment the figure is 3/4 lac.

@ How many Pakistani Troops killed Bengalis I will not not go in detail but definitely while dis-arming Bengalee troops many were killed. Roughly 1000 killed in Chittagong Cantonment, 1000 in Comilla Cantonment, 500 in Rangpur Cantonment, 300 in Saidpur Cantonment, 800 hundred in Jessore Cantonment. I don not know about the killing at Dacca Cantonment, probably not. All these were uniformed person. Killing mission was carried out at Peelkhana and Rajarbag Police lines on 25/26 March 1971.

So one thing is clear from your and from the writing from sormila boss famous or notorious ''death reckoning'' It was not Pakistan army who started killing spree but the Banglalee mob started the chaotic situation in east Pakistan so army needed to do some thing . so for fourty years we have been hearing we were ''innocent'' ''unarmed civilian'' sleeping and chewing betel leaf and suddenly the army started to killed people . actually they had started their action to like any Army would do but may be the atrocity was too much.

and off topic question to known person very recently BAL lear claim to bring to justice those army officer who were siding with Pakistan army . do nay one knows who and how many bagalae army officer sided with Pakistan army ?

[Armstrong]

Okay now my two cents ! I've had the opportunity of having a correspondence with a Pakistani soldier who fought in the '71 war and was taken a POW along with Niazi's men ! I corroborated many of the integral facts that the gentleman mentioned by asking around the few people I know from the '71 War; including my paternal uncle who was a major in the army at that time on the Western Front and my Grandfather, who was there in Dhaka as part of the MES, a few months before the eventual fall. And so I have no reason to believe that he isn't what he says he is ! Thank You, Colonel Nazir Ahmed for sharing this with us ! Unfortunately I forgot about your unit name.

So here are the Colonel's reflections :


Some reflections on the whole tragic drama could be summarised as:

• Bengal was a different country in all respects. Its language, culture and the distance, over one thousand miles of hostile India’s territory separating it from West Pakistan were important factors in creation of Bangladesh.

• The people of Bengal had gone more than half way to remain part of united Pakistan. In the first constitution adopted in 1956 after a delay of about nine years after creation of Pakistan, Bengalis accepted the arrangement of parity despite being more in numbers. That constitution should have provided workable arrangements between the two wings so that the country remained united while both wings could enjoy considerable freedom in internal matters and distribution of resources.

• Although 1970 Elections gave majority to Sheikh Mujib’s Awami League, he could not form the government. Mr Z A Bhutto who had won more seats in Punjab and Sindh stopped his party members and threatened others not to attend the National Assembly Session called at Dacca on 3 March 71, precipitating the crisis.

• Military action was no solution to the political problem. The military commander in East Pakistan, General Sahibzada Yaqoob Khan refused to undertake the operation. He was removed and replaced by Tikka Khan who was willing to act on orders.

• In East Pakistan there was one infantry division of Pakistan Army comprising about fifteen thousand persons including about three and half thousand Bengalis. Since the start of non cooperation movement in 1st week of Feb 71, these troops scattered all over East Pakistan in different cantonments had been confined to their locations. Their supplies had been cut off and they were virtually prisoners living in great tension and hardship. When the military action was ordered, the troops from Dacca Cantonment started with indiscriminate firing by tanks in the city of Dacca on the night of 24/25 March 1971. In two days over one thousand people were killed in the city. The city was almost deserted when additional troops started arriving from West Pakistan.

• Two infantry divisions less their heavier elements like the armour regiments and medium artillery were flown from West Pakistan to undertake the operations. The initial phase of operation starting from Dacca to reach the borders on different routes was completed by fourth week of April 71. In this all the columns starting from Dacca were opposed at two different positions. This pattern suggested Indian involvement in planning and presence of some of their men physically supporting the rebels.

• As the operations by freshly arrived troops commenced from Dacca to reach out to the borders and link up with isolated troops, the pace of movement was severely restricted due to blowing up of bridges on the routes. During this period of about two months, atrocities and massacre of non Bengali population was committed by the rebels at massive scale in different parts of the country. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and their women raped.

• As the troops reached the borders after clearing opposition en route, the period from end of April up to June passed without much opposition except that a few areas could not be cleared because of their peculiar locations. The focus of the Army during this period was to ‘restore normalcy’ by giving confidence to the population to resume normal activity.

• After the month of June, the rebels, organised by the Indians into a force called Mukti Bahini started their sabotage activity, planting mines on the tracks, blowing up small bridges/culverts. Also by this time the Indians started shelling our posts in the border areas.

• Activities of the rebels did not escalate to a scale which could disrupt normal activity. Main reason was that the population was not supportive of them. They had seen that the Army was not interfering in their routine affairs and was striving hard to restore peaceful living conditions.

• The people of East Pakistan had voted for Awami League who had promised to get maximum autonomy based on a six point formula. The people had not voted for breakup of Pakistan. While a small percentage of the population was actively engaged in fighting the Pakistan Army, much larger number of Bengali young men was fighting as volunteers alongside the Army against the rebels.

• Had it not been for the Indian invasion, the rebel activity had been brought under control creating conditions for a favourable political solution. Unfortunately the Pakistan government of General Yahya Khan was in state of paralysis and had no capacity to solve the problem. People around him like Z A Bhutto who saw no chance of coming to power in united Pakistan was working for break up to secure his chance of ruling remaining Pakistan.

• The rumours or the ‘langar gup’ since the month of Aug that GHQ considered the three Divisions in East Pakistan as written off, was taken a joke. But this proved right. On declaration of war by Pakistan on 3rd Dec, news was deliberately spread through the command channel that Pakistan Army had captured Jammu. This joyful news proved wrong resulting in greater disappointment. Such cheap tactics by callous rulers caused unnecessary frustration.

• The Indian invasion came from three directions i.e. west, east and north. From the south, the sea was dominated by the Indians and the ports of East Pakistan effectively blocked.

• General A A K Niazi, the commander of troops in East Pakistan acted on the orders of GHQ to defend every inch of the land, a most unrealistic directive. He failed to deploy available troops to counter the threat of invasion which had become very clear when the Indian troops had completed their concentrations on the three sides of the borders by Oct 71.

• Disobeying orders is a dilemma at the time of crises. In hindsight it looks simple but at the moment of taking such decision it becomes very difficult. I have two examples which will elaborate the point. Chittagong was to be occupied as fortress by the troops deployed in the sector in counter insurgency role after withdrawal from the border areas. Special Service Group (SSG) troops deployed on the borders with Burma had a chance to cross over to Burma when they were ordered to come back to Chittagong for fortress defence. These highly trained troops are not meant to be used for static defences. In our POW Camp No 25 located at Ramgarh near Ranchi in then Behar province, Major Saeed (later DIG Police) a famous commando would blame his company commander Major Iqbal (later Brig) for the ordeal of becoming a prisoner of war. Major Iqbal had stopped him from crossing over to Burma when he had already boarded the speed boat at Kaptai lake to cross over. Major Iqbal could not disobey the orders from Brig Atta Muhammad at Chittagong. Conversely Major Asif Ali Rizvi of my unit posted to the EPCAF at Cox’s Bazar on the border with Burma crossed over to Burma when he felt isolated from Chittagong. He reached Pakistan and was awarded with the gallantry award of Tamgha e Jurrat (TJ). However, when the POWs came back, Brig Atta made a point that the officer was prosecuted for disobeying orders to join force at Chittagong. Major Rizvi was deprived of the award and punished.

• This however does not justify that a man of Generl Niazi’s rank should not have taken decisions according to the situation confronting him, particularly when nobody at GHQ was listening to him and his problems.

• The Indian invasion came through our deployment for the counter insurgency operations, our troops scattered in penny packets all over East Pakistan. Like the water flows through terrain avoiding high ground, the Indians with deliberate and cautious movement reached undefended Dacca in less than two weeks after declaration of war on 3 Dec 71.

• The Indians had complete mastery of the skies which facilitated their move to a large extent

• The Indian mostly avoided fighting to clear defensive positions wherever they came across, by passing such positions to continue the move. Wherever they tried to fight through the defensive positions they suffered heavy casualties and failed to overcome the resistance. I have given example of 34 Punjab positions south of Birganj on Thakurgaon – Dinajpur road and that of fighting in the area of 205 Bde in Hilli sector which I know of and was a participant.

• Had the positions of available troops in East Pakistan been adjusted to counter the Indian invasion, Dacca could have been strongly defended by taking up positions north of it between the two rivers. Besides this the Chittagong area could also be effectively defended because of it layout, the long border with Burma and the mountainous tribal area inhabited by friendly tribes. In this scenario the extended line of communications of the Indians reaching to contact our defences could be severely disrupted by the Bengali young men fighting on our side. Such situation would have resulted in different outcome.

• Chittagong area could still be part of Pakistan had the bulk of non Bengali population, now languishing in slums of Dacca for so long, was shifted to the area in the months of September to November 71. With the friendly tribes and the common Bengali man not supporting break up of Pakistan this was a viable option even if rest of East Pakistan opted to become Bangladesh. But alas the men at the helm of affairs lacked that vision.

• The first message received by the units was that of ceasefire. Later when the troops concentrated at different locations we had to hand over weapons.

• The Indians shifted the POWs, starting 01 Jan 72 to different cantonments in their three provinces, i.e. Bihar, Uttar Pardesh and Madhia Pardesh. They took two weeks to complete the process. They were very polite in their dealings till we reached their camps. They told us that we were in transit and were soon to be sent to Pakistan. This seemed logical as the war had ended.

• Total strength of the prisoners was not more than about forty thousand. In this about thirty to thirty two thousand were from the Pakistan Army, about five to six thousand from the civil armed forces i.e. three Scouts and four Rangers Wings, two Mujahid battalions, some men from the Police and very few civilians.

• The figure of ninety three thousand was concocted to defame the Army. The prisoners were kept in India till Mr Bhutto could consolidate his hold on the New Pakistan. The repatriation was spread over about eight months making sure that the personnel of those units who served in East Pakistan could not get together.

• Repatriation of prisoners was trumpeted to be a very big achievement of Mr Bhutto to deceive people. But those of us affected knew and some thought of doing something to get him. They were apprehended and punished through a court martial conducted by Major General Zia ul Haq (later President). After Bhutto was hanged by Zia, reportedly one of those punished told Zia that this was what they wanted earlier and that Zia had realised it late.

• Breakup of Pakistan, the largest Muslim country of the world which enjoyed great prestige in the comity of nations is tragic story. It was done by men blinded by lust for power. Remaining Pakistan continues to be afflicted by even worse rulers.

Cheers !

[Md Akmal]

@ So, I was talking about Butto. Butto was a good public orator like Mujib. Once the Legal Frame Work was declared all political parties accepted and from 01 of January 1970, free and fair election campaign started. During this time I was at Rawalpindi. I saw in each areas of Rawalpindi there is a office of Awami Leaque. I was surprized so see who they are ? Are they Bengali or West Pakistani. Soon I come to know that these are all West Pakistani. I used to go and seat in their office have tea and come back. I was asking a question to my father, is there is any possibility of winning any seats from Rawalpindi of AL. They said no. Why not ? we had lot of Bengal voters in Rawalpindi. And I tell you all most had voted for AL. But on the election day I found not a single one. I those days I too had a fascination for Butto. This was the 1st round of election through out Pakistan. I think it was held on 7 December 1970. The second for the provincial election was held on 14 December 1970 and I landed at Dacca on 12 December 1970. Once AL won the election it said that the future constitution of Pakistan would be on the basis of 6 Point Programme. Now, Butto started giving his own theory. He thought that if he supports or joins the Parliament session where there is a clear majority of AL so there is no possibility of coming to power. Even there is no possibility in future also. So he started his conspiracy by making secret talks and meeting with military Generals and Civil Servants.

@ Now, about Sk Mujib. He was the student of Islamia Collage at Calcutta and was involved with Muslim Leaque student politics. Basically he was muscleman of Shurwardy group. In those days there two groups in Muslim Leaque, one was Khaja Nazimuddin and another is Shurwardy group. Shurwardy was the existence Chief Minister of Calcutta. During those days he secretly mate with Chittro Ranjon Das regarding not to partition Bengal. They wanted to make a separate indepenent Socialist United Bengal with the greater Dominion of India. This was not liked by Nazimuddin group. Once it was leaked out Congress vehemently opposed it. Muslim Leaque also initially opposed it but later on supported it provided it remains real independent.
After this crisis there was a election within Bengal Congress where it was decided that Bengal to be partitioned on line of communal basis. (To be continued)

[Abu Zolfiqar]

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Bhutto was an overly-emotional socialist with a populist agenda and was quite a loudmouth with a hot temper


Mujib was a sneaky opportunist who deceived and fooled many....used emotions and propaganda to justify the murder and pillaging of Urdu speaking population in erstwhile E-Pakistan (including biharis) - a point few ''moral police'' seldom bring up