In Memory of East Pakistan:

United in the name of religion, the Muslims of subcontinent wanted just one thing -Independence. Together they fought for their rights, faced the harsh circumstances, sacrificed whatever was required and proved that when Muslims unite, God stands by their side. Unfortunately, after independence the land span of 2,204 km between the East and West of Pakistan began to overpower their greatest strength, and the minor differences soon turned into an estimable conflict. This scenario provided the common rivals the perfect arena to intervene. The obstinacy of the politicians from both sides provided sufficient fuel to the fire, which eventually charred the binding string of the country, and Bangladesh, came into being on the 16th Dec 1971. This initiated a never-ending tale of accusations and blame from each side.

What do countries do when insurgents sabotage law and attack their military bases? Do their armies sit back at home and enjoy the show? Or send their troops to neutralize the chaos? The answer to this question justifies Pakistan’s military intervention. Pakistan army was deployed in East Pakistan to control the violent activities of the Bengalis that included targeting pro-Pakistan people. Many journalists, intellectuals, media practitioners, politicians and people from different walks of life were made to suffer, either in the name of contempt of court or war crimes. The murder of a TV presenter Nur ul Islam Faruqi is one such example. Considering it a good opportunity, Indian Parliament ratified the support for displeased Bengalis. Here, the word support is indicative of “sponsoring insurgency” against Pakistan. To meet its dirty goals, India trained, equipped and financed the proponents of Mukti Bahini. Many of them were Hindu who not only instigated violence but also brainwashed the Bengali students. According to independent researchers, the uniforms of Pakistan army were used by these insurgents to blame Pakistani army for heinous crimes against civilians. Even the Indian prime minister didn’t hesitate to accept the involvement of Indian military and Intelligence agencies in sowing the seed of conflict much longer before the war started.

There exists a difference between propaganda and information. India claims that 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered in 1971. This figure also includes police, para-military and pro-Pakistan civilian population. According to Pakistani officials, there were only 34,000 Pakistani soldiers in East Pakistan. Not only this, Pakistani army was accused of killing 3 million innocent civilians. Here, it is pertinent to mention that 3 million also includes those several thousand people who were ruthlessly murdered on suspicion of helping Pakistani soldiers. Moreover, on the basis of the reports submitted by Pakistan army, Hamood ur Rahman Commission, an official Pakistan Government investigation, stated that civilian casualties were not more than 26,000 .Many independent researchers also proved these allegations wrong. According to Dr SarmilaBose, only 2000 complaints of deaths due to military actions were reported. She also claimed that this blame game against Pakistan army for killing is nothing more than propaganda. Recently, a British journalist, David Bergman has been convicted for the contempt of court by a Bengali court for revealing the truth behind the trial of “1971 war criminals” in his blog. This shows that those who dare to tell the truth are still paying the cost.

The fall of Dhaka is the practical demonstration of Chanakya’s ideology and a good lesson for our politicians. Chanakya believed in exploiting the weakness of enemy by creating chaos before military intervention. Considering Chanakya’s philosophy to be the fundamental element of economic stability and military strength, India still holds it dear. The ruling elite of West Pakistan made mistakes, one after another, and helped the close friend of Indra Ghandi, Shiekh Mujib ur Rehman, to play his play his trump card. If both sides had cooperated, India would never have been able to add fuel to the fire. Now, India is playing the same game in Baluchistan and KPK. Though the case of Baluchistan is different from that of Bangladesh, as it is not separated from the rest of Pakistan by land, political leadership plays a positive role to resolve this issue. Moreover, once again same strategy has been used to defame the armed forces and weaken our defense. The only way to deal with our mutual enemy is to solve our internal issues and face the enemy as a single nation