Re: Tajuddin Indira Pact by Debasish Barua, USA, in response to Declaration of Independence: The Controversy Continues by Obaid Chowdhury, USA
Obaid Chowdhuryalaldulal@aol.com
Dear Mr. Barua,
Thanks for reading my article 'Declaration of Independence: The Controversy Continues.'
Tajuddin-Indira pact was a passing reference in the article. I am glad that it caught your attention, even though you seem have missed the main subject. For your benefit, here are the seven salient points of the Tajuddin-Indira Agreement:
1. Bangladesh will have a para-military force to be organized, equipped and supervised by India.
2. Bangladesh will procure all its military requirements from India.
3. Bangladesh's foreign trade will be controlled by India.
4. Bangladesh's development plans shall be approved by India.
5. Bangladesh's foreign relations shall be guided by India.
6. Bangladesh cannot rescind any part of these agreements without prior approval of India.
7. Indian force shall enter into Bangladesh at any time to crush any resistance or uprising.
I do not think they need further explanation.
Mr. Barua, I am not aware how old you were in 1971 and your role in our liberation war. If you are in your 50s or below, it is not expected for you to know or remember what really happened during those days. (I happened to be a small-time freedom fighter and knew some hard facts). If your knowledge of our war and the history of the subcontinent are from reading books, it depended on what books and from which angle you read them. There are much more than what catches the eye. One needs to dig deeper for truth.
A highly knowledgeable friend of mine always says, "We fought for independence for one reason (such as we could no longer stay with Pakistan). But India helped us---rather fought its own war with Pakistan---for a totally different reason." In Indira Gandhi's own words, it was for the 'hazaar salon ka badla'. I suppose you are intelligent enough to understand what that badla meant.
Maulan Bhasani once said, "It is India who should be grateful to Bangladesh, not the other way round." He was referring to the huge benefit India gained through the independence of Bangladesh. The breakup of Pakistan and the prospect of making the new country another Sikkim, were just two. The loot of sophisticated huge armaments left by 5 plus Pakistan Army Divisions was another. Major Jalil, 9 Sector Commander, was put on Court Martial because he tried to stop the Indian loot. We have lately seen the use of Bangladesh as corridor to reach India's inaccessible Seven Sisters.
Nonetheless, we are grateful to India for providing sanctuary and material support in our war. At the same time, we know what cost we had to pay for that. Indira Gandhi's hazaar salon ka badla was not possible without the help of the Mukti Bahini, which fought for 9 months, lost 3 million people---according to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who did not see the war---with colossal collateral damages. When the defeat of the enemy was imminent, India joined the war on December 4, 1971 just to accept the Pakistani surrender in less than two weeks, sidetracking the Mukti Bahini. The helicopter carrying Mukti Bahini commander Colonel Osmani was shot and disabled over Sylhet so that he could not join the surrender ceremony.
When India entered the war in its eastern sector, Niazi's forces had already lost the fighting capability with no air power. It might have hastened the surrender but the Mukti Bahini lost an edge. The freedom fighters failed to put the Pakistanis to rout, to an utter defeat at their hands. In fact, India saved Pakistanis, not the Bengalis by entering the war in Bangladesh. India's recognition of Bangladesh on December 6 was a de facto arrangement.
India's love for Bangladesh is evident from the above 7 points! We have been through more intense love affairs since. The 7 points were expanded into a 25-Year Secret Agreement, according to some subjugation, between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indira Gandhi. Farrakka barrage has rendered one-third of Bangladesh into semi deserts with far reaching economic and ecological consequences. Tipaimukh is another similar contraption against Bangladesh and the present Hasina government is gleefully accepting it, as her father Sheikh Mujib did for Farrakka in 1974. The wire fencing, the daily Felani brutality, the seizure of South Talpatti, no water in Teesta, the availing of corridor through Bangladesh almost free, the flooding Bangladesh with phensedyls and other harmful drugs, the Swadhin Bangabhumi, the tribal insurgency in Hill Tracts---do I need to mention more?
Obaid Chowdhury
New York, USA
April 25, 2012
From: Abid Bahar
abid.bahar@gmail.com
Date: Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 11:22 AM
Tajuddin Ahmad's seven-point agreement with Indira Gandhi
Abid Bahar
True, "Indian rulers did not want a fully independent and sovereign Bangladesh, but a client state under its hegemony, from the very beginning was made clear in a less publicized seven-point document which Mr. Tajuddin Ahmad, the prime minister of the Bangladesh government-in-exile in India in 1971, was obliged to sign as a condition for India's direct military campaign in Bangladesh accelerate the defeat and surrender of the Pakistani occupation forces and to install a puppet government in power."(1)
The seven-point document reads as follows [2]:
"(1) A para-military armed force for Bangladesh will be raised under supervision of the Indian military experts; this force shall be stronger and more active than the regular armed forces of Bangladesh .
(2) Bangladesh shall procure all military equipment from India and under planned supervision of the Indian military experts.
(3) Bangladesh shall direct her foreign trade under supervision and control of the Indian government.
(4) Yearly and five-yearly development plans for Bangladesh shall conform to Indian development plans.
(5) Foreign policy of Bangladesh must be compatible with and conform to that of India .
(6) Bangladesh shall not unilaterally rescind any of the treaties without prior approval of the Indian government.
(7) In accordance with the treaties signed before December (1971) war of Pakistan and India , Indian force shall enter into Bangladesjh at any time and shall crush any resistance that may erupt there."
Afsan Chowdhury, wrote: "Indira didn't have enough confidence in Mujibnagar ( led by Tajuddin) and set up the Bangladesh Liberation Army, Mujibbahini as it was popularly known. It was drawn up of students and youth activists led by one Gen. Ovan, a man who later supervised the raising of the Rakkhi Bahini in Bangladesh. This was done without the knowledge of Tajuddin Ahmed and his allies and many deeply resented it but Indira was buying insurance against the not so dependable allies of 1971. And to her it was India's war and not anyone else's.(3) This shows that Indra Gandhi set forth the foundations of Indian hegemony with Bangladesh.
Alam Mahmud wrote in reaction to people bowing to India and to Indra Gandhi as"the demigod."(4) He says: "History should be assessed with facts not with emotions. We are affected by emotions. Its not honoring the friend rather bowing to the demigod. To me, Bangladesh is a by product of Indo-Pak rivalry which were magnified by the atrocities of hot-headed generals of Pakistan. General DK Palit, a veteran Indian military thinker, stated about 1971 war that the war was over before the battles were won. Indians didn't win the battles but won the war. If you go through world famous military events of that time, the liberation war of Bangladesh has no space but the Indo-Pak war bears the importance. Its their interest to disintegrate Pakistan.
They intervened and we are lucky to get a new nation. What Sheikh Mujib wanted is still a mystery. We must celebrate friends but not at the cost of our own existence. Bangladesh could have been an independent state in 1947. Had there been a dominant leadership at that time? ... I think the romance of 1971 is no more relevant today. There are changes in people's mind as well. It will be better to select a middle path to deal with India."
As for Tajuddin, his glorious role in the liberation war must be celebrated but like his master Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, he was also involved in forgiving corrupted AL goons/ smugglers, one among them was a godfather in Chittagong called Man-serumia who was captured by the Customs in Chittagong but was released by Tajuddin perhaps at the instruction of Bangabandhu Mujib himself. Tajuddin personally visited the custom's office the next day to drop the case entirely. There must be more mystery surrounding behind Tajuddin's sacrifices and betrayals, his rise and fall and his place in 'the proverbial dustbin of history.
ENDNOTES
[1] K M A Malik, The Sugar-coated Poison India"s offer of 'help' to restructure BDR
(2) Oli Ahad, Jatio Rajniti (1945 to 1975), 2nd Ed. , Bangladesh Cooperative Book Society, Dhaka , p. 450. (Cardiff , April 4, 2009)
(3)Afsan Chowdhury,
http://opinion.bdnews24.com/2011/07/25/bangladesh-honours-indira-gandhi%E2%80%99s-1971-war/Afsan Chowdhury,
(4) Indira Gandhi . . . in our collective memory, http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=195763
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