7 March 71 Speech and Call for Independence
By Tuhin Reza
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's speech of 7 March 1971 has a special place in the history of Bangladesh's war of independence. Throughout the 9-month's bloody struggle against the Pak occupation forces people drew inspiration from it. Many people term it as the call for independence. But what was in it?
A careful analysis of the speech will demonstrate that different parts of the speech were addressed to different audience; part of it was for the people of Bangladesh and part for the Pakistani authorities. In fact, although there were things in the speech, which were meant for domestic consumption, the speech was mainly used to send a clear message to the Pakistani authorities. The message was that the Pakistani authorities had no other option but to handover power to Mujib if they wanted the unity of Pakistan.
Mujib was jumping from one issue to another and the speech lacked coherency. He talked about the frustration of Bengalis for not being able to take up the reigns of the country. Reminding about the majority position of the Bengalis in Pakistan he said, "In the past too, each time we, the numerically larger segment of Pakistan's population tried to assert our rights and control our destiny, they (West Pakistanis) conspired against us and pounded upon us."
He called for total civil disobedience. Then he said, "The people of this country are being murdered; so be on guard. If need be, every thing will be brought to a standstill. Officers will collect wages on the 28th day. If the salaries are held up, if a single bullet is fired, if the murder of my people does not cease, I call upon you to turn every home into a fortress. Use whatever you can to confront the enemy. Even if I cannot give instructions, every last road must be blocked."
Mujib in his speech addressed the Pakistani troops as his brothers and gave them full assurance of security if they would remain in the barracks. This was despite the fact that they had already engaged in killing hundreds of Bengalis. An official statement published by the then Pakistan Government on 10 March 1971 admitted that up to that date 172 Bengalis were killed and 3558 were injured at the hands of the Pak military and security forces.
The most significant part of the speech was Mujib's four demands. A careful analysis of these demands will show that even if all these demands were met, Bangladesh would not have been independent. Mujib demanded (1) immediate lifting of Martial Law; (2) return of Army to the barracks; (3) investigation of all killings; and (4) transfer of power to people's elective representatives. The most striking point was No. (4) transfer of power to elected representatives. What does it mean? To put it bluntly, Mujib demanded to make him the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Towards the end of his speech Mujib declared, "when we have given blood we will give more, but we will make this country free Inshallah. This time, the struggle is for freedom, this struggle is for independence."
Apart from this single utterance nowhere in his speech he mentioned independence.
When journalists later accosted Mujib whether he had made a declaration of independence, he carefully avoided the issue by stating, "it can be interpreted in many ways". Between the election of 1970 and 25 March 1971, Mujib did not do anything that can be regarded as a challenge to the unity of Pakistan. In fact Mujib never stated in public that he did not have allegiance to Pakistan. He spoke about autonomy, but that was no secret; it was his election manifesto and part of 6-points.
However since the independence of Bangladesh some people have been claiming that it was always Mujib's intention to establish independent Bangladesh and that he had been dreaming about it since 1947. However, writers like Herbert Feldman have rejected this. For him, such ex post facto statement can hardly be reliable. (See Herbert Feldman The End and the Beginning: Pakistan 1969-71).
For the West Pakistanis, on 7 March, Mujib had this message, "To them, I say, you are our brothers. I beseech you not to turn this country into a living hell. Will you not have to show your face and confront your conscience some day?" He continued, "If we can peacefully settle our differences there is still hope that we can co exist as brothers. Otherwise there is no hope. Do not go to the extreme - (if you choose that), we may never come to see each other's face."
This would puzzle one - if Mujib had called for independence why was he talking about living as brothers?
Mujib ended his speech with 'Jay Bangla', 'Jay Punjab', 'Jay Sind', 'Jay Baluchistan', 'Jay Frontier Province', 'Jay Pakistan'. However later 'Jay Punjab' etc. was edited out from the record.
'Jay Bangla' together with 'Jay Pakistan' was not a new slogan for Mujib. On 3 January Mujib administered Oath to the elected representatives of Awami League at the Ramna Race Course Ground (present day Shurwardi Udyan) and finished it with 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan'. This was reported by the Daily Pakistan of 4 January. Abul Mansur Ahmed also mentions this incident in his book.
418 members of national and provincial assemblies took part in this Oath taking ceremony. An Oath-form was printed; every member was given a copy. 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan' were written on it. Mujib conducted this Oath taking ceremony pronouncing both 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan'. In fact during this time, as Abul Mansur Ahmed noted in his '50 Years of Politics' (Amer Dheka Rajnitir Panchash Bacher) Mujib was regularly uttering 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan'.
If Mujib had really called for independence on 7 March, then one wonders why would Yahya come to Dhaka to discuss politics with Mujib? It is inconceivable that a Pakistani President would come to talk about the break up of his country. He would only come for a discussion if he were given some sort of assurance that what was said at the Ramna Race Course was not what Mujib was actually contemplating. By the same token if Mujib had declared independence on the 7th why did he continue to have dialogues with Yahya? Surely he should have taken further steps to implement his desire for independence?
On 15 Narch 1971 Yahya came to Dhaka and he had several rounds of talks with Mujib. These two actually met for no less than 3 times without any aids in one-to-one meetings. They also had talks aided by members of their teams. Mujib never mentioned in public that the discussion was going nowhere. Rather he told journalists that he was making satisfactory progress. Awami League has never informed the nation what was discussed or agreed in these series of meetings.
The Dawn reported on the 24th March 1971 that a broad agreement and understanding was reached between Yahya and Mujib on the 22nd of March 1971 'to end the present political crisis in the country'. Unfortunately, the AL leadership have never explained what was this broad agreement and understanding. However, some light can be thrown; Shahjahan Siraj informs that on the 22nd of March Sheikh Moni told top student leaders that Mujib had agreed to form a coalition government at the centre with Bhutto's People's Party. A section of Awami League leadership was also willing to go ahead with this. However, the student leaders did not support this idea and pressure was placed on Mujib not to proceed with it.
The Awami Leadership after 25 March started calling Yahya's action of 25 March as a betrayal. The declaration of 17 April 1971 by the Mujibnagar government also mentioned that the Pakistani authorities acted treacherously instead of fulfilling their promise and that due to that act of betrayal this war of independence had commenced. But why call Yahya a betrayer? He was barbaric, no doubt, but why a betrayer? A person is a betrayer if he gives a pledge or promise and then goes back on it. What promise did Yahya make to Mujib or AL? Are they referring to that 'broad agreement and understanding'? Was it that they would be allowed to form the next government or share power and thus the question of independence would be pushed under the carpet? How can one come to terms with a call for independence on 7 March with the formation of a government in Islamabad?
Shahjahan Siraj also informs that Mujib knew about the impending crackdown of Pakistani Army much earlier than 25 March 1971. Mujib told the student leaders on the night of 23 March 1971 that Yahya Khan had agreed to share power with Mujib, however, his generals were not willing. Mujib also warned the student leaders that the crack down was imminent and it might start as early as the next day, 24 March 1971.
On 25 March, whole day, Mujib was waiting for a phone call from Lt. Gen Pirzada for a last meeting with Yahya. Mujib asked his top party brass to move to secured places on the night of 25 March. Alas! He did not do the same with his countrymen. If he had alerted the nation the way he had alerted his lieutenants about the impending crackdown, things would probably have been very different.
Before he was taken in by the Pakistani security forces Mujib gave an interview with the well-known French daily La Monde. He said, "Is the Pakistan Government not aware that I am the only one able to save East Pakistan from Communists?" This interview was published after his arrest on the 31st of March 1971. The irony is although Mujib here portrayed himself as a saviour from or a defender against communism, after liberation he inducted 'socialism' as one of the four fundamental principles of state policy. Some of his die heart supporters say that it was when Mujib was about to implement true socialism the agents of imperialism killed him.
Mujib might have good reasons for playing this communist card. The East Pakistan Communist Party and other Marxist and left leaning outfits had already started campaigning openly for an independent Bangladesh. They called for armed struggle to achieve it. On the other hand, AL or Mujib never uttered the word 'independence' apart from the speech of 7 March. Mujib saw himself as the person who could stop this communist campaign. He knew how worried the USA was about East Pakistan falling into the grip of communists.
What was the general mood in the then East Pakistan in March 1971 prior to the gruesome night of 25? Delay in handing over power to people's representatives had already turned the campaign for autonomy into a full bloom movement for independence. However, Awami League (except its students' wing) did not take part in it. In fact, during this period Awami League's student wing Student League (Chatra League) actually acted contrary to the politics of the main party.
On 2 March DUCSU (Dhaka University Central Students Union) VP and Student League leader A S M Abdur Rab hoisted a newly-designed flag of Bangladesh at the Dhaka University. Pakistani flag was burnt and 'Amar Sonar Bangla' was sung as national anthem for an independent Bangladesh. Later, Bangladeshi flags were hoisted in many shops, offices and vehicles by ordinary people. On the same day Siraj Sikhder, on behalf of the East Bengal Labour Movement issued an open letter to Mujib with a call to commence arms struggle against the Pakistanis.
On 3 March at a meeting at the Paltan Maidan organised by the Students League, Shahjahan Siraj, the then General Secretary of the Students League read out memorandum (Ishtehar) of independence of Bangladesh and declared programmes for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Bangladesh.
Mujib also spoke on this occasion. In his 30 minutes speech, Mujib however said nothing about an independent Bangladesh. He called upon the people to continue their struggle in a peaceful and organised manner (peaceful satyagraha). He urged them to remain alert against agent-provocateurs and to maintain complete peace and discipline and to rise to the occasion to protect the life and property of everyone living in East Pakistan [not Bangladesh!] whether Hindu or Muslim, Bengali or non-Bengali.
Mujib, who was earlier scheduled to lead a huge procession after the meeting, announced that the procession would not be held. Instead he led a prayer for the salvation of the departed souls of the martyrs who had, as he said, died in the struggle for democracy [not independence!]. No reason was offered for the postponement of the procession led by Mujib. This was a programme which Mujib himself announced the previous day. Could it be the case that Mujib wanted to dissociate from the independent Bangladesh memorandum of Shahjahan Siraj?
On 6 March, a group of artists and writers published a booklet called 'Pratiroth' (Resistance) and asked everyone to resist the repressions of the Martial law Administration and rise to the occasion for establishing an independent Bangladesh. They declared, "Set fire to any statement of compromise" (Aposher bani agune jalia dao).
On 7 March an organisation called 'the Co-ordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries of East Bengal' issued a call for establishing independent East Bengal through armed struggle. On the same day, the National Awami Party (Muzaffar) published its 17-point constitutional proposal for Pakistan in which they demanded right to self-determination for East Pakistan along with the right to secede from the federation.
Next day, 8 March a left lenient students organisation 'Forward Students' Block' published a leaflet urging people not to cloud 'the rising sun of independence' by going in for any compromise with the Martial Law Administration and the ruling cliques. They also urged people to organise 'Bengal Liberation Front' in the rural and urban areas for establishing 'an independent socialist Bangladesh'. On the same day an anonymous leaflet was published in which various methods and rules of guerrilla warfare were explained.
On 9 March, the Central Committee of the East Pakistan Communist Party in a statement called upon the people to fight the enemy forces and to keep up the struggle for establishing an independent Bangladesh. On the same day, Maulana Bhashani issued a leaflet calling upon the people to join the struggle for preserving the independence of East Pakistan. He said that their only aim was the full independence and urged people to continue their struggle until that aim was achieved. He also warned against any attempt to compromise the independence of East Pakistan by coming into terms with the military elites.
On 10 March, while addressing a huge public meeting at Paltan Maidan Maulana Bhashani declared that no one would be able to suppress the struggle of 70 million Bengalis for freedom and liberation. He made it clear that in this respect, no compromise was possible. He called upon President Yahya to give freedom to 70 millions Bengalis. He even gave Yahya an ultimatum of 28 March 1971 to accept his demand.
On 11 March the Student Union (student wing of the Communist Party) called for the establishment of an exploitation free independent East Bengal. They also circulated leaflets about this.
On 17 March the Dhaka English daily 'The People' wrote, "Independence of Bangladesh a fait accompli".
On 19 March Bengali officers and soldiers of the East Bengal regiment stationed at Joydevpur revolted.
On 22 March EPR battalion in Chittagong led by Captain Rafiqul Islam arrested all the non-Bengali officers and soldiers of EPR. On the same day EPR captured the Chittagong port and tried to resist the unloading of Pakistan army's arms and ammunitions. The same day saw the slaughter of hundreds (one estimate says 1500) of Bengali officers and soldiers of East Bengal regiment at the East Bengal Regimental Centre in Chittagong by the Pakistan army.
The incidents mentioned above show that the campaign and actual war for independence had already started before 25 March although no formal declaration was made.
If a call for independence has been made on the 7th then the most logical follow up step should have been preparation for war – planning, organising, training etc. There is no evidence that Mujib or Awami League did anything to prepare the nation apart from shouting, " You get ready with whatever you have" on 7 March. They were themselves even not prepared for it. There was no strategy, no programmes.
Maulana Bhashani was very candid in his comments about the war preparation of Awami League leaders. Maulana said, "These fellows had already had their sherwanis tailored and were rehearsing for the oath-taking ceremony; these fellows had thought the power was in their pockets." (See Arun Mukerjee Dateline Mujibnagar). Maulana was always sceptical about the motives of the Pakistani authorities and did not believe that they would easily give the Bengalis share of power.
Communist Leader Abul Bashar said, "During 1971 when we urged people to take preparation for independence, then on 23 March Awami League observed 'Pakistan Day' and blamed us as secessionists."
Major Jalil's view was that Awami League leadership did not think of independence, they tried till the last moment to capture power through dialogue.
Even if there was a call for independence on the 7th, subsequent action or inaction by Mujib negated it. The speech was rather used to warn the Pakistani authorities that Mujib was the de facto ruler of the East and the only way to save the unity of Pakistan was to handover power to him. Mujib was probably right. However, this then run contrary to what has been said about Mujib's call for independence on 7 March.
Mujib's inclination to compromise should not surprise anyone. It was reported by The Dawn on 1 March 1971 that on 28 February, Mujib reiterated his assurance that six points would not be imposed on any one. This shows that he was ready to negotiate over them.
In his speech of 7 March Mujib said, "I made it clear that I could not agree to any deviation from the six points. That right rested with the people. Come, I said, let us sit down and resolve matters." One wonders if six points were not open to compromise why was Mujib asking the West Pakistanis to have discussion to settle the issues?
After his arrest when Mujib was taken to Pakistan, he allegedly said at the Karachi airport that he gave himself up to the Pakistani authorities to save Pakistan.
The US State Department's newly declassified documents about the 1971 Bangladesh War show that Mujib wanted to have a "form of confederation" with Pakistan rather than a separate country. When Bhutto released him from Pakistani prison in early January 1972, he apparently agreed to establish a confederation between Bangladesh and Pakistan. This was confirmed by Anthony Mascarenhas (Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood). Mascarenhas spoke to Mujib in London after his return from Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto also said that her father and Mujib had an agreement to form a confederation.
It is the humble opinion of this writer that had the declaration of independence come earlier, may be soon after 7th March, things would probably have been different; the carnage of 25th March could have been avoided. The Pakistani army would not have the opportunity to strike the unarmed Bengalis as they did. The mass slaughter of Bengali troops in Cittagong, EPR in Pilkhana, Police offices at Rajarbag and university students and teachers could have been prevented. These forces could have come out of the barracks and dormitories and could resist the advances of the Pakistani troops. They could also disperse in the countryside and organise fight.
The first Bengal regiment stationed in Jessore was actually out of the cantonment on their winter exercise. They could have struck the enemy forces and continue fighting. As there was no declaration or direction given by Mujib, these troops remained inactive. After 25 March they were brought back to the cantonment, forced to surrender their arms and killed.
One should not forget that Mujib took it upon himself the responsibility of conducting the movement. On 7 March he urged, "Leave everything to me. I know how to organise a movement."
What was Mujib's personal relationship with Yahya Khan? While addressing the newly elected Awami League members at the Oath taking ceremony at the Ramna Race Course on 3 January 1971, Mujib thanked President Yahya for fulfilling his commitment in holding election. However, Mujib was worried that a section of Yahya's subordinates were conspiring to undo the election results. This news was published on the 4 January 1971 issue of the Pakistan Observer.
In one of the earlier meetings with Yahya, Mujib thanked Yahya personally for holding the election and even proposed to keep Yahya as the President after the handover of power, since Yahya had established democracy in Pakistan, democracy would be secured if he continued with the Presidency. (See Asghar Khan Generals in politics).
Yahya Khan also publicly declared Mujib as the future Prime Minister of Pakistan while talking to journalists in Dhaka. He also introduced Mujib to the Shah of Iran as the future Premier.
It appears that Mujib and Awami League leadership was convinced that Yahya Khan would transfer power to Mujib, and for that reason, they waited till the last moment and did not give up the hope. However, the fate dictated otherwise.
By going into an elaborate dialogue with Yahya and the Pakistani authorities and trying to devise a formula to keep Pakistan together they showed that independence of Bangladesh was probably not their main goal. There is also no evidence that they thought of any contingency plan should the dialogue fail to produce any results. Their action was contrary to the prevailing spirit of the country, which was overwhelmingly in favour of independence.
By the evening of 25 March 71, the emotional split with the West Pakistanis was complete; the country was ready to sever all formal ties with them and march ahead towards independence, but the question is whether the leader was ready for it?
Tuhin Reza
London
UK
A careful analysis of the speech will demonstrate that different parts of the speech were addressed to different audience; part of it was for the people of Bangladesh and part for the Pakistani authorities. In fact, although there were things in the speech, which were meant for domestic consumption, the speech was mainly used to send a clear message to the Pakistani authorities. The message was that the Pakistani authorities had no other option but to handover power to Mujib if they wanted the unity of Pakistan.
Mujib was jumping from one issue to another and the speech lacked coherency. He talked about the frustration of Bengalis for not being able to take up the reigns of the country. Reminding about the majority position of the Bengalis in Pakistan he said, "In the past too, each time we, the numerically larger segment of Pakistan's population tried to assert our rights and control our destiny, they (West Pakistanis) conspired against us and pounded upon us."
He called for total civil disobedience. Then he said, "The people of this country are being murdered; so be on guard. If need be, every thing will be brought to a standstill. Officers will collect wages on the 28th day. If the salaries are held up, if a single bullet is fired, if the murder of my people does not cease, I call upon you to turn every home into a fortress. Use whatever you can to confront the enemy. Even if I cannot give instructions, every last road must be blocked."
Mujib in his speech addressed the Pakistani troops as his brothers and gave them full assurance of security if they would remain in the barracks. This was despite the fact that they had already engaged in killing hundreds of Bengalis. An official statement published by the then Pakistan Government on 10 March 1971 admitted that up to that date 172 Bengalis were killed and 3558 were injured at the hands of the Pak military and security forces.
The most significant part of the speech was Mujib's four demands. A careful analysis of these demands will show that even if all these demands were met, Bangladesh would not have been independent. Mujib demanded (1) immediate lifting of Martial Law; (2) return of Army to the barracks; (3) investigation of all killings; and (4) transfer of power to people's elective representatives. The most striking point was No. (4) transfer of power to elected representatives. What does it mean? To put it bluntly, Mujib demanded to make him the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Towards the end of his speech Mujib declared, "when we have given blood we will give more, but we will make this country free Inshallah. This time, the struggle is for freedom, this struggle is for independence."
Apart from this single utterance nowhere in his speech he mentioned independence.
When journalists later accosted Mujib whether he had made a declaration of independence, he carefully avoided the issue by stating, "it can be interpreted in many ways". Between the election of 1970 and 25 March 1971, Mujib did not do anything that can be regarded as a challenge to the unity of Pakistan. In fact Mujib never stated in public that he did not have allegiance to Pakistan. He spoke about autonomy, but that was no secret; it was his election manifesto and part of 6-points.
However since the independence of Bangladesh some people have been claiming that it was always Mujib's intention to establish independent Bangladesh and that he had been dreaming about it since 1947. However, writers like Herbert Feldman have rejected this. For him, such ex post facto statement can hardly be reliable. (See Herbert Feldman The End and the Beginning: Pakistan 1969-71).
For the West Pakistanis, on 7 March, Mujib had this message, "To them, I say, you are our brothers. I beseech you not to turn this country into a living hell. Will you not have to show your face and confront your conscience some day?" He continued, "If we can peacefully settle our differences there is still hope that we can co exist as brothers. Otherwise there is no hope. Do not go to the extreme - (if you choose that), we may never come to see each other's face."
This would puzzle one - if Mujib had called for independence why was he talking about living as brothers?
Mujib ended his speech with 'Jay Bangla', 'Jay Punjab', 'Jay Sind', 'Jay Baluchistan', 'Jay Frontier Province', 'Jay Pakistan'. However later 'Jay Punjab' etc. was edited out from the record.
'Jay Bangla' together with 'Jay Pakistan' was not a new slogan for Mujib. On 3 January Mujib administered Oath to the elected representatives of Awami League at the Ramna Race Course Ground (present day Shurwardi Udyan) and finished it with 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan'. This was reported by the Daily Pakistan of 4 January. Abul Mansur Ahmed also mentions this incident in his book.
418 members of national and provincial assemblies took part in this Oath taking ceremony. An Oath-form was printed; every member was given a copy. 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan' were written on it. Mujib conducted this Oath taking ceremony pronouncing both 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan'. In fact during this time, as Abul Mansur Ahmed noted in his '50 Years of Politics' (Amer Dheka Rajnitir Panchash Bacher) Mujib was regularly uttering 'Jay Bangla' and 'Jay Pakistan'.
If Mujib had really called for independence on 7 March, then one wonders why would Yahya come to Dhaka to discuss politics with Mujib? It is inconceivable that a Pakistani President would come to talk about the break up of his country. He would only come for a discussion if he were given some sort of assurance that what was said at the Ramna Race Course was not what Mujib was actually contemplating. By the same token if Mujib had declared independence on the 7th why did he continue to have dialogues with Yahya? Surely he should have taken further steps to implement his desire for independence?
On 15 Narch 1971 Yahya came to Dhaka and he had several rounds of talks with Mujib. These two actually met for no less than 3 times without any aids in one-to-one meetings. They also had talks aided by members of their teams. Mujib never mentioned in public that the discussion was going nowhere. Rather he told journalists that he was making satisfactory progress. Awami League has never informed the nation what was discussed or agreed in these series of meetings.
The Dawn reported on the 24th March 1971 that a broad agreement and understanding was reached between Yahya and Mujib on the 22nd of March 1971 'to end the present political crisis in the country'. Unfortunately, the AL leadership have never explained what was this broad agreement and understanding. However, some light can be thrown; Shahjahan Siraj informs that on the 22nd of March Sheikh Moni told top student leaders that Mujib had agreed to form a coalition government at the centre with Bhutto's People's Party. A section of Awami League leadership was also willing to go ahead with this. However, the student leaders did not support this idea and pressure was placed on Mujib not to proceed with it.
The Awami Leadership after 25 March started calling Yahya's action of 25 March as a betrayal. The declaration of 17 April 1971 by the Mujibnagar government also mentioned that the Pakistani authorities acted treacherously instead of fulfilling their promise and that due to that act of betrayal this war of independence had commenced. But why call Yahya a betrayer? He was barbaric, no doubt, but why a betrayer? A person is a betrayer if he gives a pledge or promise and then goes back on it. What promise did Yahya make to Mujib or AL? Are they referring to that 'broad agreement and understanding'? Was it that they would be allowed to form the next government or share power and thus the question of independence would be pushed under the carpet? How can one come to terms with a call for independence on 7 March with the formation of a government in Islamabad?
Shahjahan Siraj also informs that Mujib knew about the impending crackdown of Pakistani Army much earlier than 25 March 1971. Mujib told the student leaders on the night of 23 March 1971 that Yahya Khan had agreed to share power with Mujib, however, his generals were not willing. Mujib also warned the student leaders that the crack down was imminent and it might start as early as the next day, 24 March 1971.
On 25 March, whole day, Mujib was waiting for a phone call from Lt. Gen Pirzada for a last meeting with Yahya. Mujib asked his top party brass to move to secured places on the night of 25 March. Alas! He did not do the same with his countrymen. If he had alerted the nation the way he had alerted his lieutenants about the impending crackdown, things would probably have been very different.
Before he was taken in by the Pakistani security forces Mujib gave an interview with the well-known French daily La Monde. He said, "Is the Pakistan Government not aware that I am the only one able to save East Pakistan from Communists?" This interview was published after his arrest on the 31st of March 1971. The irony is although Mujib here portrayed himself as a saviour from or a defender against communism, after liberation he inducted 'socialism' as one of the four fundamental principles of state policy. Some of his die heart supporters say that it was when Mujib was about to implement true socialism the agents of imperialism killed him.
Mujib might have good reasons for playing this communist card. The East Pakistan Communist Party and other Marxist and left leaning outfits had already started campaigning openly for an independent Bangladesh. They called for armed struggle to achieve it. On the other hand, AL or Mujib never uttered the word 'independence' apart from the speech of 7 March. Mujib saw himself as the person who could stop this communist campaign. He knew how worried the USA was about East Pakistan falling into the grip of communists.
What was the general mood in the then East Pakistan in March 1971 prior to the gruesome night of 25? Delay in handing over power to people's representatives had already turned the campaign for autonomy into a full bloom movement for independence. However, Awami League (except its students' wing) did not take part in it. In fact, during this period Awami League's student wing Student League (Chatra League) actually acted contrary to the politics of the main party.
On 2 March DUCSU (Dhaka University Central Students Union) VP and Student League leader A S M Abdur Rab hoisted a newly-designed flag of Bangladesh at the Dhaka University. Pakistani flag was burnt and 'Amar Sonar Bangla' was sung as national anthem for an independent Bangladesh. Later, Bangladeshi flags were hoisted in many shops, offices and vehicles by ordinary people. On the same day Siraj Sikhder, on behalf of the East Bengal Labour Movement issued an open letter to Mujib with a call to commence arms struggle against the Pakistanis.
On 3 March at a meeting at the Paltan Maidan organised by the Students League, Shahjahan Siraj, the then General Secretary of the Students League read out memorandum (Ishtehar) of independence of Bangladesh and declared programmes for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Bangladesh.
Mujib also spoke on this occasion. In his 30 minutes speech, Mujib however said nothing about an independent Bangladesh. He called upon the people to continue their struggle in a peaceful and organised manner (peaceful satyagraha). He urged them to remain alert against agent-provocateurs and to maintain complete peace and discipline and to rise to the occasion to protect the life and property of everyone living in East Pakistan [not Bangladesh!] whether Hindu or Muslim, Bengali or non-Bengali.
Mujib, who was earlier scheduled to lead a huge procession after the meeting, announced that the procession would not be held. Instead he led a prayer for the salvation of the departed souls of the martyrs who had, as he said, died in the struggle for democracy [not independence!]. No reason was offered for the postponement of the procession led by Mujib. This was a programme which Mujib himself announced the previous day. Could it be the case that Mujib wanted to dissociate from the independent Bangladesh memorandum of Shahjahan Siraj?
On 6 March, a group of artists and writers published a booklet called 'Pratiroth' (Resistance) and asked everyone to resist the repressions of the Martial law Administration and rise to the occasion for establishing an independent Bangladesh. They declared, "Set fire to any statement of compromise" (Aposher bani agune jalia dao).
On 7 March an organisation called 'the Co-ordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries of East Bengal' issued a call for establishing independent East Bengal through armed struggle. On the same day, the National Awami Party (Muzaffar) published its 17-point constitutional proposal for Pakistan in which they demanded right to self-determination for East Pakistan along with the right to secede from the federation.
Next day, 8 March a left lenient students organisation 'Forward Students' Block' published a leaflet urging people not to cloud 'the rising sun of independence' by going in for any compromise with the Martial Law Administration and the ruling cliques. They also urged people to organise 'Bengal Liberation Front' in the rural and urban areas for establishing 'an independent socialist Bangladesh'. On the same day an anonymous leaflet was published in which various methods and rules of guerrilla warfare were explained.
On 9 March, the Central Committee of the East Pakistan Communist Party in a statement called upon the people to fight the enemy forces and to keep up the struggle for establishing an independent Bangladesh. On the same day, Maulana Bhashani issued a leaflet calling upon the people to join the struggle for preserving the independence of East Pakistan. He said that their only aim was the full independence and urged people to continue their struggle until that aim was achieved. He also warned against any attempt to compromise the independence of East Pakistan by coming into terms with the military elites.
On 10 March, while addressing a huge public meeting at Paltan Maidan Maulana Bhashani declared that no one would be able to suppress the struggle of 70 million Bengalis for freedom and liberation. He made it clear that in this respect, no compromise was possible. He called upon President Yahya to give freedom to 70 millions Bengalis. He even gave Yahya an ultimatum of 28 March 1971 to accept his demand.
On 11 March the Student Union (student wing of the Communist Party) called for the establishment of an exploitation free independent East Bengal. They also circulated leaflets about this.
On 17 March the Dhaka English daily 'The People' wrote, "Independence of Bangladesh a fait accompli".
On 19 March Bengali officers and soldiers of the East Bengal regiment stationed at Joydevpur revolted.
On 22 March EPR battalion in Chittagong led by Captain Rafiqul Islam arrested all the non-Bengali officers and soldiers of EPR. On the same day EPR captured the Chittagong port and tried to resist the unloading of Pakistan army's arms and ammunitions. The same day saw the slaughter of hundreds (one estimate says 1500) of Bengali officers and soldiers of East Bengal regiment at the East Bengal Regimental Centre in Chittagong by the Pakistan army.
The incidents mentioned above show that the campaign and actual war for independence had already started before 25 March although no formal declaration was made.
If a call for independence has been made on the 7th then the most logical follow up step should have been preparation for war – planning, organising, training etc. There is no evidence that Mujib or Awami League did anything to prepare the nation apart from shouting, " You get ready with whatever you have" on 7 March. They were themselves even not prepared for it. There was no strategy, no programmes.
Maulana Bhashani was very candid in his comments about the war preparation of Awami League leaders. Maulana said, "These fellows had already had their sherwanis tailored and were rehearsing for the oath-taking ceremony; these fellows had thought the power was in their pockets." (See Arun Mukerjee Dateline Mujibnagar). Maulana was always sceptical about the motives of the Pakistani authorities and did not believe that they would easily give the Bengalis share of power.
Communist Leader Abul Bashar said, "During 1971 when we urged people to take preparation for independence, then on 23 March Awami League observed 'Pakistan Day' and blamed us as secessionists."
Major Jalil's view was that Awami League leadership did not think of independence, they tried till the last moment to capture power through dialogue.
Even if there was a call for independence on the 7th, subsequent action or inaction by Mujib negated it. The speech was rather used to warn the Pakistani authorities that Mujib was the de facto ruler of the East and the only way to save the unity of Pakistan was to handover power to him. Mujib was probably right. However, this then run contrary to what has been said about Mujib's call for independence on 7 March.
Mujib's inclination to compromise should not surprise anyone. It was reported by The Dawn on 1 March 1971 that on 28 February, Mujib reiterated his assurance that six points would not be imposed on any one. This shows that he was ready to negotiate over them.
In his speech of 7 March Mujib said, "I made it clear that I could not agree to any deviation from the six points. That right rested with the people. Come, I said, let us sit down and resolve matters." One wonders if six points were not open to compromise why was Mujib asking the West Pakistanis to have discussion to settle the issues?
After his arrest when Mujib was taken to Pakistan, he allegedly said at the Karachi airport that he gave himself up to the Pakistani authorities to save Pakistan.
The US State Department's newly declassified documents about the 1971 Bangladesh War show that Mujib wanted to have a "form of confederation" with Pakistan rather than a separate country. When Bhutto released him from Pakistani prison in early January 1972, he apparently agreed to establish a confederation between Bangladesh and Pakistan. This was confirmed by Anthony Mascarenhas (Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood). Mascarenhas spoke to Mujib in London after his return from Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto also said that her father and Mujib had an agreement to form a confederation.
It is the humble opinion of this writer that had the declaration of independence come earlier, may be soon after 7th March, things would probably have been different; the carnage of 25th March could have been avoided. The Pakistani army would not have the opportunity to strike the unarmed Bengalis as they did. The mass slaughter of Bengali troops in Cittagong, EPR in Pilkhana, Police offices at Rajarbag and university students and teachers could have been prevented. These forces could have come out of the barracks and dormitories and could resist the advances of the Pakistani troops. They could also disperse in the countryside and organise fight.
The first Bengal regiment stationed in Jessore was actually out of the cantonment on their winter exercise. They could have struck the enemy forces and continue fighting. As there was no declaration or direction given by Mujib, these troops remained inactive. After 25 March they were brought back to the cantonment, forced to surrender their arms and killed.
One should not forget that Mujib took it upon himself the responsibility of conducting the movement. On 7 March he urged, "Leave everything to me. I know how to organise a movement."
What was Mujib's personal relationship with Yahya Khan? While addressing the newly elected Awami League members at the Oath taking ceremony at the Ramna Race Course on 3 January 1971, Mujib thanked President Yahya for fulfilling his commitment in holding election. However, Mujib was worried that a section of Yahya's subordinates were conspiring to undo the election results. This news was published on the 4 January 1971 issue of the Pakistan Observer.
In one of the earlier meetings with Yahya, Mujib thanked Yahya personally for holding the election and even proposed to keep Yahya as the President after the handover of power, since Yahya had established democracy in Pakistan, democracy would be secured if he continued with the Presidency. (See Asghar Khan Generals in politics).
Yahya Khan also publicly declared Mujib as the future Prime Minister of Pakistan while talking to journalists in Dhaka. He also introduced Mujib to the Shah of Iran as the future Premier.
It appears that Mujib and Awami League leadership was convinced that Yahya Khan would transfer power to Mujib, and for that reason, they waited till the last moment and did not give up the hope. However, the fate dictated otherwise.
By going into an elaborate dialogue with Yahya and the Pakistani authorities and trying to devise a formula to keep Pakistan together they showed that independence of Bangladesh was probably not their main goal. There is also no evidence that they thought of any contingency plan should the dialogue fail to produce any results. Their action was contrary to the prevailing spirit of the country, which was overwhelmingly in favour of independence.
By the evening of 25 March 71, the emotional split with the West Pakistanis was complete; the country was ready to sever all formal ties with them and march ahead towards independence, but the question is whether the leader was ready for it?
Tuhin Reza
London
UK
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