[ALOCHONA] Declaration of Independence: The Controversy Continues

Declaration of Independence: The Controversy Continues

Obaid Chowdhury
alaldulal@aol.com
 
Awami leaders never tire of telling all and sundry that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) of Bangladesh before his arrest on the night of March 25, 1971. Even their administration-orchestrated court verdict and the constitutional fixing do not seem to be enough. 
 
I do not recall Sheikh Mujib ever claiming to have made the UDI, nor did he deny or contest what then Major Ziaur Rahman did from the Chittagong Radio Station on March 27, 1971.
 
During this past month of March, the Awami supported electronic media started and ended with one message: Ebarer sangram muktir sangram. Ebarer sangram shwadihinotar sangram…of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered on March 7, 1971. It was not an UDI, as some Awami zealots would like to coin. Other than this, there was nothing shown in the media or said in public as evidence to demonstrate that he made the declaration of independence.
 
In a recent talk show, Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed went a step further. He said, if I heard it correctly, Sheikh Mujib prerecorded the UDI, which continued to be announced from the midnight of March 25, 1971, further claiming that many people heard that announcement. He, however, he did not mention which radio station made that broadcast.     
 
Even though Mujib was conducting negotiations with the Pakistani leaders from March 17 onward, he said to have instructed Tofail and others to prepare for the war. Not only that, Mujib had already made arrangements with India to provide necessary assistance for shelter and the conduct of the liberation war for the freedom fighters, Tofail asserted. 
 
Bangladesh wartime Prime Minister, Tajuddin Ahmed met Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on April 4 and 6, 1971. There was no mention at that time of any prior arrangement between Sheikh Mujib and Indira Gandhi. Tajuddin had to sign a 7-Point agreement---an examination of the agreement will testify that it was a total sellout---before India committed to help him.
 
Assuming that, as an alternative option, Mujib made that arrangement with India, in case his negotiations with the Pakistani junta failed. But what arrangement did he make to save the lives of unarmed Bengalis from the military crackdown? The daily arrivals of planes and ships in Dhaka and Chittagong with troops and armament were no secret. Nor should the intended purpose of that ominous military buildup be unclear to him. 
 
Do Tofail and other Awami starwarts want to imply that Sheikh Mujib allowed the genocide to take place before he decided to declare the independence? And, a declaration nobody heard?  
 
After the massacre of 7000 Bengalis, as quoted by an eyewitness in the International Herald Tribune on March 30, 1971, Major Ziaur Rahman of 8 East Bengal Regiment, took a huge risk on himself to make the declaration of independence from the Kalurghat Betar Station on March 27. Millions in Bangladesh and outside heard it, thanks to a foreign merchant ship, which picked up the message and relayed it worldwide. For the first time, people got a clear political direction and took to fighting for the independence. Resistance so far by Bengali military and Para-military elements and others was largely for self-defense.  
 
There were a few versions of UDI in circulation so far. One was that ASM Abdur Rob, then a revolutionary student leader, coerced Sheikh Mujib to sign the UDI prepared by him. It was then given to the loyal BDR signalers at Peelkhana with request to transmit to AL leaders in Chittagong. It was unclear, however, how those loyalist elements could transmit the message when they themselves were under attack by the Pakistanis. Rob had appeared in a number of interviews, and, I never heard him say that Shiekh Mujib made the declaration.
 
According to Dr. Aftab Ahmed, a former Chatra League leader and a professor of Dhaka University, Tajuddin Ahmed and a few other top AL politicians went to the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the night of March 25 with a draft UDI. The supreme leader declined to sign it on the ground that the Pakistani leadership would then brand him a traitor, suggesting that he was still a Pakistani at heart. Additionally, Mujib did not heed their repeated requests to leave his residence so that he could give leadership to the liberation war.  
 
Mujib was arrested soon afterwards. According to many, he surrendered. His family, including today's Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina, enjoyed the royal treatment of the Pakistan military, while the rest of the country was burning and people suffering. 
 
***
There is no dearth of evidences that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was hopeful of a resolution in the constitutional issues, and that he would soon be able to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. "War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh", a well-researched book by Richard Sisson and Leo Rose (1990) has given details of the negotiations between the Presidential Team and the Awami League in Dhaka on March 17-24, 1971 and what Sheikh Mujib was aiming at.
 
One may also click on the link below for an article by Syed Badrul Ahsan, published in the Daily Star on March 24, 2012. The writer is known to be diehard Mujib follower.
 
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=227543
 
Badrul Ahsan wrote, "On this day (March 24) in 1971, the Awami League leadership stayed busy all morning working out the finer details of the economy-related issues of a proposed governmental structure for Pakistan. The Awami League still believed that a constitutional way out for a transfer of power from the junta to the elected representatives of the people was possible."
 
At the end of the meeting on March 24, "General Peerzada said that another meeting could take place in the morning the next day, March 25. When Kamal Hossain inquired about the time of the meeting, Peerzada said he would call and let him know."
 
"By the evening (on March 25) though, it had become clear to the Awami League that the regime had little intention of transferring power to an elected government."
 
Yet, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman waited the whole day for the call from the president. Alas, the "call never came."
 
So, where was the time for Sheikh Mujib to make the UDI, much less pre-record it, as mentioned by Tofail?
 
"Lokkho Praner Binimoye" by Major Rafiqul Islam gave some developments in Chittagong in March 1971. Lieutenant Colonel  M. R. Chowdhury, Major Ziaur Rahman, Captain Rafiqul Islam and others had several secret meetings to decide the course of actions to counter the military buildup in Chittagong. They thought they needed a political blessing for any action, should they deem necessary. Accordingly, they sent Captain Amin Ahmed Chowdhury to Dhaka to inform the political leadership of the alarming situation, further requesting permission to take countermeasures to save lives of the Bengalis. The message was conveyed to Sheikh Mujib through Colonel MAG Osmany around March 17. Reportedly, Mujib angrily retorted that he would not tolerate any military adventurism by the Bengalis when he was talking with the Pakistani leadership for a solution. A disappointed Captain Amin returned to Chittagong. Amin, now a retired Major General, may speak up.
 
So, did Sheikh Mujib really make the UDI? Major Rafiq, now an Awami League lawmaker, avoided the question in a talk show sometime back.
 
Nobody denies the need for a correct portrayal of the history of Bangladesh and its liberation war. If we distort it today, in the name of correction, future generations will not condone us, and the perpetrators will be condemned to the garbage of history. The truth will surface and prevail in time.
 
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."---Abraham Lincoln.
 
Obaid Chowdhury
New York, USA
April 4, 2012

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___