FRONTIER, CALCUTTA, MAY 8, 1971
East Bengal
THE NEXT STAGE
By K. Sen
The war in Bangladesh is over a month old now. President Yahya who had reportedly boasted that he would be able to crush the movement in 48 hours must be wondering at the continuance of a struggle, in which militarily the odds are definitely against the other side. Financially the Pakistan Government is feeling the pinch as is evident from its agreeing to devalue the currency. On the other hand thousands of refugees continue to cross into Indian territory and even if a fraction of what they say is true, then it is not a Sonar Bangla they have left behind. The towns are almost empty and the vast countryside, for the most part, lies ravaged.
Yet the fighting goes on. There is yet no evidence of the Mukti Fouj deciding to call it a day. And with the choice generally being between dying fighting and simply dying it is going to be a protracted war, the first phase of which seem to be drawing to a close. As a Dacca journalist, who has crossed over, observe red recently, soon there will be a period of lull which will be the period of regrouping. And that according to all accounts, will be an interesting period to watch.
For there cannot be a protracted war without political leadership. The Mukti Fouj, as constituted at present, is an odd assortment of paramilitary forces and other elements. So far its main task has been to resist as best as possible the onslaught in which it has not been as successful as is made out in euphoric Press reports. Which, in the context of a general lack of preparedness is understandable. But now that the Army has been able to find a footing in Bangladesh the job will be to get it out. And with a negotiated settlement seemingly out of the way the search for the political leadership which can take the protracted struggle to successful end, has already begun in Bangladesh.
The December elections brought the Awami League into the foreground and the Pakistani authorities’ disregard for democratic principles further added to its prestige in the subsequent days. Mujib thundering away at Paltan Maidan and elsewhere was the man to be looked forward, to. Bengali nationalism had reached a new height. Than the Army struck. And today, with a number of Awami League leaders sojourning on this d side of the border, .a fact which has disappointed many on the other side and the Joy Bangla spirit not as fresh as before, the time has come to question whether the AL still has a dominant role to play in Bangladesh.
The Awami League, as is well known, is at best a bourgeois democratic party and has always sought to do what in the ultimate analysis can be termed replacement of the non Bengali ruling class with the Bengali. His only, aim being to gain greater economic rights for the Bengali bourgeoisie, Mujib had till the last refrained from demanding an independent Bangladesh; when he did so it was more at the pressure of some younger elements within the party than anything else. But all the time he was hoping to have an agreement with Yahya. As the talks dragged on it was a sad Mujib who remarked in desperation that if the Army continued to be intransigent than ultimately the Communists would take over the leadership of the movement. His anticommunism is well known. A practical politician, he knew that his party was neither organizationally nor ideologically prepared for a long-drawn struggle. Perhaps he was also able to realize that a national liberation struggle could not sucked without active participation by the Communists. And today, accounts from Bangladesh suggest, his fears are about to come true.
Mujib’s fears are also shared by the Indian Government which explains its hesitation in supplying the much sought for arms to the Mukti Fouz Delhi must have known by now that the Awami League on its own will not be able to deliver the goods in Bangladesh. And Mrs. Gandhi and her supporters are in no hurry to see arms falling into the hands of “undesirable elements” and maybe later finding their way back on this side of the border. The Government is in no position to take any action in Bangladesh without considering the possible impact in West Bengal. On the other hand Delhi, because of its relations with Islamabad cannot hope to mediate for a peaceful settlement and see the Awami League in power in Bangladesh. It is also doubtful whether Delhi is entirely comfortable in a situation where an anti-centre slogan has been raised with such force. Like Mujib, Indira also seems to be in a fix.
Meanwhile the Communists in Bangladesh are active. The underground. Purba Bangla Communist Party, led by Abdul Motin, Alauddin Ahmad, Tipu Biswas and others, which is somewhat akin to the CPI (M) in West Bengal, is conducting guerrilla war in Bogra, Rajshahi Chittagong, Mymensingh, Comilla and Pabna. It had considerable influence among the working class and the peasantry; proof of this is the magnificent resistance to the Pakistani forces by about 40,000 dock workers in Chittagong. The PBCP has a close ally the Co-ordination Committee of Zaffar Menon and others who are very active among the militant students. The National Awami Party led by Maulana Bhasani is also working on similar lines in Mymensingh, Rangpur, Sylhet, Rajshahi and elsewhere. A disadvantage at present felt by the Communists is the campaign against them which the Awami League had carried on for many years now; the EPR, the East Bengal Police and the East Bengal Regiment people also have little love lost for them. However, in a protracted struggle it is the people who ultimately count and there is little chance of the Communists losing their support.
The Purba Pakistan Communist Party (ML), led by Mohammed Toaha, the former general secretary of the pro-Bhasani NAP and now a Maoist, enjoys a strong base in Jessore and Khulna; even conservative estimates put the party’s committed supporters at 10,000. The Maoists are, however, lying low at the moment. For one thing they are not prepared to expose their trained fighters at this stage of the movement. But the possibility of their joining hands with the PBCP in forming a National Liberation Front is not entirely ruled out by competent political observers in Bangladesh.
That the difference between the PBCP and the PPCP (ML) is essentially on the ideological plane and has not degenerated into personal hatred. And this difference certainty cannot stand in the way of united action against a common enemy.
This being the situation it is clear which direction the political leadership of the movement will take in future. This is not to say that the Awami League will be done away for good. There are militant elements in the party, particularly among the lower cadres, whose continued participation in the future struggle seems certain. As for the gentlemen in Calcutta and Mujibnagar, for an practical purposes they seem to have done their bit.