POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
Bangladesh: The morning after
By RANAJIT ROY, Mr. ZULFIKER ALI BHUTTO is possibly the only man left in the world today to imagine that a united Pakistan whatever its constitutional structure can be salvaged from the ruins in which the military junta in Islamabad has landed the country which was carved out of undivided India in 1947. He must be an incorrigible crystal-gazer. He visited Dacca twice between December 1970 and March 1971 for talks with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the question of autonomy of Bangladesh and for tripartite negotiations between himself, the Sheikh and General Yahya Khan. He left Dacca after the former Pakistani President had unleashed his war machine to exterminate the Bengalis.
The new Pakistani President-cum-Martial Law Administrator cannot hope to visit Dacca again. If he could visit Bangladesh now he would have no difficulty in convincing himself that united Pakistan lies buried not under the debris of the two week’s Indo-Pakistan war but under a mountain of corpses of the Bengalis killed by the West Pakistanis and their few Bengali collaborators and under the looted, destroyed and raped villages and towns that today disfigure the fair land. He may not escape lynching because, along with the blood-thirsty military clique, he is held responsible for the policy which was so bitter for the Bengalis.
General Yahya has made an inglorious exit. He will go down in history as one before whom Hitler was a mere child unversed in the techniques of terror. Political support for General Yahya’s terror came from Mr. Bhutto who representing the industrial monopolists and the landed aristocracy of Pakistan Punjab and Sind, would not accepted the clear verdict of the only genuine election held in Pakistan. It is a curious turn of history that, even though General Yahya has gone into oblivion his principle accomplice in the raping of Bangladesh has been catapulted into the office of the President of “Pakistan.”
Before announcing that the Sheikh will be released unconditionally, Mr. Bhutto had more than one round of talks with him. He proposes to have another round soon. What may he be discussing with the President of the Republic of Bangladesh? If he thinks that he can talk the Bangabandhu into signing away the independence Bangladesh has wrested from the bloody hands of the West Pakistanis he is living in a fool’s paradise. Even if the impossible happens and the Sheikh agrees to Bangladesh joining West Pakistan in a loose confederation the people of Bangladesh will most certainly not accept it. Bangladesh as an independent country had come to stay.
Up to March 25 united Pakistan could possibly have been saved had General Yayha and Mr. Bhutto accepted the sixpoint charter of the Awami League as the basis for the continued existence of Bangladesh in a united Pakistan. Among the West Pakistani political leaders, this big landlord turned “socialist” was the most vociferous against the six points. It was with his connivance that General Yayha stalled the announced session of the newly elected National Assembly. Today Bangladesh has gone much beyond the six points.
The only rational course for Mr. Bhutto is to acknowledge fact as fact and recognise Bangladesh as a free country no longer tied to West Pakistan as a colony to be exploited by the Punjabis and the Sindhis. He can then perhaps create some goodwill for himself in Bangladesh and for normal political and commercial relations to be established between that country and West Pakistan. But the rulers in Islamabad have never in all these twenty five years behave rationally.
Mr. Bhutto has a dilemma too. If he accepts the separation of Bangladesh it will not be easy for him to keep the four provinces of West Pakistan together. The Pubjabis and the Sindhis gave him a majority in the fateful election of 1970 but the Pathans and the Baluchis did not. With the east wind gone out of Pakistan irrevocably the demand for autonomy and ultimately, independence may become irresistible in the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan.
Bangladesh is eagerly awaiting the return of the Sheik to give the new country the leadership it badly needs. A Government formed exclusively by the Awami League is in office. It was originally constituted in April. Functioning in exile all the nine months. Vast quantities of small arms, mainly rifles and sten-guns, were obtained by guerillas through camps in India. A large section of the police force ran away with their arms to fight the Pakistanis. A considerable quantity was seized from the Razakars during the freedom battle and after the collapse of the occupation army.
The Government, the regular formations of the Bengal Regiment and the East Pakistan Rifles as well the people in general understand the danger to law and order that these arms constitute. The greatest danger is represented by the Razakars whom the Pakistanis armed but many of whom have either gone into hiding or are claiming to be freedom fighters. Most of these arms are in the hands of young people, school and college students, who profess loyalty to the Sheikh. They say that they took up arms at the quarter century and communications have vastly improved the country by and large agriculture. If any industrial establishment has been damaged by the war. It is an exception. But the damage to property-houses and trading establishments during the nine months of General Yahya’s terror is colossal. Unless one sees the destruction oneself, it is impossible to believe that those who pretended to rule the country for the good of the people could have undertaken planned destruction on such a scale.
On what basis the economy is to be revived and reorganized remains to be decided. The Government has proclaimed that Bangladesh will be a secular, democratic and socialist country. The proclamation seems to be in line with the professed objectives of the Congress in India. One hopes that unlike our leaders, the Bangladesh leaders would precisely define what they mean when they speak of socialism as their goal. The Sheik is unquestionably a believer in secularism and democracy, but not many are sure whether he believes in socialist principles too.
On economic and political objectives there are differences not only among the political parties but also within the Awami League and the Government. There are pulls in different directions. The country is without a constitution. When the time comes for the framing of one, the differences are bound to be voiced sharply.
The people of Bangladesh are immensely grateful to India and to a somewhat less extent to the Soviet Union. In shaping their domestic and foreign policies and not framing the Constitution, the Bangladesh leaders will give due weight to the feelings and suggestions of both these countries. This does not of course mean that Bangladesh will be guided by them. The Muslims of Bangladesh- and it is they who matter in the country-are a proud people today and anything that smacks of foreign pressure, whether it is from India or the Soviet Union or any other country will be intensely resented.
The reception the Indian Army has received and the manner in which our troops are behaving should make an Indian proud. Yet, at several places I heard questions being asked how long the Indian Army was going to stay in Bangladesh. No foreign army, however well meaning and well behaved, is ever liked by a country if it stays on a day more than is absolutely necessary. The Government of India is aware of the feelings of the people of Bangladesh and is most unlikely to keep its troops there once the refugees have returned, the anti-Bangladesh elements have been fully disarmed and the Government which is expected to have close friendly relations with India is firmly in the saddle. The Indian business community should understand that the Bangladesh people have not shed blood to throw out the Punjabi and the Sindhi exploiters to welcome their Indian variants. Trade and commerce will have to be between two fully independent countries if the friendly relations between them are not to be spoiled.
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 06.01.1972