Forty Years after 1971
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
Forty years after, the wounds of 1971 remain deep and capable of inflaming old resentments. This was evident during a discussion in Washington led by Dr. Sarmila Bose of Oxford University, grand-niece of Indian revolutionary Subhash Chandra Bose, based on her book, “Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War.”
In the book and the discussion, Sarmila debunked some myths of ’71, thereby infuriating some in the audience. She challenged the victim narrative, which spotlights atrocities being committed mostly by Pakistani troops while exempting from critical scrutiny the brutal actions of secessionists. The book extensively documents the massacres committed by pro-Mujib elements of non-Bengali civilians.
In the international community, the Awami League version remains the dominant narrative of the 1971 upheaval. The Beatles, for example, performed a benefit concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Awareness, today, is required of those vested interests attempting to break up Pakistan into smaller provinces, all under the hijab of provincial autonomy.
The sharpening of ethno-lingual boundaries can lead to the slow-motion fragmentation of the country. It is an avertable danger.
Some may think that the scheme to break Pakistan into smaller provinces is rooted at home. They need to think again. The engineers of this scheme may reside in Pakistan but the architects reside elsewhere. A revealing column in the Wall Street Journal of March 9, written by an Indo-American scholar at the influential American Enterprise Institute, presents a “vision” for Pakistan which includes: “rearranging the basic building blocks of the country. This means backing provincial autonomy and linguistic identity as an alternative to the centralized pan-Islamism…”
The founding fathers of Pakistan identified the cementing bond of pan-Islamism as the cornerstone of Muslim nationhood. They were no fools.
A fact-based and reasoned exploration of the disintegration of Yugoslavia after the death of its leader, Tito, is clear evidence of the self-destructive perils of provincialism.
In his new book, “Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the 20th Century World”, Christian Gerlach tackles the theme why societies, at particular times (including East Pakistan in 1971), exploded into violence.
Brutal behavior is not the monopoly of any one group.
Responsible opinion-makers need to be alert to quisling elites who are quickly suborned and of blundering policy makers who can lose the country as they did in 1971. Many years ago in Washington, an eminent Pakistani professor told an international audience that Pakistan had become more “homogenous” with the separation of its Eastern wing. A young demographer, Hashmat Ali, could not take it. He stood up and challenged: “Tomorrow, if Sind and Baluchistan go, would it make Pakistan more homogenous?” The learned professor was rendered speechless.
While the wounds of war may still be deep 40 years after, equally deep is the power of love for Pakistan amongst the Bangladesh population. A Pakistani eye-witness present in the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium where Pakistan played West Indies in the World Cup quarter-final on March 23, sent this text message from the ground: “unbelievable, stunned at the level of support for Pak team, Pakistan Zindabad slogans on Pakistan Day, crowd totally for Pakistan, have not ever seen this even in Lahore.”
Lest it be forgotten, Dacca was the site of the founding of the Pakistan Movement.
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