Bangladesh, Liberation War (Contd-4)

Growing tensions led to the One-Unit policy, implemented in 1955, West Punjab, Balochistan, Sind and NWFP were merged under the nominal designation of West Pakistan and East Bengal became East Pakistan. Also the rapid changes of the heads of the Govt.s, such as,
Prime Minister
1947-51.......Liaquat Ali khan
1951-53......Khawaza Nazimuddin
1953-55........Muhammad Ali Bogra
1955-56......Choudhury Muhammad Ali
After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan first Prime Minister, in 1951, poliical power began to be concentrated in the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by by the establishment , acting through the President.
East Pakistanis noticed whenever one of them, such as Khawaza Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bograa, or H.S.Suhrawardy were elected Prime MInister they were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The Military dictatorships, of Ayub Khan (27 Oct 1958-25 March 1969) and Yahya han (25 March, 1969- 20 Dec 1971) both West Pakistanis, only highlightened such feeings.
The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League , the largest east Pakistani political party, led by Seikh Mujibar Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections . Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's six points programme. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the president Gneral Yahya khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed. Seikh Mujibar Rahman called a statewide strike.
On 7 March 1971, Mujibar delivered a speech at the racecourse (now called Suhrawardy Udayan). In this speech he mentioned a further four point condition to consider the national assembly meeting on 25 March;
1. The immediate lifting of martial law,
2. Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks,
3. An inquiy into the loss of life,
4. Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March..

He urged "his people" to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our freedom. This speech was considered main event that inspired the nation to fight fight for their independence. General Tikka Khan flown in to Dhaka to become governor of East Bengal. East Pakistani Judges, including Saddique, refused to swear him in.

Between 10-13 march, Pakistan International Air lines canclled all their flight for urgently flying Govt. passengers to Dhaka. The passengers were were almost soldiers etc. A unit of East pakistan Rifles refused to obey orders of west Pakistn's officers.

Bangladesh, Liberation War (contd-3)

Banladesh was exploited by British during 1757-1947, and now it was the turn of West Pakistan, keeping herself at a distance of 1600 kilometers, to exploit Bangladesh in three was;
1. Economically, 2. Politically, and Culturally (already explained in Laguage movement).
1. Economically:During the British rule at the beginning , there was no industries and the people were mainly farmers who spend most of their lives on land.All the relations of East Bengal had during the British colonial rule were with the economic centre at Calcutta, which was in W.B., not at a far distance. There was no relation with West Pakistan economically. Now, after independence, only the exploiters had changed.
Till 1971,East Pakistan tried to acquire an equal position, (not greater though their polpulation was larger than that of West Pakistan), in the Dominion of Pakistan. But the West Pakistan had the strategy of all attempts of East Pakistan to frustrate all attempts of East Pakistan to obtain any official position of Pakistan. Besides that the army was also dominated by the West Pakistan. i)The Economic exploitation of East Pakistn ,present Bangladesh , could also be seen in the development of GDP per capita during the period 1947-1971, while the difference in GDP per capita between west and East was only 9 % in 1950 which rose upto 60 % in 1971.
ii) Between 1948 and 1960, East Pakistan's export earnings had been 70 % of national total while it only received 25 % of the earning. between 1950 and 1970 only 34 % of the development expenditure was spent in East Bengal despite having its population 50 % more than that ofn West Pakistan.
West Pakistan consisting of four provinces (Punjab, Sindh, Baluchstan and NWFP) with 44% of peoplereceived more moneyfrom the common budget than that of East.
Year Spending on west(in crores of rupees)/year spending on east (in crores of rupees)/% of east against west;
1950-55*****1,129**524***46.4
1955-60***1,655****524***31.7
1960-65***3,355***1,404***41.8
1965-70***11,534***4,593**40.5
source; 4th five year plan, vol-i
In 1948 there were 11 textile mills in east Bengal and only 9 in the west
In 1971 there were 26nin the East as opposed to 150 in the west
Result; East pakistan 's economy was made deficit from a surplus one.
2. Politically ; Growing tensions led to the One-unit policy, implemented in 1955, which abolished the Provinces. Under this policy West Punjab, Baluchistan, Sindh, and the NWFP was made one unit.
The tension between East and West reached a climax in 1970 when the Awami League, the lrgest Party in East Pakistan, led by Seikh Mujibar Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national election of Pakistan winning 167 seats out of 169 in East Pakistan where as the Pakistan Peoples Partyled by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto won 85 seats in west pakistan. But Yahya Khan and Bhutto refused to hand over power to Mujib.
Meanwhile Mujib initiated a civil disobedience movement, which was strongly supported by the general population of East Pakistan, including most Government workers. A round table conference between Yahya,Bhutto and Mujib was convened in Dhaka, which ended without solution. Soon, thereafter, the Pakistani army commenced Operation Searchlight , an organised crackdown on the east pakistani army, police, and civiliansand students in Dhaka. Mujib and many other leaders were arrestedwhile others fled to neighbouring India. N 27 March,1971, Major Ziaur Rahman, a Bengali war veteran of the east Bengal Regiment of the Pakistan Army, declared the Independence of East Pakistanas the new nation of Bangladesh on behalf of Mujib.The crackdown widened and escalated into a guerrilla warfare between the Pakistane Army and the Mukti Bahini.
Although the killing of Bengalis was un-supported by the people of west pakistan, it continued for 9 months.
10 million Bengali refugees came to India and India Govt. supported the rebels with its arms ammunitions. Independence War of bangladesh thus started.

Bangladesh, Liberation War (contd-2)

Bangladesh in the past;
Once Bangladesh, a subset of Bengal, played a global role in the production and trade in Jute, sugar, and opium. The region became also famous for its cotton and and silk industry, specially Moslin of Dhaka. But it was British who not only cut all the thumb fingers, as the story goes, of artisaans of Bangladesh, killed them and destroyed the roots of that industry.
Marx said in his analysis in article "British rule in India";
Now, the British in East India, accepted from their predcessors the department of finance and of war , but they have neglected entirely that of public works. Hence the deterioration of of an agriculyure which is notcapable of being conducted on the British principle of free competition
laissez-fare and laissez-alter.........It was the British intruder who broke up the India hand-loom and destroyed the spinning wheel . England began with driving the Indian cotton from the European market; it then introduced twist into Hindostan, and in the end inundated the very mother country of cotton with cottons. from 1818 to 1836 the export of twist from the Geat Britain to India rose in the proportion of 1 to 5,200. In 1824 the export of British muslins
to India hardly amounted to 1,000,000 yards, while in 1837 it surpassed 64,000,000 of yards e.i. 64 times more. But at the same time the population of of Dhaka decreased from 150,000 inhabitants to 20,000. This decline of Indian celebrated for their fabrics was by no means the worst consequence. British steam and Science uprooted , over the whole surfaceof Hindostan, the union between agriculture and manufacturing industries.

England has to fulfill double mission in India; one destructive and the regenerating the annihiliation of old Asiatic society, and the laying the material foundations of Western Society in Asia."

Bangladesh, Liberation War (contd-1)

On the 14th and 15th August,1947, British Parliament, under India Independence Act 1947, trnasfered their power between Pakistan and India after lomg tug of war and negotiation among the three paries.over Kashmir leading to the Indo pakistan wa The independence also resulted in tensions over Kashmir leading to the indo-pakistan war in 1947. The post independence political history of Pakistan had been characterised by several periods of authoritarian military rule and continuing territorial dispute with India over the Status of Kashmir and with Afganisthan over the Pashtunistan issue. Muhammad Ali Jinnah (right) taking oath from Justice Sir Mian Abdul Rashid (left) as Govenor General of Pakistan on 14 Aug, 1947.

Dominion of Pakistan a country in South Asia became the Islamic Republic of Pakistanin 1956.
During this period Four persons took the charge of Govrnor -General of Pakistan, the names and duration are given below

1.Name....Muhammad.....Khawaza.....Gulam...........Iskandar

xxxxx Ali Jinnah......Nazimuddin...Muhammad...Mirza

Jinnah (25.12.1876-11Sep 1948)

Entry to office...15.8.1947

Sir Khawaza Nazimuddin (19.7.1894-22.10.1964

Entry to Office.....17.10.1951

Ghulam Muhammad (19.7.1895-12 Sep1950)

Entry to Office.........6.10.1955

Iskandar Mirza (13.11.1899-12.11.1969)

Entry to office.........6.10.55-23.3.1956

Bangladesh, Liberation war

In the preface to 1883 German edition signed by Engels, after the death of Karl Marx, Engales said,
"The preface to the present edition I must, alas, sign alone . Marx, the man to whom the whole working class of Europe and America owes more than to any one else --rests at Highgate Cematary and over his grave the first grass is already growing.
London Highgate cematary of Karl Marx

Since his death ( 13 March, 1883), there can be even less thought of revising or supplementing the Menifesto. But I consider it all the more necessaryagain to state the following expressly;

" The basic thought running throu this Manifesto - that economic production, and the structure of society of every historical epoch necessarily arising thereform, constitute the foundation for the political and intellectual history of that epoch, that consequently (ever since the dissolution of the primaeval communal ownership of Land) all history has been a historyof class struuggles, of struggles between exploited and exploiting , between dominated and dominating classes at various stages of social evolution, that this struggle , however, has now reached a stage where the exploited and oppressed class (the proletariat)can no loger emancipate itself from the class which exploits and oppresses it (bourgeoisie), withoutat the same time forever freeing the whole of society from exploitation, oppression, class struggles-this basic thought belongs solely and exclusively to Marx.

Bangladesh, Lenin on language issue

Russkoye S lovo one of the most widely circulating liberal newspapers in Russia, points to this fact and draws the correct conclusion that the hostility towards the Russian language in Russia "stems exclusively" from the artificial (forced) implanting of that language.
The above question was raised the Armenian Church School was striving to teach russian in Non-Russian students in Caucasus. Russia was a multi-lingual country and obviously language issue was a great problem there. The above news paper said nothing to worry about the fate of the Russian language would ultimately would won recognition through out Russia.
Tiny Seitzerland had not lost anything, but had gained from having not one single language but three-German, French and Italian.In Switzerland 70 % were Germans, 22 % French and 7 % Italians. Lenin said in his article LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS ON THE LANGUAGE QUESTION, written in 1913 (Collected works,vol-19, P-354):

Trotsky,Lenin and Kamenev,1919

" Why should huge Russia , a much more varied and terribly backward country, inhibit her development by the retention of any kind of privilege for any one language ? Should not the contrary be true, liberal gentlemen? Should not Russia, if she wants to overtake Europe, put an end to every kind of privilege as quickly as possible, as completely as possible and as vigorously as possible ?

" If the privileges disappear, if the imposition of any one language ceases , all Slavs will easily and rapidly learn to understand each other and would not be frightened by the "horrible' thought that speeches in different languages will be heard in the common parliament.

"The requirements of economic exchange will themselves decide which language of the given country is to the advantage of the majority to know in the interest of the commercial relations. This decision will be all thye firmerbecause it will be adopted voluntarily by q population of various nationalities, and its adoption will be the more rapid and extensive the more consistent the democracy and, as a consequence of this, the more rapid will be the development of capitalism.

Such was the nature of all liberal-bourgeois nationalism-not only Great Russian but Polish, Jews, Ukranian, Georgian, and every other nationalism.

Lenin reiterated that the slogan of working class democracy is not "national culture" but the international culture of democracy and the world wide working class movement. Let the bourgeoisie deceive the people with various national programmes. The class conscious worker will answer the bourgeoisie that there is only one solutiono the national problem that solution is consistence democracy.

The national programme of working class democracyis absolutely no privilege for any one nation or any one language ; the solution of the problem of the political self-determination of nations, that is, their separation as states by completely free , democratic methods; the promulgation of a law for the whole state by virtue of which any meassure introducing any privilegeof any kind for one of the nations and militating against the equality of nations or the rights of a national minority, shall be declared illegal and ineffecive, and any citizen of the state shall have the right to demandthat such a measure be annuled as un-constitutionalismand that those who put it into effect be punished.

Working Class democracy counterposes to the nationalist wrangling of the various bourgeois parties over questions of language , etc.

sd/-v i lentn, Sep. 7, 1913.

Bangladesh, Review of 21st february

Pakistan was created as 'Religion is the opium of the people' based on a wrong theory of two nations which was physically impossible to govern 1600 kilometers apart through foreign territory angaist a strong cultural base enjoyed through centuries.
Language is a basic element of the identity of a nation in the bourgeois society.Jinnah ignored such a basic element to create Pakistan. Specially Bengali is a rich languge which has created many international literatures. Created by Tagore, Nazrul and others. Only out of grudge on Hinduism ( though Bengali was not a language of Hindu only) he uttered "Urdu and Urdu only." But people, particularly students, of the then East Pakistan reacted strongly and spontaneously against this. In 21st Feb 1952, police of the reactionary govt. fired on an innocent and peaceful student's rally causing life of Rafiq,barkat, Zabbar and Salam and others.But their sacrfice toot the students a long way of struggle till the demand was fulfiied.
From 22nd onwards students, members of the family of the Martyrs and East Bengal United Front Govt. created one after another Memomrials of the Martyrs which were demolished by the central police forces of the Pakistan Govt. But Ultimately struggle of the people won the battle and had their language recognized ultimately.

Amar bhaer rakte rangano ekushe february