The New Nation - Internet Edition

M.T.Hussain

Is it not fantastic to hear from some section here that Bangladesh had its independence in March 1971 that owed everything for happenings and movements by people between 1952-1971? Did not the assertion mean that Bangladesh had only a background history of people's struggle of 18 years and nothing beyond prior to 1952 for independence?

Neither Bangladesh is a 'newfound land' nor all are newly settled people living here only after around 1952. Geographically, it is quite ancient a land and the people are equally old settlers, though composition of races changed and intermixed from time to time through millenniums of human habitation. Not only that it was so about the composition of the people but the country had also been independent as an entity, bigger in land size though, long before in the 15th century ruled by the Ilias Shah dynasty as a Muslim welfare state having everything of sovereignty at that point of history and human civility. Again soon after the weakening of the Mughals in Bengal, it is well known that our country had been similarly independent that the British conspired to take over from Seraj Ud Daula in 1757 A.D. through deep conspiracy based in the then Calcutta (now Kolkata). Our forefathers had to struggle hard afterwards for 190 years until 1947 to get rid of the British and their local henchmen. And in the struggle a critical and culminating point of history was reached in 1940, in this month of March on the 23-24, 68 years ago, meeting then in a special session of their own political organization, All India Muslim League held in Lahore, the then provincial capital of the united province of the British Indian Punjab. The session though was presided over by the Muslim League President Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the resolution that outlined among other things the location and separate identity of what is now known as Bangladesh along with what constitutes Pakistan territory was spearheaded by Sher E Bangla A K Fazlul Haq, the then Prime Minister of the British Indian province of Bengal (united) having capital at Calcutta (Kolkata). Had there been no Lahore Resolution of 1940 passed unanimously and implemented through further follow up united struggle, there would have been neither Pakistan in 1947 nor Bangladesh in 1971. It is as such really amazing that while in March the independence of Bangladesh is celebrated with all razzmatazz, the March 23 commemoration of the Lahore Resolution is kept under the carpet for our present generation to forget everything about it.

If one would go in a bit of background, one is certain to see clearly that the Muslim League until 1940 and even after sought nothing more than the minimum as equal rights of citizen as would any other have which the Congress party hardly intended to accede. On the contrary, the Congress went on doing almost everything against the interests of the Muslims in every way they could lay hands on. That was what the Muslim minorities experienced shockingly in all cultural and economic matters when following the 1937 election Congress ministries were formed the seven of the eleven provinces in the British Indian dominion.

The governments in those provinces, for instance, imposed their party chorus Bande Mataram as the compulsory song for school class starting in all academic institutions that the Muslim children did distaste for religious belief in monotheism. They imposed further in schools bowing down to the portrait of Gandhi hung in class rooms that as well the Muslim students did not relish for religious faith. In employment and business the Muslims were sidelined. The frustration for such grievances led to jubilation of the Muslims at the fall of those Congress ministries in December 1939 followed by observance of the DAY OF DELIVERNCE by the Muslim League on the 22 December (See, S. Wolpert, The Jinnah of Pakistan, OUP, 1988/1992, p. 176). The Lahore Resolution soon followed the Day of Deliverance in about 12 weeks that spelled clearly two Muslim States, one in the North Western and the other in Eastern locality of the then British India meaning Bengal and Assam provinces in this region.

Unfortunately, the eastern part, in particular, was later on in 1947 reduced to smaller size by the Radcliffe's evil mechanics than what was envisaged in the 1940 Lahore Resolution. The smaller and the 'moth-eaten' eastern part formed East Pakistan in 1947 what is `now called Bangladesh after 1971.

In independent Bangladesh since 1972 political rhetoric is full of partial truth. Such airing of half truths for mainly gaining narrowly selfish ends did not remain limited to ordinary vocabularies but penetrated deep into school textbook contents obviously for indoctrination through brainwashing of our younger generation to commit to memory many fictions and half-truths rather than whole truth about our authentic past and recent history just as the colonial British rulers of foreign land did hide our glory for their own selfish ends for two hundred years of their occupation of our dear land.

Whose interest is being served by presenting such tunnel vision view of our past history? Such distortion and half truths may hardly serve our own national interests but for the group who stood prior to 1947 for AKHAND BHARAT or united one India under the Indian Congress Philosophy destined perpetually to keep the minority Muslims on all India basis in subjugation, particularly, in this land where the ruling elite belonged to the Congress variety (See, MBI Munshi, The India Doctrine, Dhaka, 2006). Shying away from the Lahore Resolution, that is, tuning up with the Indian Congress view of issues certainly implies as before that the 'wrong' division of 1947 of the British India be remedied by forgetting the event, whatever historic significance that had had. How is the argument tenable?

Think for a moment, had there been no division following the Lahore Resolution what the fate of the people of Bangladesh following 1947 would have been. Anything other than the ill fate of the minorities of big India? How could then the sons and daughters of nearly illiterate peasants and subsistence farmers' of East Bengal who rose up fantastically in education, professions, businesses etc. directly owing to the partition of Bengal in 1947 have socio-economic mobility just only in a generation?

Well, the 23 March is celebrated in Pakistan as their national day to commemorate the adoption of the Lahore Resolution that made a taboo here. But there is no denying the fact that until the fateful 1971 we shared a common nationality decided in the 1946 general election through fully democratic means. How could one erase that past common history and legacy? Forgetting the past proud common legacy of our forefathers would in all likely lead to 'INDIANISATION' (See, Balraz Modhok, Indianisation, Delhi, 1970).

It is as such only befitting that the Lahore Resolution event be observed in Bangladesh with due fervor on the 23 March along with the Independence Day on the 26th March.