How memories of Liberation War of 1971 solidify India-Bangladesh friendship

Every time I return from Bangladesh, nostalgia begins to run deep and wide. Having fought alongside Mukti Bahini (Mukti Judhha), 52 years on, it is heartening to watch the country prosper, vibrate, and sometimes run wild in political turmoil as elections approach in January next year. But the prophecy of Pakistan Maj Gen Nazir Husain Shah, who led the surrender of 16 Infantry Division near Bogra, has turned out to be patently untrue. In a conversation with me immediately after the surrender ceremony on 16 December 1971, he made many observations about the war and the future. Two stand out. First, he attributed India’s victory like this: “You fought a just war”. He was referring to the genocide by the Pakistan Army following Sheikh Mujib’s political victory which Islamabad dishonoured. Shah elaborated: “Aapne khuda ka khauf kia” (you feared God). Second, on the future of Bangladesh, he predicted a ‘disturbed Desh’ not Bangladesh. Last week, I visited the Centre for Study of Genocide and Justice in Dhaka, established in 2017. It hosts the Liberation War Museum, which is a meticulous recording of the brutal crackdown by the Pakistani military, resulting in a genocide that outranks the ‘slaughterhouses’ in Rwanda and Bosnia. Sequentially, it encapsulates the history of East Bengal, East Pakistan, and ultimately, Bangladesh. The museum is located on two floors and imaginatively laid out with an eternal flame commemorating the victims of genocide as well as the freedom fighters. It shows 1421 killed, 4056 wounded, and 56 missing as freedom fighters, alongside 1670 Indian martyrs. The figures in the genocide record are 3 million civilians and 200,000 mass rape victims. 10 to 20 million refugees in India are the numbers recorded by the museum, while Indian records show 10 million. One can spend a full day studying the different phases and facets of the freedom struggle. An Indian Hunter fighter jet aircraft gifted in 1988 displayed nearby signifies the jointness of the military campaign. The image and persona of Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, pervade the museum. His and the four national martyrs memorabilia is preserved with great care down to Sheikh Sahib’s Briar pipe and Parker pen. From the time you enter Dhaka airport, almost anywhere you go, Mujib follows your trail. For an Indian Army general who fought the war as a Major, memories of the battles of Pirgunj and Bogra stand out. And how Jackie Bogra, son of Pakistan’s second Prime Minister, Mohammad Ali Bogra, was saved from lynching by the protective cordon provided by my battalion 2/5 Gorkhas. The poor man was hiding under his bed, completely inebriated, which we rectified by providing Hercules rum. Journalists in Dhaka who I met said that Jackie Bogra had said Khuda Hafiz to this planet. On 11 March 2017, Bangladesh parliament passed a long-pending resolution calling on the government to observe 25 March as National Genocide Day. In 2021 and 2022, three international organisations, namely Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, Genocide Watch and International Coalition of Sites of Conscience recognised the atrocities committed by the Pakistani occupation force and their allies during the Liberation War in 1971 as genocide. It was Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who set up the International Crimes Tribunal in 2010 to prosecute its nationals belonging to Jamaat e Islami, Al Badr, its student wing, Al Shams, and Razakars who colluded with Pakistani forces in executing genocide. The trials commenced in 2014 and are ongoing, and by 2016, six accused were convicted. The International Criminal Court at Hague, approved the establishment of domestic tribunals as per the Rome Statute. According to the Lemkin Institute, the international crimes tribunals in Bangladesh have been not only in search of ensuring justice, which is a permanent claim of the victims, but also in building history based on the truth. The genocide trials in Bangladesh have a duty to build the forgotten history. India and Bangladesh began commemorating the joint liberation campaign when Prime Minister Hasina returned to power in 2009. Earlier this month, India facilitated the visit of a Bangladesh Air Force team to Dimapur, where a provisional Bangladesh Air Force was set up in November 1971 with ten pilots, one fixed-wing aircraft, and two helicopters. Besides the biopic by Shyam Benegal on Mujib, film-maker Krishnendu Das has made a documentary called ‘Bay of Blood’ which captures the military crackdown and genocide firsthand from its survivors. On 26 February 1971, Rakibul Hasan, the benchwarmer for the Pakistan cricket team, finally stepped out against the Commonwealth side at the Dhaka stadium. He was the only player from East Pakistan. In the team and when he reached the strikers’ end, his bat revealed the words ‘Joy Bangla’ written in Bengali. This led to loud chants of ‘Joy Bangla’ which was later to become the war cry of the Mukti Bahini. Bangladesh is building a war memorial near Ashugunj, which will be ready next year. In commemorating Indian military contributions, Dhaka has been giving scholarships to families of Indian martyrs, inviting veterans to Liberation Day celebrations in Dhaka, and overall, making much of them. India’s stellar role in the Liberation War is widely recognised as it etches bilateral relations in blood. The government of India similarly has started several programmes feting the freedom fighters, inviting them to Eastern Command Kolkata and treating their war-wounded in several military hospitals across India. The training of the Bangladeshi military has increased phenomenally, reaching the levels of training for Sri Lanka and Nepal. Immediately after the surrender on 16 December, 1971, my battalion had arranged a Bara Khana for Pakistani soldiers and a lunch at Officers Mess in Bogra. Young Pakistani officers acknowledged our hospitality but wrote, in the visitors’ book, the following: “Thank you for the lunch. One day, we will take revenge.” 14 years later, Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider, later Interior Minister to President Gen Musharraf, told me at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, where we were doing a long course together, “Mehta Saab, revenge will come.” Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing cross-border terrorism since 1991. More revenge can follow. The Liberation War Museum is a lesson for the curators of the National War Museum coming up in Delhi soon. Bangladesh has a separate minister for the Liberation War whose mission is to look after the welfare and other needs of all those who fought in that war. India has fought several wars on several fronts and is fighting one even today. Veterans are fighting for their pension in courts and other matters related to their welfare. A separate minister for those who have bid farewell to arms will be most useful. The author is a veteran of Gorkha Regiment who has travelled in Nepal since 1959, understands it’s domestic politics and was involved in back channel with Maoists. Views are personal. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.