36 years ago, on December 16, 1971, then East Pakistan became Bangladesh.
Last year Adil Najam had a very touching post on the same topic and I’ll strongly recommend a revisit to it here. Raza Rumi had also written a post after revisiting Dhaka recently.
I belong to a generation which did not see those times. My knowledge about this significant event of our history comes from the books I’ve read, things I have heard on the media and from elders, and from Pakistani and Bengali friends I’ve talked to.
A lot of water has passed under the bridges since then. Both nations have gone through a lot in these 36 tumultuous years. Whatever the past may have been - the good times and the bad - we at ATP pray for a bright future for both Pakistan and Bangladesh. We want to wish good luck to Bangladesh and its citizens for a bright future.
This December 16 is also time to seriously think about those Pakistanis who remain stranded in Bangladesh living in camps.
These are people who consider themselves Pakistanis, want to live in Pakistan, and whom we have ignored and forgotten. It is time to welcome them. If Pakistan can give refuge to millions of people from its western bordering country, we can welcome the few thousand who are our own, who remain stranded and stateless in Bangladesh, and who want to return to Pakistan.
Its time to bring them home!
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Having spent an inspiring year of my life I can say irrefutably that Bengalis were treated as second-class citizen with little or no effective share in decision-making process and felt as colonized. The West Pakistani “Establishment” – particularly, ZAB didn’t give a damn about the human suffering and loss, as long as he could be the Prime Minister.
We seem to be living in a state of denial about so many things for so long. Have we learned anything from the history of disintegration of Pakistan? The way things are going on the answer would be in negative.
As for the fate of Biharis that are between the hard place and rock because of their support of Pakistan and are facing widespread discrimination – I guess the Bengalis haven’t learned anything either. Legal obligations notwithstanding, the injustices against Biharis is yet another form of barbarianism!
Owais,
A good post. I agree its time the real Pakistanis our behari brothers and sisters are returned home. It is a scandal that they still sing the song for Pakistan yet successive regimes have ignored their love.
I remember Pervez Elahi saying not much can be done because of money and ethnic issues. However I disagree as why is it we can find space and money for Soomro and his clan to perform Hajj on state expenses and the like yet cannot even build small village towns for these great people.
To end I hope one day we are united once again in a loose federation and more on this will come inshallah in a post on my website at http://www.otherpakistan.org/archive.html
Jeeyo East and West Pakistan
Feimanallah
Wasim
BanglaDesh should have been an independant country from day 1. The geography of the two “East and West Pakistan” regions dictated just that.
The arrangement of such a “country” was based in a colonial mind set. Priorior to WW2, many europeon empires including France, UK, Portugal, Holland etc had constituient parts scattered across the oceans, but these parts were only functioning colonies and could never become equal parts of a “democratic” empire.
After the birth of the new country, the center of gravity of the Pakistan movement moved from UP / Bengal to Karachi / Punjab and Bengalis were left out of the mainstream. With the abscence of an “inclusive” mentality towards Bengalis, there was no choice for them other than to create their separate sovereign identity. Good for them and shame on the west pakistanis for who were at the helm of leadership at that time for isolating the Bengalis.
The best option for leftover migrants from Bihar / Assam, to me, appears to be that they are integrated in the mainstream Bangladeshi society. If Islam is considered as the basis of nationality, then Bangladeshis are as much, if not better, Muslims as the Pakistanis are.
One could bring over thousands of these families out here in West Pakistan from the refugee camps of Bangla Desh. However, is it any better than living in Bangla Desh itself? Unfortunately, the dream of a golden, rocking Pakistan is just that - a pipe dream. The reality in the streets of Pakistan is no different than the reality in the streets of Dacca itself.
I personally have no objection for anyone to move in and out of the country. Nation states are just borders of economic activity that try to integrate linguistic and cultural variations in order to create a myth of one nation.
The people in the Bangladeshi refugee camps should be given an opportunity to move to Pakistan or stay and integrate in Bangladesh. The Pakistani Government should work with its counter part fom Bangladesh to provide such options and provide incentives for either case.
Sitting in a camp and labelled as a refugee from an ill fated war and considered to be on the wrong side of the barbed wire of nationality, these ex-Pakistanis must be given an oppotunity to be part of the main stream society in either Pakistan, Bangladesh or both. They can even provide bridges between the two communities for times to come.
However, to expect such, atleast from the Government of Pakistan of this time, is a bit too much. It is too busy conquering its own people in Swat, Wairistan and Balochistan etc.
its a crying shame that they are still living like refugees, no one in 36 years made a serious effort to bring them home.
shame on all of us.
There are a lot of misleading information about the whole affairs of the Bangladesh liberation war. According to a Pakistani Newspaper:
“Only foreign media aired the news of the Fall of Dhaka on December 16, 1971. Radio Pakistan kept airing usual transmission and giving a picture of “all is well”.”
Its great that Kean University in USA has done a reserach work and seminar on Bangladesh 1971: Intolerance, Violence and horrific Genocide that Bangladesh suffered in 1971, an untold mass killing story to many.
They are introducing it as a course in Masters of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (MAHGS) program and thus expand the program across the state and the nation.
Although there are a lot of information available on the net which can depict what actually happened, The Keans University has gathered a lot of empirical evidences. Please do take a look here.
The stranded Pakistanis case is really troubling. Probably their countrymen will never want them back. Recently a renowned film maker of Bangladesh produced a documentary called “Swapnabhumi” for the stranded Biharis. Here is an interview with the film maker on the documentary.
I feel ashamed of these 36 years that passed and more passing yet they are stranded.
The festering injustice continues to cause rift between one section of the Pakistani population and the rest. I have faith that one day they will be brought back to where they belong.
I think they are real ‘wadday and sachay’ Pakistanis. We are living in their country. I think they are 30,000 in number. I feel grief that no political party ever talk about their return in Pakistan, except some poets and authors arranging meetings and seminars and keep it alive.
I am again optimistic that might time came that they see their real home. The rehabilitation is not a big issue, as it was came into talks in Zia period. Iran gave commitment to provide transportation facilities and other Muslim countries also promised to gave their services. We will welcome and join hands with them.
What my other fellows say about it??