DEC 16 reminds us about the tragic events of 1971 and the emergence of Bangladesh. Much has been written and spoken about in the last 51 years on the tragedy. Instead of repeating the past and getting into a blame-game, let us look objectively, realistically and truthfully at the historical background of the tragedy with the aim of building a future relationship for the common good of both Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The mention of ‘homelands’ in the Lahore Resolution of March 23, 1940, was not a mistake. The concept of ‘homelands’ for Muslims was incorporated keeping in view the peculiar situation of East Bengal that was located at a distance of about 1,200 miles from West Pakistan and a hostile India in between.

In conformity with the concept of ‘homelands’ for Muslims, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali had given the idea of three Muslim states in the subcontinent after the withdrawal of the British; Pakistan as of today, the East Bengal as Bangistan/Bangzam/Bang-i-Islam, and Hyderabad Deccan as Osmanistan. The emergence of Bangladesh should be seen in this very context.

The concept of ‘homelands’ was further confirmed by a resolution during the annual session of the All-India Muslim League (AIML) in Madras (now Chennai) in April 1941 which talked of ‘territorial readjustments as may be necessary’ and ‘independent states’.

Another historical truth is that East Bengal was not initially included in the demand for Pakistan. It happened only when the Bengali Muslim leadership thought that East Bengal, without any industrial base and under the shadow of a hostile India, may not be able to survive as an independent state, that the AIML passed a resolution on April 9, 1942, demanding the formation of ‘one Muslim state’.

In view of the above facts, the million-dollar question is: how to move forward? There is a common ground to start with. Had there been no Pakistan, there would have been no Bangladesh as such. Therefore, we should jointly celebrate Dec 30, the day the AIML was founded in 1906 in Dhaka, and Aug 14 as the day when freedom was attained from the British. Currently, Bangladesh celebrates its National Day on March 26, as is seen in the accompanying image above.

India had planned and was confident that Bangladesh would fall into its lap like a ripe fruit. Its dream has been shattered as Bangladesh has been able to stand on its own, and is a strong and stable Muslim country.

Pakistan in the eastern wing had only one infantry division, four gunboats and a depleted fighter squadron of 11 F-86 fighter jets. Today, Bangladesh has built up a formidable fighting machine with 10 army divisions, a naval fleet of about 20 battleships/gunboat/patrol craft and two submarines, and its air force has six fighter squadrons, one transport squadron and one helicopter squadron.

An unfriendly Bangladesh to India in any future scenario will be a potent threat which it had created by its own designs. To optimise the scenario, we need to have a Bangladesh friendly towards Pakistan. It may look difficult in the present situation with Sheikh Hasina Wajed at the helm of affairs in Bangladesh, but with the passage of time we can achieve our objective.

Even today, the honeymoon period with India has ended because the ugly and communal face of India stands fully exposed to Bangladesh due to its refusal to grant citizenship to more than 10 million Assamese with Bengali origin. There is now a growing realisation in Bangladesh that India is not a well-wisher anymore.

Pakistan and Bangladesh should jointly regret and condemn the 1971 bloodshed committed by both sides over issues that should have been sorted out by sitting across the table. Both countries should take pride and inspiration from those who had established the AIML in 1906 in Dhaka as well as the common legacy of the likes of the Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat Ali Khan, Khawaja Nazimuddin, A.K Fazlul Haq, Muhammad Ali Bogra, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and others.

Pakistan and Bangladesh need to get together, as independent states, to jointly oppose the Indian hegemony in the region. The two countries have tremendous scope for cooperation in a number of fields that will bring the two countries closer and create opportunities for the two peoples. There might even be a time when we may talk about having some sort of confederal arrangement between the two.

Lt-Col (retd) Syed Iftikhar Ahmed
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2022