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An open letter to Dhaka
Bengalis have always been acknowledged as the greatest proponents of the Pakistan movement.
The writer is a lawyer with Malik, Chaudhry, Ahmed, Siddiqi and Waheed in Karachi
I was not a witness to the events of 1971, nor is the same widely discussed in Pakistan, my homeland. However, my Pakistani university education and my interest in the subject have compelled me to write this piece.
December 16 is remembered in Pakistan as a black day — a day when Jinnah’s dream was vanquished. Countless Pakistanis cried that day, unaware of the atrocities that had been committed against their Bengali brothers and sisters in the then East Pakistan.
In a number of discussions on the subject, one can decipher two trains of thought in Pakistan. The first considers India as responsible for the separation or considered the separation as inevitable, as East Pakistan was a territory separated by thousands of miles of enemy land. They ignore the human element in it and gloss over the atrocities committed, and all the legitimate reasons for the growing resentment within the people of the then eastern wing. The second type of thought, which seems to be more predominant, and to which I belong, acknowledges the great number of injustices committed against the Bengali people, and the fact that they were forced into a situation whereby they had no option but to fight for an independent Bangladesh. There is a tinge of guilt in our discussions, and a great deal of remorse for what our elders did.
The systematic marginalisation of the majority province of the country, the lack of attention paid to its problems, coupled with the attempt to suppress their linguistic and cultural realities were the seeds from which grew the seeds of secession. And this despite the fact that the Bengalis have always been acknowledged in Pakistan as the greatest proponents of the Pakistan movement in the days leading up to the division of the subcontinent.
On December 16, every major newspaper in Pakistan carried articles of varying content about the events of the time. Most of these articles recount the patriotism of the Bengalis in creating Pakistan, their resolve to contribute to its development, pinpointing the barbarity and brutality with which they were repressed and neglected. If they are looked at closely, one will notice the collective guilt and remorse of the people of Pakistan for the actions of yesteryear.
Frankly, I must admit that to this day I wonder how different my country would have been had the Bengalis been given their rights, and Mujeebur Rehman had been handed over the government as per his electoral mandate in 1970. Unfortunately, the wrongs of the past cannot be eradicated or forgotten. However, although those wrongs cannot be erased, they can certainly be atoned for.
Each and every individual involved in the said events ought to be taken to task in Pakistan as per the findings of the Hamoodur Rehman Commission report, even if symbolically. In a nutshell, we may have lost a united Pakistan on December 16, 1971, but I would like to think that by putting to trial those responsible for the atrocities, we could, at least, salvage our common brotherhood and struggle, as had been undertaken in 1947 under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Last but not least, a belated congratulations to all Bangladeshis on the occasion of ‘Victory Day‘. Please accept my sincere apologies for the shameful actions of my elders and the criminal silence of my compatriots. May God bless you all.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2010.
Reader Comments (41)
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Well said and a very genuine apology to the people of Bangla Desh.The writer has explained the history so well there is nothing else to elaborate.
Hope people from Bangla Desh read it and comment on it as well.The Hammodur Rehman report has to be made public so those who were behind the debacle are identified and shamed in public and history.Recommend
We love Bangladesh. We condemn those dictators who denied them right.
Lets look forward to a strong and prosperous Bangldesh.Recommend
Long live Pakistan Bangladesh frienship.Recommend
Pakistan should apologise to Bangladesh and be willing to prosecute thus who committed crimes against Bangladeshi.
Even if it is ceremonial.
Is it not ironic thar the groups who actually worked for Pakistan have been systemically persecuted against while the anti Pakistan groups are in the ruling coalition of our nation.Recommend
Beautiful,honest and moving article. I would also like to join the writer in tendering apologies to my Bangla brothers for all the wrong doings of Pakistani “Establishment”. The most painful reality is that Bangla friends had to struggle twice to win their freedom- one pre 1947 and the other pre 1971 whereas, we are still thinking to start our second effort for “independence” and this time it will be against the same “Establishment” which was defeated in 1971 by brave people of Bangladesh and now it needs to be defeated by Pakistanis.Recommend
I was expecting a qualitative analysis. Your article has failed to deliver anything.Recommend
Reading many bloggers’ feedback in this newpaper’s column on Bangladesh’s independence, I have a feeling that the majority of english speaking people in Pakistan are not fully aware of the reasons behind the birth of Bangladesh. They seem to be parroting the messed up Pakistani History books rather than finding facts themselves inspite of knowing the fact that Pakistani text books esp History were all biased and messed up by Zia,. Why is Pakistan govt not fixing it up. Indians wouldnt be bothered about it much but for the fact they create hate mongering generation . They have created it and still creating it. Whose interest is being served here???Recommend
You may not be a witness to the events in East Pakistan but I was (as a very young child). The whole thing was started by Mukti Bahini terrorists who started killing innocent non-Bengalis long before Pak army took actions against them.Recommend
Mr Zamir get your facts right. It all started in 1947 when Urdu a language understood by many in West Pakistan, which constituted 48% of population was imposed on the majority 52%, who did not even understand it. Remember the struggle for a seperate national identity for muslims started from Bengal in 1906, much before anybody else even thought of it. Then in 1937 the All India Muslim League Parliamentary Board dominated by men from muslim minority areas cancelled and suspended the affiliation of Bengal Muslim League led by Sher e Bengal on very flimsy grounds. Similar was the fate of Punjab Muslim League. The Bangalis were more literate than people in West Pakistan and more politically conscious. They proved their loyalty to Jinnah by their majority voting for Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah in her election against Ayub Khan, Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah lost in West Pakistan. It was the Bengali majority right which was trampled in 1970-71 and then Yahya tried to crush it with brute military force. History should never lie. Time heals a lot of wounds, but it can never wipe out history or memories.Recommend
Good piece. I share your thoughts having witnessed first hand the drifting away of East Pakistan to appear as Bangladesh sooner than any one could have thought. Like Dr. Mubashar Hasan told me in early 200s, no one understood at that time what was happening – what was going on. What a criminal way to sweep such a great mishap under the carpet. Truly our elders did to us what we r undergoing now. Therefore, the present youth must not let Dr Mubashar in me control his destiny..Recommend
I like to hear the views of Bengalis currently residing there rather than Pakistanis and Indians.Recommend
An honest, moving article. A system based on injustice and exploitation can only cause chaos and divisions. Wish people of Bangladesh a happy “victory day” and wish “Deep state of Pakistan” to learn from history- as they say its never too late. Hamood ur Rahman commision report is already public but punishing the culprits is an uphill task. Culprits in my homeland are given “guard of honor” when they exit. Long live PakistanRecommend
Call me stupid.. But I would blame the dumb guys who thought a country can be created and stay united thousands of miles away. They would have avoided so much bloodshed. People just need a reason to seperate themselves and kill each other….sunni/shia, hindu/muslim/christian/jew , commnist/democratic, tamil/sinhalese, bengali/non-bengali, hutu/tutsi, black/white, cathlic/protestent…list goes on…. If we observe the history carefully..The seperatist leaders are one to be blamed..Be it r1947 Partition, 1971 seperation, Kashmir movement, Tamil Movement, …etcRecommend
What happened in 1971 was treason committed by the then Pakistan army generals, civil servants and political parties who colluded and conspired foremost Jamaat e Islami. All of these institutions have plenty to answer and need to be tried in a court of law ofr treason.Recommend
On 26th March 2011, Bangladesh will be celebration is 40th anniversary of its formation.
May be many in Pakistan will get know what all happened in 1970-71. The lessons that can be learnt so that such a situation can never occur.
Had truth be known to people of Pakistan, Pakistan would have been a different nation. It would have been democratic, secular and progressive …
.Recommend
@kittu
but isnt the andaman nicobar islands also thousands of miles away in indian ocean,,,,so why india claims and control them when they shoul rightly be part of burma,,,Recommend
Will Bangladesh apologize to Pakistan and Pakistani for the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent non-Bengalis massacred, raped and gutted by East Pakistani rebels, both before the Pakistan Military Operation in March, and especially after it.
A joint apology by both sides for the wrongs and atrocities committed by both sides, and acknowledgment of the same, is the only just way to approach this.
One sided distortions of history and white washing the crimes of one side at the expense of the other cannot lead to true introspection and a full healing of wounds.Recommend
Partition of India , divided the Muslims of the sub continent into three? When i read the papers written in 1947 about, majority and minority. About majority lauding over minority, i can only wonder “are u stupid” . there are 170 mn muslims in pakistan, there are 150 mn muslims in bangladesh, there are 150 mn muslims in india, as opposed to say 800 mn hindus?
MAN its 470 vs 800? 470 mn can never be a minority no way.Even Hindu rightists parties need to woo muslims if they want to be a national party in india today. with 150 mn ?Recommend
Sanjith Menon:
Then Nehru and the AIC should have accepted Jinnah’s proposal for Federation with the Provinces having significant autonomy, which would have largely guaranteed that the Muslim majority provinces would govern their affairs as they saw fit, and prevent (theoretically) the majority Hindus from exploiting them and oppressing them.
But Nehru and AIC’s greed for power and total control left no option but for the Muslims supporting the ML and Jinnah to call for an independent Pakistan, where Muslims would be guaranteed to govern their affairs themselves.Recommend
@Agnostic+Muslim
If there were riots then the police and army should have restored law and order and then prosecute the culprits. Fair and open trail, with right to appeal.
.
Instead the army, which is drain of a country’s resources, received weapons, training, salaries and other benefits from the tax payers’ money, uses the weapons and training against its own citizen killing them in masses and raping in the streets & fields !
.
Both of these are are not equal.Recommend
An echo of Faraz. Truly moving.Recommend
Bengalis are back to being bengalis – their true original identity. Sindhis want to be Sindhis and balochis want to be balochis.
It’s time punjabis go back to being punjabis.Recommend
My sincere gratitude goes to the author and likeminded Pakistanis. I also wonder how history would have been altered, had Sheikh Mujib been handed over reins to the government, as the election results mandated. Perhaps the UN-estimated 3 million Bengalis would not have perished in warfare, Bengali women would not have been violated, Bengali villages would not have been charred to ashes. I wholeheartedly agree that those who committed these crimes against civilians, against humanity, should be brought to justice, whether in Bangladesh, or in Pakistan.Recommend
As a Bangladeshi, I would like to thank and remember to those elder Pakistani brothers and sisters who believed in an independent Bangladesh back in 1971.
Its very important to make clear that the people of Pakistan was never our enemy. We do hate and ask justice for those political and military leaders who were behind the unspeakable massacre.Recommend
@agnostic+Muslim
Weak center and strong provinces? will that idea work? Are u ruling Pakistan that way?Recommend
One thing the partition of India guaranteed was that common religion (atleast in pak) goes deeper than common language. If india were united after 1947 it would have been a temporary union, there would be no uniting factor (the way india is there for pakistan and vice versa). It would be only a matter of years when the whole subcontinent would have been divided among linguistic lines(like europe). Thanks to Jinnah and his two nation theory, we india could keep bengali speaking states of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura within India. and thanks to Sri Lanka and their beating up of LTTE, tamilians in tamil nadu feel no urge to split from india. Nepalese persecution of Biharis are keeping them quite patriotic to India. Thanks to our neighbours, we are united.Recommend
The key here is “Development”.
Einstein was quoted as saying, “that my experiments are successful, America would call me an American, Germany would call me a world citizen. Had they failed, America would have called me German and Germany would have called me Jew.”
If Pakistan is Successful in providing a prosperous and stable society: every single citizen would call themselves a Pakistani. If not: they will identify themselves as Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pashtun, Sunni, Shia, or Ismaili.
It applied to each and every country: India, China, USA…………………Recommend
This needed to be said by someone from our generation. Thank you for finally coming out and providing this apology. Let us hope the Government will soon follow suit. The sooner Pakistani’s accept what they committed was genocide, the sooner they will be able to extend their hand genuinely to the people of Bangladesh.Recommend
The saddest thing is that Pakistan as a nation has learned nothing whatsoever from what happened in Bangladesh. First of all, we as a country need to recognize our past misdeeds such as Germany has done with the Holocaust. What happened in Bengladesh was nothing short but a massive war crime. The scale of rape alone is probably up there in the top 5 in the 20th century. We need to teach every child so that this never happens again, but then again its easier to blame the mischieviouos Indians, or disloyal politicians or the army for it all. How many memorials has Pakistan setup for the Bengalis? None as it will never admit its true guilt,
Ignore the truth and we shall sadly repeat the same in Balochistan, then onwards and onwards until nothing but small ethnic states are left of what use to be Pakistan.Recommend
Well written basil !
Interestingly, just yesterday, our federal education minister, along with a former federal education minister, vehemently opposed devolution of the education ministry to the provinces saying it will destroy Pakistan as provinces will be able to tamper with curriculum and feed ill-will against the federation.
When will we realize that our unity lies not in the bonds of political federalism but in the celebration of our varied identities?Recommend
Bengalis were treated real badly & I do not blame them of having their own country! They are economically much ahead of us whereas their exports of textiles are much more when they do not grow any cotton. We are making Al Khalid tanks, exploding bombs, testing Ghauri missiles, nuclear submarines, etc whereas an ordinary citizen is reeling under inflation.Recommend
A well written historyRecommend
I wonder if ANYONE has been punished for 1971 war in Pakistan.Recommend
history cannot be erased , nations must learn from their past ,but , lets move forward and build trust and friendship , nothing is achieved harping on a dark part of history , since most culprits are dead or too old now . bangladeshis have to put it behind them , showing mutilated bodies and cursing pakistan in print and electronic media from dec to march every year for 40 yrs doesnt do much good . yes the pk army can be blamed for many wrong doings but dont forget the mukti bahini and the indian army . lets promote peace and harmony ,thats what the world needs .Recommend
I’d like a similar letter to Karachi from a bangladeshis, ‘apologizing’ for the murder and rape of biharis and non-separatists. An honest independent account into this episode of history would do good for both Pak and bangladesh. No more myths into amount of wronged and by whom. Too bad every year the bangladeshis go on an anti-Pak rant every year around this time. Won’t help at all.Recommend
@Mir Agha
“…Too bad every year the bangladeshis go on an anti-Pak rant every year around this time. Won’t help at all.”
There, listen up, Bangladeshis! No anti-Pak rantings from now every year around this time. Won’t help at all.
But Mir Sahib and his cohorts will still go on anti-India rants endlessly all round the year because of Kashmir. As you can see already, it has helped a lot!Recommend
@ Talha
PART ONE
“Pakistan should apologise to Bangladesh and be willing to prosecute thus who committed crimes against Bangladeshi.
Even if it is ceremonial.”
PART TWO
“Is it not ironic thar the groups who actually worked for Pakistan have been systemically persecuted against while the anti Pakistan groups are in the ruling coalition of our nation.”
Two contradicting statements in the same comment. Confusion. Pakistanis have always and will always remain confused.
Can get rid of this anti-Pakistan rhetoric? What about the religious entities and their members who don’t believe in nation state system and want to create a caliphate after conquering the whole world. Are they pro-Pakistan? This sentiment is not limited to “armed Taliban” only, living in FATA, “a far from earth heaven”, as they are just a product of Akora Khattaks, Mansooras, Jamia Ashrafias and so on and so forth.
@ Agha
“I’d like a similar letter to Karachi from a bangladeshis, ‘apologizing’ for the murder and rape of biharis and non-separatists. An honest independent account into this episode of history would do good for both Pak and bangladesh. No more myths into amount of wronged and by whom. Too bad every year the bangladeshis go on an anti-Pak rant every year around this time. Won’t help at all.”
An independent account? By whom? Free for all judiciary or the GHQ or the state-run intelligentsia/media or any other group propagating an ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN?Recommend
@Raja+Arsalan+Khan
“…An independent account? By whom?….”
One could begin with unclassifying and publishing Humood-ur-Rahman Commission Report!Recommend
@G.Din
Yes!
But Independent account is impossible in this country where “McCarthyism” is found in its worst form. Everything is manufactured hereRecommend
Dear Malik
Please take my heartiest thanks and honor for the truth you dare to speak unequivocally. Of late, I came across a photograph depicting a number of Pakistani Lawyers and Journalists are holding a banner that reads “Dear Bangladeshis, Sorry for 71 genocide”.
But I am sorry to let u know that, in some of the history books of Honors syllabus in your country, the seperation of Bangladesh is still claimed to be the child of the conspriracy of India and some “India-agents in Bangladesh”.
Please save the younger generation of Pakistan from believing such blatant lie. There is no disgrace in confession of truth of History.
Best RegardsRecommend
Simply awesome writing! I am rellay hopefull that the new generation of Pakistan is rising.
We the Bengalis are always proud of our origin and language like any other ethnic races in the world. So history proves that we’ve never surrendared or even negotiated regarding these life and death issues.
Those who don’t like nationality based identity for them, Jinnah was never an Islamic man, read the history please, he was a secular man. Religion is for your personal connection between you and god. If you want to imply that in your country affairs(like both your and our Zia did) then see what is the outcome! Shia-Sunni facade, Al-Quyeda, JMB, Jamt e ISlami, Khilafat, blood, blood and blood.
So please don’t pretend all the injustice is nothing under the veil of so called unity and Islam. Look what’s happening in your Baluchistan!
Some are asking about the apologising of Bangladeshis for what they’ve done in 1971. Really? are you kidding me? Read the history first man, don’t worry- the author is one of you guys. Then you decide by your own self and reasoning- Is it comparable that an army aided riot and civilian payback is equal? Do you know that after 16th december infront of the open crowd in the Dhaka stadium several Rajakars(Pakistai Collaborators) were killed because of their misdoings towards the biharis? I am not saying Bengalis were saints at that time. But apologising?
No country is itself perfect, we have to make it perfect. Let’s do that, shall we?Recommend