![victims of history victims of history](https://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/231911-JYOTIMALHOTRANew-1313415710.jpg)
On August 14, Pakistan marked its 65th independence day, with India following a day later, on August 15. Like every year, the Indian prime minister read out his report card to the nation, from his perch atop Red Fort. It’s a version of the “tryst with destiny” speech that Jawaharlal Nehru made to India in 1947, three days after Jinnah did his own.
Meanwhile, the days are devoted to fasting to mark the month-long period of Ramazan, and equally, the nights given over to convivial camaraderie. As the sun sets over the Jama Masjid and families break their fast on the sandstone ramparts, the old city of Delhi comes alive. Karim’s, is of course, the best-known upscale dhaba in these parts, but ‘Jawahar’ next door — named in honour of India’s first prime minister — has some of the best naan the city can bake.
There’s Aslam Chicken Corner down the road in Matia Mahal, a tiny hole-in-the-wall outlet where the chicken tikka, melting in Amul butter, is, to borrow my daughter’s lingo, totally awesome.
The Metro to Chawri Bazaar and Chandni Chowk — evidently, the Delhi Metro holds the world record for building so low underground with such a concentration of population above — has been there for some years, but it never fails to boggle the mind. There’s an intensity to the passenger traffic in the old city you don’t see anywhere else in Delhi, and during Ramazan evenings, you can almost touch the joy.
And as for the burqa bling, well, I guess if you have rhinestones that size, you may as well flaunt them.
The ecstasy and agony of this week is underscored by the National Day of Mourning in Bangladesh, on August 15, in memory of the assassination of Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman in 1975. Flags will fly at half-mast all across that country that day and the Awami League has requested that opposition leader Khaleda Zia refrain from celebrating her birthday, which, incidentally, falls on that day as well.
Clearly, Mujib’s killers had a sense of history, considering they assassinated him on India’s independence day. Five of the assassins were hanged in January 2010 by the government of Mujib’s daughter, Sheikh Hasina, but six are still hiding in different parts of the world. Meanwhile, Khaleda’s party has accused Hasina of beginning a ‘show trial’ last week of those accused of war crimes in 1971. (The first man in court was a leader of the Jamiat-i-Islami.)
Should Hasina carry on with the trials, demanded by thousands of Bangladeshis seeking closure for atrocities committed against them during their war for independence? Three million people died, say the Bangladeshis. Or should the Bangladesh prime minister put a firm lid on the past, and not allow old wounds to fester?
Perhaps it’s time for the subcontinent also to do some introspection this week. The markers are all there, in the celebration of national milestones. Question is, are we victims or victors of our own history?
Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2011.
COMMENTS (11)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@BruteForce: You are mistaken when you think that Pakistanis reject the rightfully elected leader of any Bangladesh election. 1971 has long passed from the memory of many Pakistanis for whom it is just another nation that we wish well. Bangladesh is so far away and out of our sphere that most Pakistanis do not care whether they or pro or anti Indian. After all Bangladesh and Eastern India are very similar. You are also mistaken to think that we care whether Bangladesh is secular or not and I know you are just plain mistaken when you think that Bangladesh's GDP is 3x that of Pakistan. What we do care about is our neighbourhood where India has set up numerous consulates in Afghanistan to send criminals to commit terrorism and crimes on innocent Pakistanis. We also care about India's refusal to allow a United Nations referendum on the future of Kashmir so it can rejoin Pakistan.
@Irshad Khan:
A pro-India, secular leader who wont 2/3rd of the seats in the last elections is hated by most Pakistanis. Is that really surprising?
Under her the GDP Growth of Bangladesh is nearly 3 times that of Pakistan. She has changed the character of the nation to Secular, although a lot of work is still left.
@Amjad
It was the dream of Zia ur Rehaman to form a united bangladesh comprising of east and west bengal. :)
Sheikh Hasina is a symbol of hatred in the region and nothing else.
I think that Bangladesh and India should unite East and West Bengal to become a more viable region. This whole witch hunt by Sheikh Hasina is just another crass attempt at political gamesmanship and scoring points. She wants to cement her place as the leader and the only inheritor of Sheik Mujib's legacy. The truth is that the legacy is not so important when Bangladesh's future is entwined with India. East and West Bengal should unite and become a stronger force. Best wishes to Bengali peoples.
Jyoti Jee, Apologize for misspelling your name in my earlier posting. It was just a typo and no disrespect was intended.
Joyti Jee, With all due respect, I always have problem in understanding you logic of putting all things in one bag. You are covering three countries, traditions of society, religious rituals, and mishap in one country. I am not sure what I should make of all this.
"It’s a version of the “tryst with destiny” speech that Jawaharlal Nehru made to India in 1947, " When Nehru made that speech at midnight hour, the whole world was listening. "Trysts with Destiny" speak of the future; report cards pertain to the past. How, pray, can one be the version of the other? Another of those "girlie" logic hyperboles, perhaps! It is reported that there was not even one applause accorded to "his report card to the nation,". What a contrast! Only this writer could see a reflection of it in the other. We have, however, gotten used to such volleys from this writer!
What Hassina is doing to get closure for the crimes of the 1970s is appropriate yet she needs to make sure that it's fairly fought and not just against Zia's party. That being said, many Bangladeshis realize that Zia's party tried to undo Bangaldesh's Independence for many years and created a police state with many problems.
Hassina should just be careful to do what's right for Bangladesh and avoid glorifying her own family too much. Yes, her father made great sacrifices for Bangladesh but once the trials are over, the country needs to move forward.
Our best wishes to Bangladesh.
Many leaders in the country want Bengla Desh to model itself like Indonesia or even India. But what Hassina is doing it changing it to a dictatorship. Suppressing opposition and harassing Zia. The troubling one is the hasty rewriting of the constitution on June 30th, especially the scrapping of a provision for caretaker administrations to run elections. The Supreme Court suggested keeping the set-up for two more elections, to avoid provoking social strife. Sheikh Hasina herself had insisted on the arrangement when in opposition. In office she heedlessly went ahead and junked it. That bodes ill for fair and peaceful polls in 2013.
The constitution shall not be amended in future. Anyone who dares criticize it may be prosecuted for sedition. Mrs Zia has already been warned for having complained about it. Merely to back such a complaint is now illegal. We should expect to be a crime even to have such thoughts.
In some ways they haven't become independent minded. The colonial era is too ever present and not in a positive way. Meanwhile the former colonial power is not doing too well. http://www.citymayors.com/news/london-riots-2011.html Has Britain become a lawless society? http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100100708/the-moral-decay-of-our-society-is-as-bad-at-the-top-as-the-bottom/ The moral decay of our society is as bad at the top as the bottom