History should never lie. Time heals a lot of wounds, but it can never wipe out history.
LAHORE: The apology in Basil Nabi Malik’s “An open letter to Dhaka” (December 21) was heart-warming. It all started in 1947 when Urdu, a language understood by many in West Pakistan — which constituted 48 per cent of Pakistan’s population — was imposed on 52 per cent of the population who did not. Let us not forget that the struggle for a separate national identity for Muslims started in 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 the Bengal Muslim League on very flimsy grounds. Similar was the fate of the Punjab Muslim League. The Bengalis were more literate than people in West Pakistan, and more politically conscious. They proved their loyalty to Jinnah by voting for Fatima Jinnah in her election against Ayub Khan. The Bengali majority right was trampled in 1970-71 and General 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.
Malik T
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.
