Civil servants in the Liberation War

FE Team | Published: December 16, 2012 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Freedom Fighters on training: It was a people's war

Helal Uddin Ahmed
The bureaucracy in Bangladesh, including the civil servants, members of the police and ansar forces, technical personnel and the professionals, played a vital role in the days leading to the declaration of independence by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the subsequent War of Independence fought in 1971. As the non-cooperation movement against the Pakistani military regime gained momentum in March, 1971, many in the eastern wing of the then Pakistan felt the impending need for an armed struggle. This was reflected in the historic 7th March speech delivered at Ramna Racecourse Maidan by the leader of the movement and victor in the general elections of 1970, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But overall preparations were not yet ripe for an armed struggle. Thus March 25, 1971 came as a shock to all, especially to those Bengalee police, riflemen, civil servants and members of the army who put up the initial resistance.
In the backdrop of the historic 7th March call for independence by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then East Pakistan Association of the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) Officers informed all district administrations that they would no longer cooperate with the Pakistani regime. The CSP Officers' Association then started to work in accordance with the instructions of the leading political party, the Awami League. The East Pakistan Civil Service (EPCS) officers of the then province also joined hands with them in the non-cooperation movement.
On the night of March 25, 1971, genocide was started in Dhaka by the Pakistani military junta from 11.30 p.m. The military campaign started according to the blueprint styled 'Operation Searchlight' that was prepared in Dhaka Cantonment on March 18. Between March and December, 1971, the Pakistani Army was encouraged to undertake indiscriminate armed attacks against unarmed Bengalee civilians in the name of Islam and Pakistan. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh in the late hours (midnight) of March 25, 1971, shortly before he was arrested. His message was transmitted all over the country through the transmitter of East Pakistan Rifles.
Initial stages of the war: Following the crackdown by the Pakistani army on the night of March 25, the Awami League leadership went into hiding. Later, they moved on to the liberated areas and Indian territories with the aim of leading the nation in its war of independence. On April 10, 1971, the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was constituted through a proclamation of independence issued from Mujibnagar. It confirmed the earlier declaration of independence made by Bangabandhu. Bangabandhu was named the President while Syed Nazrul Islam was made the Vice President. In the absence of the President, the Vice President was empowered to exercise the powers, duties and responsibilities of the President.
Following the formation of the government, Chuadanga was declared the interim capital of independent Bangladesh. This invited intensified air attacks on Chuadanga by the Pakistani forces. Instead of getting bogged down by this onslaught, the Bangladesh government stuck to its decision to hold a formal inauguration ceremony at a place somewhere in the liberated areas of Kushtia. This event was finally held on April 17, 1971, the venue being the Mango Garden of Baidyanathtala village (renamed Mujibnagar) under Meherpur subdivision.
Civil servants in the Liberation War: Many civil servants working in different districts of Bangladesh played a patriotic role and even embraced martyrdom during the independence war of the country. Mention may be made here of HT Imam, who was serving as the Deputy Commissioner of the Chittagong Hill Tracts district during March 1971. He put up a valiant resistance against the Pakistani military during the initial stages of the war with the help of Bengalee civil and military officers and ultimately joined the Bangladesh government-in-exile as the Cabinet Secretary. The then Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) of Meherpur Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Bir Bikram played a key role in resisting the Pakistani army in the Kushtia region and in organising the oath-taking ceremony of the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile in Mujibnagar of Meherpur.
Civil servants such as Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Faridpur ANM Yusuf, Deputy Commissioner of Barisal Nurul Amin, Deputy Commissioner of Pabna Nurul Kader Khan, Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur Syed Shamim Ahsan, Deputy Commissioner of Tangail Jalaluddin Ahmed and Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Nurul Islam sided with the independence movement even before the start of the war. Of them, Nurul Kader Khan retreated inside the Indian territory to join the government-in-exile. ANM Yusuf was taken captive by the Pakistani military along with Superintendent of Police (SP) Nurul Momen Khan and Sub-divisional Officer (SDO) of Rajbari Syed Rezaul Hayat; other captives included DC of Barisal Ayubur Rahman, SDO of Rajbari Shah Mohammad Farid and senior engineer of T & T Lokman Hossain. They were released only after the achievement of victory by the liberation forces in December 1971. SDO Jalaluddin got engaged in the war of resistance along with DC Khandakar Asaduzzaman in Tangail, and later moved to Sirajganj by crossing the river Jamuna. Jalal returned to Tangail later on.
The SDO of Pabna Shamsuddin continued the war of resistance for a long time alongside DC of the district Nurul Kader Khan. But he was later arrested by the Pakistani army and had to embrace martyrdom while in captivity. Another CSP officer who embraced martyrdom at the hands of the Pakistani army was the then Deputy Commissioner of Comilla Shamsul Haque Khan. Prominent martyrs from among the police forces included the then DIG of Rajshahi range Mamun Mahmud and the then SP of Rajshahi district Shah Abdul Majid, who had sided with the freedom fighters after the declaration of independence.
Other civil servants who gallantly fought and built up resistance in their localities included Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Syed Abdus Samad of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, SDO of Rangamati Abdul Ali, SDO Kamal Uddin Siddiqui at Narail, SDO Waliul Islam at Magura, SDO of Brahmanbaria Kazi Raquibuddin Ahmed, SDO of Habiganj Akbar Ali Khan, Assistant Commissioner Saadat Husain at Jessore and Subdivisional Police Officer of Jhenaidaha Mahbubuddin Ahmed. Engineer MH Siddiqui of the Jessore-Kushtia region also played a heroic role in organising the war efforts. The project manager-cum-superintending engineer of Kaptai Hydroelectric Project Shamsuddin Ahmed was killed by the Pakistanis following his brave role in the fight against the occupiers.
The civil servants who crossed over to India after building initial resistance to join the Mujibnagar Government also included the Commissioner of Rajshahi division Shamsuddin Ahmed, DC of Dinajpur distric Fayez Uddin Ahmed, Dr. Faruque Aziz Khan, and EPCS officers Md. Abul Kashem Khan, Abdul Momen, Lutuful Haque, JJ Bhowmik and BB Biswas. They were all given important responsibilities in the structures of the government-in-exile.
To sum up, members of the civil and military bureaucracy as well as the police and ansars in occupied territories of Bangladesh tried to build up heroic resistance in their own way against the Pakistani army with the help of local political activists and citizens, after switching their allegiance in favour of Bangladesh, even in the absence of any clear-cut political directives on the issue. Almost everywhere, the local civil administration came forward to assist the masses in their pursuit of freedom.
Civil servants in the Mujibnagar Government: The civil servants of Bangladesh also played a crucial role in running the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile in Mujibnagar. The following were 11 ministries/divisions in the Mujibnagar Government, where the civil servants served as the administrative heads: (1) Ministry of Defence; (2) Ministry of Foreign Affairs; (3) Ministry of Finance, Industries & Commerce; (4) Cabinet Secretariat; (5) General Administration Division; (6) Ministry of Health & Welfare; (7) Ministry of Information & Broadcasting; (8) Ministry of Home Affairs; (9) Ministry of Relief & Rehabilitation; (10) Parliamentary Affairs Division; (11) Agriculture Division; (12) Engineering Division.
In addition to 11 zonal administrative councils, there were some agencies who worked directly under the control of the cabinet. These were: (1) Planning Commission; (2) Board of Industries & Commerce; (3) Board of Control for Youths & Reception Camps; (4) Relief & Rehabilitation Committee; (5) Refugee Welfare Board. In addition, the following bodies also provided valuable support to the war efforts: Council for Youths and Training; Bangladesh Hospital; Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra: Joy Bangla (periodical); Bangladesh Bulletin; Overseas bodies in support of liberation war; Bangladesh Teachers' Association; Swadhin Bangla Football Team; Bangabandhu Shilpi Goshthi; Bangladesh Torun Shilpi Goshthi; Bangladesh Chalachchitra Shilpi O Kusholi Samity; Bangladesh Sangrami Buddhijibi Parishad; New York Bangladesh League; Bangladesh Students' Action Committee, London; Liberation Council of Intelligentsia.
Conclusion: The War of Independence of Bangladesh was a people's war, and the country's civil servants rose up to the occasion to play a brave and heroic role in this war both in building up an initial resistance against the Pakistani occupiers and as key functionaries of the Government-in-Exile at Mujibnagar.
Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed is a senior civil servant and former editor of the official journal, Bangladesh Quarterly. hahmed1960@gmail.com