Bidding farewell to social, political divides

I was 30 years old in March 1971. The 'Paltan-Stadium Group' comprising our 1961 Dhaka University batch mates, juniors as well as seniors used to meet every evening to exchange views on different affairs including socio-economic and political aspirations of the people in this part of the world.
Pakistan was truly a peculiar state with its two wings separated by a thousand miles and the eastern part had the majority of population, i.e., 56 per cent and western wing comprising four provinces accounted for 44 per cent of the national population. The central capital was in Karachi and later shifted to Islamabad in West Pakistan. It did not take us long to realise that the west wing was the metropolitan wing and the eastern wing the colonial wing. There were deprivations inflicted by the power elites that triggered mass movements pioneered by the leaders of the oppressed, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that finally culminated in the blood-stained independence on March 26, 1971 through sacrifices of millions of martyrs.
The turning-point in history was the election of December 07, 1970 when the Awami League bagged 167 seats in the National Assembly which was a clear majority to form government in Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan were eagerly waiting for Parliament to be in session as it was scheduled to commence on March 03, 1971. But, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, chief of Pakistan People's Party which won second position in the election, wanted to share power with Awami League in defiance of all democratic norms and conspired with President Yahya Khan.
On March 01, 1971 President Yahya Khan postponed  sine die the parliamentary session, which was instantly rejected by the people who went into the streets of Dhaka and raised full-throated slogans against Yahya-Bhutto conspiracy demanding an independent Bangladesh.
We were at that hour of the day, March 01, 1971, on way to the dredger base, the biggest commercial outfit of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in erstwhile East Pakistan. There were spontaneous processions at the dredger base at Narayanganj and everybody at the base came out to join the movement of liberation under the leadership of Bangabandhu. Apropos decision of Awami League working committee, hartal was observed in Dhaka on March 02 and throughout Bangladesh on March 03. Sheikh Mujib called for immediate transfer of power. Everybody was looking up to him who astutely controlled the emotions of the people.
I asked Accounts Officer Sikder in the WAPDA dredger base, who hailed from Gopalganj and had relations with the family of Bangabandhu, to keep track on the next course of action and try to know about his speech scheduled for March 07. He went to the Dhanmondi residence of Bangabandhu in the morning that day and found him in a room deeply engrossed in thought as Begum Mujib was advising him to prepare the speech after saying his prayers and reciting the Holy Quran. The article of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her mother, published in the print media on August 11, 2016, may be recalled.
In the afternoon of March 07, Bangabandhu delivered his historic speech in front of a mammoth public gathering at the Ramna Race Course. We were close to the podium. We saw planes hovering over our heads, but everybody was unmoved and listened to his speech with rapt attention. He declared, "our struggle this time is a struggle for freedom, our struggle this time is for independence."
Simultaneously, he announced programmes for peaceful non-cooperation which was duly observed by the people. Mujib-Yahya talks started on March 16 which ended on March 23 without finding any solution. Mujib was informed that a declaration would be made in this regard later on; but actually Bhutto-Yahya clique was conspiring to finalise their preparations to perpetrate genocide on the Bengalees.
Leaders representing other parties from the west wing were in Dhaka, and in one evening Khan Abdul Wali Khan told us at National Awami Party (NAP) office that he knew Bhutto from his student life as a class-mate and he could go to any length to satisfy his greed for power.
On the night of March 25, Pakistani armed forces perpetrated one of the worst genocides in human history. The army pounced on the innocent and unarmed Bengalees in Dhaka and other places. It went on a rampage to kill Bengalee Police personnel at Rajarbag Police Lines and soldiers of the then East Pakistan Rifles (at present Border Guard Bangladesh) in Dhaka and members of East Bengal Regiment (EBR) in cantonments at Chittagong, Comilla and Jessore. The Bengalee members of the armed forces revolted.  The Chittagong Radio Station came under the control of the people and later some activists made a makeshift radio station at  Kalurghat.
Bangabandhu declared independence on March 26 that was aired through EPR wireless for which arrangement was kept as he felt he might be killed or arrested. The moment he declared independence, army attacked his residence and arrested him. Curfew was imposed but people kept their morale high to resist.
In observance of the day in 2017, we must recount what we have done so far in respect of economic emancipation of the masses and translating the ideals of liberation war. Let us bid farewell to all social and political divides, adhere to the spirit of liberation war and shun power- mongering.
The writer is an economist, advocate and social activist.
mqislambd@hotmail.com