March 1971: Down the memory lane

Historically as we observe the Independence and National Day today, our mind flashes back to March 1971 when we were in our youthful exuberance at the age of 30 years. We were imbued with the spirit to seek democracy, nationalism based on mother language Bengali and socio-economic emancipation of the people from different positions. As Dhaka University 1961 batch students, we had contacts with our friends directly involved in politics irrespective of party pursuing the only goal of freedom and independence.  As we were in service contributing to the programme, we had no concern which party one belonged to as all were sincere to the cause of independence.
One of my batch-mates, who took to journalism and active politics and also an adherent of the National Awami Party (NAP), came regularly to join an evening meeting known as 'Paltan Stadium Group' throughout 1960s. The Group exchanged views in group with senior journalist ATM Shamsuddin Ahmed and learned lawyer and political thinker uncle Hyder, a colleague of my father Advocate Muezzul Islam, BL.  Contemporaries used to recall my father as a nationalist, involved in greater Bengal demand before partition of 1947 in Kolkata and after partition in founding the Awami Muslim League in 1949. His relative A K Rafiqul Hossain from Brahmanbaria was its Joint Secretary with Maulana Bhashani as President. The coordinator of our group was dedicated social activist and historian Md. Abdul Mannan who was averse to publicity but still in the same spirit. It was a vibrant group ideologically committed to independence.
        Since the Awami League secured a landslide victory in election held on December 7, 1970 securing 167 seats out of 169 in the National Assembly from erstwhile East Pakistan and 305 out of 310 seats in the Provincial Assembly, people were overwhelmed with joy anticipating transfer of power to the elected representatives. We attended a mammoth rally on January 3, 1971 in Ramna Race Course, now Suhrawardy Udyan where Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman conducted the oath of allegiance to the elected representatives to stay faithful to frame the Constitution including autonomy based on 6-point demands. On January 5, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as the chief of the Pakistan People's Party, winning second position, undemocratically expressed his desire to share power with the Awami League. This resulted in failed talks.
The conspiracy hatched by the Bhutto-Yahya clique came to surface when President Yahya Khan on March 1 suspended sine die the parliamentary session, scheduled to be held on March 3. It was spontaneously and instantly rejected by all sections of the people in erstwhile East Pakistan. On March 1 while going to the dredger organisation headquartered at Narayanganj from Dhaka, I saw people from all walks of life coming out to roads and raising full-throated slogan demanding a free Bangladesh. Hartal was observed in Dhaka on March 2.
Time rolled on to March 7 with huge excitements near and far to listen to what the great leader would declare in his speech at the Ramna Race Course Maidan. I asked accounts officer of the dredger organisation Sikder, who hailed from Gopalganj and had relation with the Bangabandhu family, to go to the Dhanmondi residence early morning to know the position. He told me, Bangabandhu was deeply engrossed in thinking to make out his speech passing sleepless night and he saw him in a room alone after saying Fazr prayer and talking to none. We attended the mammoth rally and heard Bangabandhu's historic speech of far-reaching consequences in the afternoon braving fear and with helicopter hovering overhead. He declared: "Our struggle this time is the struggle for freedom - -our struggle this time is for independence."
Simultaneously, Bangabandhu declared programmes for a peaceful non-cooperation movement, and then put the authority of the province de facto to the Awami League. On March 16, Mujib-Yahya talks commenced. As soon as he alighted from the plane at Dhaka, Yahya termed Sheikh Mujib as the future Prime Minister of Pakistan. The talks ended on March 23 without any tangible result. Bangabandhu was informed that a declaration would be made later on.
Meanwhile, in an evening at the NAP office, I saw Khan Abdul Wali Khan and his fellow leaders from West Pakistan who came to Dhaka for talks expressing their support to the cause of Bengalis. Standing in front of me along with others, he enquired if Bangabandhu would declare independence. He continued he knew Bhutto from university days to be very much power-hungry and described him as 'Monafiq' (hypocrite) which is worse than 'Kafir" (non-believer) as ordained in holy Quran.
          On March 25, it turned out that Yahya, in connivance with Bhutto, took preparations in the guise of talks to commit genocide in Bangladesh. Pakistani occupation forces at zero hour attacked the unarmed Bangalees in Dhaka. Mujib was arrested that night. Pakistan troops went on a rampage to kill Bangalee police and soldiers, and civilians. While curfew was lifted for a short time, I, along with a non-Bengali colleague relative of an Awami League leader residing in North Road, Dhanmondi went out and saw dead bodies at different places.
Thus Bangabandhu having electoral verdict declared the independence of Bangladesh on March 26. In the evening of March 27, Major Zia in his radio broadcast urged the people to join the freedom struggle under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We have heard it and there is no point to twist it to do current politics of pelf and power. A NAP full-timer Monaem Sarker then stayed in my residence along with his mess cook before leaving Dhaka for Kolkata, West Bengal.
Historic events in the month of March 1971 which is the month of independence for the Bengali nation worldwide and its impact on neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal, as acknowledged by their leaders and literature, are still vivid in our memory. In a nutshell, every day of this month was a struggle towards independence under the elected undisputed leader of the people Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.  But how far our new generation in this globalised world has been able to be imbued with the spirit of independence and sacrifices of millions to move forward economically and morally for all is a point to ponder. On this day, we implore everybody to search his or her soul and move in streams to the National Martyrs' Mausoleum at Savar.  Last  March 18, I, along with my family members including grand child, went there and saluted the martyrs. This visibly moved all and left an imprint on four-year old Manha.  We offered Friday prayers at the Mausoleum Mosque which is maintained well by the government and sought salvation of souls of the martyrs.
The writer is an economist
and socio-political activist.
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