Declaration of independence & afterwards

Early in the morning of March 26, Begum M R Siddiqi was woken up by an urgent telephone call from Moinul Alam, the Ittefaq correspondent in Chittagong. He gave her the following message from Bangabandhu received through wireless operators of Chittagong: “Message to the people of Bangladesh and to the people of the world. Rajarbagh police camp and Peelkhana EPR suddenly attacked by Pak Army at 24:00 hours. Thousands of people killed. Fierce fighting going on. Appeal to the world for help in freedom struggle. Resist by all means. May Allah be with you. Joi Bangla.”

The Sangram Parishad (Council of Struggle), chaired by M R Siddiqi, decided to announce the message over the radio. The Chittagong radio station at Agrabad could not be used for this purpose, since Pakistan troops were present in strength in the area. There was, however, a relay transmitter at Kalurghat. It had a capacity of ten kilowatts and its range was extremely limited. Still, it was better than nothing and so it was decided to make use of this facility. The Bengali staff of Radio Pakistan were collected and sent to Kalurghat for this purpose. The message was read out by M A Hannan, General Secretary of the District Awami League at 2:30 pm. It became known as the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh. Because of this the Government of Bangladesh later decided to observe March 26 as the National Day.

When Major Zia arrived afterwards with his troops at Kalurghat he was requested by some Awami League leaders to broadcast a message on behalf of the fighting forces. The next day, the 27th, he went on the air to call upon the people to fight the Pakistani Army as the President of Bangladesh. A K Khan, the leading Bengali industrialist and an elder statesman, was shocked to hear this announcement in his home in Chittagong. He pointed out to Siddiqi, his son-in-law, that Zia’s claim to be the head of state would be regarded as an army coup and the liberation movement would lose support nationally and internationally. Awami League leaders then went to Zia to tell him that his unauthorised speech had created confusion and asked him to read out a text prepared by A K Khan to limit the damage he had caused. In his second speech, Zia made it clear that he was speaking on behalf of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the nation.

Kalurghat station continued to operate until the afternoon of March 30 when it was put out of action by an enemy air raid. It had served an essential function by keeping the morale high among the fighting men and the civil population. Because of its extremely limited range very few people outside Chittagong could hear it. It was not heard by foreign correspondents who had gone to Dhaka to cover the political crisis. For 48 hours after the commencement of the crackdown they had been kept confined in the Intercontinental Hotel to prevent the world from knowing what was going on in the eastern region.

It was only after the collapse of resistance in Chittagong and the arrival of political leaders and retreating Bengali troops in Agartala that the full story of what had happened in Chittagong became generally known. Chittagong was not the only place where there was stiff resistance against Pakistanis. In the Kusthia-Jessore area, for instance, last-ditch resistance continued until April 12 and in North Bengal until the middle of April. It took Pakistani troops, fanning out in all directions from their cantonments, another week to subdue opposition by resistance fighters in other areas, notably around Sylhet. By the third week of the month the Pakistan Army had secured control of all towns.

TWO

Let us now turn to see what the politicians were doing in the wake of the crackdown. In the absence of any clear directive from Mujib, they felt bereft and were left to their own devices. Most of them went to their homes to await developments. Since a curfew had been imposed to coincide with the military action, they could have been picked up easily from their houses. But the Army did not bother to do so, perhaps because the only people they considered dangerous were armed Bengalis in the forces. As for the student leaders who had been pressing Mujib since early March to declare independence, the military had correctly gauged that they were primarily agitators, not revolutionaries, and therefore posed no threat to their pacification efforts by brute force.

The first prominent Awami Leaguer to go underground was Tajuddin. Accompanied by Barrister Amirul Islam, he proceeded towards the Indian border via Kusthia. Travelling by foot much of the time, they managed to reach an outpost of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) near Chuadanga on March 30. The BSF border checkposts had been instructed to be on the look-out for Bengali political leaders seeking safety and shelter. The Inspector General of the BSF, Golak Mazumder, himself came to welcome them to India.

One of the first things Tajuddin wanted to do after arriving in Calcutta was to get in touch with Chittaranjan Sutar. He was a Hindu Awami Leaguer from Barisal who had been asked by Mujib in the late 1960’s to settle in Calcutta to maintain contact with the Indian authorities in case any help was needed from them. He was living in Bhowanipur area of Calcutta and Tajuddin had memorised his address, instead of writing it down, for security reasons. Tajuddin mentioned the address of Chittaranjan as 26 Prasad Road to Surajit Chattapadhya, a BSF officer, who was looking after him. But there was no road called Prasad Road in Calcutta. Chittaranjan Sutar’s name was not listed in the telephone directory, because he had changed his name to Bhujanga Bhushan Roy. The street where Chittaranjan Sutar was living had been named after Dr Rajendra Prasad, a former President of India, and was called Rajendra Road, not Prasad Road. Chittaranjan had only links with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the intelligence agency of the Government of India. At this stage there was practically no co-ordination between the RAW and the BSF. So the idea of contacting RAW did not occur to Chattapadhya. Thus Tajuddin could not meet Chittaranjan.

Since Tajuddin was the first member of the Awami League High Command to reach India, it was considered desirable that he should meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Travelling under assumed names, Tajuddin and Amirul Islam were put aboard a Russian-made Antonov cargo aircraft in great secrecy in the evening of April 1. It was only after reaching New Delhi that Tajuddin learned that Siddiqi was already in town. After the collapse of resistance in Chittagong he had gone to Agartala to revive the resistance movement with Indian help. While he was in Agartala an appointment had been made for him to meet Indira Gandhi in New Delhi. Now that Tajuddin was also present in New Delhi, Siddiqi requested him to meet the Indian Prime Minister on behalf of the Awami League. After all, Tajuddin had acted as Mujib’s right-hand man during the critical month of March and was in a far better position to provide information and present the case of the Awami League to the Indian leader. It was fortunate for Tajuddin that Siddiqi and his companions were at hand to acquaint him with developments in Chittagong and some other parts of Bangladesh.

Tajuddin’s meeting with the Indian Prime Minister was to take place two days later, April 3, 1971. The question that bothered him most was the capacity in which he would be meeting the Indian leader. He did not know for certain whether Mujib had been arrested; he did not know where the other members of the AL High Command were. He was clear in his own mind that he must project the image of Sheikh Mujib in a positive light. He would therefore assert that Mujib was not only alive and well but was providing active leadership to his followers from his hiding-place within Bangladesh itself.

After welcoming Tajuddin at her official residence, the first question that Indira Gandhi asked was, “How is Sheikh Mujib? Is he all right?” Tajuddin replied that he had not met Bangabandhu since the twenty-fifth of March but he was sure that he was continuing to provide leadership for the nation. Indeed, it was at his instructions that he was acting. The struggle for the liberation of Bangladesh had started and would continue until its independence had been achieved. Meanwhile arms and ammunition would be needed by freedom fighters; they would also need training in their use. Tajuddin earnestly requested Indira Gandhi to give assistance in this regard. He also requested Indian assistance for feeding and taking care of the huge inflow of Bengali refugees to India to escape Pakistani repression.

Tajuddin discussed with Amirul Islam and others the next steps to be taken. Considering the circumstances, it was felt that a provisional government of Bangladesh should be formed, as it would strengthen Tajuddin’s hands if he spoke to Indian authorities in his capacity as the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. An official seal of the new government was sketched and approved. A speech was drafted for the new Prime Minister to be recorded and broadcast over the Swadhin Bangladesh Betar Kendra.

Shortly after this Indira Gandhi received Tajuddin for the second time.

She informed him that Sheikh Mujib had been arrested and flown to West Pakistan, news of which had not yet been announced by Pakistan. Tajuddin told her that their side was considering the formation of a provisional government and requested her to accord recognition to it. Indira Gandhi was non-committal on the question of recognition but indicated that the provisional government would be allowed to function on Indian territory as if it were a government-in-exile. They also discussed the matter of establishing a transmitter near the border to broadcast information to the people of Bangladesh.

THREE

Back in Calcutta on April 4, Tajuddin faced a storm of criticism from the student leaders like Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni and Tofael Ahmed who had arrived in Calcutta in the meanwhile. They had gone to Chittaranjan Sutar’s house after their arrival and were irked to learn that Tajuddin had not contacted Chittaranjan before leaving for New Delhi to meet Indira Gandhi. Immediately after his return to Calcutta Tajuddin briefed the student leaders and newly arrived Awami League leaders like Kamruzzaman and Mizan Choudhury about his visit to New Delhi. Sheikh Moni blamed Tajuddin for failing to contact Chittaranjan and acting unilaterally without consulting other leaders when he declared himself to be the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He vehemently opposed the idea of a provisional government. He argued in favour of a revolutionary council to conduct the liberation struggle. With the encouragement of Chittaranjan, a petition was sent by 42 signatories to persuade the Indian Prime Minister to stop Tajuddin from addressing the people of Bangladesh on the radio as the Prime Minister of the provisional government.

Tajuddin had foreseen the opposition he would encounter from unruly student leaders and factions within the Awami League. He had complained about his thankless task to Amirul Islam in New Delhi: “If only Bangabandhu had not left me alone to carry this burden. You have no idea of the internal situation in the Awami League.” But he was convinced that he was doing the right thing and would not be deterred from going ahead with his plans. His own preference was for a government of national unity where representatives from the NAP (Muzaffar group) and the Communist Party would be given ministerial responsibilities. But Awami Leaguers, having won a massive electoral victory were in no mood to share power with other political parties which had been unable to win any seats in the general election.

If a provisional government had to be formed around the High Command of the Awami League, it was essential that senior Awami Leaguers must be located as soon as possible. There was still no news about some of the veteran Awami Leaguers. So Tajuddin’s next move was to go to Agartala by plane and en route try to pick them up from various border posts manned by the BSF. On April 10, Tajuddin left Calcutta for Agartala accompanied by Amirul Islam, Sheikh Moni, Tofael Ahmed and Monsur Ali. While they stopped overnight at Siliguri, Tajuddin’s pre-recorded address was broadcast from a clandestine radio station nearby. Moni was furious and threatened dire consequences if a revolutionary council was not set up instead of a provisional government. Tajuddin’s broadcast, however, had the effect of undercutting Moni’s ambition to exercise his authority through a revolutionary council, and he was left embittered but powerless for the time being. On the onward flight they picked up from a BSF border outpost near Mymensingh two prominent Awami Leaguers: Syed Nazrul Islam and Abdul Mannan. When they reached Agartala they found that Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed had managed to cross the border by disguising himself as a woman clad in a burkha (veil). Col Osmani was also there, minus his trademark moustache. Mushtaque put forward his claim to be the head of government because of his seniority over Tajuddin. However, he was persuaded to accept the position of Foreign Minister after much haggling. It was agreed that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would be named President and in his absence Syed Nazrul Islam would be the Acting President. Tajuddin would remain the Prime Minister.

On the morning of 17 April, Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam and other Awami League leaders set out in a convoy of cars to one of the few remaining pockets of resistance on the soil of Bangladesh for a historic occasion: the inauguration of the Government of The People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Some 50 foreign journalists accompanied them to cover the solemn occasion for the world press. Amidst great rejoicing, it took place in a mango grove of a small village called Baidyanathtala in Meherpur subdivision of Kushtia district. It was aptly renamed “Mujibnagar.” Syed Nazrul Islam was named as the Acting President and the Council of Ministers was constituted as follows: Prime Minister : Tajuddin Ahmed; Foreign Affairs: Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed; Home Affairs: AHM Kamaruzzaman; Finance: Mansur Ali. Col. Osmani was appointed Chief of the Bangladesh Army.

The mango grove of “Mujibnagar” lies at a short distance away from the mango grove in Plassey, the scene of the British victory over the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Dowla, in the summer of 1757. Now, in the summer of 1971, another mango grove in the vicinity became the scene of the inauguration of the government of the sovereign state of Bangladesh, erasing the humiliation of two hundred years of alien rule.

The writer was the first foreign secretary of Bangladesh. The piece is excerpted from his book titled ‘Sheikh Mujib: Triumph and Tragedy’ published by UPL in Dhaka (February, 2020, edition)