by Mohammad Zainal Abedin, in Dhaka, to Sri Lanka Guardian(December, 23, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) On December 16, 2007 Bangladesh entered 37 years of its existence. But during this long span of time Bangladesh could not reach its cherished goal of independence for which we fought, it rather faced unthinkable impediments and predicaments. This happened due to our utter failure of identifying our friends and foes, mending our stupidity and zeal for personal interest and power. It is our ill luck that we considered and some of us still consider our arch rival and foe as our friend.
The country that came forward as an ally and salvager during our war of liberation, ironically emerged as deadly giant. Our successive governments, right from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Fakharuddin Ahmad, though comprehend Indian designs, could not and still cannot take bold step to frustrate them (Indian designs), as they remain busy to tackle internal chaos and problems imposed by India. On the other hand, it is an irony that most of the Bangladeshi policymakers, politicians, intellectuals, bureaucrats, business magnets, etc., who directly and indirectly control the statecrafts of Bangladesh have either become India's pawns to grab their self-interest, who give priority to their immediate gains instead of national interest and sovereignty and independence of our motherland for which three million sons of our soil welcomed martyrdom. Some of them, including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on good faith sincerely believed that India would behave with us as brotherly and friendly neighbour and never poke its nose in our affairs or try to minimise our sovereignty and independence or impede our march towards prosperity.
But Indian Brahmanic policymakers, since pre-Palasy War era, sided with the then British East India Company and aligned to one principle till date to keep the Muslims of the subcontinent under their knee. Indian leadership who against their will, though conceded to the partition of the subcontinent that led to the emergence of a separate Muslim homeland named Pakistan in 1947, kept their dream alive to jeopardise Pakistan and unify the map of the British-administered India, what they term as 'Ramraj' or 'Awkhand Bharat'. Nehru through his writings and utterances repeatedly declared that the areas that comprised Pakistan, particularly East Pakistan (today's Bangladesh) and West Punjab (today's Punjab Province of Pakistan) would return to Indian fold immediately after the partition of the subcontinent. To translate this dream into practice, Indian leaders, whether they are so- called secularists, or communists, or fundamentalists, or arch communalists, never set aside their dream of unifying the British-India and all the successive governments, right from Nehru to Manmohan Singh, worked and work to materialise that end into practice.
To reach their goal the then Hindu-dominated Congress leadership prepared a secret blueprint of undoing the separate homeland—
Pakistan strangely eight days before the partition of the subcontinent and kept their efforts continued to implement it. Indian government, its intelligence agencies and media, availing the errors, omissions and failures of the Pakistani rulers, above all anti-West Pakistan sentiment in East Pakistan that originated due to the exploitative policies of the successive Pakistan governments, fueled secessionist movement in the then East Pakistan that subsequently paved the way for Indian intervention in the liberation war of Bangladesh. Indian media and intellectuals proudly declared that the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 was one step forward to reunify those territories India that formed Pakistan and later Bangladesh.
Through such comment they confessed that India assisted our liberation war against Pakistan not for our sake but India's sake. Now it is clear that India helped us not to flourish Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign country, but to make it as its sole Bazar and subsequently merge it with India right way. With this end in view, India deliberately marched its Army to Bangladesh, which is unprecedented in the contemporary world. Many countries, including USA, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Afghanistan, etc., were liberated through armed struggles. France extended its support to the liberation war of the United States of America; Russia and China to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. To liberate Afghanistan many countries, particularly all the Muslim countries and Western world, even China extended their open support, but none ever militarily intervened in the name of liberating Afghanistan.
India's subsequent ugly and cruel behaviour unfolded the fact that under the cover of liberating Bangladesh, Indian government assisted us virtually to merge our country with India in course of time. It means Indian Army marched to Bangladesh not to leave it, but to remain stationed here (Bangladesh) for ever, but was compelled to retreat considering the then world opinion in favour of Bangladesh whose founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman publicly asked India to withdraw its troops. Indian President late Zail Singh later publicly indicated that India withdrew from Bangladesh against its will. In his last interview as President with an Indian newsweekly 'Sunday' (July 27, 1987) he lamented saying that the decision of withdrawing Indian troops from Bangladesh was not judicious and it hampered India's interest. India's covert design is amply uncovered if one goes through the 7-piont secret treaty that India before militarily involving in Bangladesh War of Liberation compelled the then revolutionary interim government of Bangladesh exiled in India to sign. The treaty contained the following uneven and unacceptable conditions:
- a.After the establishment of Bangladesh, the administrative officers who actively participated in the war of liberation would remain in their posts. The rest would be terminated and the vacant posts would be filled up by the Indian administrative officials. (To fill the so-called vacancies, many Indian civil servants reached Dhaka soon after the Indian soldiers took its control and an Indian ICS official presided over the first meeting of the Bangladeshi administrative officials held at the DC's office in Dhaka.)
b.After the liberation of Bangladesh the required number of Indian soldiers would remain in Bangladesh. (It was not made clear for how many years or decades they would remain in Bangladesh.)
c.Bangladesh would not form and maintain any formal and regular Army. (Sheikh Mujib raised a small-sized weak Armed Force defying Indian pressure.)
d.To maintain internal security and law and order a militia was formed comprising the freedom fighters. (Accordingly a brutal militia was formed under the name 'Rakkhi Bahini' whose power and facilities superseded that of the Armed Forces. It is strongly believed that the real headquarters of the Rakkhi Bahini was at Delhi and many Indian nationals hailing from West Bengal and the Deccan were recruited in this militia who resembled to the Bangladeshis in appearance and physical height.)
e.The chief of Staff of Indian Armed Forces would lead the probable war with Pakistan. The Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters) would work under the command of Indian Armed Forces.
f.Trade transaction between the two countries would be free and open. The volume of trade would be calculated once in a year and the price would be paid in pound-starlings. (Interview of late Humayun Rashid Chowdhury: see the books 'BAngladesher Sadinata Juddayee RAW O CIA' by Masudul Haq and RAW and Bangladesh' by Mohammad Zainal Abedin.)
g.The foreign ministry of Bangladesh would maintain a close liaison with External Affairs Ministry of India and the latter would assist the former as far as possible. (It means Bangladesh would follow Indian foreign policy what Bhutan or Sikkim (India swallowed Sikkim in 1974).
To keep uniformity with this accord, the provisional Bangladesh government headquartered in India conceded to the following arrangements:
- a.Lt. Gen. Arora was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces instead of Gen, M A G Osmani, the Chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces and Mukti Bahini.
b.Surrender of Pakistani soldiers to Indian solders (Lt. Gen.
Arora) instead of Bangladesh Army. (By doing this India documentarily tried to burry the contribution and sacrifices of the Bangladeshi people in liberating their homeland and prove that our war of liberation was a war between India and Pakistan. It paved the way for India to loot Bangladesh and grab all the weaponries and equipments of Pakistani soldiers that they accumulated in East Pakistan. India also got the chance of arresting 93 thousand Pakistani soldiers as prisoners of war and compelled the Pakistan government to sign a humiliating Simla Treaty.)
c.Allow the Indian civil servants to arrive Dhaka to take over the responsibility of civil administration. (Indian civil servants came to Dhaka accordingly, but failed to stay).
d.Continued presence of Indian soldiers in Bangladesh even after surrender of Pakistan Army on December 16, 1971.
e.Formation of Rakkhi Bahini (virtually under Indian command).
To Be Continued
 On December 16, 2007 Bangladesh entere...){kind=link}
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