The East Pakistan debacle

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Memoirs of a former medical student

 

 

On a foggy rainy day on 28th September 1966 I landed at ‘Salitillor’ airport Sylhet East Pakistan. I had been selected for Sylhet Medical College, Sylhet, for a medical seat reserved for students of northern areas of Pakistan by Ministry of Kashmir affairs Islamabad.

A dazzling scenic beauty of tea gardens in the vicinity of airport was first thing to be noticed. I expected somebody to welcome and help lead me to college but there were none.

It was just the beginning of an ensuing ordeal which awaited me and was likely to be confronted in the days ahead. I picked up my luggage walked to nearby cycle rickshaw stand, language became a barrier to communicate with the rickshaw drivers, I wondered whether I was an alien in my own country. With great difficulty I impressed upon the rickshaw driver that I am a student and intend to go to the medical college hostel.

At the gate of hostel I met a group of students mainly from West Pakistan who first mocked me and later blithely accommodated me in the hostel. Next day I got admission in the college after producing my nomination papers. This was a lusterless beginning of my medical career stretching over a period of five years in that turbulent region laden with political, linguistic and ethnic vicissitudes.

An atmosphere lacking warmth was quite noticeable. Later it dawned upon me that students from West Pakistan were also deemed as collaborators of usurpers from the west wing of country.

Before the advent of year 1971, the name East Pakistan fascinated hearts and minds of many living in West Pakistan.  Its exhilarating scenic beauty, lush green landscape, zigzagging rivers, boat men netting fish in the rivers and heavy rainfall were  attractions for the distant living West Pakistanis.

It was a strange occurrence that two parts of a country lying 1200 miles apart remained under a single constitution and currency but not a common language. Due to stiff resistance of Bengalis Urdu language could not be accommodated in the educational institutions of East Pakistan as such English remained the only common language between two parts of the country.  An unprecedented propaganda storm against West Pakistan was being unleashed in the media by adversaries of Pakistan and native vested interests depicting West Pakistan life style comparable to western countries. Bengalis attributed all their economic woes and hard ships to usurpation of foreign exchange earned by them and mismanagement of foreign loans depriving them of their share by West Pakistan.

It was fairly common to hear from ordinary people in the streets that Islamabad is blooming at the expense of their blood. Nobody in the ruling clique ever bothered to counter this venomous propaganda campaign.

The simmering ethnic and linguistic hatred suddenly flared up by fiery rhetoric of Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman, a demagogue venerated by Bengali masses.

The environment became filled up with mounting hatred, prejudice and distrust. Bengali students trained in guerilla warfare across the border in India ransacked houses of non Bengalis, looted their property and in many instances molested their women.

Police and other law enforcing agencies were either accomplices of rioting mobs or silent spectators. Ear deafening slogans of Pakistan Murdabad were being chanted as hopes of reversal of situation to previous order faded.

In this tumult general elections of 1970 were held. Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman swept the polls by absolute majority. Keeping in view the election results, General Yahya Khan – then President of Pakistan – made a premature announcement by declaring Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman as next premier of Pakistan.

This announcement apparently appeased the rebellious masses, lessened the mounting ethnic tension. Self deluded, our hopes soon shattered as Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman was denied the premier slot. As a result of this denial violence broke out in Dacca, Chittagong, Mymen Singh, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet. A great massacre of non Bengalis was carried out, they ran helter-skelter for refuge, and thousands were killed mercilessly. Bengali Mobs, however, could not penetrate in to thickly populated Bihari enclaves of Muhammad Pur and Mirpur due to their stiff resistance to the Bengali rioting mobs and Indian forces. Biharis, who are diehard Pakistanis offered their valiant services and sacrifices for the cause of Pakistan, their services need to be remembered, eulogised and monetarily compensated by the incumbent government,. Today we are enjoying the boons of liberty consequent upon the sacrifices rendered by these un-sung heroes.

Mukhti Bhani (Liberation force) accompanied with Indian army attacked Pakistan Army posts along the whole stretch of East Pakistan border. This undeclared and intense fighting between Pakistani and Indian forces lasted for no less than six months contrary to the declaration of open war which lasted only seventeen days.

During the monsoon season beginning from April to September seventy percent of East Pakistan becomes inundated with flood waters, thousands of people are marooned, rescued by boats only.

Pakistan Army had to stay in trenches which were often full to the brink by flood waters. Teething troubles such as prolonged exposure to muddy water, never faced by Pak Army, had caused swelling of soldier’s feet and in a significant number of cases had sloughed out skin from heels and legs rendering them incapacitated.

Despite climatic hardships and fighting among estranged people and terrain, morale of soldiers was high and they were not scared of enemy might. Not even a single Pak Army post and trench was overrun by the Indian army. They only by passed Pak Army posts and by doing so they gradually reached the cities as the local Bengalis guided them.

We medical students, witnessed dog fight between ‘Sabre-Jets’ of Pakistan Air Force and Mig-21’s of Indian Air force. Those dauntless pilots of Pak Air Force fought the enemy in close combat so valiantly that even the estranged Bengalis and other adversaries remained spell bound. They guarded East Pakistan air space with enormous valour. Being disproportionately less in number, probably six to eight air worthy jets flying from Dacca Air base kept a constant vigil on entire frontiers of East Pakistan never succumbed to Indian air force’s might, a fact well known to all those who happened to be in East Pakistan during the war.

Finding no way to humble the Pak air force, Indians heavily bombed Dacca air base, the only base in East Pakistan. Damage to the runway rendered it inoperable for flights and Jet fighters remained stranded at the airport bringing the air war to grinding halt.

December 16, 1971 was the most tragic day in the history of the Ummah. Indian forces triumphantly entered the city. Dacca had fallen. Millions sobbed and millions were robbed.

On 17th December 1971, Sylhet also fell. We were taken to India as captives and later declared as Prisoners of war, repatriated to Pakistan on 28th September, 1973.

Forty five years after the war though, I am still perpetually obsessed with the idea that the fall of Decca was more a political than a military debacle.

6 COMMENTS

  1. It is so unfortunate that Pakistan leaders miscalculated /misread the situation.The leaders needs to
    Very objective in assessing the situation.

  2. I am really confused by this article. East Pakistan was under martial law. administered by Lt. Gen. Tiger Niazi, a valiant and brave soldier, and previously Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan, another hero and valiant soldier of Pakistan. Why is the author not mentioning the brilliant action by the Pakistan army that was ultimately undone by the treachery of the Bengalis and the Indians? The Pakistan army was the true winner of the 1971 war, and to this day the Bengalis regret breaking away. They were under the toxic narcotic influence of the Indians. Treachery at every step since independence by our evil neighbor has undermined our great nation. Bengalis, influenced and paid by Indians, committed unspeakable atrocities against West Pakistani forces despite our great acts of kindness and benevolence and charity to them. They butchered Pakistani soldiers and brutalized our women. They have not answered or paid for their deeds till today. It is due to our generosity that they survive and prosper. Let them remember it.

    • Your troops and their associates are responsible for 3 million deaths and rape of 300,000 to 400,000 women and girls in then east Pakistan. Bangladeshi people are happy that they kicked you out from the country. Try to learn the real history, not the one inserted in your brain by your loser army and their masters.

      • I wonder if this writer has read the book by Sharmila Bose. "Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War". She has very critically busted the myth of 3 million killed and also the rape of 400,000 women. Please read that book and then we can discuss the numbers killed. What about the Mukti Biahni's they were no Saiints.

  3. The writer did not mention anything about operation searchlight, The response on the Bhola Cyclone where the relief materials were taken to Karachi instead of Cyclone affected area and mass killing of Bangladeshi People by Pak Army. Grow up man, try to teach your country people the facts, not your imaginary story .

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