December 16, 1971 is marked as the day of the Fall of Dhaka. It is the day when East Pakistan became Bangladesh. It is quite unfortunate that the event left many unanswered questions that still need to be answered. There are also many false perspectives and perceptions that must be presented to the new generation that is not clear about the tragic event that happened 48 years ago.
Before further arguments, it is important to highlight the typical narrative that we find almost everywhere about the Fall of Dhaka. It was propagated by sponsored elements in academia. Because of that one-sided picture, fabricated figures about millions of people dying in genocide and rapeof countless women remain unproved to date.
Every year on December 16, India presents it as the day when the long subjugation and atrocities of the Pakistan army ended. But here is the other side of the picture. Looking at the political turmoil in East Pakistan, India availed the opportunity to dismember its rival into two by igniting ethno-linguistic sentiments and training local militants. India pretends that it is a well-wisher of Bangladesh, showing altruism for Bengalis, but the reality is something else. If we critically review the series of events that happened before the 1971 war, we can find that the whole battle was staged in the way that served India’s nefarious designs. So one should not be reluctant to say that India acted mainly in its national interest, and it was not for the welfare of Bengalis.
It is crystal clear that India never supported Bangladesh to become strong and independent and created problems from the beginning. India kept its relations hostile with Bangladesh due to a dispute over the River Ganges and the construction of the Faraka Barrage near the Bangladesh border. The maritime belt conflict and border killings of Bangladesh nationals are yet to be resolved.
Pakistan and India have many things in common. Both are founding members of SAARC and are part of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, the OIC and the Commonwealth of Nations
It is on record that India utilised Major Sharif-ul-Haq Dalim, the liberation war veteran, for its own interests. At one time, he was regarded as one of the favourite people of Indira Gandhi and General Jagjit Singh Arora. He was awarded the highest Bangladeshi awards for his services, but when India could not get any further benefit from him, he became the most wanted person.
Major Dalim admitted in his book Bangladesh, Untold Facts that India used him against his own country. He wrote that India does not want Bangladesh to be strong and has malicious designsfor it to be dependent on India.An independent Bangladesh is not favourable for India as it would perceive a strong and stable Bangladesh as a threat for its national security. He further added that if Bangladesh and Pakistan joined hands, they couldeasily sandwich India. He categorically wrote in his book that India is a mastermind of creating a continuous rift between Pakistan and Bangladesh. A sound and stable, mutual relationship between Pakistan and Bangladesh is not in favour of India,and that is why Indiapropagates conflicting themes for deepening rifts and misunderstandings.
But there is a difference between propagandas and facts. No doubt, the political and military leadership of Pakistan misunderstood what was happening in East Pakistan over aperiod of time and committedmany mistakes. But inaddition to that, an international conspiracy was made against Pakistan. It is on record that India opened its borders with EastPakistan, welcomedthe members of MuktiBahni in the cover of migrants, and trained and equipped them with weapons andtactics of guerilla warfare. It is a part of historical record that there were 18 camps for Bengali migrants in the bordering districts of India. Indian army’s major general and three brigadiers were appointed in those camps to train theMuktiBahni. Here it is important to mention that the same tactic was applied by India against Sri Lanka in 1983-86 with India’s training of Tamil Tigers. With effective intelligence sharing between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Sri Lanka succeeded to overcome the issue.
Now India claims to be an ally and major trade partner of Bangladesh,but if we study the facts we can see that there is a visible trade deficit between India and Bangladesh. India is exporting more than $6.8 billion goods to Bangladesh, but there are many barriers/taxes on imports from Bangladesh. According to reports, India presents itself as a big brother of Bangladesh, but its overwhelming presence in the region and aggressive policies in the service of its national interestsare being perceived as threats by Bangladesh.
On the other hand, Pakistan recognised Bangladesh in 1974, and since then Pakistan has always been ready for cooperation in various sectors. Pakistan and India have many things in common. Both are founding members of SAARC and arepart of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, the OIC and the Commonwealth of Nations. There are many platforms where the two states can cooperate and benefit from each other.
Along with all these things, it is important to expose the reality of India that has hegemonic designs in South Asia. Currently,Indiais threatening its minorities, and there is a situation of chaos after the passing of the controversial citizenship. Various freedom movements are at their peak in India. In today’s India,the statement of the former primeminister of India, Indira Gandhi,on the fall of Dhaka has provedto be wrong. She said, “We have taken the revenge of a thousand years… And we have drowned the two-nation theory in the Bay of Bengal.” The current actions of the BJP government against Muslims and other minorities have confirmed that thetwo-nation theory is still alive.
The writer Islamabad-based IR analyst