We often say that great accomplishment usually comes of great sacrifice; however, the detriments born by the Bihari community of Pakistan haven’t finished yet. Their nationalism for Pakistan was proved before the partition of the British sub-continent. The Bihari community is those migrants from the current Indian province of Bihar who headed for East Pakistan after the partition of the subcontinent after giving a sacrifice of approximately 30,000 Biharis in 1946. Founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam, honored the sacrifices of Biharis in words saying that “I never dreamt that in my lifetime, I should see Pakistan in being, but the tragedy of Bihar has brought it about”.
After the Partition of the subcontinent Biharis moved towards East Pakistan. According to the 1951 census, 671,000 Bihari refugees were residing in East Pakistan. The migrants Biharis were mostly educated and hardworking. So they quickly get jobs in the field of education, medicine, railways, police, and armed forces. The first conflict between two communities, Biharis and Bengalis appeared in early 1948 because of the language.
Moreover, the government of Pakistan declared Urdu as the sole mother tongue of the nation. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political activists led by Sheikh Mujib organized a protest. The mass movement causes the death of some students. The conflict was there until the government granted the official status of the Bengali language in 1956. Since the Bihari community, the mother tongue was Urdu, so they didn’t join the language movement. The cultural rivalry was ignited in the minds of Bengalis. Sheikh Mujib Ur Rehman started to become famous in East Pakistan due to his political activities. In the General Election of 1970, the majority of Biharis believing in Pakistan’s unity, so they cast their vote in favour Muslim league. Sheikh Mujib Ur Rehman won the general election and was in a position to establish the government.
The establishment at that time didn’t want a party from the East wing to rule the government. Military dictator Yahya Khan delayed the proceedings of the assembly. Frustrated by waiting, on March 7, 1971, Sheikh Mujib Ur Rehman called for independence and asked the Bengalis to launch a campaign of civil insubordination and organized an armed resistance force called Mukti Bahini. India trained the Mukti Bahini forces. The Mukti Bahini forces launched attacks on Pakistan army units and the Bihari community in Dhaka Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Jessore, Khulna, and numerous other cities. Biharis were their most natural target because they were unarmed. The magnitude of anti-Bihari attacks by Bengalis was throughout the war. Bengali sources admit the death of 30,000 to 40,000 Biharis. Bengalis sources admit 30,000 to 40,000 killings of Biharis, whereas according to a white paper released by the Government of Pakistan, the Awami League killed 64,000 Biharis. In June 1971 Biharis representatives put a figure of 500,000 Biharis killed by Bengalis.
The first conflict between two communities, Biharis and Bengalis appeared in early 1948 because of the language
In retaliation Pakistan army launched “Operation Searchlight” on March 25, 1971, to restrain the political and civil unrest and to protect the communities that were attacked by the Awami League. On March 26 the Independence of Bangladesh was affirmed. Biharis supported the Pakistan army at that time and joined groups such as Razakars. The war continued till India attacked East Pakistan in November 1971. The Pakistan army surrendered on December 16, 1971. Pakistani armed forces and bureaucrats posted to East Pakistan were taken as prisoners of war. Mukti Bahini forces attacked and killed Biharis at will. Some Biharis managed to escape to West Pakistan via Nepal and Myanmar but most ended up in relief camps. The Bengalis looked up to Biharis as the enemy.
The Biharis who managed to escape to West Pakistan didn’t get recognition. West Pakistan refused to take them as citizens of Pakistan. Due to international pressure and efforts made by human rights activists, Pakistan accepted only 170,000 Bihari refugees. Many international organizations urged the government to grant citizenship to Biharis living in Pakistan. Land allocated to Biharis in Pakistan is in Mian Channu is now a slum. The Bihari community living in Karachi is facing severe troubles regarding citizenship. They even don’t get the necessities of life. During his 2002 trip to Bangladesh, Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf said he sympathized with the dilemma of the Biharis but could not allow them to immigrate to Pakistan. Today more than 270,000 Biharis remain stranded in Bangladesh camps. Neither Pakistan is accepting them and not Bangladesh wants them. Biharis is the one community that sacrificed their lives twice for this motherland. And now the situation depicts a horrible picture for them. I leave a question for all of us that, “Was it their crime to believe in Pakistan.”
The writer is a freelance journalist based in Islamabad