Even as the
nation mourned Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar’s death, and the Indian army
observed ‘Vijay Divas’ on December 16 – the
day of victory in Bangladesh, many may not be aware of the maestro’s contribution
the cause of Bangladesh freedom struggle in 1971.
Although the
Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won 167-seat majority in the
313-member house in 1970 Pakistan elections, President General Yahya Khan was
reluctant to allow him to become the Prime Minister for his views on autonomy
for the eastern wing. When the political deadlock continued, Mujib decided to
take the issue to the people.
On March 7,
1971 Mujib at a public meeting in Dacca called for an independence struggle.
His memorable words "The struggle now is the struggle for our
emancipation; the struggle now is the struggle for our independence. Joy
Bangla!..” triggered a massive disobedience movement in the East.
Yahya Khan declared
Martial Law, banned the Awami League and arrested hundreds of protest. On the
night of March 25, 1971 Mujib was arrested and air lifted to West Pakistan.
Awami League’s key leaders fled to exile in India. The army started disarming
Bengali troops and paramilitary forces stationed. However, Major Ziaur Rahman belonging
to East Bengal Regiment in Chittagong took over the battalion and declared
independence of Bangladesh on behalf of Mujib. Other East Bengal regiments and
paramilitary forces also rebelled and the troops fled to India to swell the
ranks of the Mukti Bahini (Liberation Force) being formed by the Awami League
leaders in exile.
I remember,
on a pleasant March morning debriefing Zia’s Punjabi commanding officer who had
crossed the border at Agartala to seek our protection! Even under such adverse
circumstances, he had only contempt for ‘low grade’ Bengali troops. This
reflected the superior attitude of the Punjabi-dominated army elite generally
had towards Bengali which failed to gauge the real power of Bengali nationalism
that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
It was the
darkest chapter in Pakistan army’s history when under General Tikka Khan’s
leadership army committed terrible atrocities. Hussain Haqqani in his book ‘Pakistan
between the mosque and the army’ has described the scene in the words of General
Niazi (who succeeded Tikka Khan): “On
the night between 25/26 March 1971 General Tikka struck. Peaceful night was
turned into a time of wailing, crying and burning. General Tikka let loose
everything at his disposal as if raiding an enemy, not dealing with his own
misguided and misled people. The military action was a display of stark cruelty
more merciless than the massacres at Bukhara and Baghdad by Chengiz Khan and
Halaku Khan... His orders to his troops were: ‘I want the land and not the
people…”
The army was assisted by Razakars, a right wing Islamist militia formed targeting Bengali
professionals and Hindus in particular. Millions of people mostly Hindus and the
Awami League followers fled the country to seek refuge in Indian border states.
When their number swelled to ten million it became a huge burden on India. However, the U.S. conditioned by Cold
War perceptions supported the Pak military crackdown. Western powers and media also
took little notice of refugees’ plight. Indian Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi’s
plea for help was in vain.
Pandit Ravi Shankar, a friend of George Harrison of Beatles
fame since 1966, was moved by the suffering of millions of refugees. At his
request George Harrison organised a charity Concert for Bangladesh in August
1971 in which Ravi Shankar also participated. The concert album became one of
the best sellers, and figured in the top-10 in the U.K and three other European
countries. And it won Ravi Shankar his
second Grammy Award.
George Harrison’s lyric opens with a reference to Ravi
Shankar’s request to him for support:
My friend came to
me with sadness in his eyes
Told me that he wanted help before his country dies
Although I couldn't feel the pain, I knew I had to try
Now I'm asking all of you to help us save some lives.
Told me that he wanted help before his country dies
Although I couldn't feel the pain, I knew I had to try
Now I'm asking all of you to help us save some lives.
The lyrics further made ‘Bangla Desh’ a household one in the
West. It went like this:
Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh
Where so many people are dying fast
And it sure looks like a mess
I've never seen such distress
Now won't you lend your had, try to understand
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh
Where so many people are dying fast
And it sure looks like a mess
I've never seen such distress
Now won't you lend your had, try to understand
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh
Its closing part brought the humanitarian plight nearer home
to the Western audience:
Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh
Now, it may seem so far from where we all are
It's something we can't reject
That suffering, I can't neglect
Now won't you give some bread to get the starving fed
We've got to relieve Bangla Desh
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh.
Now, it may seem so far from where we all are
It's something we can't reject
That suffering, I can't neglect
Now won't you give some bread to get the starving fed
We've got to relieve Bangla Desh
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh.
To many of us who fought in Bangladesh appalled by the Western
indifference, George Harrison’s Bangladesh was refreshing. Did the song have any political impact? I got my
answer on the Christmas night in 1971 when I shared eggnog with the U.S. consul
who lived next door in Dhanmondi in Dacca. He spoke how he was personally moved
by George Harrison’s lyrics. He also added the U.S embassy in Dacca had repeatedly
requested for U.S. action against the genocide.
Courtesy: Asian Age, December 26, 2012
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