A lot of people may not remember that India at the time of Independence faced three fronts. Post partition of Bharat, India and Pakistan became independent nations in August 1947. Pakistan as a nation was in two parts, West Pakistan as we know Pakistan today and East Pakistan, what is Bangladesh today. Of course, we had China as our northern neighbour, which has been our military adversary post 1962 war. So, in essence, India faced adversarial military situation on three fronts, west, north and to the east, even in that era.
There is no another example in contemporary history where a nation disposed as West Pakistan and East Pakistan was separated in two parts, that too more than 2200 km apart and India sandwiched between two Muslim majority territories. East Pakistan was ruled ruthlessly by the West Pakistan dominated Army and overall security was the responsibility of Pakistan Eastern Command with its headquarters at Dacca. The representation of Bengali officers in East Pakistan was less than 5% and that too they were mostly in technical and administrative positions. Therefore, the complete command & control structure lay in the hands of officer cadre drawn from West Pakistan. I am sure that there are enough Muslims in Bangladesh who have witnessed tyranny of the Pakistan Army prior to 1971 and understand the meaning of religious persecution.
The freedom struggle to liberate Bangladesh was led by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, also called Bangabandhu was founding leader of Bangladesh. The Bengalis of East Pakistan faced oppression of humungous magnitude and it is believed that the genocide prior to liberation of Bangladesh resulted in 3 million casualties. In 1971, when the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wanted the then Army Chief to intervene in East Pakistan in May 1971, Sam Manekshaw firmly advised her against the timing and suggested military intervention in December 1971. Indian Armed Forces, particularly the Indian Army fought against Pakistan on two fronts, against West Pakistan and East Pakistan from 3 December to 16 December 1971. The liberation of Bangladesh led to surrender of 91,000 Pakistani soldiers in East Pakistan including officers led by Pak Lt General AAK Niazi. The outstanding victory of Indian Armed Forces which led to the birth of an independent nation called Bangladesh remains unparalleled in the annals of military history.
Post the forced ouster of Sheikh Hasina regime on 5 August in Bangladesh, the neighbouring country has only witnessed unrest and violence against the Hindu minority. Hindus number more than 13 million and constitute approximately 8% of the population in Bangladesh. After Nepal, this is the highest Hindu population in any country other than India. The interim government of Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus has adopted anti- India stance from the beginning, possibly miffed at India having given shelter to the deposed Prime Minister Hasina. There was planned violence against the Hindus in Bangladesh and the last one month has witnessed an oppression of Hindus, similar to the scale of persecution of Bengali Muslims prior to its independence. Besides arresting Hindu religious leaders, even the journalists considered close to Sheikh Hasina have been arrested. The interim government is being dictated by the radical elements and is under the influence of fundamental organisations like Jamaat-e- Islami. The anti- India stance is similar to what was the case under BNP government in Bangladesh under Begum Khaleda Zia as the Prime Minister. Under the BNP regime, Bangladesh obliterated all reference to India’s contribution in its liberation war. Therefore, the desecration of the statue of Sheikh Mujibur on 5 August should have shaken the collective conscience of Bangladesh and it was possibly harbinger of worse things to happen in Bangladesh.
I was fortunate to visit Bangladesh as part of National Defence College delegation in the later part of 2015. Since I was tasked to prepare the tour report, I went into great details during our visit and had multiple interactions with the military and government officials. Awami League was back in power then and PM Sheikh Hasina had restored the contribution of India in its freedom struggle in the text books and public discourse. A delegation of Indian Armed Forces veterans, who had participated in 1971 Indo-Pak War used to visit Bangladesh in December each year to commemorate the victory celebrations. The current interim government has once again obliterated all reference to India in the freedom struggle of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Army has become too powerful in the power structure and in fact has participated in anti-Hindu violence. So possibly, the situation is back to square one to pre-1971 era, where Bangladesh Army, as was the case with West Pakistan Army then, wields considerable power in the decision-making matrix.
As a friendly neighbour with a big heart, India has reacted to situation in Bangladesh in very dignified diplomatic manner so far. India has appealed to the interim government to protect the minority Hindus and Hindu temples from being vandalised. The arrest of Bangladesh ISCON chief Chinmay Das and others is indeed alarming. This sort of organised violence against the Hindus is aimed at provoking reaction from India. Now the reaction from India has to be much more than diplomatic displeasure to Bangladesh. I recommend that India should protest atrocities against Hindus of Bangladesh from 3 December to 16 December, to coincide with India’s Liberation War in East Pakistan. India celebrates 16 December as ‘Vijay Diwas’ every year. This year, it should also be called ‘Solidarity with Hindus Diwas’. In addition, all possible media campaign including social media should be launched to tell the world about India’s contribution in liberating Bangladesh. All Indian embassies should play a proactive role in shaping the world opinion against the unjust and oppressive Bangladesh government.
Time has come for another liberation campaign in Bangladesh. If the situation demands, then India has the might to take recourse to military option as the last resort. Once again, the timing and nature of the military/liberation campaign should be left to the wisdom of India’s military leadership. India may once again have to be prepared for a three-front war. I sincerely hope and pray that Indian Armed Forces do not fight the country which was liberated with its military effort and sacrifice. A peaceful coexistence of Bangladesh with a friendly neighbour like India is in the mutual interest of both the nations and the region at large.
