The 1971 Tragedy of Dhaka – Myth and Reality
NaeemAhad
The author of ‘Behind the myth of 3 million’,Dr M Abdul Mu’min Chowdhury, is a
native of Sylhet and now lives in England.He is one of the writers who has done
nothing less than tear through the fabric of fables to solve some mysterious
myths that have been formed around the creation of Bangladesh. Among them is the
fiction that the Pakistan Army savagely killed 3 million people and raped 300
thousand women during the 9 months’ unsuccessful fight to preserve the integrity
of a united Pakistan.
Dr Chowdhury inscribes in this book “I am one of those whose family were
reported among the casualties of Pakistan Army’s action in Dhaka on the night of
26 March 1971. Some of my personal friends within the ‘liberationist’ camp even
had a condolence meeting for me in their Indian safe heaven! I am not alone in
having been counted as dead. Countless other people could tell a similar story
of their own.” Some have even found their names engraved in the commemorative
plaques solemnly dedicated in memory of the fallen heroes of the Bangladesh
war.Being one of many such ‘reincarnated’ beings, Dr Chowdhury felt duty bound
to help remove the myth which is of no service either to his fellow countrymen
or to history.
This must-read‘Behind the Myth of 3 million’ is a short bookas it has only 75
pages. There are just 8 chaptersbut each chapter is to the point with many
references. He articulates the charges and allegations against Pakistan were
entirely fictitious, untrue and cooked up. Here are some salient points, chapter
to chapter:
In chapter one he describes how in May 1973, Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, a newspaper
columnist and close companion of Mujib, challenged the figure of 3 million; and
after raising doubts he left Bangladesh. He explains how Mujib became part of
myth making when he repeated the same charge before the world in interviewgiven
to David Frost. Then he gave account of Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci’s
interview with Mujiband how he was very rude and shouting at her. He then gave
example of Indian generals. Manekshawexpressed incredulity at thefigure of 3
million. In an interview Lt Gen Aurora pointed out that Mujib’s figure was ‘absolutelyimpossible’,
because Pakistan Army had “simultaneously foughtwithin the country and at the
borders”.
Dr Chowdury writes, “One may ask, if the figureof 3m was ‘absolutely
impossible’, could the figure of one million be deemed within the realm of
probability?”He writes in his conclusion about Purbadesh, Pravda, ENA fabricated
figure or Indian figure “Both are inflated out of proportion to suit their much
loved propaganda.”He mentions that much of the publicized encounters between
Pakistan Army and the MuktiBahini were in fact clashes between Pakistan Army and
Indian forces. He says Indian PMDesai disclosed that about 5,000 regular Indian
soldiers were killed while fighting in the disguise of MuktiBahini.He writes “In
order to kill 3 million, the Pakistan Army would have had to kill 11,494 persons
a day non-stop from 26 March onwards. If on the other hand, they were to kill
one million people, their daily killing would come to 3,831. Seen in another
way, for the 60,000 Pakistan Army to kill three million and rape 3 hundred
thousand women, each and every one of them had to kill 50 persons and rape 5
women.” Writing this article, I wish we had 60,000 troops if not 93,000.
In early June 1972, a western journalist reported in a newspaper that since the
third week of March, when IG's office in Home Ministry began its field
investigations, there have been about 2,000 complaints from citizens about
deaths at the hands of Pakistan Army have been received. According to Dr
Chowdhury, other sources reported that the draft report showed an overall
casualty figure of 56,743. He writes when a copy of this draft report was shown
to the PM, “he lost his temper and threw it on the floor, saying in angry voice
'I have declared three million dead, and your report could not come up with
three score thousand! What report you have prepared? Keep your report to
yourself. What I have said once, shall prevail."
The time and situation then was right and suited them. While Indians
acknowledged to having trained 130,000 'freedom fighters', 3,300,000 actually
claimed that distinction and obtained certificates by all manner of means to
prove that they were genuine fighters. Those people who could not make such a
claim because of their age, domicile, or any other reasons, became soothsayers,
or, if nothing, sufferers for the liberation of Bangladesh. Dr Chowdhury writes
“All of them sang and swore. Indeed, what better target for swearing could there
be, other than the ‘abnormal Pakistan’ and the ‘abominable Pakistan Army’?”
Dr Chowdhury was himself supervisor of Iqbal Hall. In this chapter he then
listed the false claims by different myth makers such as Jyoti Sen Gupta.He
explains in detail how the killing at Jagannath Hall was deliberately
exaggerated. He writes how a poorly recorded video film of the Pakistan army
movement within the hall premises was later produced. He explains how it was
falsely claimed with the help in the video that Army was using bull-dozers for
digging a mass grave. While special viewing had been arranged to show the video
film in and outside Bangladesh. To his surprise up until now no one has bothered
to look for the alleged mass grave. He suggests that this person called Gupta,
who had shown a special interest in Jagannath Hall, would have been more
believable if he had enquired about the mass grave and had ascertained from the
hall authorities the total number of casualties, not only on that night but
throughout the whole war. Doctor Chowdhurywho was himself present at the
University on that night articulates that the plain and simple truth is that no
such grave existed and that was the reason why Mr Gupta stayed away from the
supposed Pakistan Army 'killing field'.
Sifting facts from fictions Doctor Chowdury then refutes the claims of alleged
killing at the Dhaka University and other parts of Dacca.Rebutting the claims of
50,000 buddhist killing by Pakistan he explains that Chakma Chief, Raja Tridiv
Roy, stood against the disintegration. It was not Raja alone, other tribal
chiefs and dignitaries of Buddhist faith, also stood up.Because of their
unflinching faith some chiefs were put behind the bars. He then refutes the
alleged destruction and killing in Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna and Chittagong. He
also debunks the myth of four hundred thousand women raped as manufactured.
He explicates how the history bears testimony that Mujib and AL had always
indulged in the cheap politics of blaming their opponents - right or wrong. It
is equally true that they have never shown any moral qualm when it came to
blaming Pakistan. Before 1971 they blamed West Pakistan for every conceivable
ills taking place in East Pakistan and, to a large extent, they succeeded in
making a section of East Pakistanis believe in their lies. After the creation of
Bangladesh, they tried the same tactic. In an effort to explain away the piteous
state they themselves have brought their countrymen into, Mujib and his cronies
resorted to all kinds of spacious arguments for making Pakistan their scapegoat.
But this became worn out in no time. Faced with damning criticism and open
ridicule, they soon gave it up. He then talks about the stalking hands of India
in Six-Points to secession.At the end he explains how India wanted bloodshed
from behind the scene and instigated Mujib who had been in receipt of Indian
patronage since mid-50s to create the political disagreement and then pushed him
to transform it into a bloody armed conflict.
(The writer is freelance columnist)