No truth in Bengali myth of 3m killings

Octogenarians remember how Pakistan came into being, how the father of the nation battled with death until 11 September 1948, and how and why one of his close lieutenants was shot dead at Company Bagh in Rawalpindi on 16 October 1951. They also remember the conspiracy behind the fall of Dacca on 16 December 1971.

They say India had not accepted the existence of a sovereign independent state: more so because the unity between its armed forces and people guaranteed its stability, integrity and defence.

Undeniably, India has been defeated on many fronts in the past, including September 1965. The enemy, therefore, has been trying to weaken Pakistan and tarnish the image of its army by any means.

Spreading the false belief in a massacre of three million Bengalis at the hands of the Pak armed forces in 1971 was a well-calculated game against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. One can recall the secret visit of the then Indian Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi to Washington, London, Paris and Moscow, seeking their so-called 'neutrality' as regards the East Wing crisis.

By the way, what about Agartala conspiracy? Who organized the 'Mukti Bahini'? Current Indian Prime Minister Modi has divulged many secrets in that regard and disclosed what role he played then. One is reminded of notorious Dr. Joseph Goebbles who said: "If you tell the same lie enough times, people will believe it; and the bigger the lie, the better."

This quote truly encapsulates the designs of the Bangladesh establishment in their effort to control 1971 narrative at the expense of Pakistan and its armed forces. Prime Minister Hasina Wajed plans to declare March 25 'Genocide Day' to remind her voters "a wrong" was done to the Bangladesh people by the Pak armed forces on that fateful day in 1971.

"A golden piece of falsehood," Bengali colleague commented on the figure. Many Bangladeshis said the figure was incorrect but in a way it got legitimacy after it was endorsed by Mujibur Rahman in his interview with BBC's David Frost on 18 January 1972. Eye-witnesses reported he was intoxicated.

A commission set up by Mujib despite hard work failed to locate any mass graves or any evidence of any kind. It conjured up a maximum figure of 56,743. Even the then Indian army chief, General Manek Shaw, was quoted as saying "the figure of three million seems fictitious, baseless and far removed from the truth." 

Some analysts had opined Mujib was mentally ill, he had delusion of grandeur. The claims were stopped after a tripartite agreement between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh in 1974.

By the way, the governments of Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Gen. Hosain, Mohammad Irshad and Khaleda Zia were more pragmatic, making friendly overtures to Pakistan. But the current administration continues to use the wrong figure to muster sentimental support of electorate, and to court favours of India.

zasarwar@hotmail.com