The man who had led his party, Awami League, to victory in the first largely free and fair election in Pakistan’s history held on December 7, 1970 could never become Prime Minister of that country. Instead, exactly a year later the person in question, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, then 50, became the Father of the Nation of an independent country, Bangladesh, which came into existence on December 16, 1971. Later he took oath as Prime Minister of this newly-born nation.
History can either be honestly viewed, distorted, or manipulated in accordance with the demand of the situation or the way one wants to interpret it.
Though it is not very easy to objectively rummage through the developments of those eventful months – as too much has been written from different angles – yet if one man who can be blamed for not letting Mujib-ur-Rahman become Prime Minister is none other than Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whose People’s Party of Pakistan could not win the election.
Out of total 300 seats in the then proposed Pakistan National Assembly 162 was in the East and 138 in the West. Though West Pakistan was larger in size, the population of East was higher, therefore, the number of seats was more.
Ironically, both the main parties of Pakistan – the PPP and Awami League – used to claim that they are Left-to-Centre outfits like various Socialists parties elsewhere in the world. This was so notwithstanding the fact that unlike Mujib-ur-Rahman, the leader of PPP, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came from a big landlord family who got educated in elite institutions in the then undivided India and England.
While Awami League virtually swept the election, winning 160 out of 162 seats in the then East Pakistan, the PPP got only 81 out of 138 in West Pakistan. So, the PPP could win just half the number of seats than Awami League.
What is more interesting is that PPP could not win a single seat in East Pakistan and Awami League too failed to open its account in the West. This is largely attributed to a unique structure of a country divided by a distance of thousands of kilometres.
As the power centre used to lie in West Pakistan, which had enough influence over the establishment – army and bureaucracy – Bhutto fully exploited this situation. He exerted pressure on the then dictator of Pakistan, General Yahya Khan, not to let Mujib-ur-Rahman become Prime Minister. Yahya was considered a stupid ruler known more for his drinking habits and woman friends.
Surprisingly, the Urdu-speaking migrants from Bihar and East Uttar Pradesh – addressed as Biharis – living in East Pakistan associated themselves with the ruling elite of the West though their number was much smaller than the Bengali Muslims.
The Awami League under Mujib had always been demanding more autonomy for East Pakistan and even proposed a six-point demand in this regard.
However, restlessness grew in East Pakistan after Mujib was arrested and denied the opportunity to become Prime Minister. It was on the night of March 25-26, that is exactly 50 years ago, that the Pakistani army launched its crackdown on the supporters of Awami League, across the country. Bengalis suspected to be supporting Awami League, even if they were in army, police, government jobs and academics were targeted. Nine months later, Bangladesh came into being with India fully backing the Liberation War.
As “Revolution devours its own children”, Mujib and several of his family members, except two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, were killed in a coup led by the Bangladesh army on August 15, 1975. The two sisters survived because they were abroad.
Three months later in November another coup took place and it was soon followed by the counter-coup and more killings. Many of the leading lights of the independence movement, including chief of army staff, Khalid Musharraf lost their lives. The country then came under the rule of General Zia-ur-Rahman, who was a Major of Pakistan Army during the Liberation war and played a crucial role in the creation of the new country. It was Zia-ur-Rahman who made a broadcast from Chittagong radio station on March 27, 1971 declaring, on behalf of Sheikh Mujib, Bangladesh as an independent country.
Zia, who later formed Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and won election in 1977, was killed in Chittagong in a military coup on May 30, 1981. After a brief period, another military coup took place and Chief of Army Staff General Husain Mohammad Ershad seized power. He formed Jatiya Party and won the election in 1986 and became President of the country.
Ershad had to bow out of power in 1990 after the united struggle for democracy carried by Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia, widow of Gen Zia-ur-Rahman.
Though democracy was finally restored in the country after years of military rule, Bangladesh could emerge out of the basket case on the turn of century. Since the early part of the 21st century the country’s economy started looking up. Though once known for devastating floods, cyclone, poverty and political violence, Bangladesh today is a source of inspiration for several countries of the region. Even in the post-corona year, the country registered 3.6 per cent growth when India’s figure is in negative in the financial year 2020-21. In the next fiscal Bangladesh is likely to achieve the growth rate of 5.1 per cent. This is among the highest in Asia.
Though a country with limited natural resources in comparison to others in the region, Bangladesh has solved much of its unemployment problem. The garment industries and the Grameen Bank have achieved international recognition.
Though Bangladesh and West Bengal resemble each other when it comes to political violence, one thing is different in the case of the former. Unlike in Pakistan, there is little scope for social strife and sectarian violence in Bangladesh. In the last 50 years of its existence, it did not face any threat from its neighbours though refugee crisis from Myanmar has been a challenge for it.