Recognizing the Bangladesh Genocide and the significance of Muktijuddha
The emergence of the independent state of Bangladesh is a story of pain and glory, a great victory achieved through great sacrifices. While depicting the brutal birth of Bangladesh, historians sometime refer to the famous lines of Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.” Such is the fate of the nation that its day of celebration is always preceded by the day of sorrow. The Victory Day of December 16 is preceded by the day of brutal killing of the intellectuals. The bright day of independence arrives after the dark night of March 25, when amid the killing, burning and shooting all around the call of independence by Bangabandhu reverberated in the air.
The nation crossed a sea of blood to arrive at the shore of the independent state of the Bangali people, under the unique leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The emergence of an independent Bangladesh had great national, regional and global significance which has not yet been properly understood or recognized.
It cannot be said that such reality of Bangladesh struggle was well understood by the international community.
The media has its own limitation and is very much tied to the event as it unfolds. They rarely focus beyond contemporary settings. Postindependent Bangladesh went out of focus of the global media. The efforts of the war-devastated country to rebuild itself or the right of the victims of genocide for justice found little mention in the media. No international initiative was taken to try the Pakistani war criminals or their local collaborators. On the other hand, Bangladesh was pressured to send back home the 195 Pakistani POWs accused of international crimes. Many countries and international organizations were vocal about the release of prisoners after cessation of hostility as per Geneva Convention, but no one raised voice for justice for the victims of genocide as per Genocide Convention. In the backdrop of failure of the international community, Bangladesh moved forward all alone and in July 1973 adopted in its Parliament the seminal law entitled International Crimes (Tribunal) Act. But due to international pressure to release the Pakistani war criminals, Bangladesh could not make much progress in their trial. The scenario changed drastically with the tragic killing of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu and a reversal of policy began. There followed a long period of denial of justice as well as distortion of history.
In spite of this great reversal, the people, specially the near and dear ones of the victims of genocide, the freedom fighters and adherents of the core values of Muktijuddha, never allowed their right to justice to be forfeited. They tried to keep the flame of memory alive. One glaring example of memorialization was Jahanara Imam and her book of memoirs Ekattorer Dinguli (Days of ’71), which inspired the youth as well as larger population. It was under her leadership that the People’s Tribunal was formed to try the leading local collaborators. The long endeavor to end impunity for the perpetrators of genocide achieved success in the 2008 national election when the coalition led by Sheikh Hasina was overwhelmingly voted into power with mandate to try the war criminals. Accordingly, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took initiative to establish the Tribunal, and in 2010, almost 40 years after the genocide, the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh was established. This landmark event in the history of justice for genocide had great national and international significance. The Tribunal was set up on the basis of the 1973 Act and following due process of law, verdicts are now being delivered one after another. Justice for genocidal crime is a complicated process and it took global community almost 60 years to establish the International Criminal Court in 2002. The shift in the international arena, as well as in Bangladesh, has drawn new attention to the events of 1971. In recent years, significant books based on new and extensive research on the emergence Bangladesh has been published in the West. Prominent among those is the book by Gary J. Bass titled, The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide. When a book backed by documentation and solid research is being published on a forgotten genocide, it no longer remains forgotten. Other significant books were: 1971: A Global History of Creation of Bangladesh by Srinath Raghavan, The Bangladesh War and Its Unique Legacy by Salil Tripathi and The Spectral Wound by Nayanika Mookherjee, a sensitive account of sexual violence and its aftermath.
In the post-conflict scenario, Bangladesh took significant steps to support the victims of sexual violence. Bangabandhu had embraced the victims as
beerangona or war-heroine, which Nayanika Mookherjee termed as “unprecedented in history.”
In the changed international scenario, the contribution of Bangladesh is getting more and more recognition. This has been reflected in the observation made by genocide scholar Prof. Adam Jones.
On the other hand, we have witnessed massive international campaign launched by the religious fundamentalist forces, the perpetrators accused for their complicity, abetment and participation in the brutal acts of genocide, to tarnish the image of the Bangladesh tribunal. They could confuse some people for some time, but failed in thwarting the justice process. It is also imperative that Bangladesh promotes its own domestic process of justice for international crimes more vigorously in the global arena.
In the long struggle of Bangladesh to establish truth and justice, another significant step has been taken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 11, 2017 when the Parliament declared March 25 as the National Genocide Day. This will create new possibility to commemorate the victims of genocide and work for its prevention. It is important not only to understand what happened, but to also study why it happened. That will assist all to learn lessons from the past atrocities and chart future course for humanity to live in harmony. In his struggle to establish the nation-state of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman shown the way to create harmony in diversity. This is the civilizational challenge we all are facing now.
The struggle for Bangladesh is also the struggle for emancipation of mankind. Joy Bangla.