Liberation of Bangladesh and the arc of its history since then

On 16 December, the Pakistani army surrendered to the Indian Army and Bangladesh was liberated. That is 1971.

This December, the Pakistani cricket team was in Bangladesh, playing five matches including two Tests, winning each match. Seeing Bangladesh face to face on the playing field with Pakistan, against whom it fought a bloody battle for independence, was a confirmatory sign; It is possible to move on from the past.

Bangladeshi leaders have complained from time to time that Pakistan has not apologized for its military’s atrocities, although many Pakistani leaders have expressed remorse at different times (the first apology dates back to early 1974). Pakistani author Ahmed Saleem has edited a volume, We Owe An Apology to Bangladesh, bringing together liberal Pakistani voices.

This week, Indian and Bangladeshi diplomats jointly celebrated the 50th anniversary, and Indian leaders praised Bangladesh’s development record. And it’s really impressive. At the time of independence, a pessimistic Ural Alexis Johnson, who was then the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, called the new country “an international basket case”, a comment often attributed to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. (At that meeting, Kissinger replied saying yes, but America’s Basket Case was not).

Bangladesh has proved him wrong. Bangladesh has overtaken India and Pakistan in many indicators. Life expectancy in Bangladesh is 72.6 years, a jump from 46.6 at the time of independence. According to World Bank data, Bangladesh’s female literacy rate (72%) is higher than that of India (66%) and Pakistan (46%). At 26 deaths per 1,000 births, its infant mortality rate is lower than that of India (28) and Pakistan (56). At 36%, Bangladesh’s female participation rate in the labor force is lower by global standards, but better than Pakistan’s 22% and India’s 21%. And at two births per woman, Bangladesh’s fertility rate has fallen below that of India and Pakistan.

But India is polarized and numbers don’t matter. Many Indians want Bangladesh to be forever grateful, and many think it is another Pakistan where minorities are vulnerable. Sure, there have been many attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, but if the minorities in India feel safe, Indian hands and feet will be more effective. Rather, an extraordinary expression of Hindu nationalism, minor insults inflicted on minorities, such as prohibiting Muslims from praying in public places, cracking down on egg or meat sellers, marginalizing Urdu on the assumption that only Muslims were speak the language, and the country’s refusal to include Muslims in narrow-minded asylum-seeker groups that prioritize fast-track citizenship, such as Muslim-majority nations do not persecute some Muslims, undocumented The portrayal of Bangladeshis as “termites”, and the killings of unspecified Bangladeshis at the border have tarnished India. Secular or friendly credentials.

The distance has increased. While researching my book on the Bangladesh War and its aftermath, I recall a man in Chittagong telling me how in 1971, as a young boy, he had crossed the border, and an Indian soldier had hit him. picked it up and took it to a safe place. Decades later, Bangladeshis crossing the border are shot, the man said, and he asked me: “What happened?”

Human Rights Watch said in a 2010 report titled Trigger Happy that nearly 900 Bangladeshis have been killed in firing by India’s Border Security Force, which guards the border to prevent smuggling, infiltration and smuggling. Since the early 1990s, India has been building concrete and barbed wire fences along the border. Bangladeshi human rights group Odhikar has documented 334 deaths along the border since 2011, of which 51 occurred in 2020.

To rebuild good relations with Bangladesh, India needs to understand two unique aspects of Bangladeshi society.

One, Bangladeshis are grateful for the Indian support and sacrifice in 1971. Indians see that conflict as a third war with Pakistan, as if the birth of Bangladesh was an unexpected outcome. The fact is that many Bangladeshis were killed during those nine months of Pakistani repression. Pakistan claims “only” 26,000 dead; Some estimates say between 170,000 and 300,000 died; And Bangladesh says three million people died. Pakistan disputes Bangladeshi claim of raping 200,000 women. Given the stigma attached to rape and the fact that records from that period are not available, exact numbers are difficult to obtain, but a very large number of women were taken to camps and repeatedly raped. Those wounds are not forgotten, the emotional and mental scars have not healed.

Second, many Indians fail to see that Muslims in Bangladesh live with two cultural identities: Bengali and Muslim. Devout Bangladeshi Muslims may pray up to five times a day, but many also believe in Rabindranath Tagore. During Ramadan, many people keep fast and many people also celebrate worship. It is not meant to romanticize Bangladesh as a scholar Manmohan Desai film, but the living reality of many Bangladeshis. While many of its people are naturally syncretic, Bangladesh has a political party like Jamaat-e-Islami and a radical group like Hefazot-e-Islam demanding a separate Bangladesh.

Its politics is infected with the disease of South Asian dynasties. and its government remains very insecure, passing harsh laws to quell dissent; About 138 people are in jail for criticizing the prime minister. Political opponents ‘missing’; At least 11 bloggers, writers and intellectuals have been murdered in the past decade; And journalists and photographers have been arrested on fake charges.

To stay on the growth trajectory, Bangladesh will need to rein in rising radicalism, protect minorities, continue to invest in health and education, and prepare for climate change. Political repression will neither lead to economic progress nor will the respect of civil rights be a hindrance in development.

Salil Tripathi is a writer based in New York. Read Salil’s previous mint columns at www.livemint.com/saliltripathi