There are certainly are many lessons to the learned from 1971—but most politicians use December 16th to further their own personal agenda—using “I told you so’s” to enhance their own ideology or to propagate the influence of a foreign power. For example the PMLN will blame Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as the root of all evil, and the PPPP will blame everything on General Yahya and the army. The Army will blame everything on decades of corruption and of course Bharat.

General Manekshaw in his book clearly described Bharat’s insidious designs in Pakistan, and how they manipulated Bengali sentiments and molded the opinions. He goes into detail about the arming, training, and support to the terrorists. Barrister Munshi in his book “India Doctrine” describes the Bharati (Indian) role in the insurgency. How the Mukti Bahni was funded, formed and supported by Delhi.

Seeking Bangladeshi identity: Bangladesh was created in the name of Bengali nationalism. However the Hindu Bengalis who had opposed the parition of Bengal in 1906 opposed and did not join Muslim Bangladesh as Bengalis. Mujib regime killed, according to many, more than 30 thousand patriots, who opposed plunder by India and by the BAL, and through the regime's misrule and plunder, along with Indian plunder and conspiracy, they caused the man-made famine of 1974, in which 3 to 5 hundred thousand people perished, according to reports. Mujib suppressed all democratic rights and unleashed a reign of terror. In the above circumstances, according to some, Bangladesh faced extinction as an independent nation and was about to become a vassal state of the Indian hegemonists. The coup of 15 August 1975 saved the situation to a large extent and it was widely supported by the people. On August 14th, 1975 Bangladeshi nationalists buried the secularism deep into the Bay of Bengal. Today Bangladesh faces new threats from India again. . After failing to take over Bangladesh on Dec 6th 1971, India is forcing a transit policy on defenseless Bangladesh that is fighting for her existence. The Transit facilites that Bharat is asking would clog existing Bangladeshi roads and pose a security threat to Bangladesh. It would also exacerbate the situation in Northeast "India" where the sevean Assamese states want freedom from Delhi. The Transit agreement poses a mortal threat to Bangladesh

A realistic look at Bangladesh today gives us a vignette into the ills that were endemic to Pakistan in 1970. The Afghan war not withstanding, Bangladesh has not become Sonar Bangla, or an Asia Tiger—it is mired in exactly the same problems and issues that confront Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan and Bharat.

On the economic front, Bangladesh remains in the same league as the rest of South Asia. There are a few indicators here or there which make Bangladesh look a bit bigger, but on the whole it is behind Pakistan on most metrics.

Bangladesh has a “East Pakistan” problem on its hands too. Chakmadesh faces Dhaka in the face, and even after 35 years, the insurgency rages—only getting worse. Today Bangladesh is politically fractured, religiously consumed, and ethnically divided. It faces a raging insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracks—which is a sizable part of the country. The Chakmas do not consider themselves Bangladeshi.

Of course, since 1971, Bangladesh has struggled with upholding the principles of democracy. Many argue that the country is not truly democratic for it allowed a convicted corrupt dictator who ravished the country for nigh on a decade to stand for parliament. Spiralling extrajudicial killings around the country and the lack of freedom of movement and speech in the Chittagong Hill Tracts also undermine Bangladesh’s democratic credentials. For these reasons, many Bangladeshis believe that they are independent, but not truly liberated. Joy Bangla? By Misha Hussain, Wednesday, 16 Dec, 2009.

On the democratic front, Bangladesh has the same record as Pakistan. Right after the so called “liberation”, Bangladesh’s leader declared himself dictator for life, banned all political parties and signed a treaty of friendship with Delhi which would have essentially reduced the country to the status of Sikkim. Were it not for the timely intervention of Bangladeshi patriots, the country would have ceased to exist as any entity—and fallen into the claws of West Bengal. Bengali nationalism was given a huge blow in 1971 when the Hindu Benglis refused to join Bangladesh’s clarion call to build a country based on the Bengali culture and language. On 14th August 1975 the patriotic Bangladeshis killed Mujib and buried secularism deep into the bay of Bengal. Henceforth Banagladeshi nationalism would be supreme—and that was based upon Islam. Bengali nationalism was also not working internally.

‘Bengali’ nationalism stemmed from the Bangla Language Movement of 1952 and culminated with the Awami League election victory in Pakistan in 1970 and the resulting forced liberation of 1971. ‘Bangladeshi’ nationalism is a relatively new concept brought in by the BNP. It rejected Bengali nationalism and introduced Islamic values into the constitution in place of secular principles, leaving in its wake social confusion, political polarity, and an unnecessarily divided nation.

Part of the confusion regarding the real meaning of liberation lies in Bangladesh’s education system which has systematically been abused by rival political parties bent on etching their founders’ names into the history books. With a change in government, there is a corresponding change of school textbooks, bank notes, national holidays, and even airports. Just this week the current administration announced that Zia International Airport will now be called Shahjalal Airport and another airport will be built in the name of Mujibur Rahman! With all this tampering of history, how can anyone really believe anything they are told? Without the guidance of accurate historical records and objective interpretation, information about Bangladesh’s independence and history is passed down, from father to son, laden with emotion, and distorted from generation to generation. Joy Bangla? By Misha Hussain, Wednesday, 16 Dec, 2009,

Bangladesh did not achieve Brihot Bengal—West Bengal which opposed the partition of Bengal in 1906 and goaded Muslim Bengalis to rise against the oppression of the Non-Bengalis, did not join Bangladeshis in a new country formed on the basis of Bengali nationalism. Bangladeshi were thus confused—if Bengali nationalism was not a magnet strong enough to pull in Hindu Bengalis, then the raison d’etre of the country had to be questioned. The more Dhaka pressed for Bengaliism, the more it pushed away the Chakmas and other Non-Bengalis.. Since Bengali nationalism did not work, a new reason had to be found. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party came up with “Bangladeshi Nationalism”—based on the territorial integrity of Bangladesh. Thus, Bangladeshi Nationalism would be supreme—over Bengalis and Non-Bengalis. How was that different than Pakistani nationalism? That question has not been answered in Bangladesh—other than the vague “oppression” argument which can be sequestered into the lap of individuals not ethnicities. The Two Nation Theory which was rejected by Mujib, has been resurrected in Bangladesh and Muslim Bengalis use it as a reason to remain away from Bharat (aka India). Barrister Munshi and others have strongly propagated a Bangladeshi entity which separate from that of Bharat.

Young Bangladeshis don’t really care about all that. They were born Bangladeshis and that’s it. The new generation of Bangladeshi is Pan-Islamic, religious and anything but secular.

Liberation can be defined in many ways, so after looking outwards and evaluating whether or not we have achieved what we set out to do in 1971 with regards to those four guiding principles, we then have to turn inwards to tackle a more delicate question. Do we have it in us to forgive Pakistan and move on?

‘I was born free,’ says Tanim Ahmed of the Dhaka-based New Age newspaper, who believes this generation of Bangladeshis is ready to move on from the past. ‘I did not have to fear speaking the same language I dreamt in. Freedom was never an aspiration, it was a given. So my views about Bangladesh and Bengali are going to be different from my parents.’

Similarly, Chowdhury suggests it is time for acrimony between Bangladesh and Pakistan to subside: ‘I have nothing against the younger generations of Pakistanis’, he says. ‘Why should they carry the baggage for what their forefathers did in Bangladesh in 1971?’ Joy Bangla? By Misha Hussain, Wednesday, 16 Dec, 2009.

Militarily Bangladesh is a non-entity. It seceded from Pakistan on the shoulders of General Manekshaw. Therefore it could not extricate any of the assets from the Government of Pakistan. The same happened in 1947, Pakistan did not get its due share from Delhi after the departure of the British Government. A dispassionate assessment of the social, military, economic scorecard would display no fantastic improvement in the lives of Bangladeshis as a whole. Democracy has been as spotty as in Pakistan and military rule has been the norm. With Pakistan, Bangladesh would have been a regional power—the largest Muslim state, one leg in Central Asia and one in Southeast Asia. It would have rivaled and competed with Japan and China. With superb relations with Beijing, Delhi would have been kept in check without concessions from Burma.

Indira Gandhi had formed RAW in 1968 right after the 1965 war for the specific purpose of bifurcating Pakistan. 80,000 Hindus were recruited for the Mukti Bahni to fight the Pakistan Army. The government was deliberately provoked to retaliate and create a Civil War. The Mukti Bahni also recruited disgruntled Bengalis. The hard core of the Mukti Bahni was Indian soldiers (who later became the Rakhi Bahni). These soldiers dressed as Pakistani soldiers and committed atrocities on the poor Bengalis who were being crushed from both sides.

Lt. Gen. A.K. Niazi signing the Instrument of Surrender at Dhaka on December 16, 1971, with General J.S. Aurora, the commander of the Indian Army in the eastern front. – File photo

In response to such sentiments, Chowdhury suggests that the ‘key for a better relationship is closure,’ and recommends that war criminals be freely and fairly tried in Pakistan or in the international court system. That, however, is considered unlikely to happen owing to the United States’ role in the Liberation War.
For now, then, there is a need for non-political communication through music, sport, and other cultural platforms. Watching the Bangladeshi support for the Pakistan cricket team is testament to the power of culture to break down barriers. ‘I want to see a whole lot of people-to-people cultural exchanges’, says musician Haque. ‘Dramas, theatre, cinema, art, and painting shows. I am dying to see serious Pakistani rock bands like Noori and the fusion Mekaal Hasan Band play live in Dhaka.’

Perhaps after these first tentative steps are taken towards reconciliation and a renewing of vows to uphold our initial independence values, we will witness the ‘real liberation’ of Bangladesh. Joy Bangla? By Misha Hussain, Wednesday, 16 Dec, 2009,  Tags: Bangladesh,1971,fall of Dhaka

The right lessons for Pakistan and Pakistanis are described by Mao Zedong. “Political power grows out the barrel of a gun”. Pakistan would have been run over by the Bharati machinery, were it not for the Nucler powered Abdalis, Baburs and Gahznis defending it. Bharati aggression in FATA and Balochistan has to be thwarted with unity, faith and discipline. A citizens group of millions has to refute the Bharati propaganda in the electronic and print media. Through U-Tube, powerpoints, via, email, facebook and on blogs and websites every anti-Pakistani trope has to be intellectually challenged and repudiated. Letters have to be written in the millions to world media sources that publish incorrect Pakistani maps or sources which disparage Pakistan or Pakistanis. Rupee News is doing its part. We need 200 volunteers to assist us refuting the negative propaganda. The 5th Column in Pakistan has to be exposed and intellectually defeated.

The only right lesson from 1971 is—be united internally, speak loudly, and carry a big stick.

This is the history of deceit and treachery that kept the Muslims apart

This is the joint history. We can hang together or hang seperately.

Although, this idea of Brihot Bangladesh has some respectable intellectual support in Bangladesh it is
very much in its infancy and probably will not grow to maturity at least within the next 50 years and may
even then die a premature death out of natural causes such as exhaustion and lack of interest. However, the
Indian intelligence agencies, political, intellectual and religious establishment have made this an all
embracing vision that must be prevented at all costs. Lt. Gen. (Retd) S.K. Sinha PVSM, and a former Governor
of Assam has commented,Barrister M.B. Munshi

Failure to get Assam included in East Pakistan in 1947 remained a source of abiding resentment in the
country (Pakistan). Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in his book, Myths of Independence wrote, ‘It would be wrong to
think that Kashmir is the only dispute that divides India and Pakistan, though undoubtedly the most
significant. One at least is nearly as important as the Kashmir dispute, that of Assam and some districts
of India adjacent to East Pakistan. To these Pakistan has very good claims.

Even a pro-India leader like Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in his book, Eastern Pakistan: Its population and
Economics, observed, “Because Eastern Pakistan must have sufficient land for its expansion and because
Assam has abundant forest and mineral resources, coal and petroleum etc., Eastern Pakistan must include
Assam to be financially and economically strong. (Qouted in â˜Terror Sans Frontiers: Islamic Militancy
in North East India’).