Remembering East Pakistan: We look before and after, And pine for what is not

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]
It is early 1970s. I am in 4th grade and in Islamabad. One day I saw my father with tears in his eyes holding a letter in his hands that he had received from Bangladesh from a Bengali friend who had gone back from Islamabad to what was previously East Pakistan. I do not recall the name of the friend or much of the contents of that short letter with a couple of paragraphs. What I do recall is that he read that short letter to me with so much emotion and sorrow that the thought of it brings tears to my mind even today. I only remember a couple of lines:

 It started with "My heart bleats and my heart cries when I ......." and it ended with these words "We look before and after and pine for what is not". And I remember and cherish that experience of being with him to this day. Each recollection of the debacle of East Pakistan brings to my mind vividly the scene of my father full of emotions about his memories of the times and company of his friend(s) and the great loss that it represented to the dreams of those who left everything and migrated from India to Pakistan. Pakistan represented so much sacrifice, so much enthusiasm, so much promise and so many great expectations of the happy times that were to be awaiting for us in our own free country! 

Today, so many decades later, I do not know why, I Googled these words, and found that the last sentence is a verse from Shelly:

We look before and after, And pine for what is not;
Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.
----- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Such is the power of feelings which puts events with minute details in the deepest recesses of our minds and we can never forget them. 

1969: Boys of class 3 in ICG with Ms Nasreen Gul.
Standing: L-R: Razi, Khalid, Shahid, Ms Nasreen Gul, Bengali-1, Bengali-2, Mujahid Husain
Sitting: L-R: Irfan Hyder, Sajjad Nabeel, M Ahmed, Said uz Zaman (Bengali-3), Wasiul Haider (Bengali-4). 

In 1969 my eldest sister was learning Bengali from Pakistan National Council Library (as it was called then) in their premises near Melody. We thought all was well and will continue for ever.

• See At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions

As the situation started sliding a year or so before 1971, the Bengali students of my class and there were around five of them, started huddling together and conversing away from us. Our headmistress in 1969-70 was Mrs Prodhan who was a Bengali and incidently her son Javed Prodhan was my class fellow. She and her family were among the first to leave. Slowly and gradually other Bengali class fellows also started leaving. Actually the writing on the wall was quite visible to people who could see and were willing to see. I think by the time secession occurred most of them had left. Only the poor people of Pakistan were kept in dark by those in power. 

The photo here shows the boys of class 3 of ICG (called IMSG in 1969) which include several of my Bengali class fellows. We are pictured  with our dear class teacher Ms. Nasreen Gul (who became Nasreen Manzoor after marriage). I recently met her in last December. She is still in contact with most of us in this picture and knew their whereabouts. I took this snap from a photo she showed me.  
Second Row: L to R (standing) Razi ur Rehman, Khalid Munir, Shahid Ahmed Wakeel, Ms Nasreen Gul, Bengali-1, Bengali-2, Mujahid Hussain
First Row: L to R (kneeling) Irfan Hyder, Sajjad Nabeel, Mohammad Ahmed, Said uz Zaman (Bengali-3), Wasi ul Haider (Bengali-4). 

Wasi ul Haider also was my neighbor. But before I could know him better he had left. 

Headmistress of the primarcy section of IMSG (now ICG) at that time was Mrs. Prodhan, who was a Bengali. His son Javed Prodhan was probably a class senior to me. However, they left in 1970. [I was playing hockey in the ground. I was approaching from the  "wrong side" of Javed Prodhan who was lifting his hockey to hit the ball. As I was on the "wrong-side", his hockey caught me just over my left eye, and I had to go to poly clinic with Ms Nasreen to get four stiches. She often recounts the story with a very interesting dimension (need to describe it else where)]. 

• See also: Costs of Military Dictatorships of Pakistan

I had started reading Jang newspaper for a couple of years before the secession of East Pakistan happened and would regularly read it each morning. We were pumped up by the patriotic songs bellowing on air waves and the bellicose statements and coverage of our newspapers. We in Islamabad were living in a fool's paradise, thinking that we are winning and would soon drive the enemy out. 

• See also: Costs of Sham Democracratic Governments in Pakistan

I still vividly recall the headline of Jang a day (or two) before our army laid down its arms. It proudly proclaimed the statement of General Niazi who was the Commander Eastern Command, that India would only enter Dacca on their dead bodies (Humari lashoan peh say guzar kay dakhil hon gay). It was such a blow to listen the next day on radio that General Niazi had surrendered along with his 90,000+ army-men in paltan maidan in that ignominious ceremony.

• See also: Traitor/Foreign Agent Production Factory of Pakistan

I think Chief Justice Hamdoodur Rahman Commission Report should be made a compulsory reading for every student of Pakistan. It is the right of our nation to get access to the full report. What we have is just the supplementary report. I now sincerely believe that "a nation that forgets its history, is likely to be forgotten by history". 

Here is the excerpt from Chapter 5 "Recommendations" page 78-79 of the Supplementary Volume of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report under the subheading Trials: 

Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report Indictments

[Begin Excerpt]

Trials

3. There is consensus on the imperative need of bringing to book those senior Army Commanders who have brought disgrace and defeat to Pakistan by their subversion of the Constitution, usurpation of political power by criminal conspiracy, their professional incompetence, culpable negligence and wilful neglect in the performance of their duties and physical and moral cowardice in abandoning the fight when they had the capability and resources to resist the enemy. Firm and proper action would not only satisfy the nation's demand for punishment where it is deserved, but would also ensure against any future recurrence of the kind of shameful conduct displayed during the 1971 war. We accordingly recommend that the following trials be undertaken without delay. : - 

(i) That General Yahya Khan, General Abdul Hamid Khan, Lt. Gen. S.G.M.M. Pirzada, Lt. Gen. Gul Hasan, Maj. Gen. Umar and Maj. Gen. Mitha should be publicly tried for being party to a criminal conspiracy to illegally usurp power from F.M. Mohammad Ayub Khan in power if necessary by the use of force. In furtherance of their common purpose they did actually try to influence political parties by threats, inducements  and even bribes to support their designs both for bringing about a particular kind of result during the elections of 1970, and later persuading some of the political parties and the elected members of the National Assembly to refuse to attend the session of the National Assembly scheduled to be held at Dacca on the 3rd of March, 1971. They, furthermore, in agreement with each other brought about a situation in East Pakistan which led to a civil disobedience movement, armed revolt by the Awami League and subsequently tot he surrender of our troops in East Pakistan and the dismemberment of Pakistan: 

(ii) That the Officers mentioned in No. (i) above should also be tried for criminal neglect of duty in the conduct of war both in East Pakistan and West Pakistan. The details of this neglect would be found in the Chapters dealing with the military aspect of the war 

......" 

[End Excerpt] 

We now wait for justice for the lives lost, dreams shattered, destiny of Pakistan mangled, and the losses/violence/lawlessness that resulted in what remained of Pakistan because of the non-implementation of the recommendations of this report. 


See also:

• Costs of General Ayub's Dicatatorship
• Costs of General Musharraf's Dictatorship
• Costs of General Zia's Dictatorship in Pakistan
• Costs of Justice Munir's Doctrine of Necessity: 4 Martial Laws and 35 years of dictatorships
• Costs of Military Dictatorships of Pakistan
• Costs of Sham Democracratic Governments in Pakistan
• Doctrine of Necessity from CJ Munir to Judge Khosa: Role of Judiciary in the Service of Neocolonialism - New!
• Essential Law for Masses: Perry Mason and my Learning
• Field Marshals of Pakistan: Costs of Sycophancy and Political Expediency
• Importance of Literature in Law: A Case Study of the Panama Case Supreme Court Judgement
• Remembering East Pakistan: We look before and after, And pine for what is not
• Role of Sharifuddin Pirzada in Promulgating Martial Laws for Every Dictator of Pakistan
• SC Interpretation of Sadiq and Ameen in Disqualification of PM Nawaz Sharif
• SC Judgement as Project Assignment for Finance Accounting Students: SC Disqualifies PM on not Declaring Uncollected Receivables as Income
• SC Panama Case Judgement and Crowds Clamoring for the Heads of Rich under Robespierre
• Traitor/Foreign Agent Production Factory of Pakistan
• Who has Greater Will and Resolve in controlling Karachi Disturbances: Dictators vs Civilian Governments
• Why Dictatorships are Weaker in Accountability than Constitutional Governments
• Why Pakistani Democracies are a Sham? Costs of Controlling a Democracy from Outside
• Pursuit of Excellence vs Guzara: How to Teach Excellence through Everyday Examples
• How was I guided: How to find a "buzurg" and "wali" of Allah
• How exploration of nature and role playing was encouraged: Of Jungles, Streams, Berries and Wild Pink Flowers -- Fragrant Memories of Islamabad that Was
• Of Achars, Chutneys and Halwas: A Lifestyle Getting Lost Through Branding and Mass Production
• How to make people feel special and close: Rauf Mamoo
• How to Sprinkle Happiness Around You: Javed Bhai (Dr Zaeem Jafri) – A Jolly Good Fellow
• How Language Acquisition is Made Difficult for Children: Eight Lessons from an Urdu Acquisition Case Study
• Ansari Sb: Khawajgan Chisht Ahle Bahisht
• Secret of Happiness: One Simple Rule