Our Independence Day

Today is 26 March, the 54^th anniversary of our independence. There may be debate as to why 26 March is considered our Independence Day. Let’s look back a bit. When the Pakistani forces surrendered in Dhaka and other places on 16 December, that was when we began to taste freedom. People began to see themselves as independent from that day. Later, though, 16 December was declared Victory Day.

We who were the eye-witnesses of the 1971 events saw how the people took the streets in anger when the National Assembly session scheduled for 3 March was suspended indefinitely. The Pakistan flag was set afire in public and Bangladesh’s independence was declared. For the common people, Pakistan was dead from 1 March. In protest of the Pakistan government’s one-sided announcement, leader of the majority of Bengalis Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a non-cooperation movement. On 2 March, students hoisted the independent Bengal’s flag on the arts faculty campus of Dhaka University. At a public gathering in Paltan Maidan on 3 March in the presence of Sheikh Mujib, the students read out the manifesto for independent Bengal and declared Rabindranath Tagore’s song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla ami tomai bhalobashi’ to be the national anthem.

On 4 March when, at the call of Sheikh Mujib, the regional martial law administrator Lt Gen Shahabzada Yakuq Khan withdrew the troops and took them back to the cantonment for the time being, Dhaka was in Sheikh Mujib’s control.

President Yahya then called for the National Assembly to go into session on 25 March. On 7 March, addressing the largest public gathering in memory at the Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan), Sheikh Mujib placed a four-point demand as an ultimatum to the Pakistan government. He bluntly said that he would not join the session unless these points were met. Towards the start of his speech and towards the end he twice said: this time the struggle is for freedom, this time the struggle is for independence. He took the administration into his own hands. On behalf of Awami League, the party’s provincial general secretary began to impose various administrative rules and regulations. Pakistan’s administration became defunct in the country.

Yahya Khan and his advisors began arriving in Dhaka one after the other. Yahya-Mujib talks began. Negotiations commenced. Yahya Khan’s narrative about this is available, but no written narrative of Sheikh Mujib on this is available.

The people were given an understanding on 25 March that an understanding had almost been reached and that Yahya Khan would enact an ordinance, resolving everything. That did not happen. On the night of 25 March Dhaka shook with the sound of machine guns and rockets. Yahya’s army cracked down on the border defence force (EPR) headquarters in Pilkhana, the police lines in Rajarbagh and Dhaka University. Before midnight, EPR and the police began their resistance but that fight didn’t last long. The Pakistan army took control of Dhaka almost unobstructed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested. The other political leaders went into hiding and one by one crossed the border to take shelter in India. India had opened up its borders.

Awami League leader Tajuddin Ahmed on 3 April reached Delhi with the help of India’s Border Security Force (BSF). After consulting with the Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, he formed the government in exile. The BSF chief law office Col NS Bains drew up a ‘concise constitution’ for Bangladesh. This was finalised by Tajuddin Ahmed and his associates. This was the proclamation of independence that was read out on 17 April during the swearing in of the Bangladesh government at the village Baidyanathtala in Meherpur. The declaration mentioned that Bangladesh’s independence had been declared on 26 March.

On the afternoon of 27 March, Major Ziaur Rahman who had revolted from the 8 East Bengal Regiment, drafted a declaration of independence and read it out from the Kalurghat radio station in Chattogram. Later he was regarded as the declarer of independence by many. There has been much bitter debate over the issue. On 18 January 1974, during his inaugural speech at the Awami League council in Dhaka, Bangabandhu put an end to this debate saying, “History must never resort to lies… did 7 March leave anything left to say about the struggle for independence? It was virtually on 7 March that independence was declared. It was clearly stated then, ‘this time the struggle is for freedom, this time the struggle is for independence.’”

Independence Day is a symbolic matter. If 1 March, 7 March, 25 March, 16 December has been selected, it would not have been a gross lapse. But there is an emotional significance in celebrating Independence Day on 26 March. The legal basis of the Bangladesh government that was established in exile in 1971 was the proclamation of independence where 26 March was mentioned. This is undisputed and it is meaningless to make a fuss about this.

Independence Day reminds us of our colonial legacy, that once upon a time we had been subjugated. Had we not been subjugated, we wouldn’t have needed an independence day. We needed one. Previously Independence Day had been 14 August, the day that Pakistan was founded and we voluntarily were a part of that Pakistan.

The date is not the important factor here. The important fact is that we had to seek independence. We surely were not happy in our previous situation. Independence was to ensure that we could remain better than before, that we could take our own decisions in our own interests.

We won our country’s independence through a resistance struggle. We call this struggle the liberation war. With a few exceptions, each and everyone took part in this war directly or indirectly. There is another matter that must not be forgotten. Thousands and thousands of people had to give their lives for this independence. None of them could enjoy the fruits of independence. We must never forget them.

We will build our own fate, we will take our decisions. That is why we wanted independence, why we took part in the struggle for independence, unhesitatingly sacrificing our wealth, dignity and lives. If we look into how much we have achieved, how far we have fallen short, then we will understand just how independent we actually are.

If, overall, we are faring better than before, then I will say we are getting the benefits of independence. If our condition is worse than before, then I will say this is not the independence that we sought. We must all look from our respective positions where we are standing now. Observing a special day is just a ritual. The narrower the gap closes between our aspirations and our achievements, the higher will be our degree of independence.  

* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher

* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir