Of a painful, beautiful war . . .
The formation of the Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on April 17, 1971 remains a pivotal event in the history of this country. By and large known as the Mujibnagar government, it sketched the bare outlines of a nascent war of national liberation; and as the months wore on, those outlines were to be fleshed out in finer detail, to a point where the international community steadily began to acknowledge the gravity of the Bengali struggle. This work is an appreciable record of that twilight struggle. Collected, compiled and edited by Sukumar Biswas, an indefatigable chronicler of the history of Bengali nationalism, it makes note of the tons of news reports which appeared across the globe in the nine months of the war, each report an update on developments on the battle front as well as the diplomatic scene. Even as the Pakistani occupying power sought to pass off the conflict as an internal crisis that the army was resolving through swift and ruthless action, the Mujibnagar government, through mapping strategy for the war, successfully convinced the world of the legitimacy of the Bengali struggle. Eleven zones were demarcated as focal points of the guerrilla struggle, an act that necessitated the formation of the Mukti Bahini. And, of course, decisions of that nature required the setting up of an administration, one that men like Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M. Mansoor Ali and A.H.M. Quamruzzaman operated to the satisfaction of the nation. There were, to be sure, hiccups that threatened to derail the government, a threat that came from the Young Turks unhappy with Tajuddin Ahmed's assumption of office as prime minister. To his lasting credit, Ahmed was able to deflect all such onslaughts with firmness and the sharp intelligence he had always been known for. Documents is evidence, therefore, of the poignant nature of the Bengali struggle. It notes the significant role played by the journal published by the External Publicity Division of the Mujibnagar government as one more instance of the many steps taken by the political leadership to spread the word far and wide. News of the atrocities committed by the Pakistan occupation army was disseminated together with reports of the progress the country was making on the diplomatic front. Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury's presence in Europe was an enormous boost to the struggle; and with that came the regular defections by Bengali diplomats from their various positions at Pakistani missions abroad. For its part, the Mujibnagar government sent out emissaries to global capitals to generate support for the cause. One of the invaluable contributions Documents makes to a preservation of national history is the inclusion in it of material, including government notes, press releases and photographs, as they were prepared and made available to the public in the course of the nine-month war. In the month of victory, Mujibnagar Government Documents is a reminder of that long ago annus mirabilis.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments