Untold Facts

India’s Direct Intervention to Save Sheikh Hasina as P.M. of Bangladesh?

Bangali Pronob’s sympathy for Bangali Hasina
The pointing out of India’s evil intention of direct intervention into Bangladesh on the 20th March item in the English weekly Holiday published in Dhaka though a matter of awe to some, many in the opposite camp of Awami League have been having the feeling and fear since the day the 29 December election result was known. Should Hasina be in any difficulty in her current term from within in any matter, India would not take it anything at ease but with all seriousness. That Indian Foreign Minister Pronab has clearly hinted at for intervention following the BDR massacre of the 25-26 February, none from the Foreign Ministry, much less Bangladesh Government, has in the past four weeks stated anything in response, not to speak of making firm statement against Delhi’s vicious intention against the sovereignty of Bangladesh obviously let the patriots down in frustration. The item in reference may well be taken as a clear case in this matter of India’s evil design against the sovereignty of Bangladesh.

Indira’s lack of far sightedness
Indian desire and design against the smaller neighbors are nothing new to well- informed circle conversant with the past history of the subcontinent. If one would just take the historical developments in the post 1947 period, it is well recorded that the first P.M. of India Nehru thought about intervening three times into East Bengal but abandoned the idea and ventures at the last moment. But Indira, his ill educated daughter (she failed in the first year of the Oxford University examination of three year course) intervened at the very first chance in 1971 not only to clear military threats in the eastern front but also to dismember their biggest competitor in the region, Pakistan. Bangladesh was thus born in the ashes and debris of East Pakistan hardly as an independent and sovereign country but a subservient one and a lackey in all matters. The 16th December 1971 instrument of surrender in Dhaka and the 25-year treaty signed on the 19th March 1972 with India confirmed the subservient position of Bangladesh to Delhi.

Mujib toppled and Moustaque took over
In August 1975, the over lordship of Delhi operated through the person and the government of Sheikh Mujib was successfully toppled, though not without any threat of intervention. I knew from my own reliable source then in London (I stayed then in London) that Indira asked her forces ready to march on to Bangladesh as long she was not sure if Mujib was dead or not on the 15th August. But when she was certain that Mujib was dead and Khondoker Moustaque ready to assume the Presidency of Bangladesh and as he did having full support and allegiance of all the state organs, Indira changed her pressurizing tactics. The first one was that Moustaque government must revoke the initial declaration of the coup makers for ‘Islamic Republic’, and must revert back to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Secondly, the new government must continue to honor all treaties and commitments Bangladesh made in favor of India before and after 1971. Moustaque was given only a few hours ultimatum for agreeing to these conditions that he did ahead of time and saved Bangladesh from direct military intervention in mid August 1975.

1975 coup integrated the national army
Following the 1975 changes and the army taking to organize itself better, abolition of Mujib’s notorious killer RAKKHI BAHINI, an unconstitutional para military force planned, raised, organized and armed with Indian arms by the Indian R&AW, the central intelligence agency of India, and integrating it with the regular army, India abandoned her thought for direct military intervention. Instead India and the R&AW in particular kept on biting from inside. That was what counter coups followed one after another until the 7th November 1975, the great revolution day for the nationalist forces to finally win and the Indian lackeys decisively defeated and suppressed to utter despair of India and R&AW. But they continued to plan for reprisal that bore for them fruit after a few years in May 1981 killing President Zia.

RAW killed Zia in 1981
Zia’s killing was not only R&AW’s big job as many reports had there been even in Indian media, but also many suspected Hasina’s hand in that for she stayed in self exile in Delhi in the best care of the South Block for nearly six years (August 1975 to May 1981) and coincidentally Zia was assassinated just on the 17th day she arrived back to Dhaka on Zia’s magnanimty. Not only that was a coincidence, she had been on the day at Akhaura, a border small town in eastern sector of Bangladesh from where she tried to flee to India but was apprehended by the law-enforcing agency. Zia’s premature death gave India scope to look for more aggressively to cow down Bangladesh that Zia had guards against Indian hegemony. The R&AW achieved success in March 1982 when the Army Chief General Ershad having had prior blessings from Delhi forcibly took over from the elected BNP President Justice Sattar that was profusely welcomed by Hasina.

India’s cat and mouse game
For India in the last three decades it has been a cat and mouse game with Ershad and Hasina. India expected that Hasina would take over after the fall of Ershad. But the 1991 election result did not favor Hasina but Khaleda, a novice in politics then. In the 1996 June election, Hasina managed to form a minority government having support from Ershad. She ruled for five years with all ruthlessness that caused for her crushing defeat in the 2001 October election. But as vindictive as she was she and her party continued to create unprecedented anarchy until the end of BNP’s second term rule ending in the State of Emergency and two years run by the Caretaker Government led by Dr. Fakhruddin, an economist and a former Bangladesh bank Governor. They conducted the election in December with lot of razzmatazz, many argued that all those hype had been just only to bring Hasina to power with blessings from America and India. It is now an open secret that Hasina’s government though elected but in fact hand picked by some of interested quarter from behind. Everything is done from behind the scene. On Bangladesh issue India and USA may have some tussle but at this moment they work in unison in Dhaka. Ershad continues to play second fiddle not only for India but also for Hasina.

The BDR Massacre raised questions about Hasina’s fidelity, united Bangladesh against India
The BDR massacre perpetrated on the 26-26 in full knowledge of Hasina as she had SOS call from the BDR DG Maj. Gen. Shakil before he got killed but she did not act through army operation in 33 hours when the mayhem went on undisturbed in which mainly the top brass commanding army officers had been killed, their families tortured, dead bodies defiled has naturally made the people very angry and asking one another what she did for the massacre. It was not a movement to have the Jawans demand met but for some thing else in weakening the army and its moral. That was what Mujib sought to have and Hasina as well looks for from her hatred for the army that ingrained in her psychosis since the 15th August 1975, the day her father and some other family members got killed in the army coup d’etat. She and her party stalwarts kept on harping blame game on the army. India and Hasina have a common goal in this matter. Weaker army would not pose any threat to power of Hasina and India would feel safer militarily in the eastern front with Bangladesh. There is still another issue; the BDR BSF encounters in the common border have proved time and again that India had tough times. The 2001 April defeat of the BSF in which 25 of the BSF had been killed in the Padua and Baraibari fight in northern location of Bangladesh as against only 3 killed of the BDR in the fight led by the then BDR DG Major General Fazlur Rahman certainly made Delhi to think very seriously not only about the army of Bangladesh but also of the BDR’s fighting power. Thus it was only logical that Delhi had her hand in teaching a good lesson by disorganizing the BDR on the one hand and weakening the army on the other. Hasina had little option in this design of Delhi and of the notorious R&W.
India as such has the only option to support and keep Hasina boost up. These are well known to the people of Bangladesh. Hasina and the Awami League supporters know very well in their heart of hearts that the common people by and large are India haters, and so despise them as well. Thus should India directly intervene militarily for her rescue and survival, people will start to fight against any such Indian military intervention. It is the feeling not only of the overwhelming majority people but also some retired army generals like Fazlur Rahman, former BDR DG, and has full optimism to fight the Indians victoriously to the last. The sentiment being so profusely anti-Indian, Delhi might have to think twice or even thrice before venturing full military intervention as did Nehru in 1950s ultimately abandoning his wish for intervention then jus as also Indira refrained from in mid August 1975.

Hasina playing the tune only of India
The diversion tactics by the government in full agreement of Delhi and their media to put all blames on some ‘Islamic militants’ as I understand are not being credibly accepted in the market. The Hijbut Tahreer, a relatively new organization committed to Islam has from the very day one aggressively been facing government’s blame game through issue of open leaflets, posters, holding rallies etc. in Dhaka and elsewhere clearly stating in their views that the massacre was the nefarious job of the Indian R&AW and of none else. Some of their activists have already been arrested and put under detention; even so, their movement goes on in the open streets.

Minister Farook’s diversionary rhetoric
The government assigned coordinator for enquiry known to be done by three separate groups- Government, CID and Army- into the matter, Col® Farook Khan, has been making statements right and left creating not only confusion in the matter but also diverting people’s attention and more seriously hiding all those close to them, for example DAD Tauhid who happens to be one of the leading organizer of killers, known to have amassed wealth beyond his known income, and is known to be close to Hasina.

Hasina’s vengeance on: Trial of Mujib also demanded
Having had courage of boosting up by Delhi, Hasina has resorted to apply terror tactics to the main oppositions, particularly against the BNP leaders and intimidating the Jamaat in the so-called War Crimes trial. Some section has already demanded and even petitioned to the UN that if there should be any trial on this account Mujib should be the first to face trial for crime against humanity for he had clearly instigated the people wielding sticks of gazari/bamboo in the then East Pakistan to jump on to be the fodder of the army tanks and machine guns in his 7th March 1971 public speech at the Ramna Race course, now Sohrawardy Uddan, and also for killings of non-Bengali East Pakistanis in thousands in early March and post 1971 December mayhem.

Be Friend to Bangladesh and not to any party or person
Despite the possibilities I could see as above, they will continue to intimidate the smaller neighbor Bangladesh as she has been doing to other smaller neighbors, as well. After all, intimidation is also a part of diplomacy particularly by the big and powerful ones. I am afraid, should India continue to intimidate Bangladesh, it may not be productive but could well be counterproductive for India so much so that Hasina may soon be ditched here along with India. Possibly, India would be well advised if she would seek sincere friendship of Bangladesh whoever may run the country, and not friendship of any particular person or party.

Author: Dr. M.T. Hussain