Untold Facts

War Crimes Investigative Agency: Let them Investigate into all Crimes of the two main sides of 1971

It was nice to know that an Investigative Agency is being set up by the Government of Bangladesh to investigate into details of the ‘War Crimes” of 1971.
The agency, it is known, shall have definite terms of reference or defined specific area for their work to do in detail and to report to the government for next steps in the matter of trial. As the matter is serious and involves not only one- eyed view of legal issues but important moral questions, as well, of both eyes, the agency must have all round looking into all elements of human rights abuses.
The 1971 period of Bangladesh was not only a period of sad political events but also a history of cruelties and shame. Beginning from the first day of March to the end of the year, older people like me are living witnesses of many of all kinds of cruel acts perpetrated in the country.
There had been looting, arson, violation of women and above all killings and counter killings throughout the period.
Soon after the general election was over by December 1970 in East Pakistan that gave overwhelming victory to the Awami league and in West Pakistan similar victory to the Pakistan People’s Party, the people in East Pakistan/Bangladesh got distinctly divided into two major groups, one for independent Bangladesh and the other for united one Pakistan. Unfortunately the top leaders failed to provide the people with clear direction and let the people go, as they liked in their divided pursuance.
On the 25th March there had been total breakdown of political conciliation and the crack down of the federal army in Dhaka that caused heavy casualties in terms of properties and lives of many innocent people. Outside Dhaka, things moved in the same fashion but in most places the pro-Bangladeshis did to the federalists including looting arson, rape and killings.
As is known that the hype of war crime trial is directed to one side of the whole story, not two distinct sides as the reality had been. It did not remain limited to in language divide of the citizens of the same State or in specific of East Pakistan/ Bangladesh but also of hostility among the same Bengali language speaking ones, as well.
It is also known that the Investigating Agency so formed would examine published documents at all levels, etc. This is a good proposition. The pro-trial groups and the government agency proposed, I would expect, examine documents for authenticity and reliability. I may mention here some I came across. These are:
Sisson and Rose, War and Secession, Harvard, USA (1990)
Small and Singer, Coeds of War, New York (1982)
A.M. Chowdhury, Behind the Myth of Three Million, Kent, UK (1996)
M.T. Hussain, Bangladesh: Victim of Black Propaganda, Bromley, UK (1996)
Sharmila Bose, Political and Economic Weekly, 08 October, 2005, India
To my knowledge, these five documents have listed enough facts of both sides and not of one side alone as are commonly presented to serve the vicious purpose of black propaganda of the concerned groups.

Author:M.T. Hussain