Untold Facts

13 Dead ‘War Criminals’ of Bangladesh Summoned to the Court!

Historically memorable
11th May was a memorable day for Bangladesh Judiciary. On this day, a lower court has issued summons to 36 alleged war criminals of 1971, nothing beyond authority, none, much less, I can say anything that may be subjudice, to be present by to the court by the 20th July 2009. Of these 13 are in the afterworld. The 23 surviving, I am sure, would present their stand in the court for hearing. Obviously they would take defense of the charges against them. I need not say anything about them. But out of the 13 dead, I had two known and I should say somewhat closer to me in their late in life. Now I feel that as they cannot present themselves in the court, I may say a few things on behalf of them. They are late Khawja Khairuddin (died and buried in Karachi) and late Mahmud Ali (buried in Islamabad National Graveyard).

Marhum Khawja Khairuddin, Marhum Mahmud Ali and Marhum Sheikh Mujib
Both Khawja Khairuddin and Mahmud Ali happened to be of the same generation of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They all fought as Muslim League workers of the Pakistan movement in 1940s. Soon after Pakistan was established comprising two wings nearly 1000 miles apart, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, on the historic day of the 14 August 1947, they all remained committed to the new country born almost from ‘scratch’ as American Professor Brianbatti found and termed the creation.

Fell apart
However they soon fell apart not on the question of preservation of the sovereign entity of the country but on how best they could serve it in their own way. Mahmud Ali formed the Gantri Party, Mujibur Rahman took to the path of Maolana Bhashani and Huseyn Shahid Sorawardy in the Awami League and Khawja Khairuddin as before stuck to the Muslim League, the party whose founding he took pride in of his ancestor Nawab Salimullh, and the party that put up the relentless and uncompromising Jihad for curving out Pakistan territory from the British India and from the evil clutches of the Hindu chauvinist of the Congress party, as well. In fact, Khawja Saheb until the last day of his life stuck to the Muslim League and its Pakistan ideology of Muslim nationhood in the Indian subcontinent.

Pakistan Survived acrimony
Despite their differences and acrimony inside Pakistan, East and West Pakistan stayed one sovereign country for 24 years until 1971.

1971 crisis deepened
In 1971 internal crisis took a new dimension as to whether the unity and sovereignty of Pakistan would be preserved or not. One group thought that the two wings must part away from one another as two sovereign countries, the other group wished that the two wings remain together as before as one sovereign country for strength to survive in the power game in the subcontinent. The three persons in reference here subscribed to the same latter group. Mahmud Ali and Khawja Saheb quite openly stood for the unity and Mujib being the elected leader of the East Pakistan in the 1970 December election remained discrete for his passionate followers to make wild guesses and decide their future course of action. Mujib took the safest course to get arrested and stayed in detention in West Pakistan by the Federal Army government but his followers in large number took refuge in India, sought their help and finally waged a war in connivance with the Indian government. Mujib was in his absence from the actual happenings given an imputed label that he had the prior consent for the war of dismemberment of Pakistan. Thus when the war ended, albeit, in the absence and beyond knowledge of Mujib, he was further given another imputed value that he made the founder of the newly labeled independent country Bangladesh in the soil of East Pakistan following the aftermath of the defeat and surrender of the Pakistan Army to the Indian Army General Arora on the 16th December 1971.

The 13 day war
The actual war for 13 days in December, however, was preceded by a civil commotion inside East Pakistan, one for preservation of Pakistan’s unity and integrity and the other for complete secession of East Pakistan and make Bangladesh independent. The division and commotion naturally had some infighting that caused incidents of unpleasant features including loss of lives on both sides, not of one side alone.

Mujib retuned hero
In early January 1972, Mujib was set free by the President Zulfi Bhutto of dismembered Pakistan (West). On return to Dhaka on the 10th January he took over formally the administration of Bangladesh that euphemistically said to have had been run by the government in ‘exile’ for nine months from mid April to December 1971 but in reality under Delhi’s surveillance and practical management. One of his action programs fell as a sword on those who did not share his ideas of the Awami League. They were already being sized up, their properties forcibly taken away by hoodlums at their free will, many tortured in inhuman nature, killed in various inhuman modes, fortunate ones arrested alive and put behind the bars. All parties believing in the one Pakistan ideology had been banned. Mujib turning a hero in absentia further planned to size up those of the opposite camp still alive but could be competitor in future by enacting an act, President’s Order No.8 labeled as the Bangladesh Collaborators Act of 1972. The act was designed to put under trial and punish those who in 1971 opposed his party’s move to dismember Pakistan.

The notorious P.O. 8
Obviously Khawja Khairuddin being a dedicated worker and leader of the Muslim League and staunch believer in the one Pakistan cause and the renowned person of the Dhaka Nawab Family who had his due role in upholding peace in Dhaka and East Pakistan in 1971 that was construed as opposition to the Mujib’s party’s Bangladesh movement, and so was arrested and put behind the bar soon after Dhaka fell to the invading Indian army in December 1971. The Collaborators Act was designed to punish such and all others in the opposite camp. Mahmud Ali, however, being a staunch supporter of one and united Pakistan evaded arrest for he then stayed in West Pakistan; his family somehow joined him latter never to return to his native place in Sunamganj, Syhet, Bangladesh.

Khawja and thousands put behind the bar
Khawja Khairuddin like thousands who opposed openly secession of East Pakistan, and even some who took up arms for the defense against Indian armed intervention but survived in life after 16th December had also been put under detention and kept so without trial for years even under the Collaborators Act. In late 1973 many were pardoned for their ‘offence’ of 1971. Khawja Saheb was put to trial in a lower court in 1973. In the hearing, he started by himself a defense statement wherein he started by narrating that he himself inherited from a Muslim Leaguer family that the Muslim League created Pakistan, it was his sacred duty to uphold the unity and integrity of Pakistan and so doing he committed nothing wrong but did the right thing clear in his conscience in 1971 for preservation of Pakistan. He was continuing the statement, but the judge asked him to stop and adjourned the court not only for the day but forever. Immediately afterwards Khawja Saheb was released from the prison without any further charge against him. On the day he was released from the Dhaka central prison, witnesses said that his motorcade took nearly four hours for him to reach his residence only about a mile away for people in lakhs filled the streets to greet him.

Khawja became Mujib’s special envoy to Pakistan (West)
The story of the great Khawja did not end there. Mujib, the P.M. of Bangladesh, in his effort in renewal of the old friendship issued for him a special Bangladeshi passport of the VIP genre and requested him to represent him and Bangladesh to Bhutto for special mending of relations with Pakistan. He could, however, do little as he settled in Karachi rather than coming back to Dhaka, and also that soon Mujib had his end in August 1975.

I met Khawja Saheb in London
I met Khaja Saheb in London in early 1980s when he visited London a number of times for treatment from Karachi and also in Dhaka in 1990s and got to know many interesting things he had with Mujib in earlier days in 1950s and 1960s. That Khawja Saheb had Awami League’s Nawabpur Road office arrear rents paid a number of times. That Mujib being tired of Bengali food used to dash at his home for Morag Pilao, Biriani, Gosh Partha, etc. on occasions but not at daytime but late at night.

I met Mahmud Ali also in London
Mahmud Ali almost all along had been a left leaning politician with outlook of Muslim nationhood of Pakistan. In the East Pakistan Cabinet of 1954 United Front Ministry he hold the portfolio of Revenue Ministry for some time. He edited monthly Nao Belal from Sylhet in late 1940s and early 1950s that propagated views of Islamic equity and social justice for all. He opposed Martial Law and dictatorship and stood for democracy. I had opportunities to know him personally very closely during the period of two decades from 1986 (London) to 2006 (He expired while delivering his speech in a public meeting in Lahore on the Kashmir issue on the 17th November 2006 at the age of 87). We had our contact first through his monthly, The Concept, published from Islamabad wherein I used to contribute first from London beginning in 1986 and then from Dhaka after 1989. I had occasions to meet him intimately a number of times in Islamabad and also in Multan and Lahore on the occasion of some seminars. He used to be highly respected as a guardian not only of over 1.5 million Bengalis who stayed back in Pakistan after 1971 but also of many hapless of other groups, and worked relentlessly for his belief in the organization he founded in early 1980s, Tehrik E Takmil E Pakistan, or the movement for fulfillment of Pakistan.

Alleged war criminals
To my knowledge, both these dead alleged ‘war criminals’ had been persons of clean character so far as human relations were concerned and as such there could have been nothing rash like specific war crime they could be indicted at personal level. I am sure there could be no specific violation of human rights as the war crimes meant to be by them, albeit, could be indicted for their alleged offense, if that could be established as offence all, that they opposed secession or what other termed as the 1971 independence war of Bangladesh.

Contrary to human rights
Any such allegation is bound to fell flat, because, difference in belief in terms of ideology is one’s inherent fundamental right guaranteed both by the UN Declaration of Human Rights and even by any democratic constitution of any civilized country. Besides, no country called Bangladesh, much less any constitution of the country existed anywhere in 1971 except in some rhetoric in air. Neither Bangladesh had any recognition as any independent country in 1971; even the best benefactor India did not recognize Bangladesh until the 6th December 1971 just only to legitimize the war of aggression. Thus Bangladesh as of 1971 can have no scope to try any alleged criminal for even any of tangible indictable acts of 1971.

Retrospective effect of law unsustainable
Based on the above line of argument, one must not miss the fact that legal jurisprudence does not provide for cognizance for trial of any offence in retrospective effect. The Bangladesh Government had no legitimate existence in 1971; it had partial legitimacy after the 16th December 1971 and full legitimacy secured not until Pakistan recognized it in February 1974. How could the illegitimate government put to trial any body for any crime if there had been any crime committed in 1971? If they do, it is bound to be illegitimate dispensation challengeable in higher court in the country, apart from scope for bringing such matter into the International Court of Justice.

Rogues on both sides
In 1971 rogues from both sides jumped on the other. If real justice is to done, both genres of the rogues must be brought to justice and not of one side alone. On this score Mujib as well need be indicted for he incited one group of the people to jump on the other. The massive killing of the non-Bengali population taken for certain as the supporter of united Pakistan not only during 1971 but even after should not be forgotten and also among the Bengali speaking thousands who remained always committed for united Pakistan and opposed the Awami league and India. Let not any person of clear conscience overlook the fact that the Bengal Muslims, in particular, overwhelmingly voted for one Pakistan in the general and crucially decisive election for Pakistan in 1946. The 1970 election result did not nullify the 1946 referendum that had been obtained on all India basis of the Muslims under the banner of the All India Muslim League. The Awami League did not even in a single utterance spoke anything clearly to the people that they would go for dismemberment of Pakistan, and I am sure if they did, people would not vote for them overwhelmingly in the 1970 election. The leader Mujib time and again decried all those who scented any bit of secession. Even during his captivity in West Pakistan, he offered to speak on the Pakistan media against Indian aggression of Pakistan in the 1971 December war (See, Mujib’s Chief Legal Counsel, A.K. Brohi’s last wishes published in the London based fortnightly Impact International, 28 September 1987, p.19).

Witch hunting
These evidences should suffice to establish the fact that should the question of war crime of 1971 be brought in cognizance, that must be for both sides and not of one side. One side trial would not only be immoral but also would merely be unjust witch hunting of the political opponents to please the masters of the government outside the national frontier.

Credibility at stake
I am afraid the court concerned by bringing in the case to declare the 23 alive and 13 dead persons for trial in the alleged war crime charge has put it to a test of fidelity only to make it discredited possibly not unlike as it happened in the hearing of the case of Khawja Khairuddin in Dhaka court in 1973.

Political and diplomatic cost
Apart from the legal cost of credibility, political and diplomatic cost would be huge that Bangladesh may find difficult to sustain, even if the big neighbor continues to shower all blessings for viability of the present government in Dhaka.

Author: M.T. Hussain