Untold Facts

Joy Hind: Merging of Joy Bangla into Hindustan?

HC Karim
That there are two authentic news that the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Delhi Tareq Karim has published a brochure to mark P.M. Hasina’s visit to Delhi in mid January 2010 that had the slogan Joy Bangla along with Joy Hind.

Fear
At the first sight the conjoin slogans may not appear anything injurious as they may be taken to represent friendship between Bangladesh and India. But some in Dhaka have raised objections. The objection is about fear of containment of tiny Bangladesh by much bigger (HANGOR as the term used by BBC fame Serajur Rahman) India or Hindustan.

Nothing New
The revolutionary student leader of late 1960s Aftab Ahmad who coined the slogan JOY BANGLA, as he noted in his writing later on, was condemned right then even by many Awami Leaguers for that had the hue of JOY HIND. Somehow the top leader had accepted the newly coined Joy Bangla slogan and made that gradually a popular one for the autonomy movement of the then East Pakistan.

After 1971
After the independence, as was well known, Aftab Ahmad distanced himself and his group JSD from the Joy Bangla. Until the last he stood against Joy Bangla and then Professor Aftab Ahmad died for opposing Joy Bangla: being grievously attacked at his official residence of the University of Dhaka by the sniper’s bullets, it is reasonably alleged, of the same JOY BANGLA group.

Joy Pakistan
Until 1971 March Joy Bangla was a powerful slogan against the Pak Junta. Even so, the iconic leader in his 7th March historic speech ended the discourse, no doubt, with Joy Bangla but little less loudly followed by Joy Pakistan too. Quite obviously that was the period of fight for autonomy in the federal Pakistan framework. Nothing was there for Joy Hind.

Missed the Bus
Delhi missed the bus after they won the 1971 war. The P.M. of India, Indira wished at that stage to remain content with the victory for HAZAR SALO KA BADLA LE LIA (We have taken the revenge of one thousand years’ defeat). May be, she left the Joy Hind to realize in Bangladesh in some opportune time later. She had then eyes right over smaller Sikim. There was a quisling leader Lendup Darjee loyal to her so much so that she managed to take over and merge the independent Sikim in early 1975. Indira’s father Nehru earlier soon after 1947 did similar venture for the Jammu and Kashmir through similar maneuver, and though succeeded at the beginning for one amenable Sheikh, things did not, however, go as smoothly as Nehru had planned for total integration. After over six decades now Jammu and Kashmir not only remained divided but also the status has been hanging in balance. The presence of Indian federal troops in lakhs and so blood spilled of nearly ninety thousand civilians for the past two decades made nothing difference. The bus Nehru missed for full integration of Jammu and Kashmir like he did for Junagarh, Manvadar, Hyderabad, Goa etc. through forcible police action now runs for over six decades. The Bus Indira missed on the 16th December 1971 for full integration of Bangladesh looks like facing the same fate as of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1947.

Gradual Assimilation
During the prelude during 1972-mid August 1975, the assimilation process of Bangladesh into Hindustan was somewhat subtle. The principles of the Constitution, the education policy, development planning, business and trades and even administration were all tuned to Indianization. The abandonment in Bangladesh of the multi-party system in January 1975 for lone party or BAKSAL dictatorship endorsed amazingly by the ‘democrat’ Indian P.M. Indira Gandhi was evidently taken by many patriots as the beginning of integration of Bangladesh with a guarantee for life long power for the Bangladesh leader.

Patriotic Army Revolted
The unarmed patriotic people had no scope to remove the dictator. The army had. Through a brief sniper action, they made a successful mutiny on the 15th August 1975. The mutiny abandoned the BAKSAL immediately afterwards, and then paved the way for restoration of pluralism and multi-party democratic order in the country.

Annulling Continuity
The government since the beginning of 2009 has engaged themselves in a game of annulment of the gains of the 15th August 1975 for the people enjoying for the last 35 years. First they have maneuvered the mutiny as a simple murder case through political executive manipulation into POLITICAL TRIAL (The weekly Economist 27 November 2009). Once the execution to death of the victims of the Political Trial or in reality, the judicial murder of the heroes of the 15th August change could be finished, with Delhi’s blessings, the hereditary state power line would be sure shot. The Joy Hind was thus appropriately coined on the occasion to keep Delhi pleased and happy.

Dangerous
Whether the likely game on Bangladesh would meet the same fate as that of the Jammu and Kashmir and that of Sheikh Abdullah family remains to be seen. But for Tareq Karim a seasoned retired diplomat and one of ‘special choice’ could have hardly coined the Joy Hind or Victory for Hindustan all on his own. Keen observers, however, have already maintained that the mid January visit of the Bangladesh PM to Delhi has already had yielded Joy Hind or big victory for India or Hindustan.

Author: HB Khair