Modi, the butcher of Gujarat, claimed on the Victory Day that it was a victory of India. No mention of Bangladesh in the victory is not only a deliberate lie, it is also audacious with ulterior motives. But India has been doing it since 16 December 1971. India, in 1971 and later, saw the defeat of the Pakistan army as a victory of India over Pakistan, without any reference to Bangladesh. The instrument of surrender of Pakistan army was signed on 16 December 1971 by the Pakistan army and the Indian army, without any representation of the Bangladesh Forces (Mukti Bahini), which was deliberately excluded by the hegemonist India.
As the Pakistan army, in 1971, cracked down on Bangladesh for genocide, Ziaur Rahman declared independence and started the independence war. The hegemonist India saw it as a great opportunity to divide and weaken Pakistan, and reduce Bangladesh to either an occupied territory like the India-occupied Kashmir or an annexed state. This vile and vicious scheme of India was thwarted by the glorious army-people uprisings of 15 August and 7 November of 1975.
From then on, Bangladesh thwarted Indian hegemony for 31 years from 1975 to 2006, although India kept on conspiring, such as in assassinating Zia with cooperation from HM Ershad and Sheikh Hasina. India again established control on Bangladesh from 1/11, 2007, an India-Awami League conspiracy, supported by the US and its allies. Bangladesh, from 1/11, 2007, was subjected to reckless plunder and brutal tyranny by the India-Awami conspiracy until the revolution of 5 August 2024, which dealt a heavy blow to fascism and hegemonism.
We will consolidate and deepen the victory of the 5 August, 2024 revolution, and establish a new Bangladesh by achieving the guiding vision of the birth of Bangladesh: equality, human dignity and social justice.
*The writer is a London-based political commentator and a former activist and columnist constantly campaigning for Freedom, Democracy, Justice, Human Rights and Harmonious Development in Bangladesh. He appeared many times on Bengali-medium TV talk shows in London speaking on the political affairs of Bangladesh. A retired computer consultant with a Master’s degree in Mathematics. He left his PhD studies in the UK to travel to Kolkata, India, in 1971 to join the Independence War of Bangladesh. He is the former President of the US-based nonprofit organization The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh).
December 18, 2024
The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of Aequitas Review.
