INDIRA Gandhi had said after the fall of Dhaka in 1971 that the two-nation ideology had sunk in the Bay of Bengal. However, 53 years later, as Sheikh Hasina Wajid, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, left for India, it has become evident that the two-nation theory is still alive and enduring. The nation of Quaid-i-Azam lives on in two countries: Pakistan and Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s treachery, the Agartala Conspiracy, Indian terrorism and the Mukti Bahini have all been drowned in the Bay of Bengal. Look at the justice of history: the conspiracy to break Pakistan took place in the Indian city of Agartala, and today, Hasina Wajid, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of that conspiracy, has returned there. When Hasina Wajid fled to India, her plane landed in Agartala—the same city where her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, collaborated with India to form the Mukti Bahini and plot the secession of East Pakistan. Meeting with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, her escape reinforces India’s involvement in the 1971 conspiracy and underscores the Bengali people’s view that Sheikh Mujib’s actions as an agent of India were wrong.
What happened to India in Bangladesh is like what happened to America in Afghanistan. India is no longer ready to bear the burden of this asset. In view of the situation, the United States and the United Kingdom have also refused to host Sheikh Hasina Wajid. Following the people’s revolution in Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, leads the interim government. In his first address, he criticized Bangladesh’s pro-India policies and urged India to reassess its foreign relations. Although the movement against Hasina began with the quota system in educational institutions, it quickly escalated to public outrage against her government and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s family. The looting of Hasina’s home and anti-India sentiments proved this was not merely an economic or quota issue but a war of ideology. The Bengali people’s rebellion, despite Bangladesh’s economic stability under Hasina, signifies the deep-seated impact of the Dhaka tragedy, culminating in setting the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre on fire.
In the current context, the descendants of those who fought the Mukti Bahini in 1971 are fighting for the two-nation ideology. They have come to know who the real enemies are. That’s why the slogans of Pakistan Zindabad were raised there. The Pakistan Army became red-faced today and the accusations of cruelty and rape against it were proved to be false. Those whose fathers were against the Pakistan Army are raising the slogans of Pakistan. If Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Banglabandhu was the father of Bengalis, then his family would not have been humiliated like this. Mujib was killed by his army along with his entire family within three years, except Sheikh Mujib’s two daughters, Sheikh Hasina Wajid and Sheikh Rehana, who was in Germany at that time, was retaliated by India through the Mukti Bahini in the form of the fall of Dhaka. Indeed, the ideology of the Quaid-e-Azam speaks loudly. The two-nation ideology has won.
Salute to the bravery of the Bengali students who ended the 15-year dictatorial rule of Hasina Wajid on August 5 after Prime Minister Hasina contemptuously called her “Razakar”; Volunteers, who supported Pakistani forces in 1971 in the (former) East Pakistan. The students told who are the real traitors? In Bangladesh, the volcano had started to boil again that erupted in 1975. This process started after Sheikh Hasina Wajid came to power in 2009 and the reason was pro-Indian policies. The situation became worse when a large quota of jobs was dedicated for the families belonging to the Mukti Bahini. When the students protested, force was used against them. 300 people lost their lives in the clashes between the protesters and the police and Awami League supporters. Sheikh Hasina insisted on crushing the march by force, but the Bengali army refused to open fire on the people because of fear of civil war.
Sheikh Hasina Wajid returned to Bangladesh from India in 1981. After the assassination of Mujibur Rahman, Hasina Wajid was chosen to continue the Indian monopoly over Bangladesh. Hasina lived in Delhi for many years. Hasina Wajid’s husband, Dr. Wajid Mian, who was a scientist, was also given a job in a government institution there. Earlier, Dr. Wajid Mian was also a part of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. He was the chief scientist of the Karachi Nuclear Plant, but his security clearance was revoked after the situation in East Pakistan deteriorated. By 1981, the situation in Bangladesh had come under control to a certain extent. Sheikh Hasina Wajid returned to Bangladesh and took over the reins of the Awami League. In 1996, she was elected as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and then in 2009, she assumed the post of Prime Minister for the second time. She followed the pro-Indian policies of his father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In 1971, leaders of Al Badr, Al Shams and Jamaat-e-Islami, including Abdul Qadir Mullah and Mutiur Rahman Nizami, were charged with loyalty to Pakistan, while Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid was promoted. Additionally, 195 Pakistani Army officers faced symbolic war crimes trials to appease India. During his March 2021 visit to Bangladesh for its 50th anniversary, Narendra Modi not only acknowledged India’s role in Bangladesh’s independence but also honoured Mukti Bahini terrorists. India’s involvement in East Pakistan is now mirrored in its actions in Balochistan. Despite this, some in Pakistan still regard Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a leader and patriot, echoing his stance against Pakistani security institutions. However, the Bengali people have identified the real traitors and now it is the turn of the Pakistani youth.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
