ON THE SITUATION IN BANGLA DESH

Text of the Letter of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
East Pakistan (Bangla Desh), to Fraternal Communist and Worker's Parties,

dated May 3, 1971

 

 

 

Dear Comrades,

 

The people of the world are today aware of the fact that since 25th March midnight an unparalleled genocide is being committed in East Pakistan (now named Bangla Desh) by reactionary ruling military junta of Pakistan. In the course of the last fire weeks, the Pakistan army has killed some hundreds of thousands of people, including prominent leaders and intellectuals; pillaged and ravaged the cities of Dacca, Chittagong and other towns; burnt down hundreds of villages and markets and destroyed educational institutions, including Dacca University hostels as well as other properties worth tens of millions of rupees throughout Bangla Desh. Such wanton destruction of human lives and properties is still going on and about one million helpless and penniless people of Bangla Desh have crossed the border and taken refuge in India. The military junta of Pakistan is actually waging a war of annihilation against the innocent and unarmed people of Bangla Desh using the land army, air force and naval force. Modern history has rarely witnessed such widescale brutalities and atrocities as are being perpetrated now in Bangla Desh.

 

But in order to confuse the world public opinion, the reactionary ruling military junta of Pakistan, headed by General Yahya Khan, has raised the bogey that the people of Bangla Desh led by the Awami League have launched a movement for secession of Bangla Desh and disintegration of Pakistan "with the help of India" and that the steps taken by the army in Bangla Desh are necessary to maintain the integrity and solidarity of the state of Pakistan.

 

But all these are colossal hoaxes. The reality is otherwise. The real fact is that the people of Bangla Desh were always fighting for their just national and democratic rights, and the ruling military junta of Pakistan was trying to drown that popular struggle in blood. The following facts and especially the political background of today's happening will prove it beyond doubt.

 

Suppression of Nationalities

 

To explain the political background of the genocide in Bangla Desh it is first necessary to state the peculiar character of the state of Pakistan. Pakistan was carved out of the Indian sub-continent in 1947. Five nationalities (such as Bengalis, Sindhis, Punjabis, Pathans and Baluchis) and two regions (East and West Pakistan) widely separated by a distance of more than one thousand miles, and in between: which lies Indian territory, were lumped together under a single state (Pakistan) on the basis of Islamic religion. The conspiracy of the British imperialists had played` a big role in the creation of this state with such a peculiar character.

 

From the very inception of this state, the ruling classes, the reactionary big bourgeoisie and feudalists, collaborating with imperialism, especially US imperialism, had in their own narrow class interests pursued a policy of suppression of all democratic and national rights of the various nationalities, such as of Bengalis in East Pakistan and Sindhis, Pathans and Baluchis in the Western Wing.

 

As a result of the policy of the national suppression and discrimination pursued by the ruling classes, the condition of the people of East Pakistan had become extremely miserable in all aspects. Democracy was ruthlessly suppressed and virtual dictatorship had reigned supreme. People had no democratic right, no civil liberty and no freedom of the Press. Arrests, imprisonment and persecution of the democrats and progressive elements were a daily phenomenon. Hundreds of patriotic workers, including many communists, were always in jails.

 

In the economic field, big business, all of whom non-Bengalis, controlled banking, insurance, big industries and the entire economy of East Pakistan. The big business, known as the "22 monopolist families", had an overall domination over the economic life of Pakistan as a whole and was given a free hand in exploiting the working class and the people of East Pakistan. In the rural side, feudal exploitation went on rampantly.

 

Further, as a natural consequence of the policy of the ruling class to appease the big business and to practise national discrimination, a big imbalance and disparity had cropped up between the economic condition in East and West Pakistan. Whereas the per capita income in the Eastern Wing was lower than that of the Western Wing, the prices of all commodities, including food, were higher in the Eastern Wing. We do not, however, mean to say that the people of West Pakistan were favoured. Rather, they were also heavily exploited and oppressed. But the fact was that East Pakistan was virtually turned into a market and hunting ground for the "22 monopolist families" who were based in West Pakistan. They were also transferring the profits they earned in East Pakistan to their head offices in West Pakistan. Such flight of capital from East Pakistan together with the neocolonial exploitation of the penetrating US capital (amounting to about Rs. 3,000 crores) and the exploitation of the monopolists and feudalists had shattered the entire economy of East Pakistan. The .overwhelming majority of the people of East Pakistan lived in utter distress.

 

Another result of the policy of national discrimination practised by the ruling classes `had been that the people of East Pakistan, though in a majority (56 per cent), had little -share in the Central services including the army. They were deliberately and planfully kept away from all important jobs at the Centre, which were filled from the upper ,classes of Punjab.

 

In short, the people of East Pakistan were deprived of all rights and mercilessly oppressed and exploited. Similar was the condition of the Pathans, Sindhis and Baluchis. The problem of nationalities had thus become a most serious and impor­tant problem in Pakistan.

 

Fight of the People for Democracy and Autonomy

 

In the above context, the democratic movement in East Pakistan, as well as in the whole of Pakistan, had begun on two fundamental demands-democracy and autonomy for the nationalists.

 

This struggle of the people of East Pakistan (Bangla Desh) had begun as far back as 1948 on the issue of language. The ruling classes had tried to foist. Urdu the mother-tongue of only 6 per cent of the population, as the only State language of Pakistan. The Bengalis of East Pakistan had risen against that attempted reactionary measure of the ruling classes and had demanded that Bengali, the mother tongue of the 56 per cent of the population, be made one of the State languages.

 

It is to be noted here that it was in the same year of 1948 that the Pathans had also launched a movement for their autonomy.

 

However, the struggle of the people of Bangla Desh on the language issue assumed a wide character in 1952 and gradually developed into a struggle for democracy and autonomy.

 

The reactionary ruling clique had always tried to suppress that movement by severe repressive measures, including shooting down of students and youth on the streets of Dacca (1952). They had also tried to dub that popular struggle as being "inspired by India" and confuse the people.

 

But the popular struggle went on unabated. All democratic parties and forces„ including the Communist Party of East Pakistan which had been functioning underground since 1943, participated in that movement.

 

In the background of the above struggles by the people of East Pakistan for autonomy and democracy, there was a provincial election in East Pakistan in 1954. 1-: that election, all opposition parties had formed a United Front against the ruling part}--Muslim League. A 21-point programme was chalked out by the United Front in which the demand for the fullest autonomy for East Pakistan was a most important one. The United Front had demanded that " East Pakistan be recognised as a sovereign and autonomous region " in accordance with the principle of the Pakistan Resolution passed by the All-India Muslim League Council in 1940 at Lahore, that `'the Central government should be vested only with three subjects such as defence, foreign affairs and currency " and that "all other subjects including the residuary powers should be in the hands of the elected government of East Pakistan". The United Front had thus clearly defined the demand for autonomy and the people of East Pakistan had unequivocally supported and voted for it. In that election the United Front had scored a glorious victory securing 290 seats, including 4 Communist Party candidates, out of 300. The ruling Muslim League was routed and got only 9 seats. The results of that election of 1954 had clearly demonstrated the fact that the people of East Pakistan stood solidly for autonomy as defined in the United Front programme.

 

But the reactionary ruling classes were not ready to accept this clear verdict of the people or to grant autonomy to East Pakistan. So the Central government conspired and had with the open and overt support of the US imperialists dismissed the United Front Ministry only after 45 days or so of its taking office on the false and fabricated plea that the United Front Ministry, especially its leader late A. K. Fazlul Haq, was "in league with India and trying to undo Pakistan by seceding". The ruling classes had also launched a reign of terror in East Pakistan and thousands were thrown into jails. The Communist Party was formally banned at that time. Significantly, it was only after a week or so of the dismissal of the United Front Ministry that Pakistan had joined the military pacts under imperialism.

 

But even after such shameless attack by the ruling classes against the people of East Pakistan, the movement for autonomy and democracy went on in various forms. The Sindhis, Pathans and Baluchis were also fighting for their national and democratic rights.

 

The ruling classes had, on the other hand, taken two political steps to counteract the growing popular movement for autonomy and democracy. The Central government had arbitrarily passed two acts. By one of these acts, it was laid down that East and West Pakistan would have "parity" in all matters, which meant that East Pakistan which had the majority of the population (i.e. 56 per cent) was made equal with the 44 per cent population of West Pakistan. By the second act, all the provinces in West Pakistan, such as Sindh, Punjab, North West Frontier Province as well as Baluchistan, were abolished and the whole of West Pakistan was constituted as "one unit" or one single province. These two acts were new measures of the reactionary ruling classes to intensify their policy of national suppression.

 

But as has been said earlier, the popular movement for autonomy and democracy could not be checked. It was going on both in East and West Pakistan. After the imposition of one unit in West Pakistan the suppression of the smaller nationalities­ Sindhis, Pathans and Baluchis-assumed an acuter form. They had complained that they had been made "virtual slaves of the Punjab vested interests" who had, through the grace of the one unit, captured all the important posts in the administration of those regions and also occupied a dominant position in their economics. So, from that time, the demand for the liquidation of one unit had become the central slogan in the struggle by the Sindhis, Pathans and Baluchis-for democracy and autonomy.

 

Intervention by the Imperialists

One thing needs mentioning here. In 1966 a Constitution was framed for the country by the then Constituent Assembly which was elected in 1955 by indirect voting, on the basis of parity. That Constitution framed by the reactionary ruling classes was far from a democratic one and did not provide for autonomy of the various nationalities. The President was vested with many special powers. Its only redeeming features were that it had provided for parliamentary rule and accepted Bengali as a State language together with Urdu, solely because these were the most pressing and popular demands.

 

After the framing of that Constitution a popular demand had also risen that a general election be soon held on the basis of the new Constitution. This demand had become very powerful. There were also cliques and counter cliques within the ruling classes.

 

Under these circumstances, the then Central Ministry had declared that general election would be held in February-March 1959.

 

This announcement of the general election together with the rising popular move­ment for autonomy and democracy had created a panic amongst the dominant section of the ruling coterie headed by the notorious Iskandar Mirza, an ex-army officer, as well as in US imperialist circle. It was then at the connivance of the US imperialists and with their open support that the ruling coterie had clamped down Martial Law in October 1958, to forestall the holding of the election as well as to suppress the democratic movement. Ayub Khan had then come to power with the overt support of the US imperialists. This was the second naked intervention by the US imperialists in the internal affairs of Pakistan to suppress democracy. The first was in 1954 when the United Front Ministry of East Pakistan, voted to power by the people, was arbitrarily dismissed. In fact, the US impe­rialists had always stood behind the reactionary classes of Pakistan in the latter's bid to suppress the popular movement for democracy and autonomy.

 

Renewed Popular Struggles

It was during the decade of the dictatorial regime of Ayub Khan that the suppression of the democratic forces, trampling down of democracy and of the national rights of the Bengalis and other nationalities had assumed monstrous proportions. The Constitution framed by the ruling classes in 1956 was scrapped. Communists were severely persecuted, any democrat raising the voice for democracy or autonomy was thrown into jail, all vestiges of democracy were wiped out and any movement by the students, workers, etc., for their rights was sought to be suppressed by leonine violence. Anti-Hindu communal riots were also provoked and organised to disrupt the people.

 

But the oppression and suppression during the Ayub regime did not go unchallenged. From 1961 onwards the people of East Pakistan as well as of Pathanland and Baluchistan had carried on many a glorious battle for their right of autonomy and democracy. The heroic struggles of the Pathans in 1961, the death-defying battles of the Baluchis in 1961-62 and the glorious battles of the East Pakistan students and people in 1962, 1963 and 1964 may be cited in this connection.

 

In 1965, during the Indo-Pakistan war, the reactionary ruling classes could temporarily confuse the people by virulent anti-India propaganda. But immediately after the termination of the war, a vigorous movement on the six-point programme of the Awami League had taken place in East Pakistan (June 1966). The six-point programme of the Awami League was basically a programme for parlia­mentary democracy and full autonomy. Regarding autonomy the six-point programme had demanded that only two subjects, namely defence and foreign affairs (excluding foreign trade) would vest with the Central government and all other subjects, including foreign trade, would be in the hands of the East Pakistan government. As regards currency, the six-point programme had laid down two alternatives. It said, either these would be two separate but easily convertible currencies for East and West Pakistan or there would be one currency for the whole of Pakistan under the Central government with the provision that there would be a separate State Bank for East Pakistan and some arrangements would be there to stop the flight of capital from East Pakistan to the Western Wing.

 

So, the six-point programme of Awami League had demanded wide autonomous powers for East Pakistan within the State of Pakistan and was not a secessionist move as was suggested by some interested quarters.

 

This six-point programme of the Awami League did get wide support from the people of East Pakistan and the movement launched by the Awami League on its basis (June 1966) was a powerful one which was also supported by the commu­nists and the left-wing section of the National Awami Party (NAP) then led by Moulana Bhasani. The Ayub regime had suppressed that movement with violence.

 

But again there was a huge popular upsurge against the Ayub regime through­out the whole of Pakistan in 1968-69. The Communist Party of East Pakistan had played an active role in that movement, especially in forging a united front of all democratic and opposition forces. In East Pakistan, that popular upsurge was based on the 11-point programme advanced by the Students' Action Committee (composed of all progressive and democratic students' organisations) and suppor­ted by the Awami League and the National Awami Party led by Wali and Muzaffar. The 11-point programme contained demands for a neutral and indepen­dent foreign policy, scrapping of the military pacts, nationalisation of banks, insurance and big industries, living wage for the workers, reduction of rents and taxes, educational - reforms, full civil liberty, etc., besides the demands for full autonomy and democracy (i.e., the six-point programme of the Awami League).

 

In West Pakistan all the opposition forces including the anti-Ayub rightists were united on the basis of the demand for parliamentary democracy and adult franchise. The people of Pathanland, Baluchistan and Sind joined the movement with the aspirations of parliamentary democracy and autonomy, especially the break-up of one unit.

 

It was due to that popular upsurge throughout Pakistan, the main demands of which were democracy and autonomy, that the dictatorial regime of Ayub Khan was toppled down.

 

Yahya Khan Comes to Power

 

But Ayub Khan, before he had to step down, handed over power to the C-in-C, General Yahya Khan and Martial Law was clamped on Pakistan for the second time on 25th March 1969.

 

But though the Martial Law was clamped and there was a military rule headed by Yahya Khan, it was due to the pressure of the huge popular upsurge that Yahya Khan had to concede to the following popular demands-direct election on universal and adult franchise, abolition of "parity" introduced in 1955 and representation in the National Assembly on the basis of population, framing of a new constitution by the elected National Assembly, undoing of one unit in West Pakistan and restoration of the former provinces, restoration of parlia­mentary democracy, etc.

 

But Yahya Khan had also promulgated a Legal Framework Order (LFO) in which it was stipulated that the new constitution to be framed by elected National Assembly would have to be authenticated by the President (i.e., Yahya Khan), and that it would have to be an "Islamic" one.

 

This LFO had proved that though the ruling military junta was compelled to con­cede to election, etc., under pressure of mass upsurge, it was in no mood to allow introduction of full parliamentary democracy and grant full autonomy to the nationalities. Rather, by that order it curbed the sovereignty of the elected National Assembly, ensured the reactionary religious basis of Pakistan, and sought to curtail democracy and the auto­nomous rights of the various nationalities.

 

Our party had been through this conspiracy of the military junta and criticised the LFO, demanded its amendment and sovereignty of the elected National Assembly. The National Awami Party led by Wali and Muzaffar had also done so. But the LFO was not amended.

 

General Election and Awami League's Victory

 

However, the general election, the first of its kind in Pakistan during the last 23 years, was held in December 1970. In that election, the Awami League swept the polls in East Pakistan securing 167 National Assembly seats out of 169 con­tested and 290 Provincial Assembly seats out of 300. By sweeping the polls in East Pakistan, the Awami League had also secured an absolute majority in the All-Pakistan National Assembly-167 seats out of the total 313.

 

During the election, the Awami League's main platform was its own six-point programme as well as the 11-point programme of the Students' Action Committee. But its main emphasis was on its six-point programme which was highly popular with the masses of the people in East Pakistan and the people had solidly voted for it.

After the victory of the Awami League in the election the reactionary forces raised a hue and cry that East Pakistan would secede. But the Awami League Chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had again and again declared categorically that he and his party did never want secession of East Pakistan but wanted the future constitution of the country be framed on the basis of the six-point programme of his party to end the exploitation and oppression over the Bengalis.

 

The people of East Pakistan also aspired that the newly elected National Assembly should soon sit in its session, that a democratic constitution based on the six-point programme be framed and that power be transferred to the victorious party-the Awami League. The downtrodden people of West Pakistan, especially of the smaller nationalities, also hoped that the oppressive days of the past would be over and democracy would be restored. In fact, everybody in Pakistan was eagerly waiting for a changeover to democracy.

 

Conspiracy of the Reactionaries

 

But the sweeping victory of the Awami League in the election had unnerved the ruling military junta and the right reactionary forces. And they began to conspire to nullify the verdict of the people and their hopes and aspirations. Z. A. Bhutto, the leader of the People's Party, had acted as the political spear head of that conspiracy. The People's Party had, through Bhutto's demagogy on socialism, etc. and his anti-India thunder, secured a majority of National Assembly seats (84 out of 144) from West Pakistan.

 

Bhutto's People's Party secured those 84 seats only from Punjab and Sind provinces, but failed to secure even a single from Frontier (Pathanland) and Balu­chistan. The National Awami Party (led by Wali and Muzaffar) got absolute majority in Baluchistan in the National and Provincial Assemblies. In Frontier Province it secured 3 seats in the National Assembly, and became the single largest party in the Provincial Assembly.

 

So Bhutto did not actually represent the whole of West Pakistan. But he posed as such and to subvert the session of the National Assembly, he had raised a slogan that there should be no National Assembly session "prior to any agree­ment between the two major parties-the Awami League and People's Party­on the question of the future constitution of Pakistan".

 

Bhutto and some People's Party leaders had also met the Awami League leaders at Dacca "to discuss constitutional issues" just to parade that they were trying for ^..an agreement". But actually Bhutto and his party were deadly against the six­point programme and the autonomy for the nationalities. They were trying to pressurise the Awami League to give up the six-point programme. But the Awami League had refused to go back on its commitment to the people. So the game of Bhutto failed.

 

The conspiracy of the reactionaries then went on in full swing. The Communist Party had foreseen the danger and had warned the people against it.

 

Meanwhile, Yahya Khan had summoned the first session of the National Assembly to be held at Dacca on 3rd March.

 

Immediately, Bhutto declared that he and his party would not attend the session of the National Assembly and if the National Assembly session was held on that date "the whole of West Pakistan would be in flames".

It was on this threat of Bhutto, the leader of a party which had only 84 seats in the National Assembly, that Yahya Khan had on 1st March issued a state­ment over the radio postponing the National Assembly session sine die. He had also convened a Round Table Conference of all the party leaders at Dacca on 10th March to discuss constitutional issues.

 

But, surprisingly enough, Yahya Khan had not thought it necessary to consult the Awami League-the party having an absolute majority in the National Assembly -before he had postponed the National Assembly session and convened the RTC.

 

All these showed that Yahya Khan was not acting either honestly or according to the principles of democracy, but according to a well-laid conspiratorial plan to continue the military rule.

 

New Upsurge of the People

 

The sudden postponement of the National Assembly session came as a rude shock to all sections of the people. The convening of the RTC while postponing National Assembly session was nothing but an insult to the injury. So it was at once rejected by the Awa