Accounts of War

January 1, 1972, The Indian Council of World Affairs published a collection of stories about the serious abuses that Pakistani forces committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The book was called “How Pakistan Violated Human Rights in Bangladesh.” This was the first publication which acted as an official statement from people who witnessed the barbaric acts of the Pakistani army. After 44 years, 'Ahmed Sofa Rashtra Sabha' (an organisation dedicated to the works of famous writer Ahmed Sofa) took the initiative to translate this book in Bangla. The first edition was published in the EkusheBoi Mela 2016 from Agami Prokashani, named Bangladesh e Pakistan er Manob Adhikar Langhan.

The book includes comments from people all over Bangladesh. Renowned personalities such as artist Kamrul Hasan, director Fazlul Karim and others also shared their experiences regarding the fearsome nine months. 33 untold stories have been included in this book, including French philosopher Andre Malraux's comment which was the foreword for the original book. Malraux's foreword showed his indirect and to some extent, emotions towards the 1971 scenario of our country. As a lot of controversy rose regarding the liberation war, Malraux stood by Bangladesh, condemning Pakistan's actions and neglect towards Bangladesh.

After the war, international strategists tried to explain that the war was just another outcome of the clash between China and the Soviet Union, and was just a political thing. Marlaux countered this and wrote, “If Marshal Yahya Khan had not decided to exterminate the Bengalis, and if he had not sent his planes to bomb Indian Airfields, what would be the role of China, the United States, the Soviet Union in this affair? As is the custom, each ambassador would have defended his country. The Pakistani ambassador in France – I repeat: of Pakistan – nobly defended Pakistan, He did not kill anybody. The electoral victory of the Awami League was troublesome for Islamabad. The electoral victory of the people's front was so for the French right; it did not exterminate its opponents for all that. If politics is an art, it is one of reconciliation and not of assassination.”

The statements from the public, which this book incorporates, show what exactly Andre Marlaux was talking about. The vicious acts that followed throughout the nine months were a lot more than just a political outcome. The book writes eye witnesses describing incidents from people being buried alive to being tortured in the Pakistani camps, incidents which can only be compared to the acts which took place inside the Nazi concentration camps.

Maya Dasgupta, who was an assistant judge in Jessore, describes how her husband Santosh Kumar, the sub judge of Jessore was murdered in the hands of the Pakistani army. Their only child Rana, then 10 years old, was an eye witness to this event. In her record, she mentioned that the Pakistani army tried to kill Santosh, Rana and their house keeper Badal, five miles away from the district court. It was luck that the bullet did not hit Rana and he later escaped. Muhammad Sahidul Islam also shares his story as a prisoner of the Pakistani Army. He describes how he with 59 other falsely accused prisoners had to live in a dark small cell for 22 days, with nothing to eat, and a glass of water for the whole bunch. In the book, Sahidul quotes, “Death was much better than how we were being treated.” Mother Teresa's statement is also included in the book where she describes the devastating scenarios inside the refugee camps. Like these, 29 statements have been collected for this book, just to give a glimpse of what people went through.

The book serves as an important document of our history of the liberation war. The real life stories which are incorporated can give a reader shivers down their spine. It is a written testament of how barbaric and bloody the road to our freedom was. Though 45 years have passed, this book reminds us of the sacrifices people made, the events that occurred, and the lives we lost to attain liberty. A must read for Bangladeshis across the globe who want to know what the liberation war was actually like.