Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh and The Acting President

The Acting President and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh

"Your Excellency,
We have just learnt with deep shock of the dastardly attack launched against your country by the military junta of Pakistan on the afternoon of the 3 rd of December. This latest manifestation of Yahya Khan's reckless violation of international covenants is the final proof of his determination to subject the countries of this sub-continent to tensions, destruction and socio-economic ferment. The people of Bangladesh were conscious of the above inclinations of the Government of West Pakistan and they launched their struggle for freedom nearly nine months ago. We had sent communications to Your Excellency on the 15th of October and 23rd of November explaining the realities of the situation and our determination to fight the military junta of Pakistan till the complete defeat of the occupation forces is accomplished.
The aggression committed by Yahya and his Generals on your country makes it all the more necessary that the people of India and the people of Bangladesh stand shoulder to shoulder to repel the aggressors and fight for democracy and freedom and the values we cherish in common.Madam Prime Minister, we have the honour to inform you that in view of the direct aggression committed by Pakistan against your country on the 3rd of December, the freedom forces of Bangladesh are ready to fight the aggressive forces of Pakistan in Bangladesh in any sector or in any from. Out joint stand against military machinations of Pakistan would be further facilitated, if we enter into formal diplomatic relations with each other.
May we, therefore, repeal our request to Your Excellency that the Government of India to Your Excellency that the Government of India accord immediate recognition to our country and our Government. We should like to take this opportunity to assure Your Excellency that the Government and the people of Bangladesh stand solidly with you in this hour of peril and danger to both countries.
It is our earnest hope that our joint resistance to the nefarious plans and intentions of President Yahya Khan will he brought to a successful conclusion.We assure Your Excellency of our Government's full support in your just struggle against the aggressor.

Renewing Your Excellency, the assurances of our highest esteem.


Sd/-
Syed Nazrul Islam

Sd/-
Tajuddin Ahmad



On behalf of the freedom loving and struggling people of Bangladesh, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh conveyed the following message to the Prime Minister of India and to the Government and the friendly people of India:
"On behalf of the freedom loving and struggling people of Bangladesh, the Government of Bangladesh, as well as on our own behalf, may we convey to you and through you to the Government and the friendly people of India our deep sense of grateful appreciation not only for the act of recognition of our country but also for the kind sentiments and deep conviction expressed in your communications informing us of the decision of your country to recognize ours. We reciprocate your sentiments to the full and share fully your convictions. We can assure you that the bold and decisive action taken by you and your Government not only in recognizing our country but also in actively assisting us in achieving our liberation has had the deepest possible impression on our people.We have been flooded with reports about the great joy and enthusiasm with which your decision was welcomed by our people who have been suffering so long under the intolerable tyranny of Pakistan.
We have received eyewitness reports from all over Bangladesh testifying to the tumultuous welcome given to the friendly and assisting forces of India wherever they have gone, co-operating with and supporting our forces in our struggle for liberation. The response of our people has been so spontaneous and so spectacular that we feel compelled to ensure that their present agony and anguish are brought to an end at the earliest possible time. We, therefore, request you to accelerate your assistance to us so that the entire people of Bangladesh spearheaded by our fighting young man can crush the last remnant of Pakistan occupation and breathe the air of freedom very soon.'
'The message of the Prime Minster of Bangladesh to the Prime Minister of India and to the Government and the friendly people of India. The content of the letter is reproduced below on record for historical reason:
"Lip service was paid to the need for a political solution, but not a single worthwhile step was taken to bring this about. Instead, the rulers of West Pakistan went ahead holding farcical elections to seals, which had been arbitrarily declared vacant.There was not even a whisper that anyone from the outside world had tried to have contact with Mujibur Rahman. Our earnest plea that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman should be released, or that, even if he were to be kept under detention, contact with him night be established, was not considered practical on the ground that the U.S. could not urge policies, which might lead to the overthrow of President Yahya Khan. While the United Stated recognized that Mujib was a core factor in the situation and that unquestionably in the long run Pakistan must acquiesce in the direction of greater economy for East Pakistan,arguments were advanced to demonstrate- the fragility of the situation and of Yahya Khan's difficulty.
Mr. President, may I ask you in all sincerity: Was the release or even secret negotiations with a single human being, namely, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, more disastrous than the waging of a war?The fact of the matter is that the rulers of West Pakistan got away with the impression that they could do what they liked because no one, not even the United States, would choose to take a public position that while Pakistan's integrity was certainly sacrosanct, human rights, liberty, were no less so and that there was a necessary inter-connection between the inviolability of States and the contentment of their people.
Mr. President, despite the continued defiance by the rulers of Pakistan of the most elementary facts of life, we would still have tried our hardest to restrain the mounting pressure we had for nine months, and war could have been prevented, had the rulers of Pakistan not launched a massive attack on us by bombing our airfields in Amritsar, Pathankot, Srinagar, Avantipur, Uttarlai, Jodhpur, Ambala and Agra in the broad day light on December 3, 1971 at a time when I was away in Calcutta, my colleague the Defense Minister, was in Patna and was due to leave further to Ban galore in the South, and another senior colleague of mine, the Finance Minister, was in Bombay.
The fact that this initiative was taken at this particular time of our absence from then Capital showed perfidious intentions. In the lace of this, could we simply sit hack trusting that the rulers of Pakistan, or those who were advising them, had peaceful, constructive and reasonable intent?We are asked what we want. We seek nothing for ourselves. We do not want any territory of what was East Pakistan and now constitutes Bangla Desh. We do not want any territory of West Pakistan. We do want lasting peace with Pakistan. But will Pakistan give up its ceaseless and yet pointless agitation of the last 24 years over Kashmir? Are they willing to give up there hate campaign and posture of perpetual hostility towards India? How many times in the last 24 years have my father and I offered a pact of non-aggression to Pakistan? It is a matter of recorded history that each time such offer was made, Pakistan rejected it out of hand.We are deeply hurt by the innuendos and insinuations that it was we who have precipitated the crisis and have thwarted the emergence of solutions. I do not really know who is responsible for this calumny. During my visit to the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium, the point I emphasised, publicity as well as privately, was the immediate need for a political settlement. We waited nine months for it.
When Dr. Kissinger came in August 1971, I had emphasised to him the importance of seeking an early political settlement. But we have not received, even to this day, the barest framework of a settlement, which would take into account the facts as they are and not as we imagine them to be.Be that as it may, it is my earnest and sincere hope that with all the knowledge and deep understanding of human affairs you, as President of United States and reflecting the will, the aspirations and idealism of the great American people, will at least let me know where precisely we have gone wrong before your representatives or spokesmen deal with us with such harshness of language. With regards and best wishes,


Yours sincerely,
INDIRA GANDHI"

Friday, July 10, 2009

In A year, Six Season in Bangladesh

Barsa (June to August) Rainy Season
In Bangladesh, which has both the world's largest delta system and the greatest flow of river water to the sea, water rules the earth, and so the most important season of all is barsa, a time of lashing rains and tearing winds. In this season, 70 percent of the land is under water – water from rivers, the sea, rain, tidal waves, floods and the melting snows of the Himalayas. The rains are at first a welcome relief from the baking, dusty hot season. But as the rains continue, the land turns into a brown and watery mass, ever-changing in shape and texture. Fields and homes are flooded; people and animals have to move to higher ground. Food is reduced to pre-cooked rice, dal and jackfruit that ripen at this time. During the rains, most villages are isolated, accessible only by boat. The people become self-sufficient and depend on each other rather than the outside world. The rain has turned stagnant water fresh again. Children leap naked into ponds. Women swim in sarees. Men dive in wearing sarongs. It is during the rainy season that Bangladesh's main crop, jute, begins to ripen and is harvested. Farmers dive down to the roots to cut them. The stalks are placed on high ground to dry. Aside from the practical problems, the rains and water also inspire the poetry, art and songs of the people.

Sarat (September to October) Autumn
As September begins, the skies are blue and a cool wind blows. The land turns into a carpet of bright green rice shoots while the smell of drying jute invades the air. Flowers bloom, the rice ripens and the harvest begins. Blue, gold and green are the colours of sarat – blue sky, golden sun and green vegetation from emerald to jade, pea to lime, shamrock to sea-green. In the green fields, white Siberian cranes, egrets and ducks hunt for food. Although the air is humid, there is a slight chill late at night.

Hemanto (October to November) Late autumn
Once the land has emerged from its watery grave, it is time to replant in new, fertile soil that is rich in nutrients. During this season, the land is at its luscious best. Festivals flourish to hail the harvest, the end of the floods, the coming of the new soil and the wonder of the rivers. The country's troubadours are everywhere, dressed in bright clothes and singing for money. The land and its people come to life during hemanto, when the flowers bloom – jasmine, water lily, rose, magnolia, hibiscus and bougainvillea. By the season's end, the air is no longer humid. Fresh scents replace the dry jute smell. Hemanto marks the start of the wedding season where receptions are held under red, blue, green or white tents.

Seet (November to December) Winter
From mid-November to early January, the weather becomes more arid and less humid. The earth dries and dust forms. Warm clothes are pulled out. Young people play tennis, football, cricket and golf. Seet is also the season when people return to their ancestral villages, where they can experience once again the essence of Bangladesh – the harmony of man, beast, land, water and air.

Basanto (December to February) Spring
The coolest days are from mid-December to February when the days are golden with light, the flowers are blooming and the nights and early mornings are chilly. Night guards wrap themselves up in shawls and blankets with scarves and hats pulled down over their ears. During basanto, the countryside hums with fairs, parades and commemorations. Arts festivals celebrate painting and handicrafts, poetry, music and drama. In Dhaka, basanto heralds the beginning of the social season with a frantic whirl of invitations to weddings, parties and dinners. Along with the cool weather comes the nation's silly season – politics. To a Bangladeshi, politics is what alcohol or sport is to other nations. Everyone gets involved.

Grisma (March to May) Summer
Throughout basanto, the weather warms up a bit each day until March 1, when the heat starts intensifying more rapidly. The soil turns a dusty khaki and then almost white. There are lightening and thunder storms and sometimes, icy lumps of hail crash down. The rivers dry out and are difficult to navigate. Grisma is also the peak time for the brick industry. Bricks are used for building and are a substitute for stone and gravel in Bangladesh. In the cities, the humid air is laden with dust, brick grit and auto fumes. The sun is a round red globe, beating down relentlessly. Everyone waits for the rains and the beginning of another cycle of seasons.

International Mother Language Day(1952)


21 February was proclaimed the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.


International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of Bangladeshi university students were killed by the East Pakistan police and army in Dhaka.


International Mother Language Day is observed yearly by UNESCO member states and at its headquarters to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
In August 1947, a new state called Pakistan, comprising two far-flung wings in the west and east, separated by 1600 kilometers of foreign territory, emerged on the world map. The ideological basis of that strange phenomenon was the absurd and pernicious two nation theory of Mr. Jinnah that ignored such basic elements as language and culture and considered religion as a bond strong and sufficient enough to transform a people into a nation.
The language of the people of eastern wing of Pakistan, and they were the majority, was Bangla. It had a rich tradition of literature of over a thousand years. The Bangalees also had a highly developed culture that had little in common with the culture of the people of western wing of Pakistan. The Bangalees' love for and attachment to their language and culture were great and when in 1952 the neo-colonial, power-hungry, arrogant rulers of Pakistan declared that ‘Urdu and Urdu alone would be the state language of Pakistan, they sowed the seed of its future disintegration.


The people of the then East Pakistan, particularly the students, rose in angry protest against the vicious undemocratic designs of the government. Those designs really amounted to the destruction of Bangla language and culture and imposition of the language and culture of the people of western wing on the people of eastern wing. The reaction was strong and spontaneous.

The government decided to quell protests by brute force. The police opened fire on 21st February 1952 on unarmed peaceful protesters, most of whom were students, resulting in the death, among others, of Rafiq, Barkat, Jabbar and Salam. As the news of those deaths spread, the entire people of the eastern wing felt greatly involved emotionally. Those who lost their lives to uphold the prestige defend the rights of their mother-language became hallowed martyrs.
Their sacrifice at once tragic glorious and the indignation of the people against an autocratic government had far reaching effect. 21st February became a symbol and attained mythic properties, it nourished the concepts of democracy and secularism. It also contributed significantly to the flowering of Bangalee nationalism. It led to the dawning of the realization in the minds of the Bangalees that they constituted a separate nation and their destiny lay not with Pakistan but elsewhere as an independent country. The subsequent democratic mass movements of the late fifties, throughout the sixties and the seventies, and finally the struggle for independence and the war of liberation owed a great deal to 21st February.

From 1953 onwards, starting from 21st February 1953, the immortal 21st February has been observed as a great national event all over Bangladesh, and also beyond the frontiers of Bangladesh: in several places of India, UK, USA, Canada and elsewhere, wherever there is a sizeable concentration of Bangla speaking people. Yet so long, it has been mainly a national event of Bangladesh. But with the declaration of 21st February as the International Mother Language Day, it has transcended the national borders of Bangladesh and acquired an international significance and a global dimension.

At the initiative of the United Nations and its various organs, a number of specific days have been declared over the years as international days for observance by the people of the whole world. All these days highlight some values, events and issues and are intended to generate a healthy awareness in the people of the world about them with the ultimate aim of making this world a better place to live in for the entire human population. Thus we have the international literacy day, international women's day. international children's day, the international day for eradication of racial discrimination, international day for ensuring pure drinking water, international habitat day, international day for preservation of environment and many others.

Some of these international days are linked with certain specific events that took place in some specific countries. While observing these days, the people of the world recall those events and those countries as a matter of course. The world is thus brought closer providing peoples of the world with the chance to get out of their insularity.

International Mother Language Day is particularly significant in the sense that it has a cultural importance. From now on, 21st February — so long observed in Bangladesh as the Bangla Language Martyrs' Day — will be observed here simultaneously as the Bangla Language Martyrs' Day and the International Mother Language Day. And in nearly 200 countries of the world, various peoples speaking various languages and belonging to various national cultures will observe 21st February as the International Mother Language Day. They will naturally celebrate their own mother languages, but while doing so, it is more than likely that they will refer to Bangladesh and the Language Movement launched by her people that reached a climactic point on 21st February 1952.

The declaration made by the UNESCO in November 1999 designating 21st February as the International Mother Language Day has placed Bangladesh on the cultural map of the world with a highly positive image. We, people of Bangladesh, should now do all that we can to further develop our mother language Bangla in all branches of knowledge so that it can play a worthy role in the community of world languages. We shall love, cherish and promote Bangla, our own mother language, But we shall not indulged in any kind of chauvinism.

While devotedly serving our own language, we shall respect the languages of all the peoples of the world make 21st February - The International Mother Language Day - a great day, to be observed worldwide in the new century and the millennium that we have recently stepped into. Long live 21st February the International Mother Language Day!

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