During the Liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 most of the people of the nation supported the fight for independence from Pakistan except for a few groups being the fifth column. Jamaat-e-Islami is the oldest religious party in Pakistan and its Bangladesh chapter collaborated with the Pakistan army to unsuccessfully prevent the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. Besides providing information of the pro-independence forces to the Pakistani army Jamaat also created many militia organizations such as Razakar, Al badr, Al shams in order to capture and eventually kill freedom fighters of Bangladesh. A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh was murdered by Al Badr and Al Shams when they saw the defeat was coming. Jamaat was subsequently banned, then restored in 1978 as the progressive political parties in Bangladesh in power allowed them space and made them qualition partners eventually.
Recently Bangladeshis were outraged by the Jamaat-e-Islam’s leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid’s statement that “Jamaat did not work against the Liberation War in 1971 and there are no war criminals in the country” and former Islami Bank chairman and Jamaat-e-Islami think-tank Shah abdul Hannan's remark that the liberation war was only a “civil war”. Drishtipat Blog has summarized lots of denials, response, analysis, politics and fact files on this issue and a heated discussion took place in the comments section.
E-Bangladesh thinks this is an attempt to rewrite history and comments:
this contradicts with the Jamaat leaders statement during the liberation war in 1971, in which they sided with Pakistan and aided Pakistani army to kill and rape Bangladeshis which resulted in one of the worst genocides of the world.
Shadakalo did not try to hide emotions:
I want to see these snakes tried for war crimes before they die of natural causes.
Tacit questions the intentions of Jamaat and comments:
“With their announcement, Jamaat has in effect heralded politicking back into Bangladesh’s mainstream discourse.”
Lal Dorza reports that Jamaat leaders are vowing that no case has been brought [bn] against the alleged war criminals so why should people call them criminals. In 1974 a general amnesty was declared for some of the war criminals.
However Eskimo reminds [bn] that the amnesty was not a blanket one but limited to only those persons who did not have specific charges against them. The 3rd world view quotes Dr. Hasan, convenor of War Crimes Fact Finding Committee, a group investigating war crimes by Pakistani army and their local collaborators in 1971, who calls Muzahid's statement a blatant lie:
“We have strong evidence and documents against the people who were involved in war crimes during the Liberation War and what is needed now to bring the culprits to justice is an initiative.”
In 1994, a national people's inquiry commission conducted a trial on eight war criminals of Bangladesh (including Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid) and presented a report in 1995 which can be found here. The report concludes:
The Inquiry Commission after reviewing the offences of the accused and related laws came to a conclusion that these criminals can be tried under the International Crime (Tribunal) Act 1973. To make the sovereignty of Bangladesh safe and sound, to ensure peace, human rights and dignity these criminals (killers, collaborators and war criminals) must be brought to the justice. The commission strongly recommends trial of these offences.
However for unknown reasons the succeeding governments of Bangladesh failed to take any actions against them. Leading commentators also suggest that it is high time to take actions against the war criminals. Because of lack of solid evidence after 36 years it would be appropriate to implement other measures like establishing a truth commission to deal with these crimes.
Bloggers like Eskimo are demanding [bn] that Jamaat should not have the right to be active in politics in Bangladesh. They are pointing out that its main agenda is to form a religious state which is in contradiction to the current state of democracy, judicary, constitution and social structure of the country. Some bloggers even put together an website called “Ban Jamaat-e-Islami” to propagate their protests.
Mash posts some video footages and newspaper articles on the 1971 genocide of Bangladesh. ShadaKalo posts some images of the genocide the Pakistani army and their collaborators committed against the Bangladeshis in 1971 and reiterates the words:
I will not forget. I will not let you forget.
119 comments
wow, there seem to be a few bangladeshi blogger inbreeding problems here.
I am pro forensic and legal investigation, prosecution and restitution. Am not sure how one can restitute all of the talented people killed in the last stages however. I am anti-infantilisation of the people on this issue. If you looked in a dictionary for the meaning of the law of qisas, you might figure that i’m more hardcore than you people are. Prefer to throw your toys at me? ok but.
If you want to historically place me in your sacred mythology; I’m sympathetic to the moshtaque position of what to do with an election victory rather than tajuddin one, I’m sympathetic to the shamsul huq Awami manifesto of 49 rather than the anIslamic one adopted later while he was in prison. It’s a shame when justice is hijacked, it makes it less likely to unfold. It also makes understanding the many coloured nature of our history difficult when black and white filters are attached.
DS:
There’s liberation and independance with glory attached, and also the colder terms of civil and succession. Colder terms that outsiders and nonflatterers would prefer. In a better arena this would be pedantic nomenclature issue and people would look at the fine structure of the constituent groups.
Sid:
I apologise for my Islamic Supremecism?!?! I still maintain that in the BD context HT is better than a lot of the options out there that only tolerate Islamic identity that is half a skincell or half a braincell deep, that actively encourage students out of Islam and into atheism.
Sharika:
Wrong. See 2nd para. i think what youve just gone and done is invent yourself a form of secularist bastardisation. Its a bit cultish thinking ‘My way, or the highway’.
Tasneem:
You confirm all my beliefs about deshi journos, Peace. With respect and hope for your improvement. Your data (on the jihadi JIB issue) is poor, your vision blurred and your triangulation methods sorely wanting. I’m not on here as a member of a party that wants to eat your children, im interested in why people think the way they do at certain times and with certain prompts.
Oh I see the desperate Islamophobics crying aloud to get some attention. Sorry folks, NOTHING’S GONNA HAPPEN ! However, you will end up selling some more flags. Happy now ? See you next December !
lcarsnet: Where do you find this kind of information? There is no source, no basis, other than some uncultivated thoughts of a delusional mind. Do you even know Wahabi ideology or history?
Brotherman: Surely it’s an age-old trick to discredit someone, as “a delusional mind,” when you can not contest. If you want to engage in a meaningful debate please be armed with logic and information. Please know that I am not someone whom you can brush off by typing in rubbish. Many have tried before and failed.
On Wahhabism, I will just copy two sources from the “Muslim/Islamic scene” ;-P
1. http://www.ummah.net/Al_adaab/salafi2.html
2. http://www.amislam.com/warning.htm
Fugstar: You are by all means hopelessly pathetic: by logic, language and presentation. As Mash has pointed out above, I see no logic in engaging with a genocide denier in a thread on one of the worst genocides in human history.
Your observation on “deshi journos,” is noted. Would have been nicer if you cared to detail. I would definitely love to know how a United Kingdom-based ranter, so much exposed to “western journalism,” evaluates us — “third-world scribes.”
And what data, vision, method are you talking about? Please try writing something we mortals can read and understand. “A party that wants to eat your children,” wow, brilliant, however, this is not an exercise for your “Creative Writing 453” course! I am sorry, try again.
fugstar
Hizbut Tahrir, like many Modernist authoritarian utopian ideas cooked up in the 20th century, is a force for anarchy and discord. It will never affect a positive change for the lot of Muslims by remaining in the far right agitating for religious supremacism. They will only continue to attract nutjobs and spread poison.
It now attracts large numbers of disaffected Bangladeshi youth who have simply become radicalised by this far-right, religious supremacism which denies the rights of religious minorities.
Any distortion of politics as long as it has a “Muslim flavour” seems to be worthy of your support. However, HT has got nothing to do with religion and everything to do with reactionary politics – which is why the majority of Muslims who don’t regard Israel as the enemy see HT as a circus freakshow. However, the horrible side-effect is that South Asian kids like you are now inculcated with religious supremacism and anti-semitism even though you have probably never met a Jew in your life.
How exactly is a doctrine which advocates religious and cultural intolerance better than “options out there that only tolerate Islamic identity that is half a skincell or half a braincell deep”?
Ah, denial! It looks familiar. I believe it has something to do with War Crime too, perhaps the presence of a collaborator forefather in the family doesn’t let some people accept the fact that it WAS genocide to which their jamati baaps were complicit.
Sid
are you on drugs ? Yaaba perhaps…
“Bangladeshi blogger inbreeding problem”?
fugstar,
I’ve been noticing these inane generalisation you throw around about Bangalis/Bangladeshis in general. They are almost all pejorative, as the term “inbreeding” here conveys. I’ve called you out on your bullshit generalizations about Bangladeshis before on UV and I’d like to do it again. Please tell me why do you spend so much time on Bangla blogs and in Bangladesh when you have such a dim view of the country and its people. Reminds me of the attitude towards Islam/Muslims of a Renan or a Lewis frankly.
“Colder terms that outsiders and nonflatterers would prefer” – you cannot simultaneously be an outsider and complain about takfir. If you thought deeply about your ideological position before going for a knee-jerk reaction, then perhaps you wouldn’t contradict yourself within a few comments.
Deshi,
Desh kothay? India’r ei dik na ki oi dikey? Islamophobia’r naam diye genocide-denial endorse kora hochchey Pakistani technique, besh purano actually. Lojja nai apnader, tai na?
Tasneem Khalil:
As long as you keep on nagging with some unsubstantiated and preposterous claims, I have to assume either you are lying or delusional. You have provided two web links that cannot be used as a reliable or authentic source of information. In this age and time, everyone is aware of that. I strongly suggest you do little more research on this topic if you wish to continue a meaningful debate.
Finally you wrote:
“Please know that I am not someone whom you can brush off by typing in rubbish. Many have tried before and failed.”
That gave me a good laugh. At least you deserve a “thank you”.
Deashi are you Dealer of Yaaba?
Attn To Moderator
Please take care of all those nionsense personal attaack
Deshi said:
are you on drugs ? Yaaba perhaps…
wow that’s a good argument…