**8The sympathy jf motl Bengali offieen had to be hidden in a facade of sombre sadness. Their mind was filled with deep an,fuuh and untold misery. They sincerely attempted to help the movement in all possible way, thossgh privately.***
Wwd /ram lost Thursday) HEN I crane back to London from Bulgaria after a couple of month* of deputation, the movement Ui UK and USA wa* gradually reaching a high pitch Meeting* and demonstration* continued unabated. Friendly pressure groups had already been formed in the British Par llament and in other section* of the society Operation Omega, consisting of both British and Bangladeshi nationals, staged dramatic demonstrations and successfully drew attention of Use international press and the community to t heir cause 1-ob hying had already been initi ated in some parts of Europe
Most of these activities were undertaken under the able lead ership of the late Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury. Special Overseas Representative of the Gauernment of the People s Republic of Bangladesh He was assisted try the Central Steering Committee of the Action Com mittee strewn all over Britain. Bangladeshi Restaurateurs. Students Association. Medical Association and other profes sional groups a* well as a host of highly dedicated and active residents and visiting Bangladeshi nationals and leaders of the UK chapters of various Bangladeshi political parties the most notable of which evidently was the Awami League
Meanwhile. Bengali officer* of the Pakistan Hi^i Comml* sion tiecame increasingly rest less A couple of locally re cruited offic ers had already lost their job at the Initial stage Several other* were contem plating to pre empt action by resigning beforehand The sympathy of mo*t Bengali offl cer* had to be hidden in a facade of sombre sadness Their mind was filled with deep anguish and untold misery They sin cerely attempted to help the movement In all possible way. though privately Immediately
after the military crackdown on the 25th March I drafted in my flat an appeal to British Parliamentarians in collaboration with Salahudclin Kasem Khan son of the lati- AK Khan It was given to the Ifreat social worker Munni Rahinan so that they along with her husband Barrister Cut fur Rahman Sha |ahan. could distribute It to British law-makers Some ol us also used to make clandestine rendevous with P-engali activists
On the 1st Augunt tn a huge gathering in Trafalgar Square and In the presence of Justice Chowdhury, two of our diplo mats. Mohluddin Ahmed and Lutful Matin publicly quit Pak istan government service and. for the first time in Europe, declared allegiance to the Mutlb nagar government Mohluddin who last held the position as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Mew York, had been Initialed Into work as a young diplomat under my care I asked him Just before nis de fectlon how did he plsn to maintain himwlf. his young wife and the new bom daughter since Joining the Bangladeshi movement wan basically a voluntary action Mohluddin promptly took out a driving licence from his pocket and said if needed l .e would earn a living as a cab driver I was deeply Impressed and recorded this episode on my sulwequent return to an Independent Bangladesh st the Foreign Office, for whatever It was
worth
On the 27th August, at the instruction of the Mujibnagar government Justice Chowd bury founded the first and the largest unofficial Bangladesh mission. outside India In Lon don The personnel consisted of three former diplomats and four non-diplomatic officials from UK and abroad The mis sion gradually took over the functions of the Central Steer Ing Committee, and planned to
undertake vigorous political and diplomatic campaign for Bangladesh and for the release, from Pakistani Ssol of Sheikh Mujlb the way ne was interna ttonally known Its functions were confined not only In the UK but encompassed the rest of the world, except Indis. The mission was run In the name of Bangabandhu. but all Inatruc tlon* to the mission ame from the Mujibnagar government and likewise all reporting was done to the latter It also ws» entrusted with the receipt of fund* raised from all source* to lie deposited In a central fund, the Bangladesh Fund The entire fund raised thereby was
subsequently remitted fo the government In due course
As for my own position being away from London for some time, created some setback I had earlier maintained liaison with Justice Chowdhury in company of Lulu Bllquis Banu the highly respected freedom fighter and It was decided that I should join the movement after the unofficial Bangladesh mis sion watt set up Meanwhile the Pakistan High Commission
asked all Bengali officer* and staff Io deposit their passports with the Head of Chancery who was a non Bengali for safe custody" I refused Io comply Distrust widened Shortly thereafter I received new* that officials from the cantonment wen ( to our home In Dhaka and started to keep a watch on the family I had to send words to them to move away from their known address It was difficult ami look lime In the mean time. Justice Chowdhury went to New York Io sttend the UN V'Htal
It was then In the first week of October that I was able to se vr-re connection with the Is
lama bad regime and publicly owed allegiance to the legitimate government of Bangladesh The highly attended press conference received wide coverage in international media as the defection of the highest ranking Bengali diplomatic officer in Europe I recall with pride the conwrsa Uon we had wtth Anthony Mascarenhas the author of The Rape of Bangladesh which created great sympathy for Bangladesh He and his wife came to dinner in our flat the evening before my press conference Anthony said inter alia. that tt might take at least seven years before Bangladesh couM become independent My wife quipped instantaneously giving vent to our feelings saying whether it took seven or seventeen years it did not matter there was no way to work for the monstrous military regime any further
I had a singular advantage which could not be shared by others As the erstwhile politi cal counsellor of the Pakistan High C ommission I had free and regular access to the White hail the seat of the British For eign and Commonwealth Office I also had established excellent rapport with the Head of the South Asian Division at the FCO Ian Sutherland, later Sir Ian and mixh later became con temporary with me both being Ambassadors of our respective countries in Moscow Ian told me then that he could no longer receive me at the Whitehall but
gave me a carte blanche to visit ms home in Hampstead whenever I wished That was the way we carried our business with the British government for the next four months till Britain recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign, independent nation
On the 16th December the Victory Day the events in the Bangladesh mission at 24 Pem bridge Gardens were such that beats words to describe adequately In the absence of Justice Chowdhury and being the senior most among erstwhile diplomats I was then entrusted with the overall responsibility as Acting Head of Mission We received news of the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka sometime in the early hours of the morning It came through wire service and was brought by our volunteers posted in the Office of the Guardian on the Fleet Street As soon as confirmation was received Bangladeshis from all over London and beyond started pouring in the mission
Incredible jubilation and spontaneous celebrations ensured People heaved a sigh at relief the fear of death Destruction rape and arson of their kith and kins in their native land came to an end. Their dream of becoming citizens at a
came true Many of them were locked in each other s arms, tears of joy roiling down their cheeks After all this was the day of all days they had all been awaiting for long nine months Even the delicious foods brought by Bengali restaurateurs became a matter of secondary interest to them and gave way to a sense of better motivation and the most sublime human feelings My colleagues and I witnessed in great amazement and utmost delight a spectacle and derived and ex perience which will never fall away from our memory.
/Concluded!