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Frankly Speaking.

The Subcontinent, Britain and the Ciommonwealth Conference

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS

by Faruq Choudhury
***The people of the area that now constitutes Bangladesh took a leading role in anti-colonial struggles. Thousands suffered hardships and imprisonment and many sacrificed their lives. Belonging as they did to different religions and political parties and persuasions, they were the forerunners of the ultimate struggle that brought us independence. We owed it to them as a nation to recognise their contribution and to pay homage to their memory.***
THIS year India and Pakistan have been celebrating their fiftieth year of independence coinciding of course with the departure of the British from the subcontinent in August 1947 Newspapers and electro-nic media of these two countries and of Britain have been preoccupied with this topic and the occasion has been marked by speeches, discussions and seminars galore. The governmental authorities of these three countries have attached considerable importance to the occasion.
The present state ofindo-Pakistan bilateral relations leaves much to be desired. Yet some enthusiasts even suggested that Prime Minister Gujral and Nawaz Sharif lead the joint celebrations of this occasion on August 14 and 15 in Karachi and New Delhi respectively. Karachi, because Prime Minister Gujral. a young man then, was there in August 1947. where his father was a member of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. Born in 1949. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is a post midnight' child and the much older Gujral and he span two generations of the subcontinent. representing as it were, experience of the past and hope for the future. The idea of the joint commemoration did not materialize but Queen Elizabeth's visit to India and Pakistan underlines the historicity of the British withdrawal from the subcontinent.
When the British quit India In 1947. the Labour Party was in power there. The party which can justifiably claim some credit for handing over power in the subcontinent fifty years ago, is back on the saddle after a good seventeen years in the wilderness. It has understandably scored some political mileage out of the occasion, but then there has been marked enthusiasm in celebrating the golden jubilee in non-governmental quarters as well.
Today the business communities in both India and Pakistan sincerely desire good relations, for they are aware of the consequential benefits. They would like to see Britain act as a catalyst in this. Then there are the large communities of IndoPakistan expatriates who are conscious of the economic benefits that may flow out of friendship and unity. The Intelligentsia of l?olh the countries have an attachment for things British and strongly feel that both these countries, atomic powers now. have developed* scientific andl^chnolpfl, |cal base with cons^dpr$bKj.ui-> -sorption capacity. But for the Kashiqfr isSue, India! and "Pakistan could1 ihddecf Hav^ prt- ' sented themselves to the outside world as reasonably fast-developing like-minded economic and cultural entities, represent-
ing, like China, a market of a billion people.
Recently at a seminar entitled "India and Pakistan at fifty", held in Wilton Park in southern England I met a large number of Indo-Pakistani par ticipants. attending it. as 1 did. in their personal capacity. Bhabani Sengupta. the renowned Indian columnist and political thinker. A M Ahmedi, the recently retired Chief Justice of India. BJP leader Jaswant Singh, retired Indian Foreign Secretary Salman Halder, Pakistani ex-Ministers Rafi Raza and Javed Jabbar. Pakistan Muslim League Senator Akram Zaki, retired Foreign Secretary Niaz Naik, eminent Pakistani journalist Maltha Lodhi and many others were there. Sir Nicholas Fenn and Sir Christopher Macrae, who till recently served as British High Commissioners to New Delhi and Islamabad respectively, initiated the discussions in the seminar which was also attended by luminaries of Indo-Paktstan business communities, both national and expatriate. The discussions, which were off the record, were free, frank and forward looking. There was of course difference of opinion, at times even sharp, but this did not affect the constructive outlook, the spirit of cordiality and bonhomie that pervaded throughout our five-day discussions in very pleasant surroundings.
Here one cannot help asking as to why we in Bangladesh have opted out of commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the end of British colonial rule in the Subcontinent Admittedly we jo not accept August 14 as our independence day and independence indeed came to us a quarter of a century later. Bui then, in a sense, neither the In dian National Congress nor the Muslim League, got in 1947. the independence they wanted. To Nehru Independence came to India on August 15. 1947, not "wholly or in full measure" but "substantially" and Jinnah's Pakistan was "moth-eaten and "truncated". In the political chess game of the time, the Muslim League demanded the partition of India and when the chips were down the Congress went for the partition of two major provinces, viz. Bengal >nd tWt Punjab SUbSequei^y the Congress andTMTHWijn' Mahashabha firmly rejected the proposal for an independent -United Bengal. Bangladesh was achieved by our taking, as it were, the Pakistan route. What would have otherwise happened
to Bengali nationalism can now only be a matter of conjecture and need not occupy our mind. The point is that when the British left, no party got what it wanted. One therefore finds It puzzling as to why when the other two countries commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the event, Bangladesh has been reluctant to join.
The people of the area that now constitutes Bangladesh took a leading role in anti-
colonial struggles Thousands suffered hardships and imprisonment and many sacrificed their lives. Belonging as they did to different religions and political parties and persuasions. they were the forerunners of the ultimate struggle that brought us Independence We owed It Io them as a nation to recognise their contribution and to pay homage to their memory This would also have been a reminder to our present generation of the sacrifices of their forelathers. Also Bangladesh s participation in the commemoration of this occasion would have made our substantial expatriate community feel a oneness with the Indo-Paklstani expatriate communities, would have brought them closer to each other in their pursuits abroad and In the long run it Is Bangladesh that stood to gain by this. Instead, we disavowed the facts of history, distanced ourselves from the mainstream of the subcontinent and deliberately. it would seem, deprived the succeeding generations of a legacy of which they should have been proud.
The British came Into contact with India mainly through Bengal. The battle of Plassey is a painful yet an integral part of our history and of our ethos. And when the time came to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the undoing of the battle of Plassey through h 1
nie^RH^Eve
taken notion in some In this country that observing, the. British withdrawal would diminish the importance of the
Bangladesh Liberation Movement. That would be taking a myopic view of history We were indeed obliged to undergo another political change culminating in our liberation when Bangladesh metamorphosed into its present political from. But this is not to say that 1947 was not a milestone in Bangladesh s past. In fact the contrary is true.
It was from Bengal that the English language and literature
spread across India. In the sub continent we had had the longest association with the British and the positive aspects of our association with them Is still keenly felt Our political Institutions resemble the Westminister model, although It may not always appear to be so when our "Jatiyo Sangshad" Is In session! In fact the attempt to Introduce a different model led to mass upsurges and there was a consensus lor a return to the parliamentary system The use of and exposure to English language and literature nave considerably strengthened and enriched our own literature. The mental and Intellectual affinity with the British ethos has helped create liberal think Ing among our Intelllgcntla and provided us with conduits and bridges to the outside world These ideas have helped the
raising and nourishment of secular values among Bangladeshis.
There is another reason why there should be a resurgence of Interest in Bangladesh in both the British withdrawal in 1947, and in the association with the English culture. Once Bangladesh was achieved it became the only unilanguage State in the subcontinent. Unlike India and Pakistan. English was not required as a conduit among national groups. Today Bengali is the established language here and rightly so — because national genius cannot find fruition in a foreign language. Yet the status of Bengali having been restored, there is now a return to the idea of the Importance of English. In an interlinked global economy, in these days of emphasis on international trade and investment. English is increasingly seen as a bridge to the outside world. Hence there is a renewed interest in English and consequently a renewed interest in English historical linkages. Our reluctance to join Britain. India and Pakistan in commemorating 1947 seems to run contraiy to this perception.
In fact joining the Commonwealth. in recognition of our ties with Britain, was one for the first foreign policy decisions of Sheikh Mujib. On Au-Sust 2. 1973 which addressing le Commonwealth Summit in Ottawa, which incidentally was the first international meet he attended as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu said. TTie importance that Bangladesh attached to the Commonwealth was evident from the fact that after liberation. one of Its earliest acts was to apply to become a member"
One was happy to learn that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would be attending the forthcoming Edinburgh Commonwealth Summit. We did not participate in the last Commonwealth Summit held in Auckland, New Zealand in 1995 at the Prime Ministerial level and Sheikh Hasina's participation this time will also underscore our continued interest in that organization. What with the question of expansion of its membership, the organization is passing through a crucial stage and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's input in discussions on this question may be relevant. This Summit is likely to pay particular attention to Trade. Investment and Development and the Prime Minister will get an opportunity to exchange views with her counterparts in the light of her government s thinking on the matter. It is good that Finance Minister Kibria has been invited to address a presummit meeting in London organized by the Commonwealth Business Forum. The Commonwealth Heads of Government, in recent times, have been paying a particular attention to the NGO movement in member countries. Prime Minister may wish to tell her Commonwealth colleagues about the supportive role that NGOs In Bangladesh have been playing in the government s development efforts in various fields. Bangladesh has been taking a leading role in the fields of microcredit, non-formal primary education, adult education and female reproductive health. Prime Minister might wish to share the experience of the Government in these crucial fields of Human Resources Development.
There Is a general perception that the democratic post-1991 Bangladesh has so. far failed to play the role expected of it in the Commonwealth. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's participation in the forthcoming Commonwealth Summit will hopefully remove that.