The Making of Mujibnagar: Birth of Bangladeshs National Identity

By Mesbah Ul Haq
Against the backdrop of initial military success of the liberation force, specially that in the battle for Kushtia, and the fast political developments occurring with the rebel Bangladesh leadership, gaining support of the nearest neighbour India for the cause of Bangladesh was nothing but an inevitable political and strategic option. Being a top leader of the majority party in the National Assembly of Pakistan Tajuddin Ahmed's visit to New Delhi on 3 April 1971, therefore, did emerge as a very critical one. However, during the visit it became obvious that the authority at the South Block was not ready to accept anybody other than a formally recognised leader of Bangladesh. In such a situation he was asked to substantiate his position as the leader successor of the liberation movement in absence of the elected leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Practically, India's acceptance and recognition of the Bangladesh leadership in exile was an essential matter of the time. After assessing the situation Tajuddin Ahmed came back to Calcutta with no such positive result. He then moved out on a search mission by a Dakota, provided by the host authority, and dropped at several places along the border up to Agartala for hunting the elected representatives from Bangladesh. On way he met a good number of leaders he was looking for. But after having been briefed by Tajuddin Ahmed of his mission to the Indian capital, most of the representatives challenged his authority terming the same as a premature one. Then a detailed discussion followed before it was agreed that they would sit together along with others as would be available for obtaining a general consensus on the matter. Accordingly Tajuddin Ahmed sent a message to all the border posts and nearby places asking the Bangladesh leaders in exile to gather at Agartala in Tripura immediately. Consequently on 10 April 1971 all the available elected members of the National Assembly of Pakistan and those of the Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan met and after an open and thorough discussion constituted themselves into a Constituent Assembly. And by dint of gaining absolute majority in the general election of 1970 they thereby adopted the Proclamation of Independence with retrospective effect from 26th March. The proclamation confirmed the declaration of independence made earlier by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 26 March 1971. In fact the instrument served as the Provisional Constitution of the country that made Bangladesh a sovereign Peoples Republic. And by dint of the same the Government of Bangladesh in exile was formed to run the affairs of the newborn republic. Needless to mention here that Bangladesh began its constitutional journey 35 years back with that proclamation. And the instrument invested the President with all executive and legislative authority and the power to appoint a Prime Minister. Under the proclamation the unabated leader of the people Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was made the President and Syed Nazrul Islam, the Vice-President of the Republic. Later, in absence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman due to his internment in Pakistan, Syed Nazrul Islam became the Acting President who, then, appointed Tajuddin Ahmed as the Prime Minister, and Captain Mansur Ali, A H M
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Kamruzzaman and Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed, as ministers while Colonel M Ataul Gani Osmani was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Armed Force and the Liberation Forces of Bangladesh. As per that essential legal instrument Prof M Yusuf Ali was appointed to conduct their oath of office. The very next day in an address to the nation broadcast by Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra (Free Bangladesh Radio Station) Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed outlined the overall situation, justified the war against the Pakistani military regime and formation of the provisional government, and confirmed establishment of its headquarter at a place in the free south-western region of Bangladesh. Previously on 10 April, in a secret message to Dr Ashab Ul Haq, MPA from the ChuadangaAlamdanga constituency (Kushtia-6) and Chief Advisor of the South Western Command, Tajuddin Ahmed indicated that the Provisional Capital of Bangladesh would be at Chuadanga, the nerve centre of the resistance force as well as the headquarter of the South Western Command. He also asked Dr Haq to arrange a ceremony for conducting the oath of office and inauguration of the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh at Chuadanga. The date was fixed tentatively on 14 April 1971. Consequently the newly built Sub-Divisional Hospital building was secretly earmarked for holding the ceremony. But the information was, however, inadvertently leaked to the press and UPI, in a dispatch on 14 April, quoting Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, reported: The proclamation, broadcast by the Free Bengal Radio and monitored here, said the capital of the Bangladesh (Bengali Nation) government would be Chuadanga, a small town 10 miles from the border with India. With the flash of the news in the international media, Chuadanga became fully exposed and identified as an immediate target of the enemy force. And thereby the war scenario changed dramatically. In view of the situation and considering security and strategic factors the ceremony had to be deferred at the last moment and, naturally, the venue of the same had also been shifted from Chuadanga. Then against the backdrop of massive air raids on Chuadanga by Sabre jets from Pakistan Air Force base at Jessore on 16 April, the venue for the ceremony was shifted to about 20 miles from Chuadanga town at a peaceful and quiet mangogrove near the EPR outpost at Baidyanathtala under Bhoberpara mouza in Meherpur Sub-Division. The revised venue, about 10 miles southwest from Meherpur town, was selected in consideration of its geographic and strategic position. As the area was fully covered by dense greenery, visibility from the air was virtually impossible. Besides, vicinity of the place to the border with India was another important reason; that was against any possible air raid and for easy accessibility of the dignitaries and those from the international press and media. Further, communication to the place by road in Bangladesh was hardly passable. For obvious reasons the place was kept secret until the morning of Saturday, 17 April 1971. As per Bengali calendar incidentally that was the first day of the year 1378. In the very early morning of that day a group of public representatives and other important persons got in a few dozen of vehicles waiting in front of the century-old Grande Dame of Calcutta, the Grand Hotel. Also a host of over hundred journalists
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and media personnel gathered from over 40 countries were picked up from Calcutta Press Club as per schedule. None except a very few knew their actual destination nevertheless they smelt something very important to happen. After over 4 hours' uninterrupted drive through Krishnanagar the fleet reached near the venue at about 11:15 through Hridoypur border point on the Indian side. By that time a few thousand people from nearby villages had gathered to witness the ceremony. Though the whole place was covered by a mango-grove but the makeshift dais, made of ordinary fourlegged bedsteads, was under a few huge mahoganies indicating the majestic distinction of the occasion. Three ordinary sofas in red and white, three wooden chairs and a small side table along with two microphones were on the dais. A good number of small wooden chairs on big tarpaulins spread on the ground were set on both sides of the dais. While leaders, guests and dignitaries took their seats on one side the other was earmarked for the journalists. Being a very backward place, the furniture and other articles used for the ceremony were borrowed from nearby private homes, EPR outpost and from the Catholic Mission of the century-old Church of Our Lady of Sorrows at Bhoberpara. Taufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the then SDO of Meherpur, was in charge of the overall arrangement of the ceremony. As soon as the leaders got down thousands of people and those of the resistance force chanted patriotic slogans like Joy Bangla (Victory for Bengal), Bir Banglee Ostro Dhoro Bangladesh Swadhin Koro (Take up arms, you brave Bangalees, and make Bangladesh independent) and Joy Bangabandhu (Victory for the Friend of Bengal-Sheikh Mujibur Rahman). While Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain Mansur Ali, A H M Kamruzzaman, Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed, Colonel M Ataul Gani Osmani along with Prof M Yusuf Ali, reached the venue Syed Nazrul Islam, being the Acting President of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, was given the Guard of Honour by a mixed group of EPR, Police and Ansar, mostly in fade and worn-out uniforms. Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, the then SDPO of Jhenaidah, led the guard in absence of Major Abu Osman Chowdhury who was expected to perform the duty as the Commander of the South Western Command. Unfortunately Major Osman failed to reach the venue in time due to some very important preoccupation mainly in respect of safe retreat of his force and logistics. The Acting President, then, ceremoniously hoisted the tri-colour national flag at a flag post on the right side of the dais followed by national anthem Aamar Sonar Bangla Aami Tomai Bhalobashi was presented by a group of local singers. Thereafter, he along with Colonel M Ataul Gani Osmani inspected the Guard. As the leaders took their seats on the dais and after recitation from the holy scripts Prof M Yusuf Ali, MNA and Chief Whip of the Awami League Parliamentary Party, read out the Proclamation of Independence, the prime instrument of the newborn state. Copies thereof, both in Bangla and in English, were circulated amongst the audience. He, then, conducted the Oath of Office of the Acting President followed by the ministers. After a while the Acting President of the newly declared republic, Syed Nazrul Islam, addressed the audience in a very forceful language, often in English. Following him, the Prime Minister delivered his speech whereby Tajuddin Ahmed by his innate eloquence explained the background of the resistance, the exigencies for formation of the provisional government and the guiding instructions for
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the administration and the people. Later he held a press conference there. M A Mannan, MNA from Tangail-1 constituency, was there to conduct the whole ceremony. All finished, while Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed was about to get into a car to leave the venue, a foreign journalist asked him whether the place would take any new name? Dr Ashab Ul Haq was standing just beside him. On hearing the question the Prime Minister inquisitively looked at Dr Haq who suggested for a keen thought before any immediate comment. Then the next moment Dr Ashab Ul Haq said, How it would be in the name of the leader (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman)? Having consensus of those present nearby, the Prime Minister with a clear affirmative expression instantly declared that the historic place, from that day, would be known as Mujibnagar. That was how the nomenclature of the wartime capital of Bangladesh was made a reality. And during the period of our liberation war, though was in exile till the final victory in December 1971, the provisional government was always called by that given name of the place where it was formally declared the Mujibnagar Government. Before the leaders, guests, dignitaries and the audience left Mujibnagar by past 2 in the noon a deep sense of dignity and pride got attached to the once obscure mango-grove. Regretfully, despite of the fact that in whose name was it all, the unabated leader of the people, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had never visited the place after his victorious return from internment in Pakistan. Nevertheless, since then the day had all along been signifying achievement of a separate identity for us and did provide with a machinery for self-governance that the nation had been striving for long. Now after 35 years of our independence, as a nation with a glorious past, we feel proud of the remarkable struggle and enormous sacrifice that our people made for making Mujibnagar and our sovereignty a reality. Its very name, thus, is the basis for our national existence and bears our constitutional pride. The Mujibnagar Government' in exile, no doubt, with its best effort formed the constitutional, legal and moral basis of this country and established our national identity. So, due recognition should essentially be given to the same at all levels of our national life for continuance of our hard earned republic lest the state of Bangladesh might collapse and cease to exist.

The writer was a valiant freedom fighter of the Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF) in 1971 liberation war. Presently a senior bank executive.

Published in The News Today in 2 installments on 17 & 18 April 2006