Whenever the issue of trial of war-crimes is raised, the killers and collaborators now turned politicians are seen to treat Bangabandhu with great respect. The Al-Badar leaders say, ‘it was he who resolved the issue by declaring general mercy, so it is meaningless to discuss this issue and give much importance now. Their political allies and intellectuals sing the same song, in addition to this more horrible and fabricated stories are added. Their absurdities know no bounds. Across generations they have spread rumors like: Bangabandhu enjoying a meal (Khichuri) with top-collaborator Shah Azizur Rahman at Comilla Cantonment, he went to the Jail with his own car and received Khan A Sabur at the Jail-gate. These are the stories which have been used to wash the brains of our generation. Common people treat these with their utmost ignorance and we are habituated to listen to them.

For my personal interest, I have studied the issue of the controversial General Mercy. To start with the only document I could find was a old paper-cutting of New York Times, where in a few sentences it was said that some 30 thousand collaborators had been freed including the imprisoned Governor Malik along with some of his helpers.

Such a big incidence, what an important decision! Would not there be an official document at least? After searching for it long, I could not recover anything from the known persons working on trial of war-crimes issue or from collectors, who have been documenting our freedom-fight. The general mercy was a Presidential order; so it should be included in the government Gazette. It must be in the Annual Lawyers’ guide. I could not find it in any of the records. The authorities do not archive many documents of 1973/74 anymore. Files and documents are vanished. A Lawyer of the Supreme Court accuses ex president Ziaur Rahman directly as he himself had built the Shishu Park (children’s park) to hide the memorial of surrender of Pakistan Forces. Similarly he himself had given the order of burning all the records of war-criminals into ashes. There is nothing in the Bar council Library now.

My only support was a few lines. Bangabandhu declared general mercy, this is right; but he did not forgive the killers, rapists and plunderers. the question now is where is my proof? Those who raise this question do not provide anything; even those accused as war-criminals exonerated by this general mercy do not provide any document too; then? On November 30 in 1973 Bangabandhu made this declaration. A press-note was supposed to be published in the newspapers on the following day. I started searching for those papers. And Jisan emerged as my rescuer.

I started working with some dedicated youths after I had joined Daily Adhinayak (yet to be published). These youths have the ability to play any serious role in the field of literature and cultural activism – Jisan is one of them. I gave the responsibility to two persons to collect the news in archived newspapers published after this declaration had been made. When Ajit Das entered the National Archive, he was deterred with a new requirement, an approval from Home Ministry to get to the documents. At Bangla Academy, Jisan faced the same sort of hindrance. Prior to this, he had failed to enter PIB archives too.

What follows here supersedes any Spy thriller-story. With an expired Library Card, Jisan entered the Underground Archive of Dhaka University. He found the expected newspapers with the help of some known staffs enduring the mosquito bites. However, some student leaders got interested in Jisan’s adventurous works. They even took his interview (read cross-examination). These student-leaders have only memorized their respected leaders’ names and lack knowledge about their leader’s history and deeds. So they became feeble before the smartness of Jisan. With trembling hands, he shot photos of the newspaper articles with his Samsung Mobile. He could take the required snaps just before the charge of the battery depleted. When he had handed me over the photos from his mobile via blue-tooth, he said: “Pial vai, give me another four days. I will transcribe each line and come back”.

I suppressed my utmost wish of hugging him in pleasure. With a subdued excitement I came back home. With the photos and clippings I started my works and could not bear waiting for another two days. I zoomed the photos in and out to understand what was written; and then transcribed that myself. The decision of uploading the clippings in You-tube was taken much earlier. I selected the photos finally, made AVI files using converter and then gave it a complete shape by making it a bit slow using the movie-maker and adjusting its brightness.

Achieving this would have been impossible if Jisan was not with me. In this age of free flow of Information, I will forever remember his active role in finding the historical data for a Bangla Blog with my gratitude. Let us see now what it was in the Declaration of General Mercy; what it was written in its coverage; who they released.

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Report on General Mercy Declaration: The Doinik Bangla, December 01, 1973

Heading: General Mercy Declaration on Punished Prisoners under Collaborator Act

Sub-heading: Bangabandhu’s urge to the persons received mercy for the engagement of Country’s Betterment: No Mercy for the Killers and Rapists.
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Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has declared a general mercy for the convicted and punished prisoners under the Collaborator Act. Persons who have been imprisoned under the Collaborator Ordinance (Special Tribunal) 1972, against whom there is a warrant or those who are wanted and those who have been punished will be imposed this general mercy and soon they will be freed. Yet those who have killed people, raped and set fire or caused to damage people’s homestead with explosives or convicted for damaging water-transport whatsoever will not be considered under this act. A Governmental press-note issued on Friday night last says this General Mercy.

Prime Minister Shaikh Mujibur Rahman says, Government has declared this general mercy for the people arrested and convicted under Collaborator Act so that people from all corners can enjoy the Victory Day 16th December together indiscriminately and take oath to build our country. Bangabandhu has ordered the Home Ministry to take necessary steps so that these persons can get released from Jail soon and join the victory festival coming on 16th December. The persons freed are urged to be united with spirit of victory and are requested to take the responsibility of working as a safe-guard for our independence.

While speaking in the declaration ceremony, Bangabandhu says, all will forget their bitter past and leave their previous activity and start working in unison and establish an unequal instance of patriotism, he believes and hopes.

Bangabandhu says, through much blood, sorrows and sufferings, tears and tortures we have achieved our independence. At any cost we have to preserve this independence.’ He hopes that this Independence Day will open a new horizon of peace, happiness, prosperity and welfare.

Prime Minister says, some people, in association with invaded force, opposed against our freedom fight. They were arrested under the Collaborator Act. Among them many are familiar persons. As they were associated with Pakistani Force and helped them technically, people of Bangladesh suffered an indescribable miseries.

Bangabandhu says, these people have been arrested and imprisoned for long. He thinks that they are repented deeply. They are certainly remorseful for their pas activities. He hopes, after they have been freed, they will forget their past misdeeds, work with a new oath for building our nation and establish a new instance of patriotism. Yesterday the press-note issued from the Home Ministry is as follows:
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Press-note: Prior to this, Government has considered the matter of Mercy of those who have been arrested under Collaborator Ordinance 1972(Special Tribunal) PO No-8, 1972, or have been convicted and paid their sufferings; government is making the new declaration in this regard:

1. Except the fields of crimes and persons described in the article no: 2

a) The persons arrested and convicted under the Criminal Act Section 401 of 1898 are being given released and, if there is no complain under any rule or act, except this order, under the general mercy, they will be freed from jail soon.

b) According to this order all cases under trial in any special tribunal or in special magistrate will be withdrawn. If there are no other cases against them pending, they will be freed from jail under this general mercy.

c) According to this Act, all cases filed against any person and the inquiry will be withdrawn and if he is not convicted otherwise under any acts whatsoever will be freed from jail. According to this act all warrants, summons or any notice served against him to crock his assets will be withdrawn. In that case the persons have to be free from other cases. If any proceedings are completed in absence of the persons and if he remains still absent, he will be freed from jail only when he surrenders and beg mercy and declares his loyalty, only then this general mercy will be eligible for him.

2. Persons convicted under the section 302(Killing), section 304, 376(rape), 435(cause damage by using bullet or explosives), Section 436(Burn Homesteads), and Section 448(set fire in water transport or explosion), According to the Criminal Act will not be considered under this act.

Banglar Bani or Ittefaq are equally same at their reports which will be seen in the video footage. There is other surprising news in the Donik Bangla on the same issue: regarding of being set free of Shah Azizur Rahman who later would be the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in the hand of Zia and of Sarsina’s Peer Shaheb who would be given the Independence Medal during Ershad regime. It said: According to an especial order made by the Bangladesh government, PDP Leader Shah Azizur Rahman and Sarsina’s Peer Shaheb have been released. Due to the cause of collaborating with Pakistani invaded forces they were arrested. .

It has been cleared that high profile collaborator like Governor Malik and Shah Aziz were not handed outside the Dhaka Central Jail. After they had been arrested, they had been there before they were freed. So there is no way to believe this story that Bangabandhu called him from jail and together he ate khichuri with him. This is altogether false.

On December3, in the Daily Ittefaq came the follow-up of the news of the decision of General Mercy where all people welcomed the decision. There was an important news. Home Minister Advocate Abdul Malek Ukil clarified the about the persons had been arrested under Collaborator Act. Under the Heading: Total Number of People arrested under Collaborator Act were 37 thousand 4hundred and 71 seventy-one, it had been written that on the perspective of declaring the mercy,

Yesterday while conversing with journalists, Home Minister Mr. Malek Ukil says this. He says, after the list of the persons arrested under Collaborator act verified with the order of general mercy, he has given approval to free all persons arrested under its jurisdiction. He says, according to the Collaborator Act number of total convicted persons is 37 thousand 4 hundred and 71 among which. Among these people, cases against 2,848 persons have been settled of 752 persons have been convicted and 2096 have been released. He says, in a newspaper the number of arrestees under collaborator act is 86 thousand which is not true; rather it is exaggerated. Home Minister says, many student leaders arrested and convicted under this act will get released. He says, life-imprisonment awarded former Governor East Pakistan M A Malek will get released along with his cabinet members. The persons among others will get released are Dr. Kazi Din Mohammad, Dr. Hasan Jaman, Dr. Sazzad Hossain, Dr. Mohor Ali(All are Collaborators and University Teachers) and Khan A Sabur. Home Minister says, persons freed will get back their properties and enjoy all facilities given to a citizen. The story that Bangabandhu himself went to receive Khan A Sabur has been solved through this news.

Finally, I am quoting the speech given by Bangabandhu broadcast and telecast on Radio and Television on 15December: after the revolution we did not kill those who were arrested and convicted as the enemies of liberation; rather we have forgiven them. We do not believe in the policy of jealousy and revenge. Consequently, those who were arrested and convicted under the Collaborator act have been shown a general mercy. They have been given all sorts of civic facilities as they would have enjoyed before. I believe, if persons misguided by others and followed the path of jealousy are repented will also be given same opportunity to build this nation.

Many things have come in consequence of the perspective of general mercy declaration. Those issues have been discussed and published. But the main thing I have not gotten as reference in any winterers’ writing. If this writing meets up that deficiency, my endeavor will be fruitful. Mine personal notion is, after the General Mercy Declaration had been made, Collaborator Ordinance was a bit mended, which is called amendment. But even after this, why it is not present in the gazette will always be an illusion.

Source: Doinik Bangla, Doinik Ittefaq, Doinik Banglar Bani and Bangladesh Observer. News Clippings have been used in the footage.

Courtesy: Ikram Neoaz Faraji Jisan

Further Reading: 1. A blog post written in Bengali.

NOTE: The whole write-up is a translation of a blog post written in www.amarblog.com.

Translation: Mr Safaet Hossain and his team translated the content from the Bengali blog post into English (edited by Rezwan).

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Omi Rahman Pial [http://omipial.amarblog.com] is a well-known figure in Bengali Blogsphere.He is also an historian of Bangladesh Liberation War and an activist demanding the trial of war criminals.

Cartoon by Arifur Rahman (http://www.cartoonstudio.tk/)

After the gruesome bdr mutiny massacre, the shock wave is still hurting Bangladesh. The latest tragedy Bangladesh faced in 25/2 was explosive in many ways. It had every element and potential to destabilize the Government and a start a bloody civil war. So far both was avoided. But as I said before, the shock wave continues.

First there are many teams assumed to be playing this game. The alleged involvements includes the intelligence agency of Pakistan and India by different sources, along with the failure of their Bangladeshi counterparts. Possible motives indicate that India has benefited most from this bloody outcome. And there were many contradictory views likewise. Since Bangladesh Intelligence was accused of being used by the ISI of Pakistan to provoke unrest in the Indian provinces, namely ‘the seven sisters’ in the western border. So it was a move by RAW (the Indian intelligence agency) to deal with that.

And surprisingly China’s name was dragged into this too. They might have been involved in these plot just to be cozy at the Siachen border. An Intelligence source said that there was also a big arms contract in the backdrop. CIA has their eye on this contract and they did not want the Chinese to gain advantage. So the axis was formed like this: China and Pakistan versus USA and India. They bathed with the blood of the army officers killed in Peelkhana using the BDR as the pawn.

It could have been the insider job of a group of army officer, but those who fell prey were actually the easiest to draw into the act. The tragedy was tactfully set and performed following the manuscript throughout. And the key man here was alleged to be Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, the elected BNP MP who spent crores to settle some personal scores. Since the pending 10 truck arms case maligning him is alive again and some Bengali daily like the Prothom-alo is running series about it which involves the Chinese too (as the possible producer and seller). These are all conspiracy theories, but the story behind can be even more dramatic!

Another potential party to the act, the Jamat-e Islami was certainly to be benefited if the plan could be fully successful. Since the war crime tribunal is now on the agenda of the Awami league government, they just cannot let their ruins happen. The propaganda they are spreading is well equipped with the modern technology. To our shock, we have seen the army officers heating conversation with the Prime minister is uploaded in the e-snips. Engineered videos have been posted in the Youtubes. And the Government with some short sighted and technology ignorant bureaucrats in the helm never tried to find the culprits, instead of just banning the sites!

Shocks, shocks and shocks!

Photo: Mohammad Arifur Rahman, Credit:Mustafiz Mamun.

His eyes spoke otherwise, betraying the expressions. Mohammad Arifur Rahman put every effort to show that he was in comfort, yet the eyes divulged he was scared. And he had reasons to be! From a prodigy without any academic training, Arif went to be a National prizewinner cartoonist. Months later he was again in the news for the wrong reasons. This time he was behind the bars for a cartoon claimed to be hurting the religious sentiments of some quarter. Effigies were burnt, the editor of the renowned daily knelt down to the Mullah Chiefs begging for mercy. Arif was disowned by his employer and colleagues, but not by everyone. An international outcry brewed and soon forums started to demand his release, again he was a hero. But justice was not served. After six months of detention, Arif was finally cleared from the charges of profanity and sedition. He was free. This is the first time Arif is facing the media. He was here to tell his side of the story. The story behind the idea of that notorious cartoon and the aftermath- a ride to hell for a 24 years old boy fresh from the village.

Being the only son of a broken family who took refuge to relatives, he was obsessed with painting. It all started with drawing on the mud and sand with sticks before switching to pencils and papers. The shops in the rural area had no brush or paints, so he made them. He painted with natural colors like red, yellow and green made from leaves and fruits. Wrapping swabs or piece of clothes to a stick, he enjoyed the colorful painting. Arif used to wait for the 25th Baisakh, the birthday of Tagore. He saved every penny he could to participate in the three-day fair being held every year in Shahjadpur ‘Rabindra Kuthibari’. He rented stalls to exhibit his drawings framed with cheap woods and plastics. Interestingly he never sold any of his paintings even if people were interested in buying them. The paintings were like his children and he had satisfaction when they were praised.

The twist of fate came with an advertisement in a fun magazine. In 2004 the magazine asked its readers to send cartoons, Arif did so. This was the first time he drew a comic and it was selected. He was on cloud nine. A boy from a village had his cartoon on a National daily! Arif fall for the fame. He started drawing cartoons and sending them to all the funmags he knew. But still there were mouths to feed since the cartoons weren’t earning him money. Arif started working in a grocery shop owned by his cousin in Dhaka.

He was satisfied with the shelter assuring him food and some pocket money. He drew cartoons in the lunch break. In his tiny room, the cartoonist was again on the job till he slept. There was no looking back from then on since they were being published in the famous magazines like ‘Ummad’ and ‘Bicchhu’. Arif sent them to Alpin too, the one of the Daily Prothom-Alo. But the supplement editor had his reservations since Arif was drawing for every other publication. He was advised to draw exclusively for them in order to get them in print. Arif agreed after co-incidently winning the pin-hunt competition prize in two catagories. Recognition followed when he won the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) cartoon contest and another jointly arranged by the Daily Star and Anti Corruption Commission. Famous cartoonist like Rafiq-un-Nabi (Ranabi) and Shishir Bhattacharya praised Arif and were surprised to know that he hadn’t any formal training on drawing. Only a month later recieving the famous prize, he faced the other side of the coin. In one of his cartoons published in Alpin (17th September, 2007 issue), an old man was asking the name of a child with a cat in his lap. The boy answered and was scolded for not putting Mohammad before his name, as he was Muslim. Then the man asked about the animal and the scared boy put the holy prophet’s name before the cat as suggested by the elder. Things turned bad the moment it hit the stands. The furious mullahs were on rampage and Arif was suddenly the enemy of the state! His story really starts from here:

So what was the idea behind the cartoon? Why did you draw it?

Well, i never thought this was going to be such a big issue. The joke I used is a common one in our locality, infact in that zone. I heard it when as a kid and even when I grew up. My idea was to highlight the faulty religious teachings by some of our elders where they advise to put the name of our holy Prophet before every name, when they should also clarify where it shouldn’t be used. What surprised me, I learnt after my release that the same joke was used in a publication of Islami Chatra Shibir name Kishorekantha (November, 1998 Issue).

Did you see it?

Yes, I did.

What happened next?

I draw it on 5th September last year and it was published in Alpin on 17th September. That day a fellow contributer called me and said my cartoon has enraged some people. He couldn’t elaborate and I was worried. I called the supplement editor Sumanta Aslam and he said not to worry but to keep my phone open. I had a restless night. Next morning I told my cousin about what I heard and he said I should go hiding. Then a call came from reporter Tipu Sultan. He said that the CID (Criminal Investigative Department) wants to talk to me and they would like to meet me, I better co-operate.

Where were you then?

At the shop. Then the CID called and asked for my location. I gave it to them. Hours later a police jeep stopped nearby. I was standing outside. An officer came in and asked for me. I said- I’m Arif. He told me to accompany him to the CID office for some questioning. On the wireless he told some superior, ‘we have him sir’. I rode the Jeep and asked him if I was arrested. He said I was being taken to the safe custody. I tried to make a call from my cell phone but he confiscated it. He returned it though after a while. I then sent a text message to Sumanta Vai, but he didn’t respond.

Did the CID interrogate you? Were you harassed or beaten?

No, nothing likes that. The officer who arrested me took me to his superior who promised to reward him, maybe for arresting a criminal like me (laughs). And then I was told to go to the ground floor. There some officers asked me about the idea of the cartoon.

What idea?

They wanted to know who gave me the idea for the cartoon. If it was Matiur Rahman (Editor, Prothom-alo) or Mahfuz Anam (Editor, Daily Star) or anybody else. I said it was my idea. At the same time I begged mercy for others, cause no one else was involved in it. Fortunately, there were other officers who spoke for me. One of them showed a print-out image of mine taking the TIB cartoon competition prize. Another praised me as a promising cartoonist who some day would be famous.

No incident there?

Nothing scary, rather an interesting one. I was ordered to be sent to the Tejgaon Police station. Before leaving, one of the officers took me to his room. He requested to draw a cartoon as a souvenir. I was embarrassed. I told him about my state of mind- with all the tensions surrounding. But he insisted, so I drew one. It was not a cartoon but a sketch, where a young man was sitting with a gloomy face and another talking to him. It was practically the scene of the room. The officer liked it. I had to sign it.

By this time, no one called?

Not while in the CID office. When I started again towards Tejgaon my cousin and an uncle called and said not to worry. They said they would try their best to bail me out. Then came another call from another Prothom-alo reporter. He said the National Security Intelligence (NSI) would call me and I should gently co-operate.

So the CID was a relief?

Yes it was. The people were good there. One, who took me to the police station said that he felt sorry for me cause I was framed- a pawn in the situation. Maybe my rustic outlook made them believe I was innocent. These guys work with the criminals all the time, they can tell.

What happened in the Police Station?

The CID officer escorted me there and handed over to the Officer in Charge. Before leaving he returned just to console me. He said some encouraging words and requested others to take care of me. I was really touched. Then the OC asked the same questions again, why I drew that cartoon. He then said the Government wanted to keep me in safe custody because my life was in danger.

He told me to fill up the necessary forms for the custody. It was near the lockup and then the harassment began. A Sub-inspector started calling me all the names in the book and some constables joined him.

Did they hurt you?

No, they didn’t touch me, but scolded for defaming the religion. At the same time the NSI called. An officer asked me the same questions over and again- who was behind the idea, why I drew it? With people (some police) shouting at me I had to keep my voice as normal as possible and answer them. Then in middle of the conversation the Sub-inspector snatched my phone and put it in his pocket. I was put in the lock-up, had my Iftari (Arif was fasting, it was the Ramazan) with others. Then I was put in a separate cell all alone.

Did you meet the media?

No. I heard they were there in the police station and that’s why I was put in a single cell to show them I was in safe custody, which changed later.

What change?

When I was sent to the Court and then in Jail, I learnt that the OC of Tejgaon filed a case of profanity and sedition against me and I was on trial for that.

An enemy of the state?

You can say that.

One fill in the gap question; the NSI, was they offended in the sudden hamper in your conversation? Did they contact you after that?

I don’t know. It was not my fault though. But they didn’t contact me after that.

What happened in the jail? I mean what was your experience?

Apart from two attacks, it was not all that bad in terms of experience. I was sad though. I had to stay away two Eids from my mom. It was painful.

What attack?

When I was in, they put me in the Amdani ward, which was for the newcomers. There some people attacked me. On the first attack they beat me with bamboo pole and some beat me with bare fists. Then again after a few hours I was attacked. One of them took a stick, put it in the toilet and then brushed it in my mouth. I was fasting then.

No one stopped them! Who were these guys?

Not at the start. But after some while others intervened. They were the JMB (Jamatul Mujahedin Bangladesh).

How could you be so sure that they were JMB?

I asked others and later I talked to some of them. Everyone knows that they are the JMB.

You talked to them!

See, I was always followed by them. They constantly kept me on watch. Some of them tried to be friendly too. They offered me to join them. And I said I would (laughs).

You would!

Well, just to get rid of them I had to tell something.

Only two attacks and then nothing?

Well after the attacks, I was switched to Manihar ward; there they came again after me. Then I was put in the ‘Choy Cell’ (a six room cell). There I had Arafat Rahman Koko (son of ex-premier Khaleda Zia), Professor Anwar Hossain, Abdul Awal Mintoo as cellmates. Because of the security reasons, I missed the Eid Ul Fitr Jamat, which I had in my room. Then in the Eid ul Azha, I attended the Jamat with others.

So many VIP’s. Any incident there?

Nothing you can call incident. All of them were good to me. Arafat Bhai used to recite the Hadith and advised me not to draw cartoons anymore since they are haram for Muslims. Anwar Sir used to take good care of me, he even gave me pen and paper to draw whatever I like. Abdul Awal sir gave me a radio to listen to the news. All of them were good. Later I was sent to the ‘Nobbui Cell’ (ninety room cell). I was there till my release.

Did you have any visitor? How did you know about your legal proceedings?

Barrister Sara Hossain came to visit me on the eve of Eid Ul Fitr. She told me not to worry. I didn’t have any visitor till the last days of my sentence. They used to take me to the Court; it was like going and coming from there. I had no chance to talk to anybody, not even my legal advisors.

Then how things turned?

After the resignation of Barrister Mainul Hosein from the Caretaker Government, things changed abruptly. I was sent a mercy petition application from the Prothom-Alo which I signed and then suddenly my case moved real fast. And at last I was pardoned for all my offences or dismissed from all the charges against me.

So you mean to say Barrister Mainul Hosein was behind this?

No, I didn’t mean that. All I said was the timeframe from when my case paced. It can be a co-incidence, but I don’t blame or accuse anybody. See even Sumanta Bhai is working in the Ittefaq (owned by Mainul Hosein) now. I went there to meet him. He wished me luck.

So what’s the situation now? You draw cartoons?

Of course I do. I practice because I want to keep it up. But I don’t send them anywhere. No one will publish them I think. But someday they will, I want to show them all that what you did was wrong to me. But still I feel sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings. My aim is to be famous someday, so that all the people of Bangladesh can take pride in me.

Are you safe? Do you feel the JMB are done with you?

That’s the thing still haunt me even in my dreams. I usually keep a low profile; never in anywhere have I introduced myself as Arif. But still I don’t feel safe; they can be anywhere and even kill me if they want. I don’t even work in the shop where I used to.

If I publish this interview, do you think there will be problem for you from any quarter?

I don’t think so. The government did not put an embargo on my words; they didn’t say that I couldn’t talk to anyone. It’s just that nobody before you wanted to know what happened. I want people to know that I didn’t mean to harm anybody or their feelings. Maybe someday I can compensate them and my country by doing something great. All I’m afraid is of the JMB guys, I don’t know what they will do. When I was in Jail, one of them said he who will kill me will be guaranteed heaven. They can do anything for a place in heaven.

NB: Bangla Version.

Jackob with his book.Photo credit:Omi Rahman Pial

There he was. The famous Jew of the Indian Army, who pulled out a miracle in 1971. Charishmatic, one would rather say. He didn’t sit in the chair and signed in the `Ornaments of Surrender’ for the victorious allied forces like Aurora. Neither did he lead the Indians to the outskirts and sorround Dhaka to confine the Pakistan Army in a death trap like Nagra did. But Major General JFR Jacob made both those things happen. It was his shrewd strategic accuracy that eased the labour pain of Bangladesh and he literally wrote down the birth certificate too.

When the war finally broke out between the hostile neighbours on 3rd December, the Indian Army Chief Sam Manekshaw ordered his troops to go and seize Chittagong and Khulna to shut down the escape routes and resist possible aid for the enemy. The Chief of Staff of the Eastern Command ‘Jack’, as he is popularly known to his mates, thought otherwise and convinced Aurora to opt for Dhaka- the heart of the demon from where it all began. And he drafted the document, put in the words of his like and talked in Chief of Eastern Command of the Pak Army, Lt. General AAK Niazi to accept it. It was the first open surrender of a regular army and the second largest after World War II. On 16th December,1971 when Niazi led his troops in the then Racecourse (now Suhrawardy Udyan) and surrendered, it was mission accomplished for Jacob. He wrote it all in a memoir with the fitting words ‘Surrender at Dacca : Birth of a Nation’.

From then on, after 36 years the retired Lt. General was back in the land where the great triumph was achieved. Upon invitation by the Government, Jacob led an 11- member entourage of Indian Army war veterans of 1971 to the 36th Independence Day of Bangladesh. I was on his tracks right from he set his foot in the country. The Hero is ailing, and last of the top brass that led our independence. The interest was purely academic which made me pull a few strings in the office to get the assignment. I was desperate for an exclusive interview, but the tight schedule of his tour won’t let it happen. Three tensed days of uncertainity ended and after all the required formalities here and there I was sitting touching distance of him. Like I said before, there he was, my man.

Jacob skipped the tour to Comilla Cantonment on Friday, March 28. He opted to stay behind and the Indian High Commission arranged the press to meet him. There was only a few though. Half was photographers and half of the rest didn’t know why they were there. Jacob tried to make it a promotional ceremony for his book, which he successfully did. Some had it with them, asked questions as if to prove they read it. Some carelessly ignored the home work and had to stick to the questions like opinions of the guest on the performance of CTG or on the ups and downs of the relations between the two countries. I had other ideas. I was there to fetch answers for certain questions. The questions are often cleverly put to defame our spirit of the liberation war by certain quarters who were right against it from 1971. Their successors now play the same tune. If I had the answers, it would be an important document for those who fight hard to put an end to the controversies. After all, these would be on record statements coming from an authentic source.

The atmosphere was there. With the published book in his hand the General was nostalgic enough. Before the start he politely warned not to ask anything uncomfortable which he would ignore answering. And then to comfort us said, ‘I am jouranalist too, I write a lot. So take me as one of you.’ I had the honor to ask the first question and took the liberty to be right on spot. Complimenting his galantary in the WWII and reminding the holocaust, I asked his opinion on the genocide that happened to the Bengalis in the name of ethnic cleansing. ‘The atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army are well known to you. They are well documented and you have much better records than anyone else. Your people have gone through it, so you are in a better position to judge it’ was the answer referring to his visit to the liberation war museum the day before.

For the better of the readers I now put the rest of the conversations in the form of an Q/A, just to give it a flavour of an interview. Only the excerpts which I feel that relate to my objective I said.

How did the Indian Army get involved in the war of independence?

Jacob: You want the official version or the unofficial one (laughs)? After Operation Searchlight that took place on the 26th of March, the crackdown, we were monitoring the situation and were shocked to hear radio conversations of the Pakistan Army. We heard Mujib’s declaration, then Zia’s declaration of independence. And then the refugees started coming in countless numbers across the borders. We took note of the situation, and lent a hand to the Mukti Bahini, the freedom fighters of your country. Then in April, Tajuddin, Nazrul Islam, Osmani all came to Theatre road, organized the Mukti Bahini and the war was on. We provided all possible logistic support to them. Unofficially, it was from April and officially, much later.

What were the total Indian casualty figures?

Jacob: It’s written in my book. In the war of liberation of Bangladesh, 1, 400 Indian soldiers died and were 400 wounded.

Last year, in an interview you claimed that capturing Dhaka was not featured in the original plan of the Indian Army, but it was you who thought otherwise and disobeyed the order to march towards the Capital.

Jackob:Well it is a long story and you’ll get tired listening to it. The details are all written in my book, how everything happened and when. It is a very comprehensive documentation of the strategy and tactics used. I ask you to have a look at it.

Is it true that the liberation fighters were trained by India before the war?

Jacob: No, not before the war. To be precise, it was from the 13th of April that we started helping them and it was a continuous process.

How did you guess that the surrender was on the cards?

Jacob: On the 14th of December, we intercepted that a meeting was to be held at the Governor’s House. Assuming that Niazi would be there with the Governor, we planned an air strike. After it was carried out, the Governor resigned. He took refuge in the Intercontinental Hotel. The situation was critical as the UN had the Polish resolution in their hand, the Russians telling us to hurry up as they were worried about the over use of the veto power in our favour. That afternoon, General Niazi sent a ceasefire proposal to the UN through the American consul-general Spivack. Bhutto was in New York and he refused. On the 15th of December, the US proposed a ceasefire in Delhi and we accepted it. On the 16th of December, I was told to go and ask them to surrender.

It is said that you drafted the instrument of surrender. What was Niazi’s reaction when you placed it before him?

Jacob: He said, who told you that we want to surrender. You are supposed to talk about ceasefire. Then, the argument went on and on. Then it got stuck with regard to surrendering to the joint forces. He insisted it was to be the Indians. And I refused and insisted that it was going to be both Bangladesh and the Indian Army. Later, when he was summoned to the Hamdur Rahman Commission in his country, he said that the reason for his surrender was that I blackmailed him! He wrote that in his book too. I never blackmailed him. I was just negotiating the surrender process not blackmailing him. All I said was that we would not take any responsibility for the resumption of any hostile situation if they did not surrender.

Then, I gave him 30 minutes to make up his mind. When I came back, he still kept quiet. Then I walked up to him and said General do you accept this document? I asked him thrice, but he didn’t answer. So I picked it up and said I’d take it as accepted.

Then I saw tears in his eyes. I looked at him with pity and thought this man has behaved very badly with the people of Bangladesh. You know what his Army did and I don’t want to repeat that. I wanted him to surrender in front of the people of Dhaka. He said, ” I won’t surrender anywhere else. I’ll surrender in the Dhaka office.” I said, “No. You will surrender at the racecourse in front the people of Dhaka.” It’s the only public surrender in history, and you’ll also provide a guard of honor.” It was he who had said Dhaka would fall over ‘my dead body’. That’s why I made it a point to make him surrender in front of the people of Dhaka.

He bragged about the firepower he had to defend Dhaka for two more weeks, and as I said before that the UN was working on the ceasefire which would be imposed in a day or two, then why he had accepted the most humiliating surrender in history? He answered, “Jacob blackmailed me!”

Why was the Commander in Chief of the Bangladesh Army, General MAG Osmani, absent at the ceremony?

Jacob: There is a lot of propaganda about it. The fact is, he was in Sylhet. He was in a helicopter that was shot at by the Pakistan army. I had ordered everyone on the Bangladesh side to stay in Kolkata. But he rode the chopper, got shot and couldn’t attend the ceremony. It’s not our fault. He should have been there. We wanted him there. Khondkar attended in his absence.

Afterwards, you had the chance to interrogate Niazi and some other generals. What did they say?

Jacob: They denied everything, the atrocity and everything. They kept on saying that they would not forget the humiliation and would take ‘badla’-revenge.

The war of 1971 is often referred in different quarters as another Indo-Pak war and some say it was a civil war, and these words hurt our pride. What’s your view on it?

Jacob: I’ve always said it was your liberation war. It was your war of independence, not otherwise.

The call for trying the collaborators, the local war criminals is heating up as sector commanders have joined in the demand. Should India come forward with facts and documents, some say they possess, to facilitate the process?

Jacob: It’s the internal matter of the Government of Bangladesh, your own problem which you have to solve yourselves. I have nothing to say on that because it is for you to decide. Apart from that, I’m just a soldier not a politician.

Last of all, I want to tell you something. The freedom fighters and the East Bengal Regiment, who with their limited resources fought a mighty regular army, earned the liberation of Bangladesh and it was their love for the country that made them victorious. We helped them, we were brothers in arms. But it was their fight, they fought it. They fought with passion and they achieved what they fought for. I give my heartiest blessings and share the pride for them. They are the gems your country should be proud of.

To show that he meant what he said, Jacob held up the cover of his book, ‘see, this is the Indian edition and I put the photograph of the liberation fighters on it. But the publisher of Dhaka with out my permission changed it with the picture of the surrendering ceremony.’ I had my interests back to the publicity with grattitude since the General has provided me with the answers to the most of the queries. It was running late for both parties. With a successful mission I couldn’t wait to go back to my pc. I had an important document to share with all concerned. Thank you General Jacobs for your kind assistance to the liberation of our country, for your respect towards our beloved freedom fighters. And last but not the least, our gratitude for what you have said for the sake of the history.

Salute.