The House of History and Our Army

Mabdur R. PhD

On January 10, 1972, Bangabandhu returned to his beloved Bangladesh via London and Delhi after being released from a Pakistani jail. I saw him with millions of people at the Race Course Grounds in Dhaka that day and heard his emotional speech on that historic homecoming. He said:

This freedom will not be complete if the people of Bengal do not get enough rice to fill their stomachs, this freedom will not be complete if the mothers and sisters of Bengal do not get clothes, this freedom will not be complete if the youth of this country do not get jobs.

He continued by saying:

“This Bengal will be rebuilt, the people of Bengal will laugh, the people of Bengal will play, the people of Bengal will live freely, the people of Bengal will eat rice to their full stomachs, this is my aspiration.”

His dream was to make this country a Golden Bengal. As part of this dream, he wanted to build a modern, strong, patriotic army. On March 11, 1974, Bangabandhu inaugurated his dream Bangladesh Military Academy at Mainamati Cantonment in Comilla.

The first batch of cadets trained from this academy passed out on 11 January 1975. At the swearing-in ceremony, Bangabandhu delivered a speech to the departing cadets. In this speech to the first BMA cadets, he said:

“We fought for a long time to have a military academy in Bangladesh, but we were not able to do so. Today, Bangladesh is an independent sovereign state in exchange for the blood of millions of martyrs. That is why the Bangladesh Military Academy has been established on the soil of Bangladesh today”.

“Today, my chest is truly filled with pride. That is why the owners of Bangladesh today are the people of Bangladesh. That is why it has been possible to establish an academy on my own soil today. I hope that, InshaAllah, the day will come when the name of this academy will gain respect not only in Southeast Asia but all over the world.”

“Today, you have completed your training and are going to become military personnel. Your responsibility is to the nation, your responsibility to the people, your responsibility to the country, and your responsibility to the soldiers you will command, instruct, and lead, your responsibility to your commander, your responsibility to yourself; you need to know your responsibilities. Otherwise, you will not be able to be human in life. No nation can grow without discipline.”

“Don’t you know, when you were young, when you were in school or when you were children, the Pakistanis made the world understand that Bengalis don’t know how to fight, and that’s why they didn’t take Bengalis into the army. I remember, long ago, Ayub Khan himself was the commanding adjutant; he secretly gave a circular that Bengalis should not be taken more than 2%. I got that paper somehow. And so I started a fuss about it, although they withdrew that order, they kept the Bengalis under control with deceit and tactics. Bengalis can’t join the army, Bengalis are cowards, Bengalis don’t know how to fight; Pakistani soldiers have seen on Bengali soil how Bengalis can fight, and their big, powerful, and powerful men have lost their lives because of the fear of the liberation forces.”

“We Bengalis are not cowards. I can love my motherland. Bengalis were subjugated for ages. We were subjugated by the British for two hundred years, and for 25 years, the minority group of West Pakistan occupied and exploited my Bengali land through deceit and trickery. There was no place for Bengalis in this cantonment. Bengalis were insulted on the streets while leaving.”

“You need to remember one thing, when I have the country, when I have the soil, when I have the golden people of Bengal, if we can produce golden sons, InshaAllah, my dream of Golden Bengal will come true one day. I may not see it, but InshaAllah it will happen. Today, InshaAllah, no one will be able to loot the wealth of Bengal. The wealth of Bengal will remain on the soil of Bengal. The people of Bengal will enjoy it. A nation whose thirty lakh people can give their blood for freedom, if necessary, will give the lives of millions to protect the freedom of Bengal”.

“My sons, you are going into a new life. Remember, you are a military officer with soldiers under you. You have a lot to learn from them. You have to mix with them, you have to know them, you have to stand by them in times of happiness and sorrow. You have to be by their side. Remember, ‘He who rules, he who is kind.’ When you rule, learn to be kind. Stand by them in their days of sorrow. Love them. Because they will give their lives at your command. You have to earn respect. To earn that respect, you have to learn discipline. You have to be honest with yourself. You have to love your country. You have to love people and keep your character good. Otherwise, no good work can be done.”

“You are idealists. Stay on the right path. Remember, ‘Smile on your face, say in your heart, and be full of energy, you will become a human being when you are human.’ Sometimes we become inhuman. After giving so much blood, the freedom we have brought, the character of many has not changed. Even now, bribe-takers, corrupt people, smugglers, and profiteers have made the lives of the poor people of Bengal miserable. For three long years, I have requested, appealed, and threatened them, ‘Don’t listen to the stories of religion.’ But no more, I have spent my youth in prison for the people of Bengal. Seeing the suffering of these people makes me crazy. Yesterday, when I was coming from Dhaka, I saw so much suffering, suffering from not eating, not having clothes on my body, living in so many difficulties; thousands of people were standing on both sides to see me. Sometimes I ask, Why do you love me so much? But those poor people work hard all day long, they have no clothes on their bodies, no food in their stomachs, no accommodation, and millions of unemployed Pakistanis. They have looted everything, leaving me with nothing except papers. I have to beg from abroad and bring them, and this gang of thieves is destroying and looting my poor people. I have not only declared an emergency, but now I have promised that if I can struggle for 25 years among these Pakistani oppressors, starting with Jinnah, Ghulam Mohammad, Chowdhury Mohammad Ali, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and achieve independence with the lives of three million of my people, then I will not be able to! Surely, God willing, I will be able to eradicate the corrupt, these bribe-takers, these profiteers, these smugglers from the soil of Bengal.

“I have also taken a pledge; you also take a pledge, let the people of Bengal also take the pledge. And no, unbearable, we have lost our limits. I have not wasted my youth for this. The martyrs did not give their blood for this. A few smugglers, profiteers, and bribe takers bring the country’s wealth outside. They increase the price of things, hoard them and kill people. They must be uprooted from the heart of Bengal. Let’s see how long they can survive. Whether the power of the thief is greater or the power of the believer is greater, that will be the proof.”

“I have never bowed my head to injustice. Pakistanis have repeatedly tried to hang me; I have stood firm because Allah was my help, the people of Bengal had my prayers, and I still have those prayers. Insha Allah, with your help, your compassion, your work, the love of the people of the country, and the cooperation of the faithful, these criminals will be brought to justice.”

“Remember, my sons, whatever you have done in life, you have to obey the orders of those above you who will give you orders. If you do not obey their orders, those below you will not obey your orders. That is why you have to obey orders. I am your Prime Minister. Many may come, many may go, I am not speaking as your Prime Minister, I am giving orders as the Father of your Nation, because the Father of the Nation only once or twice. There will be many Prime Ministers, many will come, there will be many Presidents, many will come, but you know that I love you. You stay on the right path. Love the motherland. Remember, do not let the Pakistani mentality come among you. You are not the soldiers of Pakistan. You are the soldiers of Bangladesh. You will be my people’s army. You are not a professional army. You are not just a military army. If you need it, you will have to produce and eat for yourself and live. This will be my people’s army. This will be the people’s army. This will not be the professional army of Pakistan. You need to be careful about this. And “Wherever you see injustice, injustice, you will strike hard. Stand up for justice. Respect your elders. Stay on the right path. Maintain discipline. Then you will be able to be human in life. You must not forget this.”

“Remember, who are the people? Your father, your brother. Where does the money you get come from? The salaries of all the government and private employees who are here are paid by the tax money of the poor people of Bengal. You are not their owners. You are their servants. Your family will run on their money. Learn to respect them. Learn to love them. Of course, wherever there is injustice, you will suppress it. But be careful that no injustice is done to innocent people.”

“My best wishes to you. I don’t know if you will understand today, but I cannot express the joy in my heart in words. But I never thought, when I was a prisoner in Agartala, when I was a prisoner in Mianwali in Pakistan, I never thought that you would have a parade like this, that I would have a Bangladesh Military Academy and that I would see it. I knew that it would happen, Insha Allah it would happen, I had faith, but I didn’t think that I would see it. But Allah showed me. I want to see more. Do you know that? I want to see Golden Bengal. I want to see more. Do you know? I want to put a smile on the faces of the sad people. I want to see more. The sad people of this country should eat rice to their full stomachs, wear clothes, let the oppression and injustice, the oppression stop. I want to see this.”

“It takes a long time; an academy is not built in a day. It requires a lot, InshaAllah it will happen, it will happen well. It will happen that people of the world will come to see my academy, I believe in this. You, my best wishes to you. Remember my orders. Remember my plea for affection. I will pray for you. The people of Bengal will pray for you.”

“Insha Allah! We have brought freedom to a free country with our blood. This freedom will surely remain, Insha Allah. No one can destroy it. However, freedom will be in vain if you cannot bring smiles to the faces of the people of Bengal. That is why I appeal to you: stay on the right path, God will surely help you. I am saying goodbye. God bless you. Long live Bangla. Thank you.”

Alas! The man who gave so much love to the army, who sowed the seeds of dreams of reaching this position today with so much trust and love, the patriotic army made no effort to protect the house of history of independence, which was dedicated to the people of Bangladesh, and which is intertwined with his memory. Not even a general from among those first batch of cadets came and said, “Stop, don’t cross the line, Allah, the Almighty, does not like those who cross the line.” Listen carefully, the child is crying—the child who was born in this house 54 years ago. The child’s name is Bangladesh!

      The author is a retired University Teacher.