Agha Nasir, one of the pioneers of Radio Pakistan tunes a radio. Photo retrieved from dawn.com
By Sayeed Khan
The seeds of conflict between West and East Pakistan had been sown from the Bengali Language Movement of 1952, where hundreds of Bengalis were martyred for advocating Bengali as the official language instead of Urdu. As West Pakistan consolidated political power in the Western wing the nation state of Pakistan functioned solely through the efforts of the Eastern wing. East Pakistan earned around 70% of Pakistan’s foreign exchange, only to be met by 15% representation in government services.[1] The exclusions and exploitation of East Pakistan were similar to the British treatment of India during their time as a vassal under Britain. East Pakistan was seen as land to be exploited for resources in the eyes of West Pakistan. Thus, the Bengalis in the Eastern wing were enraged, and the continuous exploitation stoked the flames of self-determination. While attempts to form an independent government gained traction in East Pakistan, the western counterpart thwarted such possibilities. Finally, in 1971, war broke out between the two wings of Pakistan. With a major political crackdown and a communication blackout in the Eastern wing of Pakistan, wireless broadcasting via the radio became a reliable source of diffusion of information within the politically volatile climate of East Pakistan, as well as being a means for journalists to broadcast the plight of Bengalis. This paper examines two audio tapes recorded by Shri Chanchal Sarkar. As we look at the eve of independence in Bangladesh through the eyes of Shri Chanchal Sarkar, his journey to Dhaka revolves around the significance of radios as a demonstration of the role of journalism in dissipating information at the cusp of Pakistan’s surrender.
Shri Chanchal Sarkar was an Indian journalist and wrote extensively regarding the 1971 Bengali Liberation Movement. In an interview conducted by Uma Shanker, Sarkar reminisced on his journey to Dhaka on the eve of Independence, to report the political atmosphere, as well as the surrender terms of the West Pakistani Army. He took the reader on a tour of war-torn East Pakistan, riddled with heightened military presence, as he interviewed Bengalis on their personal take on the war. Furthermore, Sarkar highlighted the increased presence and usage of radios within East Pakistan, from the countryside, to the dense city of Dhaka, and throughout his journey over rivers and dirt roads, the radio continuously blared news and other valuable information. After helping and documenting Begum Mujib’s liberation from house arrest and the overall celebration in Dhaka, Sarkar hurried back to Kolkata where he published his accounts of the day of Independence to The Hindustan Standard, as well as through a radio broadcast to tens of thousands of people in the Bengal region. Sarkar’s interview served as a source of firsthand accounts of the day East Pakistan emerged as Bangladesh and as a stroke of news to many Bengali refugees in Kolkata, under PM Indira’s orders, that the war was over and it had become safe enough to return. Given Shri Chanchal Sarkar’s background as an Indian journalist, and India’s stance in demanding independence on behalf of Bangladesh, the accounts dictated by Sarkar in the interview should be seen through a lens of bias. His bias materialized in the interview with Shankar and pushed forth an anti-Pakistani agenda onto his desired audience, the Bengalis.
Shri Chanchal Sarkar starts his interview describing the communication black out in the Eastern wing of Pakistan. At the start of conflict in March 1971, military operations conducted by the West Pakistani Army almost entirely blocked the entry of journalist personnel to report on the conflict in East Pakistan. Sarkar claimed there was “little to-ing and fro-ing of printed materials,” which assisted in disconnecting the Bengalis’ fight for independence from an international audience.[2] However, Sarkar indicated that “radio remained the main channel of communication.”[3] On Sarkar’s journey to Dhaka, at the eve of liberation, he found that the Bengalis had been glued to the broadcasts of All India Radio and B.B.C. of Bangladesh. In his interview, Sarkar recalled his journey to Dhaka, around the 14th of December to document the fall of Dhaka and the surrender of Pakistani forces. Through his journey he gave a glimpse of the atrocities committed by the Pakistani army. At one instance, Sarkar met with a Bengali father, whose son had been abducted from his home and murdered by the Pakistani militia and his body been discarded into the canal. Even in the countryside, Sarkar’s interview demonstrated that radio broadcasting played a very large part in diffusion of information. He saw large gatherings of people “grouped around a radio set listening to B.B.C” eager to learn about the summary of the ongoing war. Sarkar continued his journey and he arrived in Dhaka at the Inter-Continental Hotel, a Red Cross base camp, which became a hub for international news correspondents and Indian journalists.[4] As he briefly spoke with multiple correspondents about the ongoing surrender terms, Sarkar’s perspective suggests that there were large gatherings at the hotel dining area “wanting to listen to President Yahya Khan’s broadcast,” announcing the surrender of the Pakistani forces.[5] Unable to tune in to the radio, Sarkar ventured toward the Shahid Minar. Through his eyes, this monument can be seen as the location of the “first shot in the battle for the freedom of Bangladesh”- implying this was the tipping point of conflict.[6] Furthermore, Sarkar visited Mujib’s residence, where he found that information of surrender had not yet reached the Pakistani Havildars holding Begum Mujib under house arrest. The source suggests that since there were no radios present in the area, the Pakistani soldiers and Havildars holding Begum Mujib hostage were unaware of the Pakistani surrender. When Sarkar brought the news of surrender to the Havildar, he responded with, “We haven’t gotten any orders,” which could have been due to the absence of radios, since Yahya Khan’s broadcast about surrender hadn’t reached the Havildar guarding Begum Mujib.[7] Given this peculiar position, the source suggests that in absence of the radio, Sarkar had to corroborate with an Indian Major to directly bring the news to the Pakistani Army to free Begum Mujib. Sarkar conveys “a very very emotion-charged, wonderful moment” as he rode through Dhaka listening to the Bengali National Anthem: Amar Sonar Bangla on the radio and documented people’s celebration of an independent nation.[8] Given Sarkar’s position as a journalist and his personal opinion, he demonstrated how information dissipated rapidly and most efficiently through radios and radio broadcasting.
Since primary sources often are riddled with biases, Sarkar’s perspective was also marbled with a biased tone. Given Sarkar’s position as a major journalist in India, he wrote multiple articles about the atrocities committed by Pakistan in the Eastern wing. However, while war was waging, published articles accusing Pakistan of committing human rights abuses played hand in hand in India’s foreign policy when it came to Pakistan. Given that there was growing animosity between India and Pakistan, it was in India’s self-interest to help the Mukti Bahini to reduce Pakistan’s population and area in half. Furthermore, Sarkar reiterated that India’s “economic problems stem from over-extension of resources to help Bangladesh,” which implies that the newly formed nation of Bangladesh is in debt towards PM Gandhi and India.[9] With a biased view of Pakistan and knowledge of the economic burden on India imposed by refugees from Bangladesh, Sarkar ventured to Dhaka to report on the eve of independence through his perspective. Sarkar also suggested that as Dhaka fell, there was an increase in “private vengeance killing,” conducted by the inhabitants of Dhaka.[10] However, his tone in describing these vengeance killings were sympathetic to the Bengalis, as he stated that they were “bottled up in Dhaka and have been subjected to all kinds of privations.”[11] In Sakar’s eyes, this was a justifiable reason to engage in vengeance killings. It must be said though, that the source fails to mention any events of vengeance killings and only reported pro-Bangladeshi news on the radio broadcasting.
In the beginning of his interview Sarkar implies the importance of the radio broadcasting to the efforts of the Bengali liberation movement. He started by explaining the communication barricade that was imposed on East Pakistan, as well as limited exchange of printed materials, which further cast a shadow on the Bengali Liberation movement. Since the war forced many Bengalis to seek refuge in India, Sarkar opined that the refugees from Bangladesh had “become a major channel of communication,” where journalists collected personal stories from refugees and had started publishing articles in Indian papers about the atrocities committed by the Pakistani Army against Bengalis.[12] Alongside articles and documents being published, journalists within India broadcasted the ongoing conflicts in East Pakistan to an international audience. This wave of radio broadcasting caught the attention of notable international figures such as Andre Malraux and George Harrison, which ushered in a wave of increased pressure on West Pakistan from the international community.[13] Furthermore, the source implied the drastic issues in areas where radios were not present. In absence of radios, it can be said that the Pakistani Havildar and soldiers still occupied Mujib’s residence and kept Begum Mujib and the Mujib family under house arrest because they simply did not receive the news of Pakistani surrender. In order to release the Mujib family, Sarkar brought an Indian Major to share the news of surrender- which led to the liberation of the Mujib family.
This source suggests that while a communication blackout was being imposed, radio broadcasting had served as an effective tool in informing the Bengali public of the war, increasing morale, and spreading propaganda in the beginning of the war. As Sarkar journeyed towards Dhaka, his accounts implied that the radio had served as a news outlet, a signal for the end of the war and in its absence, miscommunication occurred where pockets of the Pakistani Army were unaware of a surrender. In this primary source, Sarkar details his personal reminiscence as East Pakistan transitioned to Bangladesh and reported on the news of independence on the societal level.
Endnotes
[1] Metcalf, Barbara Daly, and Thomas R. Metcalf. A Concise History of Modern India. 3rd ed, 154- 172. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Pg. 154.
[2] Shri Chanchal Sarkar, “C. Sarkar, journalist, broadcaster, author, tells of how he got into Dacca in mid-December 1971, gives an eyewitness account of the atmosphere there, and describes Begum Mujib’s extraordinary liberation,” Interview by Uma Shankar. Center of South Asian Studies and University of Cambridge, June 5, 1974. Audio, 79:00, https://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk/archive/audio/collection/c-sarkar/,Part 102:38.
[3] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 04:14.
[4] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 21:45.
[5] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 54:11.
[6] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 58:45.
[7]Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 2 05:48.
[8] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 2 09:45.
[9] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 02:38.
[10] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 56:28.
[11] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 48:40.
[12] Sarkar, C. Sarkar tells how he got into Dacca, Part 1 06:28.
[13] Metcalf, A Concise History of Modern India, Pg. 172.