Gov accuses historians of suppressing facts of atrocities in East Pakistan

Agartala: Governor Tathagata Roy has accused historians and intellectuals of suppressing facts regarding atrocities on non-Muslims in East Pakistan that resulted in repeated mass killings of Hindus from 1946 onwards and massive displacement to India. While discussing his latest book Ja Chhilo Amar Desh (What my country was) yesterday, Mr Roy alleged he was insisted to pen down the truth of atrocities on minorities in East Pakistan before the birth of Bangladesh. “I found the direct victims like Tapan Roychoudhury and Ashok Mitra like legend Bengali scholars have suppressed the facts in their works rather attempted to present distorted stories for unknown reason,” Mr Roy claimed.

 He goes over the history of the exodus of some six million Hindus from East Pakistan - it did not happen at one go in 1947 but was spread over 25 years - and locates the willful denial of the past in a spurious reconstruction of the state's Hindu-Muslim relations. He narrates a forgotten story of how intimidation, rape, murder and religious terror contributed in the dispossession of Hindus after 1947. Whereas the horrors of Partition have become a trendy theme to beat the Indo-Pak peace drum in North India, its fallout in the east has been greeted with squeamishness, Mr Roy contended. Mr Roy urged the present government in Bangladesh to build sense of security among the minority non-Muslim population in Bangladesh and added, “Minority people of Bangladesh has been considerably safe under the present government but the sense of security is not there, which led to migration”.

The book depicted how the process of displacement had commenced from erstwhile East Pakistan because of British divisive policies, atrocities of Muslims and lack of leadership among the Hindus rich with snippets and historical analysis. “He said Indo-Bangladesh relation has gradually become stronger but the younger generations did not know the history of exodus of minorities from East Pakistan to Northeastern states and West Bengal. “I believe relations always are build up on truth and facts.

I only wrote the history of displacement based on record before those get erased. I feel Indo-Bangladesh relation will strengthen further and also help the policy makers of both the countries to fill up the vacuum of emotion and sentiments,” Mr Roy stated. From almost a third of East Pakistan’s population as per Pakistan’s 1951 census, by 1971, when Bangladesh was born out of East Pakistan, Hindus were less than a fifth of its population; Hindus constitute less than 10 per cent of the populace there 30 years later; and as little as 8 per cent today per reliable estimate, Mr Roy elicited, adding that the situation is now so dire that even Amnesty has taken note that the Hindu community in Bangladesh is at extreme risk and is being targeted simply for their religion.

The book also stated in 1971 alone 10 million ethnic Bengalis, mostly Hindus fled to India and two lakh women were raped. From 1975 onwards, religious minorities have been subjected to discriminatory property laws, restrictions on religious freedom and violence perpetrated by both state and non-state agencies. (UNI)