(heathens) and Indian agents. The manner in which they carried out this brief would have put Ilitler, Chengiz Khan and Atila to shame. One million men, women and children have been killed, thousands of women raped, entire villages and towns have been burnt down and over nine million Bengalis have been made to flee across the border into, to say the least, an uncertain future.
But the-"48-hour Objective” was never to be achieved. The myth of the Bengalis not being a martial race has, once and for all, been exploded. For over seven months now the Bangladesh Liberation Army and the guerrillas have been harassing the West Pakistani army, inflicting heavy casualties on them. Everywhere they go, they receive the whole hearted co-operation of the local populace. On the other hand, even the Government controlled newspapers in Pakistan are full of stories of the deserving fates of whoever decides to turn quisling.
The panic-stricken junta is now trying to save its face by escalating the issue. They are endeavoring to blame India for the consequences of their own misdeeds. And the irony of the game of power politics is that this danger of war between India and Pakistan, especially in official circles, seems to move more people than were moved by the greatest man-made tragedy in history.
According to newspaper reports certain Big Powers seem to favor a return to the position obtaining before March 1st. But let there be no mistake about it! As far as the 75 million Bengalis are concerned, this idea is a non-starter. Nothing short of full independence will be acceptable to the Bengali Nation. For instance, is it conceivable that any Bengali would ever contribute a single penny in revenue knowing full-well that over 60 per cent of it would go to maintain and equip an army which butchered over a million of their brethren?
No. Pakistan is dead and buried along with a million corpses. The Freedom Fighters are on the advance and it is only a matter of time before they completely rid the sacred soil of Bangladesh of enemy forces. American arms and aid can do nothing to crase the writing on the wall. After all America had also committed all its men, material, resources and prestige in Vietnam.
OUR ACTIVITIES
As we stand here today to report to you the activities of Bangladesh Students Action Committee, we not only urge upon you to look back to the early days of March, 1971 but to the glorious movement of 1969 in Bangladesh and beyond that. The endless endeavor, the sincere political scheme and the unexhaustable magnanimity on the part of the then East Pakistan had failed to save Pakistan-a nation whose two component parts were different in every respect but religion. And that unity of faith, metaphysical and spiritual as it were could not evoke an iota of decency and fairplay of the ruling class of the then Pakistan who were mostly from West Pakistan. Hence came the bloody end to Pakistan.
All these 24 years there were people in Bangladesh who foresaw the events that are taking place today. Ilere, even if we don't go for big names, we can mention many of our
