ANNOUNCEMENTS
A symposium on Bangladesh will be held at McMaster University, IIamilton, on Oct. 20 at 7 P. M. Speakers includel Mr. S. A. Sultan and Mr. Mafiz Chowdhury, members of the Bangladesh delegation to the U. N.
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BANGLADESH, October 31, 1971
EDITORIAL
Recently newspapers have been reporting heavy shelling across the borders of occupied Bangladesh and India. In West Pakistan villages along India are being evacuated, and cars and buses in the main cities carry “Crush India” strickers. At night complete blackout is observed in the border areas. Siren is no more sounding for telling the city people time of “Iftar” or “Sehri”. Both India and Pakistan have strongly reinforced their positions along the border. ‘War seems imminent’.
It is time to think calmly about why such a condition has been created and what this war will mean-if it at all happen-for Bangladesh. Leaders in the West Privately requesting Mrs. Gandhi to talk to Yahya Khan to normalize the border tension. But she has 'rightly' pointed out that the root of the trouble is Pakistan Army's brutality in Bangladesh; and India is an unfortunate victim of Pakistan's internal problem. Nino million refugees have already fled to India creating an unbearable pressure on her already strained economy. According to Mrs. Gandhi, to restore normalcy, Yahya should stop the reign of terror in Bangladesh and talk directly to the elected representatives of East Bengal.
Some people in India and outside feel that the only way India can extricate herself from the mess, which is not of her making is to forcibly occupy Bangladesh and install a Bengali 'government' there. They contend that it win be far less costly than feeding and sheltering the millions refugees indefinitely. While we sympathize with India's genuine problems, and are grateful and obliged for all her help, we feel that such a war will be detrimental to both our cause and India's. It will damage her wonderful image abroad. On our part, we are fighting a war against colonial rule for our national liberation. It is not aimed against any particular West Pakistani but against all exploiters.
Mrs. Gandhi realizes the futility of such a step and has ignored all such suggestions, providing once again that India is a peace-loving nation. If India had really wanted a war, she would not have waited so long.
Then why all the sabre-rattling and war-preparations in the border areas? It its quite evident that the Army Generals in Pakistan (whatever great fools they may be) have realized that it is impossible to suppress Bangladesh by force. They are being badly mauled by the Mukti Bahini, and Pakistan's economy is on the verge of collapse. Moreover the people of West Pakistan have being to realize the implications of the military misadventure in Bangladesh. So, the Pakistani military build-up on the border is meant to serve two purposes.
