পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ষষ্ঠ খণ্ড).pdf/৫২৮

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492 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ষষ্ঠ খণ্ড শিরোনাম সংবাদপত্র তারিখ Some Thoughts Bangladesh 25 July, 1971 On Bangladesh VO|. 1 : NO. 9 SOME THOUGHTS ON BANGLADESH By A.L. BASHAM During a very brief visit to Calcutta I have seen something of the misery of the unhappy people who have been compelled to flee from East Bengal by the atrocious violence of West Pakistan troops. I am a man of peace, and it has never been my business to encourage hatred. But I am also a historian, and as such I cannot avoid looking to the past, and making comparisons. And I know that the hatred and bitterness felt by one people for another have been among the most powerful factors in the history of the world. I think of examples from the history of my own native land. In ancient and medieval times, when the feeling of nationalism was not so strong, it was sometimes possible for a conqueror to hold down a defeated people indefinitely and even to assimilate, it to his own people to form one nation. Thus the Normans conquered the Anglo-Saxons, and ultimately, thanks largely to the common sense of some medieval kings, the two became one nation, speaking the same language. On the other hand Ireland was also conquered by the Normans but no efforts were made to win over the inhabitants. The culmination came in the 17" century, when Oliver Cromwell “pacified” Ireland, which had supported the king's party in the Civil War. The Irish never forgot the ruthless looting and murder perpetrated by the Parliamentary troops, and, though by the nineteenth century they had full representation in the British Parliament, the resentment and hatred of many Irishmen towards the British was never appeased and ended with the establishment of the Republic of Eire. After nearly three hundred years, the atrocities of Cromwell were not forgotten, and “the curse of Cromwell on you” remains one of the Irishman's most bitter imprecations. Britain lost most of her American colonies as a result of her own stupid obstinate and oppressive policy towards the colonists. Later she learnt part of the lesson, and Canada and Australia (which is now my home) achieved independent status without bloodshed. But things were different in India. Though educated Indians watched what was happening in Canada and Australia and began to ask for a greater say in their own affairs, the majority of the people were more or less quiescent, and accepted British rule. Very small steps, in the direction of self government were taken, and it seemed that India would ultimately reach the same goal as Canada and Australia, but would take longer to do so. One day in 1919 the situation altered drastically. An unarmed political gathering in Jalianwala Bagh, Amritsar, was fired on, many men and women were killed, and a wave of horror went through India. From that time onwards the future if India was not in doubt, and ultimately India established her Independence with comparatively little