বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (প্রথম খণ্ড)/৭৮
| শিরোনাম | সূত্র | তারিখ |
|---|---|---|
| নিউইয়র্ক টাইমসে প্রকাশিত 'স্বাধীনতার’ পক্ষে ফজলুল হকের বিবৃতির পুনঃপ্রকাশ | পাকিস্তান অবজারভার | ২৫শে মে, ১৯৫৪ |
East Bengal wishes to be Independent: Fa/lul Haq’s Interview with
New York Times.
Centre’s Attitude to Province Deplored.
New York, May 23: The New York Times today published an interview with East Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mr. A.K. Fazlul Huq, quoting him to say that East Bengal “wished to become an Independent State”.
The dispatch filed by the Newspaper’s Karachi correspondent, who displayed on the front page and also credited Mr. Huq as saying that “independence will be one of the first things to be taken up by Ministry.”
Dispatch said: “Leaders of East Pakistan, the largest province of Pakistan, said today it wished to become an Independent Stale.”
Mr. Fazlul Huq. Chief Minister of province, made this statement a few hours after a closed-door meeting with the Prime Minister Mohammad Ali.
Mr. Huq, an octogenarian with 50 years of political experience including Chief Minister ship of his present domain, when it was part of Bengal in Undivided India, said: separation of West and East Pakistan by more than one thousand miles of India was one reason for 42 million Bengalees wanting their freedom.
At two-hour interview, he reviewed several cultural and economic points of disagreement between the two zones. These included the language difference (Bengali is used in East Pakistan and Urdu in most of West Pakistan), lack of corridor across India other than by air and lack of revenue balance.
During the election campaign earlier this year in which Mr. Huq’s United Front Party defeated the nation-founding Muslim League, Mr. Huq frequently referred to Foreign Exchange earning of East Pakistan jute which provides Centra! Government with most of its dollar and pound revenues. East Pakistan produce about 70 percent of world’s raw jute.
Colonial Status
Mr. Huq, who is known as the “Lion of Bengal” (East Pakistan) rented colonial status. He referred to what he described as ‘favoritism’ in the Central Government offices, particularly preferences given to people of the Punjab province to the exclusion of Bengalees.
After announcing today that he would complete the formation of his Ministry early next month, Mr. Huq, said a cabinet of 20 would lake up the issue of autonomy for East Pakistan.
Discussing possible partition which would be the great blow to the two-nation theory in the sub-continent and conversely victory for Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India. Mr. Huq talked about building a Bengali navy and spoke of the province's natural defenses.
“He said he had no idea of how soon autonomy could be accomplished. However, independence will be one of the first things to be taken up by my Ministry.”
Centre's Reaction
Asked what reaction would be in the Central Government to a move for partition, Mr. Huq said, “Undoubtedly they will try to resist such a move. But when a man wants freedom, he wants it.” Pakistan was distracted last Saturday by the worst labor riot in her seven-year history. More than 400 persons died, following an outbreak of fighting in the Adamjee Jute Mill in Narayanganj in East Pakistan.
A few days after the Prime Minister accused communists of instigating the riot, Mr. Huq asserted that communists had nothing to do with it. He said, he had asked the Central Government to help the province to investigate into the cause of the riot.
Mr. Huq arrived here for meeting with Central Government officials to discuss the riot and for the meeting of Chief Ministers of provinces. -APP