by Anwar A. Khan
The Mass Upsurge Day falls on 24th January. It came about 5 decades ago in Bangladesh on 24th January 1969. It was a sustained, truly mass struggle, confronting ferocious backlash by our people perpetrated on us by the savage Pakistani rulers and we overcame multiple challenges while developing our considerable strengths to fight those beastly animals back and defeat them. This glorious movement witnessed an explosion of popular-democratic struggles championed by people of all walks of life in our country whose activities became central in the campaign against all oppressions and the quest for the creation of a democratic state.
It was a democratic political movement. The uprising consisted of a series of mass demonstrations and sporadic conflicts between Pakistani government’s armed forces and the demonstrators of our people. Although the unrest began in 1966 with the Six-point movement of Awami League, it got momentum at the beginning of 1969 and culminated in the resignation of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the first military ruler of Pakistan. The uprising also led to the withdrawal of Agartala Conspiracy Case and acquittal of Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his co-accused from the case. Bangabandhu came out from Pakistani jail as a majuscule hero and head honcho of Bangladesh; and a house-hold name for all people in his country.
The movement soon engulfed the whole of the-then East Pakistan’s politicians, students, peasants, artisans, workers - all joined the movement almost en bloc. Due to continuous exaction of demands marked by sound judgment of the labouring class of the industrial belts and low and medium income groups soon turned the movement into a struggle for economic emancipation. The racial repression and the deprivation of the Bengalis within the frame work of Pakistan and to the contrary, starting from the language movement the feeling of separate identity together with struggle for autonomy had direct influence on the mass upsurge of 1969. Indeed, this mass upsurge was the greatest mass awakening ever since the creation of Pakistan. The student agitation of 1968 turned into a mass upsurge when Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani asked his followers to besiege Governors House, formulated and declared his other programmes.
The Maulana declared a total shut-down of work on 6th December 1968 following the clash between the people and the police. On the call of the main opposition parties namely two factions of NAP (Bhasani and Muzaffar), Awami League and other political parties, a Hartal was observed throughout the-then East Pakistan on 8 December 1968. Repression Resistance Day was very successfully observed throughout the former Province on 10 December 1968 at the call of Awami League’s pro-six point demand. On the 14th December 1968, the gherao programme (a protest in which a building or person is surrounded by people until demands were met) was declared by the NAP (Bhasani). Accordingly the programme was launched with the gherao of the bungalow of the DC of Pabna on the 29th December 1968. Mass Uprising Day is observed in Bangladesh every year on 24 January to mark the climax of the movement of the people of the-then East Pakistan for autonomy in 1969 that eventually led to the Independence War and emergence of Bangladesh in 1971. It is competently said that the Mass Upsurge Day teaches Bengalis about the values of democracy and to protest against oppression.
It was as if a wind was blowing. It was heading end-to-end the country, and could not be suppressed forever. This proves that the mobilisation of the people is a formidable source of democracy. This Revolution of 50 years ago provides important lessons for peoples across the world in their quest to dismantle oppression and build just societies today, tomorrow and the days ahead. It can be termed as pleading for a moral excellence of cause or propounding an idea of determination of one's own fate or course of action without compulsion. It taught us that the political separation of our nation from an alien national body; and the formation of independent nation state, Bangladesh.
In this reflection on the 50th anniversary of the Mass Upsurge Day, we will seek to grasp the responses to the revolution, the surge of anti-Pakistani which led the defeat of their fascism. This is an episodic event in human history. It was a period of tremendous outpouring of revolutionary energies in music, art, theater, journalism, poetry and political organising. The uprising marked a new stage in human history with the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. The tremendous achievements of those insurrections beckon us to understand what was possible and what is possible to create today. We should create records, equally relevant today in wiping out poverty, backwardness, corruption, terrorism and illiteracy, in establishing equality among peoples of all religions and between men and women. It is an inspiration of what was and what can be, and that is why, we say that the era it established of the transition from alien rule to the establishment of a sovereign and independent state which is as relevant today.
The 1969 Mass Upsurge Day may have more to teach us. The increased tempo of struggle then in our country was a commitment to end all forms of exploitation of humans by sub-humans in our part of land. It clearly shows that a new nation was in the making. The winning of the objectives of this national democratic revolution will, in turn, lay the basis for a steady advance in the direction of deepening our national unity on all fronts — economic, political and cultural — and towards a formation of a new country- Bangladesh. For our nation building means among other things unifying ourselves nationally as the leading class whose developing culture, aspirations and economic interests become increasingly those of the overwhelming majority of our people.
Far beyond the horizon we gazed at sunlit skies glowing from gigantic hills, valleys, thick blue clouds hang peacefully over our heads, painting hopes and aspirations as we journeyed relentlessly to capture our dreams. We have been marching for years clinging desperately to our dreams, with nothing in our hands; our faith and determination propel us along. But the days seem longer, nights become shorter and our hopes grew stronger and life gets tougher. We journeyed through thorns and thistles; we stumbled upon closed doors, brick walls, giant rocks and numerous road blocks. Left only with rags on our backs, we were determined to reclaim our dreams. The struggle seemed endless as we journeyed night and day on a path that binds us for years. Hunger paralysed us, fear dehydrated us, we endured sleepless nights but we held on to our conviction, embraced one another and consoled ourselves.
Sun scorched our tired backs, winter snow froze our blistered feet, tornados compassed us too, and the relentless hurricane could not rip us apart. We all stuck together and supported one another. Despite the chilling cold penetrating our skins, we were destined to win. The expectation of a new life inflamed our hearts, and each day we hoped for a better tomorrow, ignoring life’s un-bearing demands we advanced towards the finishing line believing wholeheartedly, and holding steadfast to conquer our dreams. It is true that life can be overbearing, and it is also true that we had wishful promises, and when our promises fail to materialise, driven by a lack of faith from the other side, the journey become harder and murmuring breeds sorrows in our aching heart.
Sometimes we fought among ourselves and tossed hurtful words to and fro but we quickly came to our senses and made amends of unacceptable ways. We know that we were in this together, and we must embrace one another’s dreams, so we wedged together like brothers and sisters mending the broken pieces as we progressed along the way. The power of unity kept us alive, our dreams grew bigger than our stomach, and jingled heavier than money in our pockets, our faith grew stronger, our hopes strapped together, and death itself could not shatter our dreams. We endured winter freezes; one winter faded into another, fog covered fog, but we were determined to surpass discouragements, negative highlights and continued climbing until we reached the top.
We climbed the hills day and night, but everything seemed far out of sight. All we could see was clear blue clouds smiling above us and multitude of stars blinking in the skies. We passed foxes digging shallow holes in foaming ditches; we saw them tearing and chewing rabbits and rodents, and chasing timid squirrels off the edges. Tormenting sound echoed beyond thick bushy forest, intimidating us on our hopeful journey. Suddenly a ferocious fox leaped out of the bushes, and stared at us, grinding its gigantic teeth. But a tiger sneaked from the tree top and cornered the terrifying fox into its vulnerable hole wounding its feet and pulling at its filthy mouth.
The lame fox lay on the ground grasping for breath, and the forest animals drag it slowly into a hole. We clenched tightly to each other and hurried quickly towards the movements to complete the final leg of the journey. Amidst these strange happening, we progressed faster holding our precious dreams carefully in our hands. We could hear the drum beats resonating from a distance, sealing our hopes and filling our hearts with aspirations. We could feel the bubbling rhythm from afar, and as we got closer the sounds got louder, the cheering grew stronger and we felt happier. We climbed and climbed, we slip and we glide, we stood firm and plant our feet securely into the ground. We removed obstacles, overturned road blocks sailed through red lights, and skipped through barricade and persevered until we finally made it to the top. Millions with similar dreams had made it too, and we joined them singing and dancing, the sun shined once again with a daring glow and our long awaited dream finally came true. We could breathe fresh air, thus feeling the rhythm in life again.
The heroic upsurge of the 24th January 1969 of our people against the tyrannous Pakistani regime continued for almost 3 years. We witnessed mass demonstrations, strikes, boycotts, etc. and the whole Pakistan based National Election where Awami led by its charismatic leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged out as the majority party leader of Pakistan, but the ruffian Pakistani military rulers betrayed with us and refused to hand-over power to Bangabandhu and then waged a full-scale war with us. Their nefarious actions were directed to violent repression which led to the brutal murder of our 3 million people. The 1971 war shows the determination of Bangladesh’s people to be masters in their own land, an independent People’s Republic.
The history of any society is based on how its people fashion a living for them, how they contend with the forces of nature and consequently how the relations between people develop. In our 1971 war with the Pakistani military rulers, we had emerged out as a fairly powerful mass organisation. The war reached a new height, but we won the war defeating the inglorious war-mongers of the Pakistani regime disgracefully. Bangladesh came into being on 16th December 1971.
We have won our own destiny, but without the fullest organisational democracy, we will never be able to achieve conscious, active and unified participation of the majority of the people, and in particular the working class, in our struggle for betterment of our country. It clearly sums up the systematisation of popular experiences and demands which some leaders were able to eloquently make during those stringy days in Pakistan. Clearly, this Mass Ups-well had more the character of an ideal to be struggled for rather than a simple description of reality; nevertheless it indicates the centrality of popular democracy within the ideology and practice of the movement. Long live the Mass Upsurge Day and its message that is intended, expressed or signified.
-The End –
The writer is a senior citizen of Bangladesh, writes on politics, political and human-centred figures, current and international affairs
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