Divine intervention for national unity!

In her message, Begum Zia pays respect to the "proclaimer" of independence war Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman. To harp on the same string, did Zia act as the "announcer" of the declaration of independence over radio in Kalurghat, Chittagong, or he himself proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh and then the liberation war started?

In this context, we can recall the key message of the historic speech made by Bangabandhu on March 7, 1971 at Race Course in Dhaka. In essence, Bangabandhu virtually declared the independence of Bangladesh during this speech in Dhaka in response to the evolving political situation. It was a point of no-return, so to speak, given the aspirations of the people at that juncture in history.

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Nobody doubts the contribution of Zia in the independence of Bangladesh. He was one of the nine sector commanders who valiantly fought the liberation war along with many other freedom fighters during 1971. Being a sector commander in a war was a big achievement. Morever, Zia's contribution was unique in that he happened to be the person who showed the courage and took the initiative to announce the proclamation of independence over radio on behalf of the indisputable leader of the time Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This was a positive step, however, we should not wilfully overestimate the significance and impact of this announcement for ill political motive.

As we know, there was a historical background, including the language movement and the six-point movement, developed over 23 years before 1971 that culminated in the fight for independence of Bangladesh. And Bangabandhu played a pivotal role in the struggle for a sovereign land for the Bangalees.

In my view, the issue of declaration of independence should be looked at in light of the political background of Pakistan in general and East Pakistan in particular from 1947 to early 1971. The political activism for autonomy went on for two decades culminating in a struggle for independence in 1971. A nation is not born in a day with a radio announcement. There must be bigger historical context.

The funny thing about the Prime Minster's message is that she invokes divine intervention for national unity in Bangladesh. In her message she says: "I pray for the kind support of most merciful Allah for peace, happiness and affluence of all Bangladeshis including the expatriates and for national unity, progress and accomplishment."

God is neutral, I believe. Will He intervene to unite the government and the opposition on a common platform for national unity? I doubt it, as this does not fall within God's job description as the regulator of the universe. God has given us intellect and ability to think and act for our own good. So it is the politicians, both in government and also in opposition, who have the responsibility to adopt a sincere and pragmatic approach, and take credible actions to sort out political differences, including the issue of national unity.

Continued distortion of history, twisting of facts and prevarication of truth do not help national unity, for sure. Tolerance to other people's views, mutual respect and recognition of due contribution of historical personalities may contribute to achieving the desired national unity the country needs at this point in time. Insincere and lip-service invoking of God's intervention is unlikely to solve our problems.