Spirit of liberation; Eight Juldians defected from Pakistani ships between April-May of 1971 in the United States

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Posted on Mar 22, 2021 in blog, Featured | Comments Off on Spirit of liberation; Eight Juldians defected from Pakistani ships between April-May of 1971 in the United States

In the spirit of liberation – 1971

by Ghulam Suhrawardi (6N) 23 March 2021

22 June 1971; destination Karachi, Pakistan; M.V. Padma loaded armaments and spare parts, 8 fighter jets, and military vehicles in New York. While calling the port of Baltimore in July, a fleet of canoes and kayaks were blocking the ship from sailing the harbor. The police warned the protesters, but they refused to move. “You have to do what you have to do…but we’re here to block the Padma” they shouted back.

On the evening of March 25th 1971, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight, a military action designed to suppress political unrest in its troublesome eastern province. Over the next nine months, a civil war erupted between the Bengali nationalists and the Pakistani authorities that eventually led to the hostilities between India and Pakistan in December. Bangladesh was liberated on 16th December 1971 after the Pakistani surrender. About 10 million East Pakistani refugees fled to India, hundreds of thousands of Bengalis lay dead, and the new state of Bangladesh had gained its independence.

Our lives and aspirations changed forever. The journey of independent Bangladesh began with starvation and insurmountable sufferings caused by the eery silence of the great players, specifically by the Nixon administration. It looked and felt like a bottomless pit. It was a rocky beginning without hope or a future for generations to come. Through ups and downs, we came a long way. We can see a ray of light. The younger generations who were born during or after these turbulent times may have only heard stories but cannot fathom the extent of suffering by the people who tried to lay the foundation of this nation.

We must nurture our beloved motherland without any reservations and work towards national solidarity. Just uttering “my golden Bangla” is not going to do it. We must really work towards unity and sweat to make it a real golden Bangladesh.

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