March to Dec 1971 Bangladesh. (38)

    The first campus revolt was at the agricultural college Mymensingh . These students and other general public from Mymensingh, Tangail and Sylhet were the first to respond to the call of Tiger Khader Siddiqui to form the Mukti Bahini.

         The top brass ask Appa to help the Mukti Bahini. Provide them with arms. So with an escort he subversively goes to Mymensingh and meets the Tiger. More than arms they need  demolition skills very urgently . This is to stop the Pakistani army from advancing. One Capt. Negi who has undergone commando training is to train them. Mukti Bahini cadres start crossing over and they have a camp at Tura.

           An unfazed Amma would all the time accompany Appa to the border areas as a morale booster for the Indian citizens living there. Once when she was there a column of vehicles were passing on the other side. There was firing on both sides and Amma went into a bunker. When questioned about the firing the subedar said since memsahib has come I wanted to give her a good show.

           Another time a young soldier who was doing artillery fire corrections would peep out every time he did the corrections.He would be in a state . Shivering with fright. Amma comforted him and boosted his courage  so that he was able to continue the next day.

                The Mukti Bahini may have been taught how to hold a gun and pull the trigger. They are however not a regular army. As Appa says the military man is brave at all times that is his mindset. Whereas these people can be brave only  when they are emotionally stimulated. They need a leader at all times. In the early days the Indian govt. took the stand we will help them with arms and training but they have to fight their own war.

                   Learning of an approaching troop within a days distance.. The Mukti Bahini was sent to ambush them . They were given fruit tins , milk tins etc. This they took in large numbers. On a suspicion when their ammunition box was opened it was found to be empty. The first lesson for the military  is to see to his ammunitions .Half an hour later they returned rushing back. They had spied the enemy troops much nearer than expected. These were the people who would claim later that it was by their own efforts that they won the war.

                      On a lighter note I would like to add here about  Appa 's days at the ota St. Thomas mount. He was an instructor there. Once when he was watching his cadets march past who should come to him for instruction? You will never guess. The great nadigar thilakam Shivaji Ganesan. He was going to play the role of a major in the film Raktha thilagam. He just needed a few minutes to get into the role nuances and all.

                     Dec, Appa starts at Baghmara. Amma is in a trench in Tura. He has 3000 Mukti Bahini troops, One company of East Bengal Rifles who have crossed over. His own BSF and one other BSF company on both sides as flanks. They soon face heavy fire . The enemy  side has 27 machine guns which can each fire 250 rounds in one go. "The shells are falling all around us. It is almost miraculous that none hit me . Along with my troops I crawl forward  towards the enemy. At distance of 150 feet,. We shout bayonet charge. Then everything is over in a few minutes. We get a lot of ammunition , all new." The Pakistanis run away leaving their ammunition behind. This is a major victory. The army which is following will have easy access.

                  Further on there are some smaller skirmishes ,some slightly major. On the way Mymensingh  is captured.Joy Bangla is the code for friends. Once even so they are fired at. The enemy has learnt the code. After each victory there would be a victory show of sorts. A horse would be brought from somewhere and I would prance on it. He says.

              At one village two boys from the MB catch hold of a man and skin him alive and hang him . They too belong to this village. He is  a Pakistani informer they say. The MB is just one step away from being a guerrilla force. The army takes a tough stand and  says such things should not be condoned. Interfering politicians who  are accompanying  ask that the boys be freed . Later at night they are thrown into a river let them do their best and shots fired in the air. 

               The army has many rules of how a spy or a pow should be treated. All governed by the Geneva convention. You have to only see the movie The bridge on the river Kwai to know what I am talking about.

               What did you eat , how did you get food I ask. Every village would have a head man . He would be like our dubhasi of old. Serve any master. Earlier he would have served the Pakistani and next day us.  At one place we reached late and the troops were starving. I asked that kichidi be made at once. Easy to cook and filling. The MB refused to eat .They made a lot of excuses. It turned out that they had learnt from the cooks that the earlier day Pakistani troops had been fed poultry and meat.  The tribals in the MB were extremely accommodating. Only a harsh slap brought the MB cadres to their senses. Appa says he later learnt that this was how they were always handled elsewhere too.

                  They are the first troops to reach Dakha. Appa stays as military governor for a day till their civil services reach there.     Already there was a long standing enmity between the Biharis in Bangladesh and the Bengalis. This came out in the open and Biharis are being  massacred. So a sort of curfew is I mposed. 

           With the army getting the final surrender papers, it is victory time.

                All families participate in the Victory dinner at Tura. Surrounded by the BSF the MB takes full credit for the victory. All Indian troops are recalled .All Mukti Bahini cadres return home.

            The army recommends pvsm for Appa. The BSF buries it in red tape. But do we need a piece of metal to tell us  that Appa is a true patriot and a very brave man ?