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| Volume 11 |Issue 06| February 10, 2012 | |
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Letters When Textbooks Lie The write up entitled 'When Textbooks Lie' is really a thought provoking one. As we know, the atrocities of the Pakistani army during the time of our liberation war is still a reoccurring nightmare for those who were witness to it. But it is astounding to know that even after forty years, the young Pakistani generation is being taught a different kind of history all together. Such things have happened due to the domination of an army-backed government in Pakistan. The fabricated history aims to provide East Pakistan with an 'enemy image' amongst the youth. But the civil society and politicians of Pakistan now realise once again the importance of learning the truth. If a generation does not know its history, it will also fail to follow a path of progress and profound peace. I believe many Pakistanis as well as citizens of other nations in the subcontinent should raise their voices to force Pakistani rulers to disclose the truth regarding the Liberation War of Bangladesh. Young Pakistanis should not be ashamed to say sorry to Bangladesh. Mizanur Rahman ***
The previous article about the Liberation War inspired me to share something which really confused me to some extent. A few months ago, while I was chatting with one of my Pakistani friends on Facebook I told him that according to our textbooks we address them as Pakistani Hanadar Bahini. Initially he didn't understand the meaning of it. Then I explained to him how we accuse the Pakistan Army of committing genocidal crimes, such as rape and physical torture, during the war. I further told him about the way they forced Hindus to convert. He became very annoyed and told me very confidently that I didn't know the real history of this war and that it was a conspiracy framed by the Indians. He told me that the Indians aroused hatred among the people of East Pakistan against the people of West Pakistan. Then I told him that the people of East Pakistan were deprived of their basic rights, so they protested against injustice. And Indians extended their helping hands to the people of East Pakistan. That's the real history of this war, I exclaimed. But he denied it, leaving me confused. It so happened that while watching "Kaun Banega Crorepati" a question regarding the Liberation War of 1971 in between India and Pakistan appeared on the screen. Shouldn't it be Bangladesh instead of India? These two incidents confused me regarding the real history of our Liberation War. Sharmin Akther
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