Reconstruction of a country destroyed by war :
A war torn third world country under the evil shadow of international
conspiracy, with its economy & infrastructure devastated by
Pakistan, could not do any better than what it did under Mujib. In 1974
there was no one else who could do it better than Mujib, further more
there were ever active anti –liberation elements working as a
destructive force. Even after they killed Mujib & got recognition of
rich Muslim countries they could not undo the food shortage till the
food from the local harvest arrived ; whereas Mujib wanted to curve the
corruption towards good – so he said ‘where is my blanket’, huge
propaganda & conspiracy against Mujib for making him unpopular &
for using it as a pretext for killing him went on and on.
Famine of 1974 : Some people often mentions about the famine of 1974 and implicate Mujib for taking the country on the “ road to hell (e.g., famine)”- as if to say that he invited the famine One will have to recognize that Mujib was not the farmer. Dr. Amartya Sen in one of his major work showed that the famine in 1974 was not so much because of food shortage but because lack of communicatory facilities, this research findings got him Nobel Prize.
It cannot be overemphasized that Pakistanis destroyed all the communicatory facilities before they withdrew from the field to the barracks, that their scorched earth technique destroyed all the dwellings, food go-downs , businesses ,industries & so forth which could not be built in overnight . Although Mujib govt was more into relief and rehabilitation, reconstruction of bridges & culverts, go-downs and other totally devastated infrastructures of the country , there was not enough help to come by. for 70 millions mouths to feed . Dr. Amartya Sen explains how U.S policy played a vital role in predisposing the famine of 1974 , '...the US food aid came under severe threat precisely at this point of time, since the United States decided to seek stoppage of Bangladesh's trade with Cuba. Only after Bangladesh gave in and sacrificed its trade with Cuba was the flow of American food resumed. By then the autumn famine was largely over.'(Amartya Sen, in his book ‘Poverty & Famine’) .
But even if it was true that there was food shortage, the latter could have come from America, infact American food load of ship arrived in 1974 and was anchored in the Bay of Bengal only to leave with the same ship load of food to Korea & to dump the food over there.
Although United States recognized Bangladesh in April 1972,they were not happy about the emergence of Bangladesh and was non-cooperative through out the 9 months of freedom armed struggle, so instead of doing something positive way they escape international humanitarian responsibility preferring to call this country ‘bottomless basket’ as if Mujib tore apart the bottom whereas the ‘ bottomless basket’ – is a meaningless terminology if explained in proper perspective as described above. Not very many Country render much help either, consider Muslim countries – many including the Kingdom of Saudi Arab did not even recognize BD forget about coming up with help until the death of Mujib, consider the role of the U.S. & many other rich countries who did not come forward with help except USSR & eastern European countries and only a few western countries, so it is difficult to blame Mujib as he did not have much in hand . . in an article “politics of food & famine in Bangladesh’ (Economic and Political Weekly, vol.14.48Dec.1.1979) famous economist Rehman Sobhan writes, “Countries like Bangladesh are, even in normal times, vulnerable to pressures applied by donors of aid like the United States, and more so when they are faced with the prospect of natural or manmade famines, and when the aid sought is food. Such pressures have generally been related to specific issues of economic policy, though no doubt having political implications. In the situation of acute famine that prevailed in Bangladesh in 1974, however, the United States used food aid to exert political pressure - pressures which were to bear fruit in the political changes that were brought about in August 1975’ (http://www.jstor.org/pss/4368187)(continued)
Famine of 1974 : Some people often mentions about the famine of 1974 and implicate Mujib for taking the country on the “ road to hell (e.g., famine)”- as if to say that he invited the famine One will have to recognize that Mujib was not the farmer. Dr. Amartya Sen in one of his major work showed that the famine in 1974 was not so much because of food shortage but because lack of communicatory facilities, this research findings got him Nobel Prize.
It cannot be overemphasized that Pakistanis destroyed all the communicatory facilities before they withdrew from the field to the barracks, that their scorched earth technique destroyed all the dwellings, food go-downs , businesses ,industries & so forth which could not be built in overnight . Although Mujib govt was more into relief and rehabilitation, reconstruction of bridges & culverts, go-downs and other totally devastated infrastructures of the country , there was not enough help to come by. for 70 millions mouths to feed . Dr. Amartya Sen explains how U.S policy played a vital role in predisposing the famine of 1974 , '...the US food aid came under severe threat precisely at this point of time, since the United States decided to seek stoppage of Bangladesh's trade with Cuba. Only after Bangladesh gave in and sacrificed its trade with Cuba was the flow of American food resumed. By then the autumn famine was largely over.'(Amartya Sen, in his book ‘Poverty & Famine’) .
But even if it was true that there was food shortage, the latter could have come from America, infact American food load of ship arrived in 1974 and was anchored in the Bay of Bengal only to leave with the same ship load of food to Korea & to dump the food over there.
Although United States recognized Bangladesh in April 1972,they were not happy about the emergence of Bangladesh and was non-cooperative through out the 9 months of freedom armed struggle, so instead of doing something positive way they escape international humanitarian responsibility preferring to call this country ‘bottomless basket’ as if Mujib tore apart the bottom whereas the ‘ bottomless basket’ – is a meaningless terminology if explained in proper perspective as described above. Not very many Country render much help either, consider Muslim countries – many including the Kingdom of Saudi Arab did not even recognize BD forget about coming up with help until the death of Mujib, consider the role of the U.S. & many other rich countries who did not come forward with help except USSR & eastern European countries and only a few western countries, so it is difficult to blame Mujib as he did not have much in hand . . in an article “politics of food & famine in Bangladesh’ (Economic and Political Weekly, vol.14.48Dec.1.1979) famous economist Rehman Sobhan writes, “Countries like Bangladesh are, even in normal times, vulnerable to pressures applied by donors of aid like the United States, and more so when they are faced with the prospect of natural or manmade famines, and when the aid sought is food. Such pressures have generally been related to specific issues of economic policy, though no doubt having political implications. In the situation of acute famine that prevailed in Bangladesh in 1974, however, the United States used food aid to exert political pressure - pressures which were to bear fruit in the political changes that were brought about in August 1975’ (http://www.jstor.org/pss/4368187)(continued)
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