To Dhimmi: A lesson on contemporary history and US Law

Submitted by Mahfooz-ur Rahman (Bangladesh), Oct 15, 2007 at 08:09

I had no intention to communicate with or educate you any further.

But your repeated claims on "killing of Hindus [only]" in our War of Liberation of 1971 may misinform the general reader as also your emphasising religion as the key element of this war may also spread disinformation that seems to be your motive.

In order to clarify this aspect only, I put forward the following facts which may all be ascertained by reference to any authoritative source including numerous web pages contained in : http://www.google.com.bd/search?hl=bn&q=Bangladesh+war+of+liberation+1971&meta=&btnG=Google+%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8

For a more detailed description of this war, readers may also refer to a great number of reference books, including the official Web Banglapedia at http://search.com.bd/banglapedia/HT/W_0020.htm , prepared and edited by a team of Bangladeshi scholars of impeccable antecedents working over a 15 year period. This will tell anyone that our War of Liberation was a political war fought for the political self-determination of the people of Bangladesh which consist of people of all faiths: Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Baha'is' etc. The secular constitution of Bangladesh guarantees freedom to practice and to preach any religion in its territory, where the Christian Missionaries among others enjoy full freedom to propagate their faith as are the Monks of Buddhism. This principle and practice of religious freedom is also a living example of religious toleration of Islam, as more that 80% of population of Bangladesh are practising and devout Muslims living in amity and peace with their fellow citizens of other faiths.

As to the casualties of the War of Liberation, I quote from Wikipedia:

"Casualties

The number of civilians that died in the Bangladesh War is not accurately known. There is a great disparity in the casualty figures put forth by Pakistan on one hand (26,000, as reported in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission^[44]) and India and Bangladesh on the other hand. (From 1972 to 1975 the first post-war prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, claimed on several occasions that at least three million died).^[45] The international media and reference books in English have also have published figures which vary greatly: varying from 5,000–35,000 in Dhaka, and 200,000–3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole.^[3][46] It is believed in certain quarters that the figure of three million has its origins in comments made by Yahya Khan to the journalist Robert Payne on February 22, 1971, "Kill three million of them, and the rest will eat out of our hands".^[47][48]

The Office of the Historian of the United States State Department held a two-day conference in late June 2005 on U.S. policy in South Asia between 1961 and 1972. The State Department invited international scholars to express their views on declassified documents recently published in the Foreign Relations of the United States series. According to a newspaper report published in both Pakistani and Bangladeshi newspapers, Bangladeshi speakers at the conference stated that the official Bangladeshi figure of civilian deaths was close to 300,000, which was wrongly translated from Bengali into English as three million. Ambassador Shamsher M. Chowdhury acknowledged that Bangladesh alone cannot correct this mistake and suggested Pakistan and Bangladesh should form a joint commission to investigate the 1971 disaster and prepare a report.^[49][50][51]

In 1997 R. J. Rummel published a book, which is available on the web, titled Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900. In Chapter 8, Statistics Of Pakistan's Democide - Estimates, Calculations, And Sources, he states:

"

In East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) [General Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan and his top generals] also planned to murder its Bengali intellectual, cultural, and political elite. They also planned to indiscriminately murder hundreds of thousands of its Hindus and drive the rest into India. And they planned to destroy its economic base to insure that it would be subordinate to West Pakistan for at least a generation to come. This despicable and cutthroat plan was outright genocide.^[52]

"

Rummel goes on to collate what he considers the most credible estimates published by others into what he calls democide. He writes that "Consolidating both ranges, I give a final estimate of Pakistan's democide to be 300,000 to 3,000,000, or a prudent 1,500,000.

Killing of intellectuals

During the war, the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators carried out a systematic execution of the leading Bengali intellectuals. A number of professors from Dhaka University were killed during the first few days of the war.^[53] However, the most extreme cases of targeted killing of intellectuals took place during the last few days of the war. Professors, journalists, doctors, artists, engineers, writers were rounded up in Dhaka, blindfolded, taken to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different sections of the city to be executed en masse in the killing fields, most notably at Rayerbazar and Mirpur.^[54][55] Allegedly, the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and its paramilitary arm, the Al-Badr and Al-Shams forces created a list of doctors, teachers, poets, and scholars.^[56] Some sources also allege the role of the CIA in devising the plan.^[57]

On December 14, 1971, only two days before surrendering to the Indian military and the Mukhti Bahini forces, the Pakistani army with the assistance of local collaborators systematically executed an estimated 991 educationists, 13 journalists, 49 physicians, 42 lawyers, and 16 litterateur, artists and engineers.^[54] Even after the official ending of the war on December 16 there were reports of firing from the armed Pakistani soldiers or their collaborators. In one such incident, notable film-maker Jahir Raihan was killed on January 30, 1972 in Mirpur allegedly by the armed Beharis. In memory of the persons killed, December 14 is mourned in Bangladesh as Shaheed Buddhijibi Dibosh ("Day of the Martyred Intellectuals").^[41][58][59]

Several noted intellectuals who were killed from the time period of 25th March to 16th December, 1971 in different parts of the country include Dhaka University professors Dr. Govinda Chandra Dev (Philosophy), Dr. Munier Chowdhury (Bengali Literature), Dr. Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury (Bengali Litterateur), Dr. Anwar Pasha (Bengali Literature), Dr M Abul Khair (History), Dr. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta (English Literature), Humayun Kabir (English Literature), Rashidul Hasan (English Literature) and Saidul Hassan (Physics), as well Dr. Habibur Rahman (Professor of Mathematics at Rajshahi University), Dr. Fazle Rabbi (Cardiologist), Dr. Alim Chowdhury (Ophthalmologist), Shahidullah Kaiser(Journalist), Nizamuddin Ahmed (Journalist), Selina Parvin (Journalist), Altaf Mahmud (Lyricist and musician), Dhirendranath Datta (Politician) and RP Saha (Philanthropist)."

The point to note here is that whatever may be the casualty figure, majority of these were Muslims, quite naturally, as Muslims constitute the majority of the people and the War of '71 was a national war and not a religious war. There was no distinction between the people of Bangladesh in their sufferings on religious grounds. In the instance of the deliberate murder of the intellectuals, out of 991 of our murdered intellectuals full 90% of them were Muslims. Out of the 18 famous murdered intellectuals named above, only 4 were Hindus, the rest were all Muslims. This is not to belittle, I must emphasise here, the great contribution made or the unstinting patriotism of our Hindu citizens, but simply to refute the nefarious efforts of Dhimmi to misinform and distort facts about our noble War of Liberation; only in her attempt to malign Islam by any and every way, but mostly by blatant lies.

Though I do not wish to be personal, six members of my extended family were killed in that War including an uncle who was a high ranking medical officer (Lt Col.) of the then Pakistan Army. He was taken out of his bed at dead of night and shot in cold blood by his own subordinates. No, that terrible war of ‘71 was NOT fought on religious grounds, however much you try to taint it that way, as we all know our own history and do not need disinformation from malignantly transplanted immigrants such as you are.

Freedom of Speech- The First Elementary Lesson: You have the effrontery to tell me to learn about freedom of speech!! Let me then give you the first elementary lesson on the principles of it, especially as applicable in your own adopted country.

To start with, you seem to deliberately muddle principles of Freedom of Speech with that of unrestricted license to defame individuals, races, groups and religions – as you barbarically put it, in your campaign of ‘open season on Islam"! But Dhimmi, I regret to inform you, your own laws do NOT allow you or anyone else any such ‘open season' on any one let alone on a religion. Even the notorious KKK knew that: that is why they hid their faces by masks when they hunted black Americans in such a purported open seasons, such that you do as you hide yourself when you defame Islam.

Freedom of speech is never unlimited or unrestricted. Its limit extends only up to the extend of law permitting for and in that particular society. The statute laws of the country and the higher courts thereof in this respect define, elaborate and expound the limits and scope of such freedom.

The United States Constitution allows and the Supreme Court of the US fiercely defends freedom of speech and freedom of information. There are limits on such freedoms that are subject of study and much research by legal scholars. They are also subject matters of much litigation. But no, not even in the USA any licence is allowed to any one to speak anything one likes, as no one is free to peddle poison or harmful drugs in the name of free market. Much like merchandising in the free market, views expressed and the manner of expression under freedom of speech must be exercised within the laws of the United Stated by all persons within its territorial jurisdiction.

A Few Specifics of Freedom of Speech in the USA:

Does the First Amendment mean anyone can say anything at any time? No. The Supreme Court has rejected an interpretation of speech without limits.

In Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, the Supreme Court stated that the "English language has a number of words and expressions which by general consent [are] ‘fighting words' … Such words, as ordinary men know, are likely to cause a fight." The court determined that the New Hampshire statute in question "did no more than prohibit the face-to-face words plainly likely to cause a breach of the peace by the addressee, words whose speaking constitute a breach of the peace by the speaker — including ‘classical fighting words,' words ... likely to cause violence, and other disorderly words, including profanity, obscenity and threats." Jurisdictions may write statutes to punish verbal acts ... The Supreme Court has rejected an interpretation of speech without limits.

Libel and Slander:

The acid test of libel or slander is answered by the question: Was the statement false, or put in a context that makes true statements misleading? You do not have a constitutional right to tell lies that damage or defame the reputation of a person or organization. [or a religion, any religion]

The wealth of literature on the limits of freedom of speech are vast but will require a calm, trained, rational, legalistic, and scholarly mind to grasp the full implications of what the US Constitution implies and the Supreme Court of the United States interprets. It is so very easy for all and sundry, including mindless slanderers and rouble rousers to misuse this freedom allowed by the US Constitution for their nefarious propaganda, such as you, Dhimmi, are futilely attempting to do. But at the same time, I must warn you: apart form the dictates of civilised conduct and civilised societal norms, do not cross legal limits, or else the full force of the US Criminal Laws will enforce the Law for any such violation at the peril of the violator.

Dhimmi, try and learn the laws of your own adopted country before you write or speak on matters that is beyond your intellectual ability to comprehend. And knowing the laws of your own adopted country is necessary so that you do not end up behind the bar! Consider this a friendly advice and a forewarning that will help you from being prosecuted as you lose all sense, proportion and cross all limits in your zealous crusade against Islam.

In all truth, more than a billion Muslims of this world are not really trembling in fear of your crusade, only that you remain under grave danger of being prosecuted in your adopted country under the laws that you had sworn to abide by, if you are naturalized, or are required to honour if still a resident alien.

Mahfooz

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