From warfare to post-liberation economic rebound: Lower echelons’ role in retrospect

'The first casualty when war comes is truth' — this was once said by Hiram W Johnson, a Republican politician who served in the US Senate for nearly 30 years. Obliteration or fabrication of truth happens in varied ways depending on the setting of the war. 

For example, during our struggle for liberation, the war was fought on multiple fronts. From the involvement of our allies to the contributions of women during our Liberation War, there are different narratives. 

Historical accounts are mostly focused on the role of India, intellectuals, armed forces and other groups belonging to the highest rungs of the social ladder. As a result, the phenomenal role played by mass people and those belonging to the lower echelons of the society is mostly ignored and missing in our historical narratives. 

It means it was the truth about the contributions of the masses that was the first casualty of our Liberation War. The blood and sweat that they sacrificed during the Liberation War does not always get special mention in our historical narratives. 

In reality, it was the masses or those from the lower rungs of the social ladder who cared for nothing except the country during the Liberation War. They sacrificed everything for the country's emancipation. Immediately after Bangabandhu's historical 7 March speech and a call to "get ready with whatever you have", villagers and lower income people responded with great alacrity.  

Afsan Chowdhury, renowned liberation war researcher, in his book 'Gramer Ekattor' writes, "Because of the 7 March speech, villages started getting organised in consideration of their thoughts, ability and willingness. As a result, this speech helped forge a national unity. Riding on this unity, resistance was formed in the subsequent period and after the initial resistance, national war was waged on a larger scale."  

Villagers helped the freedom fighters in multifaceted and unimaginable ways. Some parents sacrificed their young sons to let them become freedom fighters, some supplied essentials including food, some procured medicines and other life-saving commodities while some others offered shelter to freedom fighters in times of extreme trouble.   

"Cross-sections of people hailing from Berpara village spontaneously extended help during the Liberation War. This kind of help continued till the last day of the Liberation War. Though young boys from Berpara who used to study at colleges located in Rajshahi did not directly take part in the war, they helped the freedom fighters whole-heartedly. 

"They provided important information to the freedom fighters — from India and sometimes by staying within the country as well. Mass people helped by giving shelter in a furtive way, supplying food, providing information about the movement of enemy forces and offering boats to cross the Padma river," Chowdhury further wrote.   

Every good thing comes at a price. The masses also paid a heavy price for aiding freedom fighters. Local collaborators and the Pakistani military tortured the villagers mercilessly. Villagers were subjected to inhuman abuse like rape, vandalisation, plundering, etc. Villages after villages were set on fire while people were killed as if they were ants. Despite such persecution, the masses did not stop lending a hand to the freedom fighters.    

Owing to this kind of contribution, researchers opine that our Liberation War was a people's war in the truest sense. And their contributions did not stop with our victory. Even in the post-liberation Bangladesh, cross-sections of people have contributed the most to turn the corner and experience a quick rebound. 

At the moment, Bangladesh is one of the emerging economies in South Asia and developed countries often cite our example for faring well in terms of economic resilience. This economic rebound has been possible because of massive contributions from three sectors — RMG, agriculture and remittance. 

According to a quarterly review on Readymade Garments (RMG) by the Bangladesh Bank, the RMG sector contributed 9.25% to GDP in FY22, with RMG export earnings of $42,613.15 million. The RMG sector has been playing its role quite impressively for expediting economic growth of the country for the last few decades. 

Similarly, as an agrarian economy, we are heavily dependent on our farmers for agricultural produce. It goes without saying that the agriculture sector is the driving force of our economy with a significant contribution to our GDP and this sector has gone a long way in ensuring food security for everyone. According to a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Bangladesh has witnessed an increase of three to five times in terms of major food grains production since independence. This has been possible due to the relentless efforts of our farmers. 

Meanwhile, migrant workers sending remittances from abroad are a strong backbone of our economy. To be specific, remittances sent by migrant workers are leaving a long-lasting impact on the rural economy while improving living standards of the rural people. Remittances sent by migrant workers are having a 'multiplier effect' on the domestic economy as well.

A quick contemplation makes it clear that people contributing to these three sectors are from the lower strata of our society, pointing out the all-out efforts of the lower-class people to keep the wheels of our economy running.

Despite their contributions during the 1971 war and post-liberation period, people who belong to the lowest rung of the social ladder are not getting what they deserve. Whenever any migrant worker comes home, they have to suffer a lot at the airport due to mismanagement. 

Farmers never get due price for the crops they cultivate due to corporate chicanery and nefarious intentions of the syndicate whereas RMG workers do not even get a standard salary to live a decent life. Even a few days ago, RMG workers had to take it to the streets and wage movement for a decent salary. 

The state needs to do more for those who are toiling very hard to keep the economic lifeline of independent Bangladesh alive. At the same time, befitting mention of masses' role in the narratives of our liberation war is expected. Obliterating their roles from historical narratives will not help our nation, rather a proper mention of their sacrifices is necessary for instilling a sense of patriotism among the posterity and all citizens irrespective of all kinds of differences.  

TBS Sketch

Md Morshedul Alam Mohabat is a columnist who likes to delve deeper into the human psyche and social incongruities with a view to exploring the factors that influence these.