Pakistani military was our antagonist, even though our ideologies differed

Haydar Akbar Khan Rono, an advisor of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), has passed away. He was a Marxist theoretician and a former general secretary of the East Pakistan Student Union. He was one of the prominent organizers and leaders of the Liberation War. In 1971, Haydar Akbar Khan Rono was a significant member of the Communist Party's East Bengal Coordination Committee in Bangladesh. The leader played an active role in armed struggle during the war. In an interview, Assistant Professor Rahat Minhaz, of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at Jagannath University, discussed various aspects of the Liberation War, the role of leftist politicians,  participation in the Liberation War, aspirations for economic freedom, and more. This interview, which remained unpublished until now, has been released today.

Rahat Minhaz: What was your plan on March 25, 1971? What did you do?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: On March 25, there was a gathering at Paltan Maidan. More than two lakh people participated in this gathering. It was organized by the Coordination Committee of the Communist Revolutionaries of East Bengal. This was the committee's first gathering. It wasn't possible to organize such a large gathering on our side based on organizational capabilities. However, considering the circumstances, people spontaneously joined the gathering. This amazed us. Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Rashid Khan Menon, Haydar Anawar Khan Juno, and I spoke at the gathering.

Rahat Minhaz: What were you doing after the evening of March 25th? How did you receive the news of the crackdown? How did you spend that night?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: After the gathering, I went to the Madhur Canteen of Dhaka University. Madhu da fed us eggs. Menon was also with us. While eating together, I was constantly searching, trying to find out whether the laborers who had come from Tongi on trucks and buses had reached the gathering or not. After coming home, I found out from various sources that they had reached safely. It was Madhu Da's last meeting with us. Madhu Da, a beloved figure of Dhaka University, was killed on the night of March 25 during the crackdown. From Madhu Da's place, l returned home. I received news from various places in the city that the military had arrived. After returning home, I received several phone calls. Some said the military had arrived, while others said they had just passed through this road. One phone call stands out in my memory. Someone called and said, "The military has arrived. The war has begun. I have two guns at home. I want to give them to you. They might be useful for you. I feel very good about it." After that, I took the car from home and set out.

Rahat Minhaz: What was your purpose in venturing out in such circumstances that night?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: I thought of going to Menon's place in Lalbagh. There, we would sit and discuss our next steps. We would stay together. We first went to Mahfuz Bhai's house on Satmasjid Road in Dhanmondi. My younger brother Juno was driving the car. I told Mahfuz Bhai, "Let's go to Menon's house in Lalbagh." Meanwhile, the telephone lines went dead. Mahfuz said, "It's impossible. Gunshots are being fired in Pilkhana. There's no chance of going that way." Then Mahfuz went to another house. I and Juno went to Khala's house. From Khala's house, we heard intense gunfire and tracer bullets. The whole sky turned red. It was a terrifying situation. Only bullets and bullets all around.

Rahat Minhaz: What happened next? What did you do?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: On March 26, there was a curfew all day. There was no opportunity to go out. From inside our locked homes, we only heard the sound of gunfire. The curfew was lifted on March 27. I and Juno returned home. In the morning, Rumi came with a car. Rumi was the son of Shahid Janani Jahanara Imam, named Shafi Imam Rumi. At that time, Rumi was an active worker of the Communist Student Union. I rode with him and toured different places in New Market and Dhaka. Bodies were lying on the streets, one after another. Houses were burning. People were fleeing Dhaka. The roads were lined with people. We heard that Jagnnath Hall and other places witnessed the killing of teachers and students.
In that car, we went to Menon Bhai's house. Then we went to Kazi Zafar's house. Juno was with us at that time. Jahir Rayhan joined us there. At that time, Jahir was a unit member of the Coordination Committee of the Communist Revolutionaries of East Bengal. Jahir Bhai said, "Let my car be with you. If you need it for any work during the war." With that, Jahir Rayhan left, giving us seven hundred taka and some cigarettes.

Rahat Minhaz: What did you do next? Did you go to Shibpur?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: We went to Shibpur in Jahir Rayhan's car. The car had a Pakistani flag displayed. Before the crackdown on March 25, all the houses in Dhaka city had flags of independent Bangladesh on their balconies and cars. After March 25, the flags were changed. Everyone started using Pakistani flags to save their lives. Pakistani flags were put up on houses one after another. Actually, there was nothing to do at that time; everyone was doing this for safety. But in the evening, we saw a different picture. Bangladeshi flags were flying again in shops and on the streets. Rickshaws and vans were proudly displaying the flag of Bangladesh.

Rahat Minhaz: What did you do when you reached Shibpur?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: Upon reaching Shibpur, we learned that revolutionary student union and farmer committee workers were undergoing military training under the leadership of Mannan Bhuiyan. All the rifles from the police station had been taken. The work of collecting weapons was underway. On the night of March 27, our committee held a meeting. It was decided that we would conduct the war from Shibpur itself. Shibpur would be our base. The decisions of our meeting were communicated to various places.

Rahat Minhaz: How many thousands of fighters were under your command during the war month?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: Under the headquarters of Shibpur, we had 14 more bases. And under these bases, there were at least 14,000 fighters. Additionally, the number of our allies or those who showed sympathy and actively supported our cause during the war was approximately 100,000. These were the ones who provided us with shelter, who fed us.

Rahat Minahaz: But to fight a war, you need weapons. Where did you get your weapons from?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: Initially, we obtained weapons from the police station. We used the same weapons that were available in our homes. When the war started in full swing, meaning when the sector commanders began their operations, we received weapons from them. These weapons were provided to us by the sector commanders gradually. Khaled Mosharraf provided them, as did Zia. Several other sector commanders also supported us. At that time, we fought as an established pro-Chinese left force. We didn't have any direct official support from the Indian government to acquire weapons. However, the sector commanders supported us. Our ideologies were different, but we had a common enemy, the Pakistani army.

Rahat Minhaz: In 1971, you did pro-Chinese politics. And again, in the global arena, you went against the Chinese decision and fought against the Pakistani army. What was the political equation?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: The rigid division in leftist politics began in the 1960s. In East Pakistan, this division became effective in 1966 under the leadership of Comrade Moni Singh. The pro-Moscow faction had separate objectives, and the Chinese faction also had its distinct priorities. At that time, there were four distinct groups, each analyzing the Liberation War from different perspectives. In the East Bengal Communist Party, the faction led by Sukhendu Dastidar Toaha-Haque, and the other faction led by Deben Sikdar-Abul Bashar. The Eastern Bengal Communist Coordination Committee was led by Kazi Zafar-Menon-Rono-Mannan Bhuiyan. In the Purba Bangla Shramik Andolan, commonly known as Sarbahara, the leadership belonged to Siraj Sikdar.
I was an active member of the Communist Biplobi (Revolutionary) faction's Purba Bangla Samonnay Committee. We took up arms against Pakistan. At that time, we openly criticized the Chinese role in the liberation war, which made the Chinese authorities or sympathizers resentful towards us. Until 1989, the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh did not invite us to any events, although during that time (the 1980s) I was part of the Workers Party.

Rahat Minhaz: How many battles did you take part in Shivpur? How many were your martyrs?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: We participated in numerous battles in Shibpur. No one else fought as much as we did. The nature of this battle was guerrilla warfare. During the course of this battle, more than a hundred of our warriors were martyred. Our first battle was to blow up a bridge. At that time, the Pakistani forces had a strong grip in Narshingdi. They came from there to Shibpur. There was a bridge near Putia Bazar on the Narshingdi-Shibpur road. We blew up that bridge. After that, the Pakistani forces entered that area. We engaged in direct combat with them. In that battle, the Pakistani forces suffered extensive losses. We lost our warrior Fazlu. Fazlu was the first martyr of the Liberation War in Shibpur.

Rahat Minhaz: On December 16th, where were you?
Haydar Akbar Khan Rono: On the day of victory, I was in Kolkata. The entire city of Kolkata was bustling with excitement. In the afternoon, after the declaration of surrender, victory chants in the name of Indira Gandhi began. On that day, I was accompanied by the former General Secretary of the Awami League and former President Zillur Rahman. We shared many stories together and enjoyed the moment of victory. However, one thing saddened me. It seemed as if those who were celebrating victory in Kolkata (especially Congress leaders and workers) suddenly started vandalizing the CPM offices. It was a strange incident. The celebration of such a significant historic victory was obsereved in a very unpleasant manner.