In 1947, would I have supported the creation of Pakistan and East Bengal included in the new country?

This is a contribution to Bangladesh 50.

In 1947, would I have supported the creation of Pakistan and East Bengal included in the new country? It would have all depended on the state of my mind and how I felt and interpreted things around me at that time- created by propaganda, personal experiences, ideological aspirations, the nature of political/religious/ethnic conflicts taking place and intensifying all around.

Over the years, from childhood till now, I felt differently about the partition of India at different times. At one point, I strongly supported the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan, justifying my position/feelings on usual grounds, that is, the fear of Hindu domination in India and a belief that the more powerful Hindus discriminated against Indian Muslims and treated them very badly. At another time, as I began to understand that the two-nation theory concerning Indian peoples was ridiculous, I couldn’t support the partition of India on that ground. And the violence of the partition, just made me feel sick. As such, I changed my mind several times on the issue of the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan that included East Bengal.

But these two poles apart positions have been primarily based on armchair thinking and being the victims of propaganda by different sources over the years. The real question is, given that, essentially, I have an empathetic nature, only value evidence-based objective knowledge, love honesty and am a justice-seeker, what position would I have chosen at that time? I would have been in the midst of a fast-moving situation of confusion, chaos, insecurity, polarisation, communal violence and ideological and historical claims and blames in Bengal during the preceding months and years of the partition in August 1974?

It is impossible to find a clear cut answer, the most accurate one, in relation to the most likely path that I would have chosen. There were alternative paths to take but choosing one would have been the most critical decision for me and based on some immediate contextual situations and life’s experiences, including consideration for the welfare and the future of my family and community.

I can both sympathise and empathise with the different choices and decisions made by different people at that time and the consequences they faced as a result. But one of the critical factors that would have influenced my decision would have been my personal experiences of inclusion and exclusion, being accepted as an equal or othered, in relation to my historical identity, humanity and dreams and aspirations.