Who Was Siraj Sikder of the ‘Six Hills’?

Opinion

When the Pakistani military attack began on the night of March 25, the resistance from the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) at Pilkhana and the police at Rajarbagh did not last long. The Bengali members of the East Bengal Regiment, along with soldiers from various military bases, defected from the Pakistani side and joined the liberation war. Except for a few exceptions, all political parties and student organizations, taking advantage of their circumstances, participated in the freedom struggle. Neighboring India had opened its borders, and several training camps were set up in various locations for the youth. After receiving training at these camps, many returned to the country armed. At that time, unity was needed to resist the Pakistani occupation forces.

Despite calls for unity, it was evident that in practice, this did not materialize. The Awami League formed a government and took control of the leadership of the liberation war. A freedom fighter force, called the Mukti Bahini, was formed with Bengali members from the military, EPR, and police. A command structure for the Mukti Bahini was organized with Colonel (Retd.) Ataul Gani Osmani at its head. However, the involvement of the Communists was not well received by the Awami League. In many areas, they were prevented from undergoing training. This created a negative example of political rivalry and jealousy during that time.

Siraj Sikder’s followers gathered in the Peerabagan area of Barisal in late April to form their own Mukti Bahini. They wanted the leadership of the National Liberation Front under their party. However, they denounced all other parties and labeled them as enemies. Despite the slogan of a united front, the belief that only their leadership was legitimate and the rest of the nation would unite under them was a delusional fantasy. They considered all other parties to be reactionary and ‘stooges of the Six Hills.’ The term ‘Six Hills’ was coined by Siraj Sikder.

The phrase ‘Six Hills’ became synonymous with the slogan of the Sarbahara Party. Just as the Awami League had its logo of Mujibism, and the JASD promoted scientific socialism, the main slogan of the Sarbahara Party was the elimination of the ‘stooges of the Six Hills.’ Though the specific identification of these hills remains unclear in Sarbahara Party documents, they have been defined as follows: imperialist American capitalism, Soviet social imperialism, bureaucratic capitalist India, Indian feudalism, East Bengal’s bureaucratic capitalism, and East Bengal’s feudalism. The Sarbahara Party’s strategy was to simultaneously fight against the Pakistani rulers and the stooges of the Six Hills. (Siraj himself, being pro-China, would criticize both Soviet, American, and Indian influences.)

In October 1971, the Sarbahara Party published a document titled “The Stooges of the Six Hills in the Name of Patriotism,” which called for the removal of ‘colonial fascist murderers’ of Pakistan and demanded ‘unity of the entire nation.’ The document continued with the assertion that the Sarbahara Party was making sincere efforts towards this goal. However, in reality, behind the call for unity was a harsh criticism of others. Although unity was proclaimed, it never materialized. In fact, there were reports of clashes between the Sarbahara Party members and the Awami League or Mukti Bahini forces in various places, with casualties on both sides. The Sarbahara Party blamed the Awami League for these confrontations and continued to propagate their criticism in various documents.

Looking at the language of these documents, one might get the impression that only the Sarbahara Party’s guerillas fought the liberation war, and the Mukti Bahini members, trained in India, were just involved in killing and destruction. While isolated incidents did occur, these were often a result of local conflicts and rivalries. It wasn’t only the Sarbahara Party that faced issues; other pro-China groups also clashed with Mukti Bahini members in various places. In the Jessore-Khulna region, the influence of the Communist Party of East Pakistan (Maoist) was strong. There, they harassed Mukti Bahini members in various ways, including seizing their weapons. On the other hand, the reverse also occurred in some areas. These incidents reflected the influence of local power dynamics.

Some of the Sarbahara Party’s claims were not just exaggerated but outright absurd. At one point, they even claimed to have discovered Sikh-Gurkha soldiers in the villages of Barisal.

The same pattern can be seen in the propaganda spread in July and August. A nationwide campaign was launched to topple the government, with claims that soldiers from the police and military had infiltrated, and Indian forces were firing at fleeing soldiers. Similar propaganda was spread after the BDR mutiny, claiming the Pakistani military had committed massacres at Pilkhana. This has resurfaced once again.

Think and rethink again.

– Tazkia Isaba
Online Activist