As Pakistan are about to host Bangladesh for a Test series, it may be pertinent to recall Raqibul Hasan and his iconic stance from a cricket match in 1971.
When India was partitioned in 1947, Pakistan was left with, among other things, a most unusual, inconvenient map. The country was segregated into West and East, separated by the vast landmass of India. This led to obvious logistical and administrative difficulties, but they are beyond the scope of these pages.
Until 1947, East Pakistan was part of the Bengal province in undivided India, and their cricketers used to play for the Bengal Ranji Trophy team. East Pakistan participated in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy – at times they fielded two teams, a concept not unusual in Pakistan cricket – but never made it to the top two.
Cricket was popular in East Pakistan. Dacca (now Dhaka) was their first Test venue. But only one East Pakistani (Niaz Ahmed) played Test cricket for Pakistan (this does not include Test players like Mahmood Hussain, Naseem-ul-Ghani, and some others, who moved there from West Pakistan and played the odd match).
The East Pakistani who came the closest to a Test cap was Raqibul Hasan, who was 12th man against the touring New Zealand side in the Dacca (now Dhaka) Test match of 1969/70. There, he got the cap from his idol, Hanif Mohammad. We shall return to Raqibul.
A revolution is born
In November 1970, East Pakistan was ravaged by Cyclone Bhola, often considered the deadliest tropical cyclone in history. At least three hundred thousand were killed (some estimates mention half a million). The Pakistan government was blamed for “inadequate response” and “waste or misuse of the international aid”.
In response, East Pakistan voted overwhelmingly in favour of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League in the national general elections that followed shortly afterwards. They swept 167 out of 169 seats in East Pakistan, which also gave them majority in the 313-seat assembly, but Pakistan president Yahya Khan blocked that.
As threats of a Civil War loomed, Yahya suspended the national assembly indefinitely in March 1971. Talks of possible compromise between Mujib, Yahya, and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, who won the second-most seats) failed. Sensing the impending Civil War, the Pakistan government launched Operation Searchlight, a military action on East Pakistan, on March 25. It should suffice to mention here that the massacre that followed is often classified as a genocide.
Joy Bangla
Where was cricket amidst all this? The Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan had included two East Pakistan teams in the BCCP Trophy that had ended in early March, but neither team had to play outside Dacca, just like the three teams in the national Under-19 tournament. A first-year student of political science at the Dacca University and a staunch Awami League supporter, Raqibul played in both competitions.
Micky Stewart led an “International XI” to Pakistan that winter. Barring England and New Zealand in 1969/70, Pakistan had not hosted Test cricket since 1964/65, so this was a major moment. The International XI included, among others, Pakistan Test cricketer Younis Ahmed.
Playing under the name BCCP XI, Pakistan beat them at Karachi. The BCCP scheduled the second “Test” at Dacca from February 26. For this, they added Raqibul to the squad. In Wounded Tigers, Peter Oborne theorised that the local hero was going to be their “poster boy”. Ahead of the Test, the BCCP gave every member a bat with the party symbol of the PPP. A staunch Awami League supporter, Raqibul was not going to have any of it.
The night before the ‘Test’, Raqibul sneaked out of Hotel Purbani, where the cricketers were staying, to meet his friend Sheikh Kamal. There, they hatched a plan. When Intikhab Alam won the toss and opted to bat, Raqibul picked up his bat and strode out with Azmat Rana. Chants of support reverberated across the venue – not only at the sight of the local hero but also because he had covered the PPP symbol with the words Joy Bangla (viva Bengal), the clarion call of the Mukti Bahini, the Bangladesh freedom fighters.
Note: Some sources suggest Kamal came to Raqibul’s room. Some suggest it had been two nights before the Test. Sarfraz Nawaz and Aftab Baloch told Oborne that Raqibul had covered the symbol with a map of East Pakistan, but Raqibul claims he had used the words. One can attribute these inconsistencies to what transpired over the course of the day.
Raqibul made one run in each innings, but his act made him international news.
Meanwhile, Dacca had been on fire. Students took over the field of cricket on the fourth day, demanding the match be called off. Sensing danger, Sarfraz, one of the batters at the crease, urged a security officer to fire at the crowd before they could attack. The soldier aimed at Sarfraz instead. Not grasping the gravity of the situation, Stewart requested them to wait until the match got over. Predictably, that was not going to happen.
The officials arranged for safe transport of the International XI cricketers. They left Dacca that night. But the BCCP XI had to stay in the dressing-room for hours before a military truck dropped them to Purbani. Then, only after Intikhab’s frantic efforts and contacts, they found transport. The fifteen-minute journey took them three hours that night on roads strewn with burnt trees, but they did make it safely – oblivious to the fact that the BCCP had an alternate XI ready.
“I’ll see you in Karachi,” Zaheer Abbas had told Raqibul before parting ways.
“The next time I visit Karachi or Lahore, I’m afraid I might have to come with a new passport,” Raqibul had responded. He would not be travelling.
Six days later, Mujib declared Civil Disobedience. Raqibul took active part in the movement. A shoot-at-sight order was issued on Raqibul. As his family escaped to Gopalganj, Raqibul and his brother acquired their father’s service revolver and joined the revolution. He lost six family members and his cricket mentor Mushtaq. Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel, his friend, opening partner, and roommate on tours, died as well. But he survived.
Bangladesh became Independent that year. Raqibul and ‘Shaheed’ (martyr) Jewel were celebrated as national heroes. Raqibul worked tirelessly over the following years towards helping build Bangladesh cricket. He became their first captain, though by the time Bangladesh played official ODIs, he was past his prime. He still featured in the 1986 Asia Cup.
Five years after the Dacca match, another International XI toured Pakistan. Now a Bangladesh citizen, Raqibul – armed with a new passport – played against Zaheer at Karachi.
More than half a century since then, the relationship between the two nations has mellowed down.
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