What struck me while traveling in Pakistan was the continuing underlying perceptions that Pakistanis have toward us Bangladeshis. Born in 1970, I am from a generation whose knowledge of the war of independence and it legacy is based primarily on stories told by parents and grandparents regarding the sequence of events from 1947-1970 that led to the devastating war of 1971. I sincerely wish to avoid labeling those I meet during my travels, and choose to believe that the views I came across were based more on years of biased political propaganda regarding 1971, than on there being a desire to be intentionally malicious.

What was noticeable was that Bangladesh in conversation continues to still be referred to as "East Pakistan," the end of the war of independence as the "Fall of Dhaka," and it is expected that Bengalis speak Urdu. The cause of the 1971 war of Independence is believed to be purely the interference of India and that the war would not have been lost by West Pakistan was it not for this. There continues to be an amazing lack of self-reflection in today's Pakistan with regards to the contribution and sacrifices made by Bengalis in the struggle leading to partition in 1947, and the reasons that led to the war of 1971.

I do not wish to lay all the blame on this lack of consciousness just on Pakistan, we as Bangladeshis continue to politicise 1971, instead of addressing the terrible injustices and humanitarian crimes that were perpetuated on an unarmed civilian population, we debate who qualifies to be the "Father of the Nation" and the re-naming of public roads and buildings. The war of 1971 in essence was a populist uprising against a continuing brutal exploitation, those that suffered the most were civilian Bengalis that fought for the ideals of freedom and in turn inspired that world with their courage. Thirty-four years on we seem to have lost the spirit to assert oneself against a manifest wrong and the ideals of an inspired generation that fought so valiantly have faded to apathy.

When I visited the Lahore museum there was a remarkable collection of Gandhara sculptures, probably the world's finest Moghul miniature paintings, a section on Bengali painters, and a museum wing dedicated to "independence." The "independence wing" reviews the independence movement against the British Raj from 1857-1947, however it lacked any mention of the contribution by Bengalis and the political movements in Bengal during this period. I was traveling with my 12-year-old cousin who went up to our guide and asked if there was a section on 1971. There was none. Bengal had effectively been swept under the political rug.

However, what inspired me to write on my travels was an article I read in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper titled "Sheikh Mujib Wanted a Confederation: US Papers" by Anwar Iqbal published on July 7. With great gusto, Mr. Iqbal's article refers to the recently de-classified US State department papers dealing with the Nixon and Ford presidencies and the 1971 war in Bangladesh. Several points struck me about the article, the first being there was no reference to the elections of 1970 and the subsequent denial of erstwhile East Pakistanis (Bengalis) in Pakistan's political process that so influenced Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's policies, what was highlighted was that "Mujib wanted a confederation."

The article then proceeded to reference: "several Bangladeshi scholars as acknowledging the official Bangladesh Government figure of 3 million killed during and after the military action as not authentic," and state that the Bangladeshi ambassador to Washington Mr. Shamsher M. Chowdhury "acknowledged that Bangladesh alone cannot correct this mistake."

The author of the article then states that "almost all scholars agree that the real figure was somewhere near 26,000 as reported by the Hamoodur Rahman commission, and not three million, the official figure put forward by Bangladesh and India."

The article also references a Prof. Sharmila Bose, "a Bengali herself and belonging to the family of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose" as having extensively researched the 1971 war and concluded: "The Pakistani army personnel raping Bengali women was grossly exaggerated" and "All parties in this conflict embraced violence as a means to an end, all committed acts of brutality outside accepted norms of warfare."

The author with eloquence diminishes the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated in Bangladesh and seemingly reasons that the war of 1971 was merely an unfortunate and easily resolved minor internal problem, instigated by India, as "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman wanted to have a form of confederation" -- a sanitised view that seems commonly accepted in Pakistan.

As far as I am aware the only readers comment published by Dawn with regards to this article was published on July 11 written by a reader who titled his reply "Pakistan-Bashing" by Mahdi Masud and seemed to feel Mr. Anwar Iqbal's article was unfairly critical of West Pakistan's role in the 1971 war. Sadly, to my knowledge, the Bangladeshi mission and its political wing in Pakistan has as yet to voice an opinion on Mr. Anwar Iqbal's article even though the article directly quotes our ambassador to Washington.

It would be wrong of me not to acknowledge that during my stay I found Pakistanis extremely hospitable, with an incredibly rich cultural heritage spanning many millennia. Yet regrettably I am left feeling that if Pakistanis after thirty-four years still do not understand 1971, then far greater than their failure, it is a powerful reflection of our failure as Bangladeshis towards those who suffered, sacrificed, and gave their lives for our independence and the rights of self-determination we enjoy today.

The author is a freelance writer.