Since centuries, the Maritime Bengal carries the legacy of creativity, wisdom and prosperity and has been a prominent centre of maritime expertise and craftsmanship. Bengali sailors have sailed into the high seas of near and distant waters to facilitate trade and cross-cultural contact. This has made Bengal a popular destination for foreign traders. The wooden ships designed in Bengal have been widely praised for their design, speed, durability and purposefulness. After meeting local requirements, these ships were also exported, in particular, for the use of international trade and for the war against maritime battles by European countries. However, this tradition of seafaring and shipbuilding was long forgotten until shortly after our independence, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took over the helm of our nation.
Bangabandhu committed himself to the new mission of building a ‘Sonar Bangla’ for the war-torn nation. In line, to defend the rights over our maritime zone, he took to the restructuring of the state for the maintenance of our sea resources and ensure economic emancipation. He, in fact, felt the need of a strong naval force much earlier to the independence and demanded the establishing of a naval headquarters in the erstwhile East Pakistan in his ‘Six Point Charter,’ a manifestation of his far-sighted vision.
Born and raised in riverine Bangladesh, Bangabandhu was very involved in improving the lives of the riverine and coastal population. The three major rivers, the trio of Padma-Meghna-Jamuna, were tremendously related to the strategy, slogan and manifesto of the long Bangladeshi independence movement led by Bangabandhu. He warned in the historic speech of 7 March 1971, “We will defeat them in the water,” which was an implicit military tactic in the liberation war using our vast river system. The courageous freedom fighters and naval commandos began assaulting the occupying forces one after another in the ports, harbours and rivers during the monsoon season, when the rivers of the country were flooded with heavy rain, seemed like executing Bangabandhu’s plan and tactical art. The trajectory of the war leading to our final victory was certainly accelerated by this war on the waterfront.
When Bangabandhu started to govern the war-torn Bangladesh, in every field of our region, he launched major programmes of revival and reconstruction. He dreamt of a Sonar Bangla where the constructive interest of people was welcomed. In order to build our new-born nation, he attached great importance to the communication field. Under his supervision, our river communication system was restored, especially the inland water route, which also helped farm irrigation.
Bangabandhu took the visiting Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on a river cruise by a Bangladesh Inland Water Transportation Company (BIWTC) steamer on 19 March 1972 to present the exquisite and riverine Bangladesh, where they spent six hours in the Shitalakkha and Meghna rivers. Josip Broz Tito, the then President of Yugoslavia, made an official visit to Bangladesh from 29 January to 2 February 1974, when Bangabandhu also took him on a river cruise. That reflects how much passion and devotion for the lovely riverine Bangladesh was rooted in his heart and mind.
It is worth noting that the Mongla-Ghashiakhali waterway was also opened under Bangabandhu’s directives in 1974. The primary aim was to identify alternate routes to the Mongla seaport for short-range transportation, keeping the Sundarbans away from environmental pollution. Bangabandhu was the saviour of our rivers, wetlands, and Sundarbans mangrove forest. He built and modernised BIWTC immediately after our independence by implementing numerous ferry, passenger ships, inland container ships and other riverine services within the region, predicting the importance of the inland transport of goods and people.
He took no time to recognise, as a visionary leader, that this country’s stability and economic growth is rooted in its maritime potential. Thus, right after independence, with the assistance of the Soviet Union’s Navy, Bangabandhu took the initiative to clear off wartime mines, wreckages and sunken vessels from the port of Chattogram to resumed port operations. In order to supervise the reconstruction works and economic activities, he also rushed himself to the various important sea and river ports such as Chattogram, Mongla, Barishal and Hiron Point. It was insufficient to dredge the vast inland waterways and river routes to implement his vision of reviving the entire river system with the only dredger called ‘Khanak’ left with the floundering Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). Given the need, Bangabandhu has collected seven BIWTA dredgers from abroad, mostly from the Netherlands, which are still active in service. The enormous significance of the seaborne trade that drives the economy of the country was well understood by Bangabandhu. Thus, on 5 February 1972, the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) was established.
Two seagoing vessels named ‘Banglar Doot’ and ‘Banglar Shompod’ were incorporated to BSC soon after its establishment, followed by another 12 seagoing vessels obtained from friendly countries such as India, the former Soviet Union and others. He also intended to boost the capability of BSC, which eventually culminated in the purchase of a total of 38 vessels over the next decade.
He recognised the significance of getting our own ocean-going fleet and trained seafarers. Therefore, he re-launched the defunct Marine Academy in Juldia and authorised the ‘Marine Academy Development Project’ in order to ensure its solidity. In 1973, he also set up the Marine Fisheries Academy with the aid of the Soviet Union, inducted a large number of fishing trawlers, created a fishing port and founded the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) in Chattogram.
He launched the building of five patrol craft at Narayanganj Dockyard and a 1,000-ton ocean-going ship at Khulna Shipyard to boost the shipbuilding industry, setting the stage for its potential achievement. To establish maritime safety, he got two Indian gunboats and two former Yugoslav patrol boats, which gave birth to a self-sustaining Bangladesh Navy. He commissioned BNS ISSA KHAN in Chattogram on 10 December 1974. On the same day, he also commissioned naval bases in Dhaka and Khulna and handed over ‘Naval Ceremonial Ensign’ to Bangladesh Navy. He also initiated the process for purchasing frigates from the Royal Navy and helped BN to stand on its feet with a beautifully located Naval Headquarters in Banani, Dhaka.
To promote bilateral trade through inland waterways, the India-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade was signed in1972, which vestiges as a cornerstone of international cooperation and friendship. With a mutual resolution between Bangladesh and India, the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission was established on 19 March 1972. The Commission’s report led to work together and communicate in1975, 1978 and 1996 on the water distribution from the Ganges. With the help of Dutch specialists, Bangabandhu instructed that a comprehensive survey of our river system would be undertaken. At that time, BIWTA issued the very first inland waterway charts and formally handed it over to Bangabandhu. In exploring the prospect of oil, gas and mineral resources in the Bay of Bengal, Bangabandhu also enabled the implementation of the first geological survey of Bangladesh. He had the foresight to see the maritime treasures locked in the Bay of Bengal’s unfathomed blue waters. The Father of the Nation was the driving force of the ‘Bangladesh Petroleum Act 1974’ to encourage the geological survey of Bangladesh to explore marine resources. Six international oil companies performed 32,000 line-km surveys under this Petroleum Act and conducted 7 separate drillings in our marine region beginning in 1974. He also conceived a future maritime Bangladesh as a great visionary leader and promulgated ‘The Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act, 1974,’ which was a breakthrough in the maritime history of Bangladesh. The law was crafted at a time when international maritime law, which was universally acknowledged, had yet to take its final form. The United Nations (UN) framed “The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS-III)” in 1982, almost eight years after the enactment of the law by Bangabandhu. The Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act, 1974, laid the framework for the administration of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s outstanding Blue Economy policies.
Bangabandhu made all his efforts to rebuild Bangladesh and laid a strong foundation for being self-reliant and establishing our country on the global map in every field of development, governance and education. He instilled “the spirit of Phoenix” among the Bengali nation to come out of the ravages of war and never give up. In the maritime sector, he also had a discerning sense on developing knowledgeable and qualified human resources fit to explore, exploit and safeguard ocean resources, in addition to building the necessary maritime infrastructure for the country.
This article took the historical references from an article of Vice-Chancellor Rear Admiral M Khaled Iqbal (retd). It was published in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University’s ‘Sailing for Bangabandhu’s Maritime Bangladesh’ journal.
