December 16, 1971. Pakistan surrendered to India and a new nation was born. East Pakistan was now officially Bangladesh. Yes, back on March 26, Bangladesh had declared themselves independent from Pakistan but now it was official, they were liberated.??
Now imagine living your whole life in one country but having your national identity changed not once, but twice? Yes, it has happened. For those who were born before the partition and lived to see liberation, they actually had 3 different national identities at different points in life. Yes, while those in what is now Bangladesh always called themselves that as the thirst for freedom grew, but they were officially recognised as such only from December 16, 1971.?
Confused about the national identity thing? Well, let's make it simple for the layman to understand.?
Partition happened in 1947. Pakistan was born on August 14 and India celebrated independence a day later. Now suppose someone is born in what was East Bengal in British India, his nationality would be Indian. Because at that time, all that was one country, India, albeit a colonised one, but one country nonetheless.?
Then partition happens. Now East Bengal becomes East Pakistan. The concerned individual opts to remain despite being a Hindu or since he or she is a Muslim, stays back in what is now a part of Pakistan. So that person is no longer an Indian, the national identity has changed to Pakistani.?They were called 'Pakistani Bengalis' to distinguish from Bengal that had 'Indian Bengalis' but they were definitely Pakistani nationals at that time.
Now in 1971, we have the Bangladesh Liberation War. While Bangladesh considers itself independent, it has not officially happened. After 9 months of struggle, Pakistan surrenders to India and Bangladesh is officially born. So what happens? Yes, you guessed it, time to change nationalities once again. The individual who became Pakistani from being an Indian is now a Bangladeshi. In a span of 24 years, his or her national identity has changed on two occasions.?
Of course, those born after 1947 or 1971 were Pakistanis then Bangladeshis or just Bangladeshis. But for the pre-partition era people who made it to liberation, it took a while before they reached their final national identity, one that is not going to change. They always were Bangladeshis at heart but now they could look up with pride and say this is it, no more changes.?