The battle shall go on...

On March 26 this year we are observing the fortieth anniversary of the Bangladesh liberation struggle that was launched on that day in 1971 when the Pakistan Army began massive repression on the people of East Pakistan. To mark the occasion we are reproducing the following poem by a participant in the Bangladesh liberation struggle. It was published in Mainstream (April 10, 1971).

by Sikandar Abu Jafar

The battle shall go on—

Our battle, the people’s battle,

this battle shall go on!

We, numberless men, fight to the death,

To live with honour, self-respecting,

To end all shame and contumely,

To wrest our right to life

And break out of servitude’s shell,

This, our fight to the death of numberless men!

The battle shall go on—

Our battle, the people’s battle,

this battle shall go on!

Is the gloom thick, impenetrable,

With the coating of lures and deceit?

But we ride Time’s chariot,

And keep vigil, night and day—

Goodbye to peace, adieu to soft living,

We’ll make a gift of our bones before our honour is wrenched—

If there’s a call,

We’ll offer a whole river itself of our blood!

Are there road-blocks of the sternest stone?

Let them, but our ceaseless march and our strike

Will shake and move the mountains—

The battle shall go on—

Our battle, the people’s battle,

this battle shall go on!

Haven’t we heard, day after day,

Death’s rebuke on life?

Aren’t we still, in lightless cemeteries,

Sowing seeds of ever more graves?

In our lacerated minds,

In the agony of existence,

Isn’t the poison commingled—

The poison thrown up the fangs of deadly serpents?

And yet, tirelessly eager,

Don’t we sustain every moment

The thirst for life in our dreams?

What is it we have that we sigh for its loss,

How can there be defeat when we stake our all?

Not for us is the dread of trackless paths,

Not for us the dread of ghosts and beasts—

Maybe, the toil of the voyage exhausts us,

But our mind stays benign,

For our aim is clear and our struggle is entrancing—

The road is hard, with myriad hurdles,

But we are men without number,

Millions sharing our every sorrow,

Fire in our eyes that burn down every difference!

We’LL break the dark night’s awesome padlocks,

We’ll know the feel of life and of freedom,

Over the radiant signature of our oath

The Sun’s new rays will shine—

The battle shall go on—

Our battle, the people’s battle,

This battle shall go on!

(Translated from the original Bengali by Prof Hiren Mukerjee, who was an MP in 1971 when the Bangladesh liberation struggle was launched)