September on Jessore Road
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"September on Jessore Road" is a poem by American poet and activist Allen Ginsberg, inspired by the plight of the East Bengali refugees from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Ginsberg wrote it after visiting the refugee camps along the Jessore Road in Bangladesh. The poem documents the sickness and squalor he witnessed there and attacks the United States government's indifference to the humanitarian crisis. It was first published in The New York Times on November 14, 1971. Further to topical songs by George Harrison and Joan Baez, the poem helped ensure that the Bangladesh crisis became a key issue for the youth protest movement around the world.
Ginsberg debuted "September on Jessore Road" in a poetry recitation in New York City before performing it with improvised musical accompaniment in a PBS television special. In November 1971, he recorded it with musicians including Bob Dylan for a proposed album release on Apple Records. The recording first became widely available on the 1994 Ginsberg box set Holy Soul Jelly Roll: Poems and Songs 1949–1993. The poem is displayed in English and Bengali at the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka.
The Jessore Road (about 108 kilometres (67 mi) long) was an important road connecting Bangladesh with West Bengal in India. The road was used by refugees during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the Bangladesh genocide to move to safety in India.[1] Between March and December 1971, between 8 and 10 million refugees poured over the border, seeking refuge in Calcutta.[2] Their exodus was further hindered by torrential rains and flooding in the region,[2] and their makeshift camps became rife with disease, including cholera.[3]
Ginsberg's "September on Jessore Road" was one of several examples of artists voicing their support for the refugees' cause following George Harrison's charity single "Bangla Desh" and Ravi Shankar's Joi Bangla EP,[4][5] both released on Apple Records in July–August 1971.[6] During the Liberation War, the United States government under president Richard Nixon was an ally of Pakistan, although liberals such as Senator Edward Kennedy were vocal in their support of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).[7] Reports emerged that the US was providing the Pakistani Army under General Yahya Khan with financial aid and weapons.[8] Ginsberg became aware of the refugees' suffering through the reports of foreign correspondents.[9]
Ginsberg visited India in September, having become friends with a group of West Bengali radicals on a previous visit to the country.[10] On September 9, he traveled with poet Sunil Gangopadhyay from Calcutta along the Jessore Road toward Bangaon, on the border with East Pakistan. He was alarmed to learn from an aid worker that food was distributed just once a week in the camp there. Documenting his observations on a tape recorder, he also reported on the heavy rain, the cholera epidemic, and resentment between locals and the refugees.[10]
After returning to the US, Ginsberg wrote "September on Jessore Road",[10] drawing inspiration from the suffering he witnessed in the camps.[9] The poem details his journey along Jessore Road, the lines of refugees traveling to Calcutta, and the starvation and sickness he encountered in the camps, particularly among the children. Like Joan Baez's "Song for Bangladesh", which Baez began performing in concert in late July 1971, Ginsberg's verses deplore the apathy shown by the US toward the crisis.[11] He contrasts the lack of US military assistance for the Bangladeshis with his country's preoccupation with "Bombing North Laos" and "Napalming North Vietnam". The poem concludes with a demand that "tongues of the world" and "voices for love" resonate "in the conscious American brain".[10]
