(A picture dated December 5 1971 shows Jean Kay in a police car being driven to Orly airport to take part in a reenactment of his attempt to hijack a Pakistan airlines aircraft on December 3, 1971; Photos: collected)
If we focus our attention on the date 3 December 1971 in the history of Bangladesh War of Liberation,we will find in all records that on this day Pakistan initiated Operation Chengiz Khan and attacked India in the western front. This action of course was a desperate attempt to divert the world’s attention from Pakistan’s impending defeat in the east to a war between India and Pakistan. Pakistanis hoped that this would draw their allies China and US to the war to help them or at least to a face saving cease fire,thereby thwarting the chance of Liberation of Bangladesh.
Operation Chengiz Khan started on the evening of 3 December and was an unsuccessful venture. Much can be discussed on the operation. But today we are going to an altogether different topic which was taking place in Europe on the same day. A swashbuckling move was taking place in Orly airport,Paris. A previously unknown young Frenchman by the name Jean Eugene Paul Kay took the center stage in the drama.
It was about 11 in the morning. A Pakistan International Airlines plane had just landed at Orly from London. A few passengers were embarking. The airplane would soon take off for Karachi with similar short stopovers in Rome and Cairo. A little while ago the then West German Chancellor Willie Brandt had landed for an official visit to France. He was supposed to hold bilateral negotiations with French Premier later in the day. The whole airport security was focussed on the high level state guest. For the other routine flights,it was lax. Jean Kay was planning his adventurous move for a few months and knowing about the situation on the ground,he selected this day and time as his zero hour. He took advantage of the security gap and managed to board the PIA airplane which was to take off soon. He was carrying a 9mm pistol and a bag. The pilots were already starting the engines when he opened the door to the cockpit with his pistol and instructed them to shut the engines and co-operate with him. He demanded that the passengers should be off loaded and 20 tons of medicines and medical instruments should be flown instead to help the Bangladesh genocide victims. He appealed to the passengers too to help in in this humanistic gesture. He did not misbehave with anyone. He claimed that there were explosives in the bag he was carrying and he would explode the plane with his explosives if his demands were not met. The pilots in the meantime established contact with the authorities through their communication channel and informed that the aircraft was not under their control. The authorities wanted to talk to the hijacker and Jean Kay repeated his demands and resolve to blow off the plane in case his demand was declined. All endeavours of the authorities to dissuade him went in vain. The youngman repeated time and again that he had no malice to the passengers and was doing this because he knew about the atrocities of the Pakistani army on the Bengalis,the genocide in Bangladesh and also the plight of the Bengali refugees who were bound to leave their home to take shelter in the shanties of Indian refugee camps near the borders. He was shocked on reading about the inhuman conditions of living in the refugee camps. Sufferings of children from various illness,sometimes leading to their deaths angered him most and prompted him to do whatever he could to help the Bengalis. He was an ex soldier and could figure out that hijacking a plane was an option. He made clear that his demand was not negotiable.
The airport security authorities which was bolstered on that day for the German Chancellor’s visit failed in all their attempts to convince Jean Kay that he should abandon his plan as it was jeopardising the security in Orly and the lives of so many people was at risk. The youngman could not be bent as he countered that millions of lives were being lost and were at risk in Bengal. The operations in the airport came to a standstill. The aircraft and nearby parts of the runway was cordoned off. The higher authorities upto the Primier Pompidou was briefed and consulted. TV and media persons swarmed the airport and the scene started to be telecast live. Human rights activists and Anti war protestors took to the streets in Paris and other cities. Jean Kay became an anti war icon instantaneously. Demonstrations were taking place in Orly airport area and at other places asking that Jean Kay be immediately satisfied by fulfilling his just demands,he be released and the war in Bangladesh be stopped. The Thousands of demonstrators at Orly and all over France wanted their Government to exert it’s influence to stop the Genocide in Bangladesh.
The news spread like wildfire all over the world and everywhere Jean Kay drew sympathy to himself and to Bangladesh.His action was very successful in drawing the whole world’s focus on the ongoing Genocide in Bangladesh. During the long hours of seizure of the plane and Jean Kay’s negotiations with the authorities he assured the passengers time and again that he would not harm them and requested them to cooperate with him to get the medicines flown in for the suffering millions on humanitarian grounds. The trembling passengers,most of whom were Pakistanis testified during later investigations and trials that Jean Kay was very well behaved.
After a gruelling five hours of the drama the French authorities finally had to succumb to his demand. They agreed that one ton of medicines will be loaded on the same flight and the balance will be sent in a few days,all to be used for the Bangladeshi refugees in Indian camps. The Red cross and a French NGO were contacted for instant help and they complied. Trucks carrying the ton of medical supplies soon arrived and were parked alongside the aircraft and Jean Kay himself was supervising the loading. In disguise of the volunteers French police were at work. Two of them went near Jean to hand him over a box of medicine and while he was not suspecting any hostility,the policemen punched him,snatched his pistol and the bag he was carrying. Jean Kay was now under arrest. However the bag that he claimed to have full of explosives turned out to be a benign one. There was a Bible,a book,some electrical wires and a few safety pins in the bag. Despite anti war activists and human rights organisations assembled at the airport demanding his immediate release,he was whisked off to the police office for interrogation. Curtains fell on the scene at the airport and the PIA flight took off smoothly after being cleared by the authorities.
Plane hijacking was then and even now considered as a serious offence by all countries. France is no exception. Jean Kay was interrogated thoroughly and the happenings of 3 December were re enacted by the police investigating team to unearth the mystery,if any,behind the hijack attempt. Also the suspicion of any terrorist organisation’s hand from behind the scene had to be ruled out. Jean Kay’s reply to all the queries from different angles was the same. He had served the French army and was posted in Biafra where a similar genocide happened when Biafra wanted freedom from Nigerian repression. The rebellion failed as it could not muster the support of the world community of Nations. It was proved by Nigeria as a secessionist movement. Nevertheless,the plight of the Biafrans could not be prevented. Seeing all the killings and other genocidal atrocities in Biafra,Jean Kay developed an anti war attitude from deep inside. Later he was posted to Yemen for some time and returned to France during the turmoil in Pakistan. He read the stories of the misery of the Bengalis resulting from the horrendous Pakistani genocide. The sufferings of the children and countless deaths in the refugee camps in India shook his conscience the most. He said that he was deeply moved by the famous French humanitarian activist,writer, politician and former Minister Andre Malraux. At his age of 70 plus Malraux expressed his desire to travel to the subcontinent to fight with a rifle alongside Bengalis. Jean repeatedly said that he had no other motivation and did not plan to hijack. He wanted to scare by his hijacking drama to draw attention to the unjust war thrust upon Bengalis,the genocide perpetrated upon them and their suffering. Besides he wanted to help the crying need of medical care for the Bengali refugees.
The case was simple. He was put on the dock quite fast. Andre Malraux and many other French humanitarian and anti war activists came forward to support Jean Kay. Appropriate lawyers were engaged to fight for Kay. During the trial no witness said that Jean Kay misbehaved with anyone or made any real move to hijack. Despite all endeavours Jean could not be saved from a punishment. He was dished out a verdict of five years in prison. The French humanitarians arranged for an appeal which they fought tooth and nail. Jean’s prison term was reduced and he walked out of jail in two years time.
Jean Kay was out and out a humanitarian person. His mindset changed and he was transformed into an anti war humanitarian person after he had the first hand experience of the Nigerian civil war in Biafra.After he became a free man again,he choose to devote his life to serve people wherever he could. That aim brought him to Lebanon after some time where he worked for aid organisations. Lebanon was having a civil war in those days and Beirut,the most developed city in the middle east was experiencing a crisis situation housing a huge influx of Palestinian refugees amidst a civil war. After the Lebanon experience he spent a short time in Australia and then he came to India. He was not a well organised man and was never a cool headed good planner of his course of actions.At times he took whimsical decisions. In India he worked in Delhi and Calcutta mostly working with children like street urchins. At the same time he was attracted to Communist ideas and was found to have liaison with communists. For some time he was in the Himalays as well spending time like hippies in those days. All these activities angered the local authorities and he was asked to leave India in1986.
While he was in India,he was not connected with anyone in Bangladesh but he still had a soft corner in his heart for the country. Between 1982 to 1986 he visited Bangladesh a few times. He was heartbroken and frustrated to find his dream country having military rule and without any signs of prosperity. After he had to leave India,he never thought of coming back to Bangladesh anymore. After spending a few years in France he was not happy with himself because he could not achieve much in pursuit of his ideals. So,he decided to spend the rest of his life incognito. It is known that he proceeded to the Caribbeans and lived in a boat all through till he expired on 23 December 2012. His life sketch after his freedom from French jail,sojourns to Bangladesh and life in the Caribbeans came to the public knowledge through French newspapers only after his death. Thus,the life of a true friend in need for Bangladesh came to a tragic end and his heroism and Humanitarian efforts are forgotten. He is not known much in Bangladesh leave alone being recognised for his selfless efforts to help Bengalis with medical aid and drawing the World’s attention to Bangladesh genocide. Due to his efforts the 20 tonnes of medical supplies did reach Calcutta on 8 December for the refugees. The French government, of course,denied Jean Kay’s influence with the good gesture. They said that it was a humanitarian act. There was another vital point that can be noted. At the final stage of our War of Liberation,when our Muktibahini and joint India Bangladesh forces were marching towards Dhaka,the western allies of Pakistan led by USA moved the UN to enact a ceasefire. One after another resolutions were brought in the UN.They wanted to save Pakistan from the humilation of surrender.It is interesting to note that France abstained from voting on one of the occassions for a US sponsored resolution just after the Orly incident. Bangladesh victory could have been delayed or even jeopardised if ceasefire could be clamped upon the advancing joint forces of India and Bangladesh towards Dhaka. Kay’s action swayed the French public opinion towards Bangladesh and their government had to honour it.
It is said that Bangladesh government could not honour Jean Kay,the friend in need of Bangladesh with a Foreign Friend of Bangladesh Liberation War medal as he was convicted in France in a criminal case. But the writer has reasons to believe that if the matter could be taken up with the high level of French government with due seriousness,a way could be worked out. However,not everyone in Bangladesh has forgotten their friend. Talented Bangladeshi film maker Fakhrul Arefin Khan has made a film JK 1971 on Jean Kay. The film was premiered in Mumbai and Istanbul in 2022. Bangladesh film censor board has cleared it in January 2023 and it was released in Bangladesh in March. We sing the glory of Jean Kay,a real humanitarian hero, an anti war activist and one of the best ever friends of Bangladesh.
