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Bangladesh Liberation War

January 08, 2023

For India's intervention in the conflict, see Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

The Bangladesh Liberation War[note 2] (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, pronounced [mukt̪iɟud̪d̪ʱo], also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan—under the orders of Yahya Khan—launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.

Bangladesh Liberation War
মুক্তিযুদ্ধ
(Muktijuddho)
Part of the Indo-Pakistani conflicts and the Cold War

Clockwise from top left: Martyred Intellectuals Memorial; Bangladesh Forces howitzer; Lt. Gen. Amir Niazi signs the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender to Indian and Bangladeshi forces in the presence of Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh;[1] the PNS Ghazi.
Date26 March – 16 December 1971
(8 months, 2 weeks and 6 days)
Location
Predominantly:
East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh)

Spillover:
Eastern Front:

Western Front:

Indian Ocean:

Result
Territorial
changes		 East Pakistan secedes from Pakistan as the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Belligerents

Provisional Government of Bangladesh

 India

Supported by:

 Soviet Union

Pakistan
(Govt. of East Pakistan)

Paramilitary forces and militias:

Supported by:

 United States
Commanders and leaders

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
(President of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh)
Tajuddin Ahmad
(Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh)
Gen M. A. G. Osmani
(Cdr-in-C, Bangladesh Forces)
Maj. K. M. Shafiullah
(Commander, S Force)
Maj. Ziaur Rahman
(Commander, Z Force)
Maj. Khaled Mosharraf
(Commander, K Force)
Gp Capt. A. K. Khandker
(Second-in-Command, Bangladesh Forces) V. V. Giri
(President of India)
Indira Gandhi
(Prime Minister of India)
Gen Sam Manekshaw
(Chief of Army Staff)
Lt Gen J. S. Arora

(GOC-in-C, Eastern Command)
Lt Gen Sagat Singh
(GOC-in-C, IV Corps)
Maj Gen Inderjit Singh Gill
(Dir., Military Operations)
Maj Gen Om Malhotra
(COS, IV Corps)
Maj.Gen J. F. R. Jacob
(COS, Eastern Command)
Maj.Gen Shabeg Singh
(Cdr Training of MB)
V.Adm Nilakanta Krishnan
(FOC-in-C, Eastern Naval Command)
AM Hari Chand Dewan
(AOC-in-C, Eastern Air Command)

Yahya Khan
(President of Pakistan)
Nurul Amin
(Prime Minister of Pakistan)
Abdul Motaleb Malik
(Governor of East Pakistan)
Gen. A. H. Khan
(Chief of Staff, Army GHQ)
Lt. Gen. A. A. K. Niazi 
(Commander, Eastern Command)
Maj. Gen. Rao Farman Ali 
(Mil. Adv., Govt. of East Pakistan)
Maj. Gen. Khadim Hussain 
(GOC, 14th Infantry Div.)
Rr. Adm. Mohammad Shariff 
(FOC, Eastern Naval Command)
Capt. Ahmad Zamir 
(CO, Pakistan Marine Corps, East)
Cdr. Zafar Muhammad  †
(CO, PNS Ghazi)
Air Cdre. Inamul Haque 
(AOC, Eastern Air Command)
Air Cdre. Zafar Masud
(AOC, Eastern Air Cmnd. (1969–71))

Syed Khwaja Khairuddin
(Chair, Nagorik Shanti Committee)
Ghulam Azam
(Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami)
Motiur Rahman Nizami
(Leader, Al-Badr)
Maj. Gen. Mohd. Jamshed
(Commander, Razakar)
Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry
(Leader, Al-Shams)
Strength
175,000[5][6]
250,000[5]		 ~91,000 regular troops[note 1]
280,000 Paramilitary forces[note 1]
~25,000 militiamen[8]
Casualties and losses
~30,000 killed[9][10]
1,426–1,525 killed[11]
3,611–4,061 wounded[11]		 ~8,000 killed
~10,000 wounded
90,000—93,000 captured[12] (including 79,676 troops and 10,324—12,192 local militiamen)[11][13]
Civilian deaths:[10] Estimates range between 300,000 and 3,000,000.

In response to the violence, members of the Mukti Bahini—a guerrilla resistance movement formed by Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians—launched a mass guerrilla war against the Pakistani military, liberating numerous towns and cities in the initial months of the conflict. At first, the Pakistan Army regained momentum during the monsoon, but Bengali guerrillas counterattacked by carrying out widespread sabotage, including through Operation Jackpot against the Pakistan Navy, while the nascent Bangladesh Air Force flew sorties against Pakistani military bases.[16] India joined the war on 3 December 1971, after which Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on northern India. The subsequent Indo-Pakistani War witnessed engagements on two warfronts; with air supremacy achieved in the eastern theatre, and the rapid advance of the Allied Forces of Mukti Bahini and the Indian military, Pakistan surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December 1971, in what remains to date the largest surrender of armed personnel since the Second World War.[17]

Rural and urban areas across East Pakistan saw extensive military operations and air strikes to suppress the tide of civil disobedience that formed following the 1970 election stalemate. The Pakistan Army, which had the backing of Islamists, created radical religious militias—the Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams—to assist it during raids on the local populace.[18][19][20][21][22] Members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias engaged in mass murder, deportation and genocidal rape, pursuing a systematic campaign of annihilation against nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities and armed personnel. The capital, Dhaka, was the scene of numerous massacres, including the Dhaka University massacre. Sectarian violence also broke out between Bengalis and Urdu-speaking Biharis. An estimated 10 million Bengali refugees fled to neighbouring India, while 30 million were internally displaced.[23]

The war changed the geopolitical landscape of South Asia, with the emergence of Bangladesh as the seventh-most populous country in the world. Due to complex regional alliances, the war was a major episode in Cold War tensions involving the United States, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The majority of member states in the United Nations recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign nation in 1972.

Background

 
A map of the British Raj in 1909 showing Muslim majority areas in green, including modern-day Bangladesh in the east and Pakistan in the west.

Before the Partition of British India, the Lahore Resolution initially envisaged separate Muslim-majority states in the eastern and northwestern zones of British India. A proposal for an independent United Bengal was mooted by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1946, but was opposed by the colonial authorities. The East Pakistan Renaissance Society advocated the creation of a sovereign state in eastern British India.[24]

Political negotiations led, in August 1947, to the official birth of two states, Pakistan and India,[25] giving presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus respectively following the departure of the British. The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west with India in between.[24]

The western zone was popularly (and for a period, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge.[26]

On 25 March 1971, after an election won by an East Pakistani political party (the Awami League) was ignored by the ruling (West Pakistani) establishment, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[27] and suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment, in what came to be termed as Operation Searchlight.[28] The violent crackdown by the Pakistan Army[29] led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971.[30] Most Bengalis supported this move although Islamists and Biharis opposed this and sided with the Pakistan Army instead.[31]

Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war.[30] The war led to a substantial number of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[32][33] flooding into the eastern provinces of India.[34] Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.

Language controversy

Main article: Bengali language movement

In 1948, Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the federal language of Pakistan.[35][36] However, Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north, central, and western region of the subcontinent; whereas in East Bengal, the native language was Bengali, one of the two most easterly branches of the Indo-European languages.[37] The Bengali-speaking people of Pakistan constituted over 56% of the country's population.[38][39]

The government stand was widely viewed as an attempt to suppress the culture of the eastern wing. The people of East Bengal demanded that their language be given federal status alongside Urdu and English. The Language Movement began in 1948, as civil society protested the removal of the Bengali script from currency and stamps, which were in place since the British Raj.[40]

The movement reached its climax in 1952, when on 21 February, the police fired on protesting students and civilians, causing several deaths. The day is revered in Bangladesh as the Language Movement Day. Later, in memory of the deaths in 1952, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day in November 1999.[40]

Disparities

Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget.

Year Spending on West Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees) Spending on East Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of West
1950–55 11,290 5,240 46.4
1955–60 16,550 5,240 31.7
1960–65 33,550 14,040 41.8
1965–70 51,950 21,410 41.2
Total 113,340 45,930 40.5
Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I,
published by the planning commission of Pakistan.

East Pakistan was already economically disadvantaged at the time of Pakistan's creation yet this economic disparity only increased under Pakistani rule. Factors included not only the deliberate state discrimination in developmental policies but also the fact that the presence of the country's capital and more immigrant businessmen in the Western wing directed greater government allocations there. Due to low numbers of native businessmen in East Pakistan, substantial labour unrest and a tense political environment, there were also much lower foreign investments in the eastern wing. The Pakistani state's economic outlook was geared towards urban industry, which was not compatible with East Pakistan's mainly agrarian economy.[41]

Bengalis were under-represented in the Pakistan military. Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of overall force by 1965; of these, only a few were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative posts.[42] West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined" unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis; the "martial races" notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis.[42]

Moreover, despite huge defence spending, East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts, purchasing and military support jobs. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis, as only an under-strength infantry division and 15 combat aircraft without tank support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliations during the conflict.[43][44]

Ideological and cultural differences

 
Language movement memorial

In 1947 the Bengali Muslims had identified themselves with Pakistan's Islamic project but by the 1970s the people of East Pakistan had given priority to their Bengali ethnicity over their religious identity, desiring a society in accordance with Western principles such as secularism, democracy and socialism.[45] Many Bengali Muslims strongly objected to the Islamist paradigm imposed by the Pakistani state.[46]

Most members of West Pakistan's ruling elite shared a vision of a liberal society, but nevertheless viewed a common faith as an essential mobilising factor behind Pakistan's creation and the subsuming of Pakistan's multiple regional identities into one national identity.[46] West Pakistanis were substantially more supportive than East Pakistanis of an Islamic state, a tendency that persisted after 1971.[47]

Cultural and linguistic differences between the two wings gradually outweighed any sense of religious unity. The Bengalis took great pride in their culture and language which, with its Bengali script and vocabulary, was unacceptable to the West Pakistani elite, who believed that it had assimilated considerable Hindu cultural influences.[45][48] West Pakistanis, in an attempt to "Islamise" the East, wanted the Bengalis to adopt Urdu.[45] The activities of the language movement nurtured a sentiment among Bengalis in favour of discarding Pakistan's communalism in favour of secular politics.[49] The Awami League began propagating its secular message through its newspaper to the Bengali readership.[50]

The Awami League's emphasis on secularism differentiated it from the Muslim League.[51] In 1971, the Bangladeshi liberation struggle against Pakistan was led by secular leaders[52] and secularists hailed the Bangladeshi victory as the triumph of secular Bengali nationalism over religion-centred Pakistani nationalism.[53] While Pakistan's government strives for an Islamic state, Bangladesh was established secular.[47] After the liberation victory, the Awami League attempted to build a secular order[54] and the pro-Pakistan Islamist parties were barred from political participation.[55] The majority of East Pakistani ulama had either remained neutral or supported the Pakistani state, since they felt that the break-up of Pakistan would be detrimental for Islam.[56]

Political differences

 
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of East Pakistan, and later Bangladesh

Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population,[57] political power remained in the hands of West Pakistanis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the "One Unit" scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes.

After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to devolve to the new President of Pakistan, which replaced the office of Governor General when Pakistan became a republic, and, eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President.

The East Pakistanis observed that the West Pakistani establishment would swiftly depose any East Pakistanis elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Their suspicions were further aggravated by the military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis. The situation reached a climax in 1970, when the Bangladesh Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a former Foreign Minister), the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.[58]

Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for each wing. The proposal elicited outrage in the east wing, already chafing under the other constitutional innovation, the "One Unit scheme". Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dacca to decide the fate of the country.[58]

After their discussions yielded no satisfactory results, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike. Bhutto feared a civil war, therefore, he sent his trusted companion, Mubashir Hassan.[58] A message was conveyed, and Rahman decided to meet Bhutto.[58] Upon his arrival, Rahman met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Rahman as premier and Bhutto as president;[58] however, Sheikh Mujib later ruled out such possibility.[59] Meanwhile, the military was unaware of these developments, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Rahman to reach a decision.[58]

On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be the prime minister) delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider at the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:

  • The immediate lifting of martial law.
  • Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.
  • An inquiry into the loss of life.
  • Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March.

He urged his people to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, "Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our independence." This speech is considered[by whom?] the main event that inspired the nation to fight for its independence. General Tikka Khan was flown into Dacca to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in.

Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "government passengers" to Dacca. These "government passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress. MV Swat, a ship of the Pakistan Navy carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harboured in Chittagong Port, but the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship. A unit of East Pakistan Rifles refused to obey commands to fire on the Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny among the Bengali soldiers.

Response to the 1970 cyclone

See also: 1970 Bhola cyclone

The 1970 Bhola cyclone made landfall on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November, around the same time as a local high tide,[60] killing an estimated 300,000 people. A 2017 World Meteorological Organization panel considers it the deadliest tropical cyclone since at least 1873.[61] A week after the landfall, President Khan conceded that his government had made "slips" and "mistakes" in its handling of the relief efforts due to a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.[62]

A statement released by eleven political leaders in East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with "gross neglect, callous and utter indifference". They also accused the president of playing down the magnitude of the problem in news coverage.[63] On 19 November, students held a march in Dacca protesting the slowness of the government's response.[64] Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50,000 people on 24 November, where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation.

As the conflict between East and West Pakistan developed in March, the Dacca offices of the two government organisations directly involved in relief efforts were closed for at least two weeks, first by a general strike and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the Awami League. With this increase in tension, foreign personnel were evacuated over fears of violence. Relief work continued in the field, but long-term planning was curtailed.[65] This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This was one of the first times that a natural event helped trigger a civil war.[66]

Operation Searchlight

Main article: Operation Searchlight
 
The location of Bengali and Pakistani military units during Operation Searchlight, March 1971

A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army—codenamed Operation Searchlight—started on 25 March 1971 to curb the Bengali independence movement[28] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,[67] within one month. The Pakistani state used anti-Bihari violence by Bengalis in early March to justify launching Operation Searchlight.[68]

Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.[69]

The main phase of Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali hands in mid-May. The operation also began the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, which ultimately resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. Bangladeshi media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which vary greatly, from 5,000 to 35,000 in Dacca, and 200,000 to 3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole,[70] although independent researchers, including the British Medical Journal, have put forward the figure ranging from between 125,000 and 505,000.[71] American political scientist Rudolph Rummel puts total deaths at 1.5 million.[72] The atrocities have been referred to as acts of genocide.[73]

According to the Asia Times,[74]

At a meeting of the military top brass, Yahya Khan declared: "Kill 3 million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands." Accordingly, on the night of 25 March, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight to "crush" Bengali resistance in which Bengali members of military services were disarmed and killed, students and the intelligentsia systematically liquidated and able-bodied Bengali males just picked up and gunned down.

Although the violence focused on the provincial capital, Dacca, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the University of Dacca were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall—Jagannath Hall—was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered. The Pakistani army denied any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamoodur Rahman Commission in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used at the university. This fact, and the massacre at Jagannath Hall and nearby student dormitories of Dacca University, are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Professor Nurul Ula of the East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories.[75]

The scale of the atrocities was first made clear in the West when Anthony Mascarenhas, a Pakistani journalist who had been sent to the province by the military authorities to write a story favourable to Pakistan's actions, instead fled to the United Kingdom and, on 13 June 1971, published an article in The Sunday Times describing the systematic killings by the military. The BBC wrote: "There is little doubt that Mascarenhas' reportage played its part in ending the war. It helped turn world opinion against Pakistan and encouraged India to play a decisive role", with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself stating that Mascarenhas' article has led her "to prepare the ground for India's armed intervention".[76]

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Rahman with multiple charges. The tribunal's sentence was never made public, but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case. Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dacca to avoid arrest. The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan.[77]

Declaration of independence

See also: Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence and 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu

The violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces on 25 March 1971 proved the last straw to the efforts to negotiate a settlement. Following these incidents, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official declaration that read:

Today Bangladesh is a sovereign and independent country. On Thursday night, West Pakistani armed forces suddenly attacked the police barracks at Razarbagh and the EPR headquarters at Pilkhana in Dacca. Many innocent and unarmed have been killed in Dhaka city and other places of Bangladesh. Violent clashes between E.P.R. and Police on the one hand and the armed forces of Pakistan on the other, are going on. The Bengalis are fighting the enemy with great courage for an independent Bangladesh. May Allah aid us in our fight for freedom. Joy Bangla [May Bangladesh be victorious].

Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message. Rahman was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 at about 1:30 am (as per Radio Pakistan's news on 29 March 1971).

 
An iconic poster by Quamrul Hassan on General Yahya Khan, representing the Pakistani military junta as demons.[78]

A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in Chittagong. The message was translated to Bengali by Dr. Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. However, the message was read several times by the independent Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro Radio established by some rebel Bangali Radio workers in Kalurghat. Major Ziaur Rahman was requested to provide security of the station and he also read the Declaration on 27 March 1971.[79] Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that Independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. At his direction, I have taken the command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalees to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our motherland. Victory is, by the Grace of Allah, ours. Joy Bangla.[80]

The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited, but the message was picked up by a Japanese ship in the Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia[81] and later by the BBC.

M. A. Hannan, an Awami League leader from Chittagong, is said to have made the first announcement of the declaration of independence over the radio on 26 March 1971.[82]

26 March 1971 is considered the official Independence Day of Bangladesh, and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth. In July 1971, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi openly referred to the former East Pakistan as Bangladesh.[83] Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971.

Liberation war

Main articles: Mukti Bahini and Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War

March–June

At first, resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.[84] However, when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The Mukti Bahini became increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to this underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India. Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganising their forces. They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (who were mostly members of the Muslim League and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time of partition.

On 17 April 1971, a provisional government was formed in Meherpur District in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as president, Syed Nazrul Islam as acting president, Tajuddin Ahmad as prime minister, and General Muhammad Ataul Ghani Osmani as Commander-in-Chief, Bangladesh Forces. As fighting grew between the occupation army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini, an estimated 10 million Bengalis sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.[citation needed]

June–September

See also: List of sectors in the Bangladesh Liberation War and Military plans of the Bangladesh Liberation War
 
The eleven sectors during the Bangladesh Liberation War
 
An advertisement for former Beatle George Harrison's "Bangla Desh" single, released in July 1971 to raise international awareness and funds for the millions of Bangladeshi refugees.

Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M. A. G. Osmani as commander-in-chief (C-in-C) with the status of Cabinet Minister, Lt. Col., Abdur Rabb as chief of Staff (COS), Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) and Major A R Chowdhury as Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS).

General Osmani had differences of opinion with the Indian leadership regarding the role of the Mukti Bahini in the conflict. Indian leadership initially envisioned a well trained force of 8,000 guerrillas, operating in small cells around Bangladesh to facilitate eventual conventional combat.[85] With the Bangladesh government in exile, General Osmani favoured a different strategy:[86][87]

  • Bengali conventional forces would occupy lodgments inside Bangladesh and then the Bangladesh government would request international diplomatic recognition and intervention. Initially Mymensingh was picked for this operation, but Gen. Osmani later settled on Sylhet.
  • Sending the maximum number of guerrillas into Bangladesh as soon as possible with the following objectives:[88][89]
    • Increasing Pakistani casualties through raids and ambush.
    • Cripple economic activity by hitting power stations, railway lines, storage depots and communication networks.
    • Destroy Pakistan army mobility by blowing up bridges/culverts, fuel depots, trains and river crafts.
    • The strategic objective was to make the Pakistanis spread their forces inside the province, so attacks could be made on isolated Pakistani detachments.

Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors in July,[90] each with a commander chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani army who joined the Mukti Bahini to lead guerrilla operations. The Mukti Bahini forces were given two to five weeks of training by the Indian army on guerilla warfare.[91] Most of their training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with assistance from India. The 10th Sector was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) General M. A. G. Osmani and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C's special force.[92] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.[93]

Five infantry battalions were reformed and positioned along the northern and eastern borders of Bangladesh. Three more battalions were raised, and artillery batteries were formed.[94] During June and July, Mukti Bahini had regrouped across the border with Indian aid through Operation Jackpot and began sending 2000–5000 guerrillas across the border,[95] the so-called Monsoon Offensive, which for various reasons (lack of proper training, supply shortage, lack of a proper support network inside Bangladesh) failed to achieve its objectives.[96][97][98] Bengali regular forces also attacked border outposts in Mymensingh, Comilla and Sylhet, but the results were mixed. Pakistani authorities concluded that they had successfully contained the Monsoon Offensive, which proved a near-accurate observation.[99][100]

Guerrilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August. Economic and military targets in Dacca were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong, Mongla, Narayanganj and Chandpur on 15 August 1971.[101][102]

October–December

See also: Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971; Pakistan Army order of battle, December 1971; Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan; and Operation Jackpot

Bangladeshi conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and the Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 border outposts fell to Bengali forces. Guerrilla attacks intensified, as did Pakistani and Razakar reprisals on civilian populations. Pakistani forces were reinforced by eight battalions from West Pakistan. The Bangladeshi independence fighters even managed to temporarily capture airstrips at Lalmonirhat and Shalutikar.[5] Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent another five battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.

Indian involvement

See also: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
 
Illustration showing military units and troop movements during the war

All unprejudiced persons objectively surveying the grim events in Bangladesh since March 25 have recognised the revolt of 75 million people, a people who were forced to the conclusion that neither their life, nor their liberty, to say nothing of the possibility of the pursuit of happiness, was available to them.

— Indira Gandhi, Letter to Richard Nixon, 15 December 1971

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had concluded that instead of taking in millions of refugees, India would be economically better off going to war against Pakistan.[103] As early as 28 April 1971, the Indian Cabinet had asked General Manekshaw (Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee) to "Go into East Pakistan".[104] Hostile relations in the past between India and Pakistan added to India's decision to intervene in Pakistan's civil war.[103]

As a result, the Indian government decided to support the creation of a separate state for ethnic Bengalis by supporting the Mukti Bahini. RAW helped to organise, train and arm these insurgents. Consequently, the Mukti Bahini succeeded in harassing Pakistani military in East Pakistan, thus creating conditions conducive for a full-scale Indian military intervention in early December.[103]

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a pre-emptive strike on Indian Air Force bases on 3 December 1971. The attack was modelled on the Israeli Air Force's Operation Focus during the Six-Day War, and intended to neutralise the Indian Air Force planes on the ground. The strike was seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression, which marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War. As a response to the attack, both India and Pakistan formally acknowledged the "existence of a state of war between the two countries" even though neither government had formally issued a declaration of war.[105]

 
Allied Indian T-55 tanks on their way to Dacca

Three Indian corps were involved in the liberation of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more who were fighting irregularly. That was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions.[106] The Indians quickly overran the country, selectively engaging or bypassing heavily defended strongholds. Pakistani forces were unable to effectively counter the Indian attack, as they had been deployed in small units around the border to counter the guerrilla attacks by the Mukti Bahini.[107] Unable to defend Dacca, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971.

Air and naval war

The Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan, and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. It achieved near-total air supremacy by the end of the first week, as the entire Pakistani air contingent in the east, PAF No.14 Squadron, was grounded because of Indian and Bangladesh airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lalmonirhat and Shamsher Nagar. Sea Hawks from the carrier INS Vikrant also struck Chittagong, Barisal and Cox's Bazar, destroying the eastern wing of the Pakistan Navy and effectively blockading the East Pakistan ports, thereby cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers. The nascent Bangladesh Navy (comprising officers and sailors who defected from the Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably Operation Jackpot.[108][better source needed]

Surrender and aftermath

Further information: Pakistani Instrument of Surrender
See also: Delhi Agreement
 
Pakistani Instrument of Surrender
 
Signing of Pakistani Instrument of Surrender by Pakistan's Lt.Gen. A. A. K. Niazi and Jagjit Singh Aurora on behalf of Indian and Bangladesh Forces in Dhaka on 16 Dec' 1971

On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Chief Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan and Commander of Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender. At the time of surrender only a few countries had provided diplomatic recognition to the new nation. Over 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces and Bangladesh Liberation forces, making it the largest surrender since World War II.[12][109]

Bangladesh sought admission to the UN with most voting in its favour. China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.[110] The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.[111] To ensure a smooth transition, in 1972 the Simla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan. The treaty ensured that Pakistan recognised the independence of Bangladesh in exchange for the return of the Pakistani PoWs.[112]

India treated all the PoWs in strict accordance with the Geneva Convention, rule 1925.[112] It released more than 93,000 Pakistani PoWs in five months.[12] Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India.[113] The accord also gave back 13,000 km2 (5,019 sq mi) of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas;[114] most notably Kargil (which would in turn again be the focal point for a war between the two nations in 1999). This was done as a measure of promoting "lasting peace" and was acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India. However, some in India[115] felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for leniency, arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being overly harsh by Pakistanis.

Reaction in West Pakistan to the war

Reaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and civilians alike. Few had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight, and there was also unsettlement over what was perceived as a meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan. Yahya Khan's dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto, who took the opportunity to rise to power.[116][117]

General Niazi, who surrendered along with 93,000 troops, was viewed with suspicion and contempt upon his return to Pakistan. He was shunned and branded a traitor. The war also exposed the shortcomings of Pakistan's declared strategic doctrine that the "defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan".[116][117]

Atrocities

Main articles: 1971 Bangladesh genocide, 1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals, and Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War
 
Rayerbazar killing field photographed immediately after the war, showing dead bodies of intellectuals (image courtesy: Rashid Talukder, 1971)

During the war there were widespread killings and other atrocities—including the displacement of civilians in Bangladesh (East Pakistan at the time) and widespread violations of human rights began with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971. Members of the Pakistani military and supporting paramilitary forces killed an estimated 300,000[76] to 3,000,000 people[118] and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bangladeshi women in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape.[119][120] Pakistan's religious leaders openly supported the crime by labelling Bengali freedom fighters as "Hindus" and Bengali women as "the booty of war".[121] But in reality, more than 80 percent of the Bengali people were Muslims at that time.[122]

A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,[123] at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.[124] Just two days before the surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and Razakar militia (local collaborators) picked up at least 100 physicians, professors, writers and engineers in Dacca, and murdered them, leaving the dead bodies in a mass grave.[125]

 
Memorial for freedom fighters

Many mass graves have been discovered in Bangladesh.[126] The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dacca to the United States State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dacca University and other civilians.[127] Numerous women were tortured, raped and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate. The widespread rape of Bangladeshi women led to birth of thousands of war babies.[128][129][130]

The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex-slaves inside the Dacca Cantonment. Most of the girls were captured from Dacca University and private homes.[131] There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,[132] but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.[133] In June 1971, Bihari representatives stated that 500,000 Biharis were killed by Bengalis.[134] R. J. Rummel gives a prudent estimate of 150,000 killed.[135]

On 16 December 2002, the George Washington University's National Security Archive published a collection of declassified documents, consisting mostly of communications between US embassy officials and United States Information Service centres in Dacca and India, and officials in Washington, D.C.[127] These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms "selective genocide"[136] and "genocide" (see The Blood Telegram) for information on events they had knowledge of at the time. Genocide is the term that is still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh,[137][138] although in Pakistan, the accusations against Pakistani forces continue to be disputed.

International reactions

 
Former French minister André Malraux vowed to fight alongside the Mukti Bahini in the Liberation War.[139][140]

Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of independence in March 1971, a worldwide campaign was undertaken by the Provisional Government of Bangladesh to drum up political support for the independence of East Pakistan as well as humanitarian support for the Bengali people.

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided extensive diplomatic and political support to the Bangladesh movement. She toured many countries in a bid to create awareness of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis. This effort was to prove vital later during the war, in framing the world's context of the war and to justify military action by India.[141] Also, following Pakistan's defeat, it ensured prompt recognition of the newly independent state of Bangladesh.

United Nations

Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations during and following Operation Searchlight, it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war.

Following India's entry into the war, Pakistan, fearing certain defeat, made urgent appeals to the United Nations to intervene and force India to agree to a ceasefire. The UN Security Council assembled on 4 December 1971 to discuss the hostilities in South Asia. After lengthy discussions on 7 December, the United States made a resolution for "immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops". While supported by the majority, the USSR vetoed the resolution twice. In light of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis, the United Kingdom and France abstained on the resolution.[105][142]

On 12 December, with Pakistan facing imminent defeat, the United States requested that the Security Council be reconvened. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was rushed to New York City to make the case for a resolution on the cease fire. The council continued deliberations for four days. By the time proposals were finalised, Pakistan's forces in the East had surrendered and the war had ended, making the measures merely academic. Bhutto, frustrated by the failure of the resolution and the inaction of the United Nations, ripped up his speech and left the council.[142]

Most UN member nations were quick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence.[141]

Bhutan

As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat of the Pakistan Army, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan became the first state in the world to recognise the newly independent country on 6 December 1971.[143] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh visited Bhutan to attend the coronation of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth King of Bhutan in June 1974.

US and USSR

 
Senator Ted Kennedy led US congressional support for Bangladeshi independence

The US government stood by its old ally Pakistan in terms of diplomacy and military threats.[144] US President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and which he intended to visit in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China.[145][146]

To demonstrate to China the bona fides of the United States as an ally, and in direct violation of the US Congress-imposed sanctions on Pakistan, Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan and routed them through Jordan and Iran,[145] while also encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan. The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the genocidal activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably the Blood telegram.[146]

 
The Nixon administration was widely criticised for its close ties with the military junta led by General Yahya Khan. American diplomats in East Pakistan expressed profound dissent in the Blood Telegram.

Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan, but when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, Nixon sent the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal,[147] a move deemed by the Indians as a nuclear threat. Enterprise arrived on station on 11 December 1971. On 6 and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of ships, armed with nuclear missiles, from Vladivostok; they trailed US Task Force 74 in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until 7 January 1972.[148][149][150]

The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies, as well as the Mukti Bahini during the war, recognising that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals—the United States and the People's Republic of China. It gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, the USSR would take countermeasures. This was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean.[151]

At the end of the war, the Warsaw Pact countries were among the first to recognise Bangladesh. The Soviet Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972.[152] The United States delayed recognition for some months, before according it on 8 April 1972.[153]

China

As a long-standing ally of Pakistan, the People's Republic of China reacted with alarm to the evolving situation in East Pakistan and the prospect of India invading West Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. On 10 December 1971, US President Nixon instructed Henry Kissinger to ask the Chinese to move some forces toward the frontier with India. Nixon said, "Threaten to move forces or move them, Henry, that's what they must do now." Kissinger met with Huang Hua, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, later that evening.[154][155][156]

The Chinese did not, however, respond to this encouragement, because unlike the 1962 Sino-Indian War when India was caught entirely unaware, this time the Indian Army was prepared and had deployed eight mountain divisions to the Sino-Indian border to guard against such an eventuality.[105] China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.

When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972, China vetoed their application[157] because two United Nations resolutions regarding the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians had not yet been implemented.[158] China was also among the last countries to recognise independent Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 31 August 1975.[141][157]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for themselves and feared India might use its enhanced power against them in the future.[159]: 7  Despite the left wing government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike following a neutral non-aligned foreign policy, Sri Lanka decided to help Pakistan in the war.[160][161] As Pakistani aircraft could not fly over Indian territory, they would have to take a longer route around India and so they stopped at Bandaranaike Airport in Sri Lanka where they were refuelled before flying to East Pakistan.[162]

Arab world

As many Arab countries were allied with both the United States and Pakistan, it was easy for Kissinger to encourage them to participate. He sent letters to both, the King of Jordan and the King of Saudi Arabia. President Nixon gave permission for Jordan to send ten F-104s and promised to provide replacements.[145] According to author Martin Bowman, "Libyan F-5s were reportedly deployed to Sargodha AFB, perhaps as a potential training unit to prepare Pakistani pilots for an influx of more F-5s from Saudi Arabia."[163]

Libyan dictator Gaddafi also personally directed a strongly worded letter to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi accusing her of aggression against Pakistan, which endeared him to all Pakistanis.[164] In addition to these three countries, an unidentified Middle Eastern ally also supplied Pakistan with Mirage IIIs. However, other countries such as Syria and Tunisia were against interfering describing it as an internal matter of Pakistan.[165]

In popular culture

Main article: Artistic depictions of the Bangladesh Liberation War

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Cooper and Ali's figures of 365,000 Pakistan Army and 280,000 paramilitary are for the entire Pakistan force, on the west and east fronts combined, when the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 broke out.[5] Cloughley clarifies that only a quarter of the 365,000 Pakistan Army, roughly 91,000, was in East Pakistan.[7]
  2. ^ This war is known in Bangla as Muktijuddho or Shwadhinota Juddho.[14] This war is also called the Civil War in Pakistan.[15]

References

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Sources

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  • Ali, Rao Farman (1992). How Pakistan Got Divided. Jang Publishers. ISBN 984-05-0157-7.
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  • Sajjad, Tazreena (2012). "The Post-Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women". In Samuel Totten (ed.). Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide (Reprint ed.). Transaction. pp. 219–248. ISBN 978-1412847599.
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  • van Schendel, Willem (2009). A History of Bangladesh. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-99741-9.

Further reading

For a more comprehensive list, see List of books on Liberation War of Bangladesh.
  • Ayoob, Mohammed and Subrahmanyam, K., The Liberation War, S. Chand and Co. pvt Ltd. New Delhi, 1972.
  • Bass, Gary J. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. Vintage, 2014. ISBN 0307744620
  • Bhargava, G.S., Crush India or Pakistan's Death Wish, ISSD, New Delhi, 1972.
  • Bhattacharyya, S. K., Genocide in East Pakistan/Bangladesh: A Horror Story, A. Ghosh Publishers, 1988.
  • Blood, A. K. (2005). The cruel birth of Bangladesh: Memoirs of an American diplomat. Dhaka: University Press.
  • Brownmiller, Susan: Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, Ballantine Books, 1993.
  • Choudhury, G. W. (April 1972). "Bangladesh: Why It Happened". International Affairs. Royal Institute of International Affairs. 48 (2): 242–249. doi:10.2307/2613440. ISSN 0020-5850. JSTOR 2613440.
  • Choudhury, G. W. (1994) [First published 1974]. The Last Days of United Pakistan. Dhaka: University Press. ISBN 978-984-05-1242-3.
  • Govt. of Bangladesh, Documents of the war of Independence, Vol 01–16, Ministry of Information.
  • Hitchens, Christopher, The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Verso (2001). ISBN 1-85984-631-9
  • Kanjilal, Kalidas, The Perishing Humanity, Sahitya Loke, Calcutta, 1976
  • Johnson, Rob, 'A Region in Turmoil' (New York and London, 2005)
  • Malik, Amita, The Year of the Vulture, Orient Longmans, New Delhi, 1972.
  • Matinuddin, General Kamal, Tragedy of Errors: East Pakistan Crisis, 1968–1971, Wajidalis, Lahore, Pakistan, 1994.
  • Mookherjee, Nayanika, A Lot of History: Sexual Violence, Public Memories and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, D.Phil. thesis in Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London, 2002.
  • National Security Archive, The Tilt: the U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971 20 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  • Quereshi, Major General Hakeem Arshad, The 1971 Indo-Pak War, A Soldiers Narrative, Oxford University Press, 2002.
  • Raghavan, Srinath, 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh, Harvard Univ. Press, 2013.
  • Rummel, R. J., Death By Government, Transaction Publishers, 1997.
  • Sisson, Richard & Rose, Leo, War and secession: Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh, University of California Press (Berkeley), 1990.
  • Stephen, Pierre, and Payne, Robert, Massacre, Macmillan, New York, (1973). ISBN 0-02-595240-4
  • Totten, Samuel et al., eds., Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views, Garland Reference Library, 1997
  • US Department of State Office of the Historian, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  • Zaheer, Hasan: The separation of East Pakistan: The rise and realisation of Bengali Muslim nationalism, Oxford University Press, 1994.
  • Raja, Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar (2010). O GENERAL MY GENERAL (Life and Works of General M. A. G. Osmani). The Osmani Memorial Trust, Dacca, Bangladesh. ISBN 978-984-8866-18-4.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bangladesh Liberation War.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Bangladesh Liberation War.
  • The Liberation war of Bangladesh at Banglapedia
  • 1971 Bangladesh Genocide Archive
  • Freedom In the Air, The Daily Star
  • Sheikh Mujib wanted a confederation: US papers, by Anwar Iqbal, Dawn, 7 July 2005
  • Bangladesh Liberation War Picture Gallery Graphic images, viewer discretion advised
  • Rashid Askari:Liberation War facts
  • 1971 War: How Russia sank Nixon's gunboat diplomacy
  • PM reiterated her vow to declare March 25 as Genocide Day
  • Genocide Day: As it was in March 1971
  • The case for UN recognition of Bangladesh genocide

January 08, 2023
bangladesh, liberation, india, intervention, conflict, indo, pakistani, 1971, note, bengali, pronounced, mukt, iɟud, also, known, bangladesh, independence, simply, liberation, bangladesh, revolution, armed, conflict, sparked, rise, bengali, nationalist, self, . For India s intervention in the conflict see Indo Pakistani War of 1971 The Bangladesh Liberation War note 2 Bengali ম ক ত য দ ধ pronounced mukt iɟud d ʱo also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self determination movement in East Pakistan which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan under the orders of Yahya Khan launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971 initiating the Bangladesh genocide Bangladesh Liberation Warম ক ত য দ ধ Muktijuddho Part of the Indo Pakistani conflicts and the Cold WarClockwise from top left Martyred Intellectuals Memorial Bangladesh Forces howitzer Lt Gen Amir Niazi signs the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender to Indian and Bangladeshi forces in the presence of Lt Gen Jagjit Singh 1 the PNS Ghazi Date26 March 16 December 1971 8 months 2 weeks and 6 days LocationPredominantly East Pakistan present day Bangladesh Spillover Eastern Front India East Pakistan border India East Pakistan enclaves parts of East and Northeast IndiaWestern Front India West Pakistan border Line of Control Kashmir Zero PointIndian Ocean Bay of Bengal Eastern Front Arabian Sea Western Front ResultIndian Bangladeshi victory 2 3 4 Surrender of Pakistani forcesTerritorialchangesEast Pakistan secedes from Pakistan as the People s Republic of BangladeshBelligerentsProvisional Government of Bangladesh Mukti Bahini 26 March 16 December 1971 India Indian Armed Forces 3 16 December 1971 Supported by Soviet UnionPakistan Govt of East Pakistan Pakistan Armed ForcesParamilitary forces and militias Jamaat e Islami Nagorik Shanti Committee Razakars Al Badr Al ShamsSupported by United StatesCommanders and leadersSheikh Mujibur Rahman President of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh Tajuddin Ahmad Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh Gen M A G Osmani Cdr in C Bangladesh Forces Maj K M Shafiullah Commander S Force Maj Ziaur Rahman Commander Z Force Maj Khaled Mosharraf Commander K Force Gp Capt A K Khandker Second in Command Bangladesh Forces V V Giri President of India Indira Gandhi Prime Minister of India Gen Sam Manekshaw Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen J S Arora GOC in C Eastern Command Lt Gen Sagat Singh GOC in C IV Corps Maj Gen Inderjit Singh Gill Dir Military Operations Maj Gen Om Malhotra COS IV Corps Maj Gen J F R Jacob COS Eastern Command Maj Gen Shabeg Singh Cdr Training of MB V Adm Nilakanta Krishnan FOC in C Eastern Naval Command AM Hari Chand Dewan AOC in C Eastern Air Command Yahya Khan President of Pakistan Nurul Amin Prime Minister of Pakistan Abdul Motaleb Malik Governor of East Pakistan Gen A H Khan Chief of Staff Army GHQ Lt Gen A A K Niazi Commander Eastern Command Maj Gen Rao Farman Ali Mil Adv Govt of East Pakistan Maj Gen Khadim Hussain GOC 14th Infantry Div Rr Adm Mohammad Shariff FOC Eastern Naval Command Capt Ahmad Zamir CO Pakistan Marine Corps East Cdr Zafar Muhammad CO PNS Ghazi Air Cdre Inamul Haque AOC Eastern Air Command Air Cdre Zafar Masud AOC Eastern Air Cmnd 1969 71 Syed Khwaja Khairuddin Chair Nagorik Shanti Committee Ghulam Azam Emir of Jamaat e Islami Motiur Rahman Nizami Leader Al Badr Maj Gen Mohd Jamshed Commander Razakar Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry Leader Al Shams Strength175 000 5 6 250 000 5 91 000 regular troops note 1 280 000 Paramilitary forces note 1 25 000 militiamen 8 Casualties and losses 30 000 killed 9 10 1 426 1 525 killed 11 3 611 4 061 wounded 11 8 000 killed 10 000 wounded90 000 93 000 captured 12 including 79 676 troops and 10 324 12 192 local militiamen 11 13 Civilian deaths 10 Estimates range between 300 000 and 3 000 000 In response to the violence members of the Mukti Bahini a guerrilla resistance movement formed by Bengali military paramilitary and civilians launched a mass guerrilla war against the Pakistani military liberating numerous towns and cities in the initial months of the conflict At first the Pakistan Army regained momentum during the monsoon but Bengali guerrillas counterattacked by carrying out widespread sabotage including through Operation Jackpot against the Pakistan Navy while the nascent Bangladesh Air Force flew sorties against Pakistani military bases 16 India joined the war on 3 December 1971 after which Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on northern India The subsequent Indo Pakistani War witnessed engagements on two warfronts with air supremacy achieved in the eastern theatre and the rapid advance of the Allied Forces of Mukti Bahini and the Indian military Pakistan surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December 1971 in what remains to date the largest surrender of armed personnel since the Second World War 17 Rural and urban areas across East Pakistan saw extensive military operations and air strikes to suppress the tide of civil disobedience that formed following the 1970 election stalemate The Pakistan Army which had the backing of Islamists created radical religious militias the Razakars Al Badr and Al Shams to assist it during raids on the local populace 18 19 20 21 22 Members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias engaged in mass murder deportation and genocidal rape pursuing a systematic campaign of annihilation against nationalist Bengali civilians students intelligentsia religious minorities and armed personnel The capital Dhaka was the scene of numerous massacres including the Dhaka University massacre Sectarian violence also broke out between Bengalis and Urdu speaking Biharis An estimated 10 million Bengali refugees fled to neighbouring India while 30 million were internally displaced 23 The war changed the geopolitical landscape of South Asia with the emergence of Bangladesh as the seventh most populous country in the world Due to complex regional alliances the war was a major episode in Cold War tensions involving the United States the Soviet Union and the People s Republic of China The majority of member states in the United Nations recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign nation in 1972 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Language controversy 1 2 Disparities 1 3 Ideological and cultural differences 1 4 Political differences 1 5 Response to the 1970 cyclone 1 6 Operation Searchlight 1 7 Declaration of independence 2 Liberation war 2 1 March June 2 2 June September 2 3 October December 3 Indian involvement 3 1 Air and naval war 4 Surrender and aftermath 4 1 Reaction in West Pakistan to the war 5 Atrocities 6 International reactions 6 1 United Nations 6 2 Bhutan 6 3 US and USSR 6 4 China 6 5 Sri Lanka 6 6 Arab world 7 In popular culture 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 10 1 Sources 11 Further reading 12 External linksBackground A map of the British Raj in 1909 showing Muslim majority areas in green including modern day Bangladesh in the east and Pakistan in the west Before the Partition of British India the Lahore Resolution initially envisaged separate Muslim majority states in the eastern and northwestern zones of British India A proposal for an independent United Bengal was mooted by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1946 but was opposed by the colonial authorities The East Pakistan Renaissance Society advocated the creation of a sovereign state in eastern British India 24 Political negotiations led in August 1947 to the official birth of two states Pakistan and India 25 giving presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus respectively following the departure of the British The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west with India in between 24 The western zone was popularly and for a period also officially termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone modern day Bangladesh was initially termed East Bengal and later East Pakistan Although the population of the two zones was close to equal political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically leading to many grievances Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge 26 On 25 March 1971 after an election won by an East Pakistani political party the Awami League was ignored by the ruling West Pakistani establishment rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal 27 and suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment in what came to be termed as Operation Searchlight 28 The violent crackdown by the Pakistan Army 29 led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan s independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971 30 Most Bengalis supported this move although Islamists and Biharis opposed this and sided with the Pakistan Army instead 31 Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government s authority beginning the civil war 30 The war led to a substantial number of refugees estimated at the time to be about 10 million 32 33 flooding into the eastern provinces of India 34 Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini Language controversy Main article Bengali language movement In 1948 Governor General Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that Urdu and only Urdu would be the federal language of Pakistan 35 36 However Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north central and western region of the subcontinent whereas in East Bengal the native language was Bengali one of the two most easterly branches of the Indo European languages 37 The Bengali speaking people of Pakistan constituted over 56 of the country s population 38 39 The government stand was widely viewed as an attempt to suppress the culture of the eastern wing The people of East Bengal demanded that their language be given federal status alongside Urdu and English The Language Movement began in 1948 as civil society protested the removal of the Bengali script from currency and stamps which were in place since the British Raj 40 The movement reached its climax in 1952 when on 21 February the police fired on protesting students and civilians causing several deaths The day is revered in Bangladesh as the Language Movement Day Later in memory of the deaths in 1952 UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day in November 1999 40 Disparities Although East Pakistan had a larger population West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget Year Spending on West Pakistan in millions of Pakistani rupees Spending on East Pakistan in millions of Pakistani rupees Amount spent on East as percentage of West1950 55 11 290 5 240 46 41955 60 16 550 5 240 31 71960 65 33 550 14 040 41 81965 70 51 950 21 410 41 2Total 113 340 45 930 40 5Source Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970 75 Vol I published by the planning commission of Pakistan East Pakistan was already economically disadvantaged at the time of Pakistan s creation yet this economic disparity only increased under Pakistani rule Factors included not only the deliberate state discrimination in developmental policies but also the fact that the presence of the country s capital and more immigrant businessmen in the Western wing directed greater government allocations there Due to low numbers of native businessmen in East Pakistan substantial labour unrest and a tense political environment there were also much lower foreign investments in the eastern wing The Pakistani state s economic outlook was geared towards urban industry which was not compatible with East Pakistan s mainly agrarian economy 41 Bengalis were under represented in the Pakistan military Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5 of overall force by 1965 of these only a few were in command positions with the majority in technical or administrative posts 42 West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not martially inclined unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis the martial races notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis 42 Moreover despite huge defence spending East Pakistan received none of the benefits such as contracts purchasing and military support jobs The Indo Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis as only an under strength infantry division and 15 combat aircraft without tank support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliations during the conflict 43 44 Ideological and cultural differences Language movement memorial In 1947 the Bengali Muslims had identified themselves with Pakistan s Islamic project but by the 1970s the people of East Pakistan had given priority to their Bengali ethnicity over their religious identity desiring a society in accordance with Western principles such as secularism democracy and socialism 45 Many Bengali Muslims strongly objected to the Islamist paradigm imposed by the Pakistani state 46 Most members of West Pakistan s ruling elite shared a vision of a liberal society but nevertheless viewed a common faith as an essential mobilising factor behind Pakistan s creation and the subsuming of Pakistan s multiple regional identities into one national identity 46 West Pakistanis were substantially more supportive than East Pakistanis of an Islamic state a tendency that persisted after 1971 47 Cultural and linguistic differences between the two wings gradually outweighed any sense of religious unity The Bengalis took great pride in their culture and language which with its Bengali script and vocabulary was unacceptable to the West Pakistani elite who believed that it had assimilated considerable Hindu cultural influences 45 48 West Pakistanis in an attempt to Islamise the East wanted the Bengalis to adopt Urdu 45 The activities of the language movement nurtured a sentiment among Bengalis in favour of discarding Pakistan s communalism in favour of secular politics 49 The Awami League began propagating its secular message through its newspaper to the Bengali readership 50 The Awami League s emphasis on secularism differentiated it from the Muslim League 51 In 1971 the Bangladeshi liberation struggle against Pakistan was led by secular leaders 52 and secularists hailed the Bangladeshi victory as the triumph of secular Bengali nationalism over religion centred Pakistani nationalism 53 While Pakistan s government strives for an Islamic state Bangladesh was established secular 47 After the liberation victory the Awami League attempted to build a secular order 54 and the pro Pakistan Islamist parties were barred from political participation 55 The majority of East Pakistani ulama had either remained neutral or supported the Pakistani state since they felt that the break up of Pakistan would be detrimental for Islam 56 Political differences Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the leader of East Pakistan and later Bangladesh Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country s population 57 political power remained in the hands of West Pakistanis Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan the West Pakistani establishment came up with the One Unit scheme where all of West Pakistan was considered one province This was solely to counterbalance the East wing s votes After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan Pakistan s first prime minister in 1951 political power began to devolve to the new President of Pakistan which replaced the office of Governor General when Pakistan became a republic and eventually the military The nominal elected chief executive the Prime Minister was frequently sacked by the establishment acting through the President The East Pakistanis observed that the West Pakistani establishment would swiftly depose any East Pakistanis elected Prime Minister of Pakistan such as Khawaja Nazimuddin Mohammad Ali Bogra or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Their suspicions were further aggravated by the military dictatorships of Ayub Khan 27 October 1958 25 March 1969 and Yahya Khan 25 March 1969 20 December 1971 both West Pakistanis The situation reached a climax in 1970 when the Bangladesh Awami League the largest East Pakistani political party led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a landslide victory in the national elections The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government However Zulfikar Ali Bhutto a former Foreign Minister the leader of the Pakistan People s Party refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan 58 Instead he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers one for each wing The proposal elicited outrage in the east wing already chafing under the other constitutional innovation the One Unit scheme Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman s Six Points On 3 March 1971 the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dacca to decide the fate of the country 58 After their discussions yielded no satisfactory results Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike Bhutto feared a civil war therefore he sent his trusted companion Mubashir Hassan 58 A message was conveyed and Rahman decided to meet Bhutto 58 Upon his arrival Rahman met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Rahman as premier and Bhutto as president 58 however Sheikh Mujib later ruled out such possibility 59 Meanwhile the military was unaware of these developments and Bhutto increased his pressure on Rahman to reach a decision 58 On 7 March 1971 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman soon to be the prime minister delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground now called the Suhrawardy Udyan In this speech he mentioned a further four point condition to consider at the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March The immediate lifting of martial law Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks An inquiry into the loss of life Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March He urged his people to turn every house into a fort of resistance He closed his speech saying Our struggle is for our freedom Our struggle is for our independence This speech is considered by whom the main event that inspired the nation to fight for its independence General Tikka Khan was flown into Dacca to become Governor of East Bengal East Pakistani judges including Justice Siddique refused to swear him in Between 10 and 13 March Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly government passengers to Dacca These government passengers were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress MV Swat a ship of the Pakistan Navy carrying ammunition and soldiers was harboured in Chittagong Port but the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship A unit of East Pakistan Rifles refused to obey commands to fire on the Bengali demonstrators beginning a mutiny among the Bengali soldiers Response to the 1970 cyclone See also 1970 Bhola cyclone The 1970 Bhola cyclone made landfall on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November around the same time as a local high tide 60 killing an estimated 300 000 people A 2017 World Meteorological Organization panel considers it the deadliest tropical cyclone since at least 1873 61 A week after the landfall President Khan conceded that his government had made slips and mistakes in its handling of the relief efforts due to a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster 62 A statement released by eleven political leaders in East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with gross neglect callous and utter indifference They also accused the president of playing down the magnitude of the problem in news coverage 63 On 19 November students held a march in Dacca protesting the slowness of the government s response 64 Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50 000 people on 24 November where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation As the conflict between East and West Pakistan developed in March the Dacca offices of the two government organisations directly involved in relief efforts were closed for at least two weeks first by a general strike and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the Awami League With this increase in tension foreign personnel were evacuated over fears of violence Relief work continued in the field but long term planning was curtailed 65 This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh This was one of the first times that a natural event helped trigger a civil war 66 Operation Searchlight Main article Operation Searchlight The location of Bengali and Pakistani military units during Operation Searchlight March 1971 A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army codenamed Operation Searchlight started on 25 March 1971 to curb the Bengali independence movement 28 by taking control of the major cities on 26 March and then eliminating all opposition political or military 67 within one month The Pakistani state used anti Bihari violence by Bengalis in early March to justify launching Operation Searchlight 68 Before the beginning of the operation all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan 69 The main phase of Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali hands in mid May The operation also began the 1971 Bangladesh genocide These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis which ultimately resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year Bangladeshi media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which vary greatly from 5 000 to 35 000 in Dacca and 200 000 to 3 000 000 for Bangladesh as a whole 70 although independent researchers including the British Medical Journal have put forward the figure ranging from between 125 000 and 505 000 71 American political scientist Rudolph Rummel puts total deaths at 1 5 million 72 The atrocities have been referred to as acts of genocide 73 According to the Asia Times 74 At a meeting of the military top brass Yahya Khan declared Kill 3 million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands Accordingly on the night of 25 March the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight to crush Bengali resistance in which Bengali members of military services were disarmed and killed students and the intelligentsia systematically liquidated and able bodied Bengali males just picked up and gunned down Although the violence focused on the provincial capital Dacca it also affected all parts of East Pakistan Residential halls of the University of Dacca were particularly targeted The only Hindu residential hall Jagannath Hall was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered The Pakistani army denied any cold blooded killings at the university though the Hamoodur Rahman Commission in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used at the university This fact and the massacre at Jagannath Hall and nearby student dormitories of Dacca University are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Professor Nurul Ula of the East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories 75 The scale of the atrocities was first made clear in the West when Anthony Mascarenhas a Pakistani journalist who had been sent to the province by the military authorities to write a story favourable to Pakistan s actions instead fled to the United Kingdom and on 13 June 1971 published an article in The Sunday Times describing the systematic killings by the military The BBC wrote There is little doubt that Mascarenhas reportage played its part in ending the war It helped turn world opinion against Pakistan and encouraged India to play a decisive role with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself stating that Mascarenhas article has led her to prepare the ground for India s armed intervention 76 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier later General Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Rahman with multiple charges The tribunal s sentence was never made public but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well while a few fled Dacca to avoid arrest The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan 77 Declaration of independence See also Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence and 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu The violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces on 25 March 1971 proved the last straw to the efforts to negotiate a settlement Following these incidents Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official declaration that read Today Bangladesh is a sovereign and independent country On Thursday night West Pakistani armed forces suddenly attacked the police barracks at Razarbagh and the EPR headquarters at Pilkhana in Dacca Many innocent and unarmed have been killed in Dhaka city and other places of Bangladesh Violent clashes between E P R and Police on the one hand and the armed forces of Pakistan on the other are going on The Bengalis are fighting the enemy with great courage for an independent Bangladesh May Allah aid us in our fight for freedom Joy Bangla May Bangladesh be victorious Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message Rahman was arrested on the night of 25 26 March 1971 at about 1 30 am as per Radio Pakistan s news on 29 March 1971 An iconic poster by Quamrul Hassan on General Yahya Khan representing the Pakistani military junta as demons 78 A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman s declaration reached some students in Chittagong The message was translated to Bengali by Dr Manjula Anwar The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation However the message was read several times by the independent Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro Radio established by some rebel Bangali Radio workers in Kalurghat Major Ziaur Rahman was requested to provide security of the station and he also read the Declaration on 27 March 1971 79 Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra I Major Ziaur Rahman at the direction of Bangobondhu Mujibur Rahman hereby declare that Independent People s Republic of Bangladesh has been established At his direction I have taken the command as the temporary Head of the Republic In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman I call upon all Bengalees to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army We shall fight to the last to free our motherland Victory is by the Grace of Allah ours Joy Bangla 80 The Kalurghat Radio Station s transmission capability was limited but the message was picked up by a Japanese ship in the Bay of Bengal It was then re transmitted by Radio Australia 81 and later by the BBC M A Hannan an Awami League leader from Chittagong is said to have made the first announcement of the declaration of independence over the radio on 26 March 1971 82 26 March 1971 is considered the official Independence Day of Bangladesh and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth In July 1971 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi openly referred to the former East Pakistan as Bangladesh 83 Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name East Pakistan until 16 December 1971 Liberation warMain articles Mukti Bahini and Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War March June At first resistance was spontaneous and disorganised and was not expected to be prolonged 84 However when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population resistance grew The Mukti Bahini became increasingly active The Pakistani military sought to quell them but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to this underground Bangladesh army These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganising their forces They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars Al Badrs and Al Shams who were mostly members of the Muslim League and other Islamist groups as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence and Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time of partition On 17 April 1971 a provisional government was formed in Meherpur District in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who was in prison in Pakistan as president Syed Nazrul Islam as acting president Tajuddin Ahmad as prime minister and General Muhammad Ataul Ghani Osmani as Commander in Chief Bangladesh Forces As fighting grew between the occupation army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini an estimated 10 million Bengalis sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal citation needed June September See also List of sectors in the Bangladesh Liberation War and Military plans of the Bangladesh Liberation War The eleven sectors during the Bangladesh Liberation War An advertisement for former Beatle George Harrison s Bangla Desh single released in July 1971 to raise international awareness and funds for the millions of Bangladeshi refugees Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July with Col M A G Osmani as commander in chief C in C with the status of Cabinet Minister Lt Col Abdur Rabb as chief of Staff COS Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Staff DCOS and Major A R Chowdhury as Assistant Chief of Staff ACOS General Osmani had differences of opinion with the Indian leadership regarding the role of the Mukti Bahini in the conflict Indian leadership initially envisioned a well trained force of 8 000 guerrillas operating in small cells around Bangladesh to facilitate eventual conventional combat 85 With the Bangladesh government in exile General Osmani favoured a different strategy 86 87 Bengali conventional forces would occupy lodgments inside Bangladesh and then the Bangladesh government would request international diplomatic recognition and intervention Initially Mymensingh was picked for this operation but Gen Osmani later settled on Sylhet Sending the maximum number of guerrillas into Bangladesh as soon as possible with the following objectives 88 89 Increasing Pakistani casualties through raids and ambush Cripple economic activity by hitting power stations railway lines storage depots and communication networks Destroy Pakistan army mobility by blowing up bridges culverts fuel depots trains and river crafts The strategic objective was to make the Pakistanis spread their forces inside the province so attacks could be made on isolated Pakistani detachments Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors in July 90 each with a commander chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani army who joined the Mukti Bahini to lead guerrilla operations The Mukti Bahini forces were given two to five weeks of training by the Indian army on guerilla warfare 91 Most of their training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with assistance from India The 10th Sector was directly placed under the Commander in Chief C in C General M A G Osmani and included the Naval Commandos and C in C s special force 92 Three brigades 11 Battalions were raised for conventional warfare a large guerrilla force estimated at 100 000 was trained 93 Five infantry battalions were reformed and positioned along the northern and eastern borders of Bangladesh Three more battalions were raised and artillery batteries were formed 94 During June and July Mukti Bahini had regrouped across the border with Indian aid through Operation Jackpot and began sending 2000 5000 guerrillas across the border 95 the so called Monsoon Offensive which for various reasons lack of proper training supply shortage lack of a proper support network inside Bangladesh failed to achieve its objectives 96 97 98 Bengali regular forces also attacked border outposts in Mymensingh Comilla and Sylhet but the results were mixed Pakistani authorities concluded that they had successfully contained the Monsoon Offensive which proved a near accurate observation 99 100 Guerrilla operations which slackened during the training phase picked up after August Economic and military targets in Dacca were attacked The major success story was Operation Jackpot in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong Mongla Narayanganj and Chandpur on 15 August 1971 101 102 October December See also Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971 Pakistan Army order of battle December 1971 Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan and Operation Jackpot Major battles Battle of Boyra Battle of Garibpur Battle of Dhalai Battle of Hilli Battle of KushtiaBangladeshi conventional forces attacked border outposts Kamalpur Belonia and the Battle of Boyra are a few examples 90 out of 370 border outposts fell to Bengali forces Guerrilla attacks intensified as did Pakistani and Razakar reprisals on civilian populations Pakistani forces were reinforced by eight battalions from West Pakistan The Bangladeshi independence fighters even managed to temporarily capture airstrips at Lalmonirhat and Shalutikar 5 Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India Pakistan sent another five battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements Indian involvementSee also Indo Pakistani War of 1971 Illustration showing military units and troop movements during the war All unprejudiced persons objectively surveying the grim events in Bangladesh since March 25 have recognised the revolt of 75 million people a people who were forced to the conclusion that neither their life nor their liberty to say nothing of the possibility of the pursuit of happiness was available to them Indira Gandhi Letter to Richard Nixon 15 December 1971 Indira Gandhi Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had concluded that instead of taking in millions of refugees India would be economically better off going to war against Pakistan 103 As early as 28 April 1971 the Indian Cabinet had asked General Manekshaw Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee to Go into East Pakistan 104 Hostile relations in the past between India and Pakistan added to India s decision to intervene in Pakistan s civil war 103 As a result the Indian government decided to support the creation of a separate state for ethnic Bengalis by supporting the Mukti Bahini RAW helped to organise train and arm these insurgents Consequently the Mukti Bahini succeeded in harassing Pakistani military in East Pakistan thus creating conditions conducive for a full scale Indian military intervention in early December 103 The Pakistan Air Force PAF launched a pre emptive strike on Indian Air Force bases on 3 December 1971 The attack was modelled on the Israeli Air Force s Operation Focus during the Six Day War and intended to neutralise the Indian Air Force planes on the ground The strike was seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression which marked the official start of the Indo Pakistani War As a response to the attack both India and Pakistan formally acknowledged the existence of a state of war between the two countries even though neither government had formally issued a declaration of war 105 Allied Indian T 55 tanks on their way to Dacca Three Indian corps were involved in the liberation of East Pakistan They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them and many more who were fighting irregularly That was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions 106 The Indians quickly overran the country selectively engaging or bypassing heavily defended strongholds Pakistani forces were unable to effectively counter the Indian attack as they had been deployed in small units around the border to counter the guerrilla attacks by the Mukti Bahini 107 Unable to defend Dacca the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971 Air and naval war The Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan and within a week IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan It achieved near total air supremacy by the end of the first week as the entire Pakistani air contingent in the east PAF No 14 Squadron was grounded because of Indian and Bangladesh airstrikes at Tejgaon Kurmitolla Lalmonirhat and Shamsher Nagar Sea Hawks from the carrier INS Vikrant also struck Chittagong Barisal and Cox s Bazar destroying the eastern wing of the Pakistan Navy and effectively blockading the East Pakistan ports thereby cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers The nascent Bangladesh Navy comprising officers and sailors who defected from the Pakistani Navy aided the Indians in the marine warfare carrying out attacks most notably Operation Jackpot 108 better source needed Surrender and aftermathFurther information Pakistani Instrument of Surrender See also Delhi Agreement Pakistani Instrument of Surrender Signing of Pakistani Instrument of Surrender by Pakistan s Lt Gen A A K Niazi and Jagjit Singh Aurora on behalf of Indian and Bangladesh Forces in Dhaka on 16 Dec 1971 On 16 December 1971 Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi Chief Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan and Commander of Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender At the time of surrender only a few countries had provided diplomatic recognition to the new nation Over 93 000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces and Bangladesh Liberation forces making it the largest surrender since World War II 12 109 Bangladesh sought admission to the UN with most voting in its favour China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally 110 The United States also a key ally of Pakistan was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition 111 To ensure a smooth transition in 1972 the Simla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan The treaty ensured that Pakistan recognised the independence of Bangladesh in exchange for the return of the Pakistani PoWs 112 India treated all the PoWs in strict accordance with the Geneva Convention rule 1925 112 It released more than 93 000 Pakistani PoWs in five months 12 Further as a gesture of goodwill nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India 113 The accord also gave back 13 000 km2 5 019 sq mi of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war though India retained a few strategic areas 114 most notably Kargil which would in turn again be the focal point for a war between the two nations in 1999 This was done as a measure of promoting lasting peace and was acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India However some in India 115 felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto who had pleaded for leniency arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being overly harsh by Pakistanis Reaction in West Pakistan to the war Reaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and civilians alike Few had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight and there was also unsettlement over what was perceived as a meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan Yahya Khan s dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto who took the opportunity to rise to power 116 117 General Niazi who surrendered along with 93 000 troops was viewed with suspicion and contempt upon his return to Pakistan He was shunned and branded a traitor The war also exposed the shortcomings of Pakistan s declared strategic doctrine that the defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan 116 117 AtrocitiesMain articles 1971 Bangladesh genocide 1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals and Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War Rayerbazar killing field photographed immediately after the war showing dead bodies of intellectuals image courtesy Rashid Talukder 1971 During the war there were widespread killings and other atrocities including the displacement of civilians in Bangladesh East Pakistan at the time and widespread violations of human rights began with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971 Members of the Pakistani military and supporting paramilitary forces killed an estimated 300 000 76 to 3 000 000 people 118 and raped between 200 000 and 400 000 Bangladeshi women in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape 119 120 Pakistan s religious leaders openly supported the crime by labelling Bengali freedom fighters as Hindus and Bengali women as the booty of war 121 But in reality more than 80 percent of the Bengali people were Muslims at that time 122 A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered mostly by the Al Shams and Al Badr forces 123 at the instruction of the Pakistani Army 124 Just two days before the surrender on 14 December 1971 Pakistan Army and Razakar militia local collaborators picked up at least 100 physicians professors writers and engineers in Dacca and murdered them leaving the dead bodies in a mass grave 125 Memorial for freedom fighters Many mass graves have been discovered in Bangladesh 126 The first night of war on Bengalis which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dacca to the United States State Department saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dacca University and other civilians 127 Numerous women were tortured raped and killed during the war the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate The widespread rape of Bangladeshi women led to birth of thousands of war babies 128 129 130 The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex slaves inside the Dacca Cantonment Most of the girls were captured from Dacca University and private homes 131 There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army 132 but also by Bengali nationalists against non Bengali minorities especially Biharis 133 In June 1971 Bihari representatives stated that 500 000 Biharis were killed by Bengalis 134 R J Rummel gives a prudent estimate of 150 000 killed 135 On 16 December 2002 the George Washington University s National Security Archive published a collection of declassified documents consisting mostly of communications between US embassy officials and United States Information Service centres in Dacca and India and officials in Washington D C 127 These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms selective genocide 136 and genocide see The Blood Telegram for information on events they had knowledge of at the time Genocide is the term that is still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh 137 138 although in Pakistan the accusations against Pakistani forces continue to be disputed International reactions Former French minister Andre Malraux vowed to fight alongside the Mukti Bahini in the Liberation War 139 140 Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman s declaration of independence in March 1971 a worldwide campaign was undertaken by the Provisional Government of Bangladesh to drum up political support for the independence of East Pakistan as well as humanitarian support for the Bengali people Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided extensive diplomatic and political support to the Bangladesh movement She toured many countries in a bid to create awareness of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis This effort was to prove vital later during the war in framing the world s context of the war and to justify military action by India 141 Also following Pakistan s defeat it ensured prompt recognition of the newly independent state of Bangladesh United Nations Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations during and following Operation Searchlight it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war Following India s entry into the war Pakistan fearing certain defeat made urgent appeals to the United Nations to intervene and force India to agree to a ceasefire The UN Security Council assembled on 4 December 1971 to discuss the hostilities in South Asia After lengthy discussions on 7 December the United States made a resolution for immediate cease fire and withdrawal of troops While supported by the majority the USSR vetoed the resolution twice In light of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis the United Kingdom and France abstained on the resolution 105 142 On 12 December with Pakistan facing imminent defeat the United States requested that the Security Council be reconvened Pakistan s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was rushed to New York City to make the case for a resolution on the cease fire The council continued deliberations for four days By the time proposals were finalised Pakistan s forces in the East had surrendered and the war had ended making the measures merely academic Bhutto frustrated by the failure of the resolution and the inaction of the United Nations ripped up his speech and left the council 142 Most UN member nations were quick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence 141 Bhutan As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat of the Pakistan Army the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan became the first state in the world to recognise the newly independent country on 6 December 1971 143 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the first President of Bangladesh visited Bhutan to attend the coronation of Jigme Singye Wangchuck the fourth King of Bhutan in June 1974 US and USSR Senator Ted Kennedy led US congressional support for Bangladeshi independence The US government stood by its old ally Pakistan in terms of diplomacy and military threats 144 US President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia Pakistan was a close ally of the People s Republic of China with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and which he intended to visit in February 1972 Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America s new tacit ally China 145 146 To demonstrate to China the bona fides of the United States as an ally and in direct violation of the US Congress imposed sanctions on Pakistan Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan and routed them through Jordan and Iran 145 while also encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the genocidal activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan most notably the Blood telegram 146 The Nixon administration was widely criticised for its close ties with the military junta led by General Yahya Khan American diplomats in East Pakistan expressed profound dissent in the Blood Telegram Nixon denied getting involved in the situation saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan but when Pakistan s defeat seemed certain Nixon sent the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal 147 a move deemed by the Indians as a nuclear threat Enterprise arrived on station on 11 December 1971 On 6 and 13 December the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of ships armed with nuclear missiles from Vladivostok they trailed US Task Force 74 in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until 7 January 1972 148 149 150 The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies as well as the Mukti Bahini during the war recognising that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals the United States and the People s Republic of China It gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed the USSR would take countermeasures This was enshrined in the Indo Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971 The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean 151 At the end of the war the Warsaw Pact countries were among the first to recognise Bangladesh The Soviet Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972 152 The United States delayed recognition for some months before according it on 8 April 1972 153 China As a long standing ally of Pakistan the People s Republic of China reacted with alarm to the evolving situation in East Pakistan and the prospect of India invading West Pakistan and Pakistani controlled Kashmir On 10 December 1971 US President Nixon instructed Henry Kissinger to ask the Chinese to move some forces toward the frontier with India Nixon said Threaten to move forces or move them Henry that s what they must do now Kissinger met with Huang Hua China s Permanent Representative to the United Nations later that evening 154 155 156 The Chinese did not however respond to this encouragement because unlike the 1962 Sino Indian War when India was caught entirely unaware this time the Indian Army was prepared and had deployed eight mountain divisions to the Sino Indian border to guard against such an eventuality 105 China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972 China vetoed their application 157 because two United Nations resolutions regarding the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians had not yet been implemented 158 China was also among the last countries to recognise independent Bangladesh refusing to do so until 31 August 1975 141 157 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for themselves and feared India might use its enhanced power against them in the future 159 7 Despite the left wing government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike following a neutral non aligned foreign policy Sri Lanka decided to help Pakistan in the war 160 161 As Pakistani aircraft could not fly over Indian territory they would have to take a longer route around India and so they stopped at Bandaranaike Airport in Sri Lanka where they were refuelled before flying to East Pakistan 162 Arab world As many Arab countries were allied with both the United States and Pakistan it was easy for Kissinger to encourage them to participate He sent letters to both the King of Jordan and the King of Saudi Arabia President Nixon gave permission for Jordan to send ten F 104s and promised to provide replacements 145 According to author Martin Bowman Libyan F 5s were reportedly deployed to Sargodha AFB perhaps as a potential training unit to prepare Pakistani pilots for an influx of more F 5s from Saudi Arabia 163 Libyan dictator Gaddafi also personally directed a strongly worded letter to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi accusing her of aggression against Pakistan which endeared him to all Pakistanis 164 In addition to these three countries an unidentified Middle Eastern ally also supplied Pakistan with Mirage IIIs However other countries such as Syria and Tunisia were against interfering describing it as an internal matter of Pakistan 165 In popular cultureMain article Artistic depictions of the Bangladesh Liberation WarSee also Bangladesh portal War portalAwards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War Liberation War Museum Movement demanding trial of war criminals Bangladesh NAP Communist Party Students Union Special Guerrilla ForcesNotes a b Cooper and Ali s figures of 365 000 Pakistan Army and 280 000 paramilitary are for the entire Pakistan force on the west and east fronts combined when the Indo Pakistani War of 1971 broke out 5 Cloughley clarifies that only a quarter of the 365 000 Pakistan Army roughly 91 000 was in East Pakistan 7 This war is known in Bangla as Muktijuddho or Shwadhinota Juddho 14 This war is also called the Civil War in Pakistan 15 References Instrument of Surrender of Pakistan forces in Dacca mea gov in The Pakistan Eastern Command agree to surrender all Pakistan Armed Forces in Bangladesh to Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora General Officer Commanding in chief of the Indian and Bangladesh forces in the eastern theatre Rizwana Shamshad 3 October 2017 Bangladeshi Migrants in India Foreigners Refugees or Infiltrators OUP India pp 119 ISBN 978 0 19 909159 1 Jing Lu 30 October 2018 On State Secession from International Law Perspectives Springer pp 211 ISBN 978 3 319 97448 4 J L Kaul Anupam Jha 8 January 2018 Shifting Horizons of Public International Law A South Asian Perspective Springer pp 241 ISBN 978 81 322 3724 2 a b c d India Pakistan War 1971 Introduction By Tom Cooper with Khan Syed Shaiz Ali Acig org Archived from the original on 6 June 2011 Retrieved 23 June 2011 Pakistan amp the Karakoram Highway By Owen Bennett Jones Lindsay Brown John Mock Sarina Singh Pg 30 Cloughley Brian 2016 First published 1999 A History of the Pakistan Army Wars and Insurrections 4th ed Simon and Schuster pp 149 222 ISBN 978 1 63144 039 7 p 442 Indian Army after Independence by KC Pravel Lancer 1987 ISBN 81 7062 014 7 Thiranagama Sharika Kelly Tobias eds 2012 Traitors suspicion intimacy and the ethics of state building Philadelphia Pa University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 978 0812222371 a b Bangladesh Islamist leader Ghulam Azam charged BBC 13 May 2012 Retrieved 13 May 2012 a b c 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article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Country Studies Federal Research Division Ali Rao Farman 1992 How Pakistan Got Divided Jang Publishers ISBN 984 05 0157 7 Baxter Craig 1997 Bangladesh From A Nation To A State Westview Press ISBN 978 0 813 33632 9 Bose Sarmila 8 October 2005 Anatomy of Violence Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971 PDF Economic and Political Weekly 40 41 Archived from the original PDF on 28 December 2020 Retrieved 7 March 2017 Hasan Moyeedul 2004 Muldhara 71 University Press ISBN 978 984 05 0121 2 Islam Rafiqul 1981 A Tale of Millions Bangladesh Books International OCLC 499426590 Jacob JFR 1997 Surrender at Dacca Birth of A Nation Manohar ISBN 81 7304 189 X Khan Fazal Mukeem 1973 Pakistan s Crisis in Leadership National Book Foundation OCLC 976643179 Niazi A A K 1998 The Betrayal of East Pakistan Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 577727 1 Safiullah K M 1989 Bangladesh at War Academic Publishers OCLC 24300969 Sajjad Tazreena 2012 The Post Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women In Samuel Totten ed Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide Reprint ed Transaction pp 219 248 ISBN 978 1412847599 Salik Siddiq 1997 First published 1977 Witness to Surrender Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 577761 1 Sharlach Lisa 2000 Rape as Genocide Bangladesh the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda New Political Science 1 22 89 102 doi 10 1080 713687893 S2CID 144966485 van Schendel Willem 2009 A History of Bangladesh Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 511 99741 9 Further readingFor a more comprehensive list see List of books on Liberation War of Bangladesh Ayoob Mohammed and Subrahmanyam K The Liberation War S Chand and Co pvt Ltd New Delhi 1972 Bass Gary J The Blood Telegram Nixon Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide Vintage 2014 ISBN 0307744620 Bhargava G S Crush India or Pakistan s Death Wish ISSD New Delhi 1972 Bhattacharyya S K Genocide in East Pakistan Bangladesh A Horror Story A Ghosh Publishers 1988 Blood A K 2005 The cruel birth of Bangladesh Memoirs of an American diplomat Dhaka University Press Brownmiller Susan Against Our Will Men Women and Rape Ballantine Books 1993 Choudhury G W April 1972 Bangladesh Why It Happened International Affairs Royal Institute of International Affairs 48 2 242 249 doi 10 2307 2613440 ISSN 0020 5850 JSTOR 2613440 Choudhury G W 1994 First published 1974 The Last Days of United Pakistan Dhaka University Press ISBN 978 984 05 1242 3 Govt of Bangladesh Documents of the war of Independence Vol 01 16 Ministry of Information Hitchens Christopher The Trials of Henry Kissinger Verso 2001 ISBN 1 85984 631 9 Kanjilal Kalidas The Perishing Humanity Sahitya Loke Calcutta 1976 Johnson Rob A Region in Turmoil New York and London 2005 Malik Amita The Year of the Vulture Orient Longmans New Delhi 1972 Matinuddin General Kamal Tragedy of Errors East Pakistan Crisis 1968 1971 Wajidalis Lahore Pakistan 1994 Mookherjee Nayanika A Lot of History Sexual Violence Public Memories and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 D Phil thesis in Social Anthropology SOAS University of London 2002 National Security Archive The Tilt the U S and the South Asian Crisis of 1971 Archived 20 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine Quereshi Major General Hakeem Arshad The 1971 Indo Pak War A Soldiers Narrative Oxford University Press 2002 Raghavan Srinath 1971 A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh Harvard Univ Press 2013 Rummel R J Death By Government Transaction Publishers 1997 Sisson Richard amp Rose Leo War and secession Pakistan India and the creation of Bangladesh University of California Press Berkeley 1990 Stephen Pierre and Payne Robert Massacre Macmillan New York 1973 ISBN 0 02 595240 4 Totten Samuel et al eds Century of Genocide Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views Garland Reference Library 1997 US Department of State Office of the Historian Foreign Relations of the United States 1969 1976 Volume XI South Asia Crisis 1971 Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine Zaheer Hasan The separation of East Pakistan The rise and realisation of Bengali Muslim nationalism Oxford University Press 1994 Raja Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar 2010 O GENERAL MY GENERAL Life and Works of General M A G Osmani The Osmani Memorial Trust Dacca Bangladesh ISBN 978 984 8866 18 4 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bangladesh Liberation War Wikiquote has quotations related to Bangladesh Liberation War The Liberation war of Bangladesh at Banglapedia 1971 Bangladesh Genocide Archive Freedom In the Air The Daily Star Eyewitness Accounts Genocide in Bangladesh The women of 1971 Tales of abuse and rape by the Pakistan Army 1971 Massacre in Bangladesh and the Fallacy in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report Dr M A Hasan Women of Pakistan Apologize for War Crimes 1996 Sheikh Mujib wanted a confederation US papers by Anwar Iqbal Dawn 7 July 2005 Page containing copies of the surrender documents Bangladesh Liberation War Picture Gallery Graphic images viewer discretion advised Rashid Askari Liberation War facts 1971 War How Russia sank Nixon s gunboat diplomacy PM reiterated her vow to declare March 25 as Genocide Day Call for international recognition and observance of genocide day Genocide Day As it was in March 1971 The case for UN recognition of Bangladesh genocide Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bangladesh Liberation War amp oldid 1130672156, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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