The best chapter of our national history is the liberation war of 1971. Independent sovereign Bangladesh was born through this liberation war.

 

Introduction:

The Bangladesh Liberation War , 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.

Background of the Liberation War in Bangladesh:

The creation of a state called Pakistan was proposed. The boundary between East Bengal and West Bengal was formally determined in Radclip Rowedad published on 12 August. Pakistan was established on August 14, 1947. East Bengal is a part of Pakistan – East Pakistan. From the past, the people had hoped that this time their hopes and aspirations would be fulfilled. Their expected independence will be established in the new state. You will have a better life. Within a few days, the people of East Pakistan felt that their expectations were not being fulfilled. The rulers of Pakistan have conspired to establish a pre-planned unified monoculture in a polyglot society. The sphere of participation of the people of East Pakistan in the political sphere is being narrowed. They have suffered economic deprivation. Even the resources of East Pakistan have been arranged to ensure the development of West Pakistan.

 

In this way, the background of the freedom struggle of Pakistan was created. In 1952, the students of East Pakistan had to sacrifice their lives to protect their own language rights. In 1958, General Ayub Khan seized power by imposing military rule. On February 5, 1966, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman presented a six-point demand aimed at establishing Bengali autonomy. In the first general election held in Pakistan on December 7, 1970 with a six-point mandate, the East Pakistan political party Awami League won with a single majority. It emerged as the majority party in the National Assembly of Pakistan. People expected the elected political party Awami League to form the government and change the course of East Pakistan’s long history of deprivation. The rulers of Pakistan—some political leaders and some military officers—arranged the organs of conspiracy in such a way that the ruling power would not fall into the hands of Bengalis. The people of East Pakistan understood it correctly.

Since the establishment of Pakistan, the people of East Pakistan have been demanding Bengali as one of the state languages. The government of Pakistan completely opposed this logical claim and declared Urdu as the only official language in 1948. There was a growing protest against this decision which later became known as Bhasha Andolan. This movement was revived in 1952 and on February 21 of that year, students gathered in the premises of Dhaka University to demand language. Rafiq, Salam, Barkat, Jabbar and many others were martyred as a result of police firing on the public gathering. This incident gave a new dimension to the movement and increased its political importance manifold. In 1956 Bengali was finally accepted as one of the main national languages along with Urdu in the constitution. The language movement is cited as the rise of Bengali nationalism in East Pakistan, and the 6-point movement, the popular uprising of 1969, is considered an important step towards Bangladesh’s liberation war.

 

 

 

 

 

After winning the election, Pakistan’s military ruler General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan refused to allow Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to form the government. A political party is mandated to form a government with a majority of the popular vote. They would form the government, that was the reality. But the military rulers started a negotiation, excluding the process of forming a government or transferring power to elected representatives. It did not take much time for the Bengali leaders to understand what the discussion was for. Bangabandhu called for nationwide non-cooperation on March 1, 1971 to protest the postponement of the scheduled session of the National Assembly. People from all walks of life responded to Bangabandhu’s call with one voice and brought all the administrative and economic systems of East Pakistan to a standstill. Bangladesh flag was officially displayed at Dhaka University on 2nd March 71. On 3rd March 1971 at Ramna Race Course (now at Suhrawardy Udyan) the ‘Independent Bangladesh Chhatra Sangram Parishad’; On behalf of the ‘Declaration of Independence’ is read. In this manifesto “My gold bangla I love you” The song was recognized as the national anthem and a decision was taken to continue the struggle with confidence in the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

 

As the Pakistan military-led government did not offer any solution to the transfer of power to the elected representatives of the National Assembly, on 7 March 1971 Bangabandhu Rahman in a directive speech at the Race Course Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) called upon the entire Bengali nation to be prepared to face any eventuality or Liberation War . In this speech, he said, “If I cannot give orders, I request you to build forts from house to house.” ……… This struggle is our struggle for liberation, this struggle is our struggle for freedom. This speech of Bangabandhu is considered as one of the speeches of notable leaders in the world.

 

Bangabandhu’s directive in this speech of March 7 was not the directive of any party leader. It was the order of a national leader. This directive sensitizes the students, masses and intellectuals of the country along with the Bengali military, civil officers and employees. From 2nd March 1971, all the administrative activities of East Bengal continued under Bangabandhu’s orders.

 

On the morning of 23 March 1971, a parade of the Jai Bangla Army was held at Paltan Maidan. At the end of the ceremony, the leaders of this force entered the Bangabandhu building with the Bangladesh flag in a procession and hoisted this flag officially at home. At the same time this flag was planted on Bangabandhu’s car. On March 23, Pakistan Day celebrations were boycotted in every city of East Bengal and Bangladeshi flags were seen flying instead of Pakistani flags.

 

On the other hand, while these talks are going on in the name of transfer of power, Pakistan military spokesman Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto created new crisis instead of political solution to the problem. Presenting unreasonable demands blocked the path to a fair political solution for a time. Pakistani military rulers prepared to exercise military power by colluding with vested interests. Under the cover of political negotiations for a planned assassination, the military was able to move two divisions of non-Bengali troops from Pakistan to East Bengal in just 22 days. In fact, this was the main purpose of the delay in the name of their discussion. On 24th March 71 the military authorities handed over the attack plan to all the cantonments with the addition of helicopters. This infamous killing of the Pakistani military on the Bengali nation was ordered by “Operation Search Light”. Known by name.

 

Operation Searchlight and the March 25 Massacre:

On March 25, the Pakistan Army began massacres in major cities of East Pakistan. Their pre-planned massacre was called ”Operation Searchlight” known as As part of this plan of genocide, all Bengali officers working in Pakistan Army were tried to be killed or arrested beforehand. Military paramilitary soldiers from across the country were brutally killed in Dhaka’s Pilkhana, Dhaka’s Rajarbagh Police Line, Dhaka University, Chittagong’s EBRC. In order to prevent the outside world from knowing about this murder, all foreign journalists were restricted in their movements and many were expelled from the country. However, Washington Post’s famous journalist Simon Dring published the report of Bangladesh at the risk of life. Through this the world came to know about this genocide. President Yahya’s delay in the name of negotiation was also part of this genocidal plan.

 

At around 11:30 PM on March 25, Pakistani forces began their killing spree. One of the main targets of the Pakistani operation was the indiscriminate killing of Dhaka University Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall and students of Jagannath Hall. A large number of teachers and general staff were also killed in and around Dhaka University. Mass killings were also carried out in the Hindu community-dominated areas of old Dhaka. Many members of the police force were attacked and killed on the Rajarbagh police line. Unarmed members were indiscriminately killed in a surprise attack on the center of the EPR in Pilkhana. Several newspaper offices were razed. Sleeping men and women were indiscriminately killed in various areas with the aim of creating national terror. Children and old people were also killed. It is believed that nearly one lakh innocent men and women lost their lives in Dhaka and its surrounding areas alone that night.

Liberation war:

March–June

At first, resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged. But 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 increasingly many 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 (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 for Liberation War  of Bangladesh. 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.

 

June-September

Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M. A. G. Osmani as commander-in-chief (C-in-C) for Liberation War 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).

Osmani had differences of opinion with the Indian leadership about 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. With the Bangladesh government in exile, Osmani favoured a different strategy:

• Bengali conventional forces would occupy lodgments inside Bangladesh and the Bangladesh government would request international diplomatic recognition and intervention. Initially Mymensingh was picked for this operation, but Osmani later settled on Sylhet. Sending the maximum number of guerrillas into Bangladesh as soon as possible with the following objectives:
  • 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.

In the period of Liberation War Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors in July,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. Most of their training camps were near the border area and operated with assistance from India. The 10th Sector was placed under Osmani’s command and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C’s special force.Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.

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.During June and July, Mukti Bahini regrouped across the border with Indian aid through Operation Jackpot and began sending 2,000–5,000 guerrillas across the border,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. 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.rrilla 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

 

October-December

By October 1971, the Pakistan Army was overwhelmed by the Mukti Bahini attack and was forced to abandon all border areas and take up positions based on cantonments or major cities. During this period, Mukti Bahini had liberated about 80% of the territory of Bangladesh. In early November 1971, the Combined Forces were formed out of Mukti Bahini and Indian Allied Forces. At this stage, the entire war zone of Bangladesh was divided into 4 parts and the battle plan was developed under the leadership of this joint command. 3 December 1971 Pakistan suddenly attacked India and turned the tide of the war. On 6th December 1971, Mukti Bahini’s morale increased significantly when India recognized independent and sovereign Bangladesh. At this stage, in a coordinated battle plan, the combined forces advanced with great speed and overwhelmed the Pakistan Army.

 

Indian involvement at the Liberation War:

The Indian Eastern Command took part in this final battle. They were headquartered at Fort William in Calcutta and commanded by Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Arora. In this battle, Indians had three corps (7 divisions), a communication zone, a para brigade, 3 brigade groups, 12 medium regiments of artillery, 48 field regiments of artillery, 1 armored regiment, 2 independent armored brigades, 3 engineer brigades, 29 BSF. Battalion participated. The number of Indian martyrs in this war is 69 officers, 60 JCOs, 3 NCOs and 1290 soldiers. 211 officers, 160 JCOs, 11 NCOs and 3676 soldiers were injured. Also 3 JCOs and 53 soldiers were missing in the battle.

 

Surrender and aftermath

On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Chief Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan and Commander of Pakistan Army forces 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.

Bangladesh sought admission to the UN with most voting in its favour. China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally. The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition. 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.

India treated all the PoWs in strict accordance with the Geneva Convention, rule 1925. It released more than 93,000 Pakistani PoWs in five months.Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were pardoned by India.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, most notably Kargil (which was in turn the focal point of a war between the two nations in 1999). This was done as a measure of promoting “lasting peace” and acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India. But some in India felt the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for leniency, arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if Pakistanis perceived the accord as overly harsh.

 

 

Reaction in West Pakistan to the Liberation 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.

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”.