The war broke out on 26 March 1971 as army units directed by West Pakistan launched a military operation in East Pakistan against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, and armed personnel who were demanding separation of the East from West Pakistan. Bengali military, paramilitary, and civilians formed the Mukti Bahini (Bengali: মুক্তি বাহিনী "Liberation Army") and used guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the West Pakistan army. India provided economic, military and diplomatic support to the Mukti Bahini rebels, leading Pakistan to launch Operation Chengiz Khan, a pre-emptive attack on the western border of India which started the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
On 16 December 1971, the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini defeated the West Pakistani forces deployed in the East. The resulting surrender was the largest in number of prisoners of war since World War II.
Background
In August 1947, the Partition of British India gave birth to two new states; a secular state named India and an Islamic state named Pakistan. But Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west of India. The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, 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.On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[9] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment[10] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.[11]
The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces[12] led to East Pakistan declaring its independence as the state of Bangladesh and to the start of civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[13][14] flooding into the eastern provinces of India.[13] Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.
East Pakistani grievances
Economic 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. | |||
Political differences
East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, he were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings.
The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the 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 Sindhi and former professor), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.[16] 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 Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike. Bhutto feared a civil war, therefore, he sent his most trusted companion, dr. Mubashir Hassan.[16] A message was convened and Mujib decided to meet Bhutto.[16] Upon his arrival, Mujib met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Mujib as Premier and Bhutto as President.[16] However, these developments were unaware to military, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Mujib to reached a decision.[16]
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 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.
Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dhaka. 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 and 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 Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny of Bengali soldiers.
Military imbalance
Bengalis were underrepresented 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.[17] 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.[17] 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.[18][19]Language controversy
Main article: Bengali Language Movement
In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor-General, declared in Dhaka (then usually spelled Dacca in English) that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the common language for all of Pakistan.[20] This proved highly controversial, since Urdu was a language that was only spoken in the West by Muhajirs and in the East by Biharis, although the Urdu language had been promoted as the lingua franca of Indian Muslims by political and religious leaders such as Sir Khwaja Salimullah, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and Maulvi Abdul Haq. The language was considered a vital element of the Islamic culture for Indian Muslims; Hindi and the Devanagari script were seen as fundamentals of Hindu culture. The majority groups in West Pakistan spoke Punjabi, while the Bengali language was spoken by the vast majority of East Pakistanis.[21] The language controversy eventually reached a point where East Pakistan revolted while the other part of Pakistan remained calm even though Punjabi was spoken by the majority groups of West Pakistan. Several students and civilians lost their lives in a police crackdown on 21 February 1952.[21] The day is revered in Bangladesh and in West Bengal as the Language Martyrs' Day. Later, in memory of the 1952 killings, UNESCO declared 21 February as the International Mother Language Day in 1999.[22]In West Pakistan, the movement was seen as a sectional uprising against Pakistani national interests[23] and the founding ideology of Pakistan, the Two-Nation Theory.[24] West Pakistani politicians considered Urdu a product of Indian Islamic culture,[25] as Ayub Khan said, as late as 1967, "East Bengalis... still are under considerable Hindu culture and influence."[25] But, the deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.[24][25]
Response to the 1970 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,[26] killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people. Though the exact death toll is not known, it is considered the deadliest tropical cyclone on record.[27] 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.[28]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.[29] On 19 November, students held a march in Dhaka protesting the slowness of the government response.[30] Maulana 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 Dhaka 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.[31] This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This is one of the first times that a natural event helped to trigger a civil war.[32]
Operation Searchlight
A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army – codenamed Operation Searchlight – started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement[33] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,[34] within one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.[35]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 atrocities. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, which ultimately resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. The international media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which vary greatly, from 5,000–35,000 in Dhaka, and 200,000–3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole,[7][36] which therefore can be termed as Genocide.
According to the Asia Times,[37]
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, Dhaka, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the University of Dhaka were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall – the Jagannath Hall – was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered. The Pakistani army denies any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamood-ur-Rehman 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 Dhaka University are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Prof. Nurul Ullah of the East Pakistan Engineering University, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories.[38]
Hindu areas suffered particularly heavy blows. By midnight, Dhaka was burning,[citation needed] especially the Hindu dominated eastern part of the city. Time magazine reported on 2 August 1971, "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Pakistani military hatred."
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Mujib with multiple charges. The tribunal's sentence was never made public, but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case.[citation needed] Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dhaka to avoid arrest. The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan.[39]
Declaration of independence
The violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces on 25 March 1971, proved the last straw to the efforts to negotiate a settlement. Following these outrages, 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 Dhaka. 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.[40][41]Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message.[42] Mujib 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).
A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in Chittagong. The message was translated to Bangla by Dr. Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Radio Pakistan. They crossed Kalurghat Bridge into an area controlled by an East Bengal Regiment under Major Ziaur Rahman. Bengali soldiers guarded the station as engineers prepared for transmission. At 19:45 hrs on 27 March 1971, Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast the announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur. On 28 March Major Ziaur Rahman made another announcement,which was as follows:
This is Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. At his direction, I have taken command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalis to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our Motherland. By the grace of Allah, victory is ours. Joy Bangla. Audio of Zia's announcement (interview – Belal Mohammed)The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited. The message was picked up by a Japanese ship in Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia and later by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
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.[43] There is controversy now as to when Major Zia gave his speech. BNP sources maintain that it was 26 March, and there was no message regarding declaration of independence from Mujibur Rahman. Pakistani sources, like Siddiq Salik in Witness to Surrender had written that he heard about Mujibor Rahman's message on the Radio while Operation Searchlight was going on, and Maj. Gen. Hakeem A. Qureshi in his book The 1971 Indo-Pak War: A Soldier's Narrative, gives the date of Zia's speech as 27 March 1971.[44]
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.[45] Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971.
Liberation war
March to June
See also: Mukti Bahini
At first resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.[46] 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 increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the 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, the then government party 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 Ahmed as Prime Minister, and General Mohammad Ataul Ghani Osmany 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.[47]
June – September
Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M A G Osmany 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). Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors each with a commander chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani army who joined the Mukti Bahini to conduct guerrilla operations and train fighters. 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 Osmany and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C's special force.[48] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.[49]Guerrilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August. Economic and military targets in Dhaka were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong on 16 August 1971. Pakistani reprisals claimed lives of thousands of civilians.[citation needed] The Indian army took over supplying the Mukti Bahini from the BSF. They organised six sectors for supplying the Bangladesh forces.
October – December
Bangladesh conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 BOPs 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.[50] Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent 5 battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.Indian involvement
See also: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
| Major battles |
Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi declared war on Pakistan and in aid of the Mukti Bahini, then ordered the immediate mobilisation of troops and launched the full-scale invasion. This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War.
Three Indian corps were involved in the invasion of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more fighting irregularly. This was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions.[51] The Indians quickly overran the country, 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 guerrilla attacks by the Mukti Bahini.[52] Unable to defend Dhaka, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971.
The speed of the Indian strategy can be gauged by the fact that one of the regiments of Indian army (7 Punjab now 8 Mechanised Inf Regiment) fought the liberation war along the Jessore and Khulna axis. They were newly converted to a mechanised regiment and it took them just 1 week to reach Khulna after capturing Jessore. Their losses were limited to just 2 newly acquired APCs (SKOT) from the Russians.
India's external intelligence agency, the RAW, played a crucial role in providing logistic support to the Mukti Bahini during the initial stages of the war. RAW's operations, in then-East Pakistan, was the largest covert operation in the history of South Asia.
Pakistani response
Pakistan launched a number of armoured thrusts along India's western front in attempts to force Indian troops away from East Pakistan. Pakistan tried to fight back and boost the sagging morale by incorporating the Special Services Group commandos in sabotage and rescue missions.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 airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lal Munir Hat and Shamsher Nagar. Sea Hawks from 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.
Surrender and aftermath
Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India. The accord also gave back more than 13,000 km² of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas;[57] 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. But some in India 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. No one had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight and there was also anger at 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 hatred 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".[58] Pakistan also failed to gather international support, and found itself fighting a lone battle with only the USA providing any external help. This further embittered the Pakistanis who had faced the worst military defeat of an army in decades.The debacle immediately prompted an enquiry headed by Justice Hamoodur Rahman. Called the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, it was initially suppressed by Bhutto as it put the military in a poor light. When it was declassified, it showed many failings from the strategic to the tactical levels. It also condemned the atrocities and the war crimes committed by the armed forces. It confirmed the looting, rapes and the killings by the Pakistan Army and their local agents although the figures are far lower than the ones quoted by Bangladesh. According to Bangladeshi sources, 200,000 women were raped and over 3 million people were killed, while the Rahman Commission report in Pakistan claimed 26,000 died and the rapes were in the hundreds. However, the army's role in splintering Pakistan after its greatest military debacle was largely ignored by successive Pakistani governments.[citation needed]
Atrocities
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,[61] at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.[62] Just 2 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 Dhaka, and murdered them, leaving the dead bodies in a mass grave.[63] There are many mass graves in Bangladesh, and as years pass, more are being discovered (such as one in an old well near a mosque in Dhaka, located in the non-Bengali region of the city, which was discovered in August 1999).[64] The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dhaka to the United States State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dhaka University and other civilians.[65] Numerous women were tortured, raped and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate. Bangladeshi sources cite a figure of 200,000 women raped, giving birth to thousands of war babies. The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex-slaves inside the Dhaka Cantonment. Most of the girls were captured from Dhaka University and private homes.[66] There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,[67] but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.[68]
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 Dhaka and India, and officials in Washington DC.[69] These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms selective genocide[70] and genocide (see The Blood Telegram) to describe 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,[71][72] although elsewhere, particularly in Pakistan, the actual death toll, motives, extent, and destructive impact of the actions of the Pakistani forces are disputed.
Foreign reaction
USA and USSR
The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the genocidal activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably the Blood telegram.
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 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.
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. Believing that just such an Indian attack was imminent, Nixon encouraged China to mobilise its armed forces along its border with India to discourage such an eventuality; the Chinese did not, however, respond in this manner, and instead threw their weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.United Nations
Though the UN condemned the human rights violations, it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war. The Security Council assembled on 4 December to discuss the volatile situation in South Asia. The USSR vetoed the resolution twice. After lengthy discussions on 7 December, the General Assembly promptly adopted by a majority resolution calling for an "immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops." The United States on 12 December requested that the Security Council be reconvened. However, by the time it was reconvened and proposals were finalised, the war had ended, making the measures merely academic.The inaction of the United Nations in face of the East Pakistan crisis was widely criticised. The conflict also exposed the delay in decision making that failed to address the underlying issues in time.[citation needed]
Recipients of Bangladeshi military awards in 1971
Four categories of gallantry awards were created after the war in Bangladesh to honor those who had demonstrated outstanding bravery in the war. These were:- Bir Sreshţho (Bangla: বীরশ্রেষ্ঠ)
- Bir Uttom (Bangla: বীর উত্তম)
- Bir Bikrôm (Bangla: বীর বিক্রম)
- Bir Protik (Bangla: বীর প্রতীক)
Bir Sreshtho
Main article: Bir Sreshtho
The Bir Sreshtho (The Most Valiant Hero) is the highest military award of Bangladesh. It was awarded to seven freedom fighters who showed utmost bravery and made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation in the Liberation War.The recipients are:
Bangladesh Army
- Engineroom Artificer Ruhul Amin †
Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Rifles
Bir Uttom
Main article: Bir Uttom
| No. | NAME | SECTOR | RANK | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Abdur Rob[disambiguation needed] | Army chief, AHQ | Lieutenant Colonel | ||||
| 02 | K M Shafiullah | Commander, S Force | Major | ||||
| 03 | Ziaur Rahman | Commander, Z Force | Major | ||||
| 04 | Chittoronjon Datta | Sector Commander-04 | Major | ||||
| 05 | Kazi Nuruzzaman | Sector Commander-07 | Major | ||||
| 06 | Mir Showkat Ali | Sector Commander-05 | Major | ||||
| 07 | Khaled Mosharraf | Commander, K Force | Major | ||||
| 08 | Abdul Manzur | Sector Commander-08 | Major | ||||
| 09 | Abu Taher | Sector Commander-11 | Major | ||||
| 10 | A N M Nuruzzaman | Sector Commander-03 | Captain | ||||
| 11 | Rafiqul Islam,1971 | Sector Commander-01 | Captain | ||||
| 12 | Abdus Salek Choudhury | Sector Commander-02 | Captain | ||||
| 13 | Aminul Haque | Commander, 8 East Bengal | Major | ||||
| 14 | Khaja Nijam Uddin,Martyr | Sector-04 | Leader Public Force/Gano Bahini | ||||
| 15 | A K Khandker | Deputy Chief of Command | Group Captain | ||||
| 16 | Shahjahan Omar | - | - | ||||
| 17 | Kader Siddique | - | - | ||||
| 18 | Liakat Ali Khan | - | - | ||||
| 19 | Shahabuddin Ahmed, 1971 | - | - | ||||
| 20 | Anwar Hossain Pahari | - | - | ||||
| 21 | Aftab Ali | - (Sector-11)3rd East Bengal | subeder | 22 | Motiur Rahman | - | Lieutenant Colonel |
Bir Bikrom
Main article: Bir Bikrom
175 fighters have been awarded on 15 December, 1973 for their heroic actions at the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The government of Bangladesh declared the name of the awardees in Bangladesh Gazette on 15 December 1973.- Bir Bikrom General Ershad Ali Khan
- Bir Bikrom Mozammel Hoque
Bir Protik
Main article: Bir Protik
This award was declared on 15 December, 1973. A total of 426 people have received the award so far, all for their actions during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971.- MRS. TARAMON BIBI
Artistic depictions of Bangladesh Liberation War
The four documentaries made during the War - Zahir Raihan's Stop Genocide and A State Is Born, Babulal Chowdhry's Innocent Millions, Alamgir Kabir's Liberation Fighters - are described as the first films made in Bangladesh, as earlier films were all made in Pakistan or India, larger entities that Bangladesh belonged to. Muktir Gaan, based on footage shot by Leer Levin during the war, by Tareq and Kathrine Masud is critically the most acclaimed Bangladeshi documentary. The directors followed the film with two sequels - Mukitr Katha and Narir Katha. Their feature film on the same subject, Matir Moyna, won the FIPRESCII award at Cannes Film Festival.
There have been numerous poems and novels written on the Liberation war, including Shamsur Rahman's famous poems written during the War. Arguably it is the most often used subject for Bangladeshi literature since 1971. The monuments made to commemorate the War are the highest esteemed monuments in Bangladesh.
Films
- Stop Genocide – documentary by Zahir Raihan, (1971)
- Nine Months to Freedom: The Story of Bangladesh – documentary by S. Sukhdev (1972)
- Shei Rater Kotha Bolte Eshechi ("I Have Come to Speak of That Night") – documentary by Kawsar Chowdhury (2001).
- Muktir Gaan (Song of Freedom), Muktir Katha and Narir Katha – three different Bangla documentaries by Tareque and Catherine Masud
- Matir Moina directed by Tareque Masud, (2002) - winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival[1]
- Border, a 1997 Bollywood war film directed by J.P.Dutta. This movie is an adaptation from real life events that happened at the Battle of Longewala fought in Rajasthan (Western Theatre) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971[2]
- Aguner Parashmani – feature film by Humayun Ahmed
- Shyamal Chhaya (Greenish Shade (of Bangladesh) – feature film by Humayun Ahmed
- Ekattorer Jishu (Jesus of 71) – feature film by Nasiruddin Yusuf
- Joy Jatra (Victory Procession) – feature film by Tauqir Ahmed
- Arunodoyer Agnishakshi (Witness of the Sun Rise)
- Dhire Bohey Meghna (The Meghna River Flows Slowly...)
- Raktakto Bangla (The Blood-stained Bengal)
- Ora Egaro Jon (They were a group of 11..)
- Shangram (Struggle)
- Bagha Bangali (Bengal Tigers)
- Kolmilata
- Megher Anek Rang (Clouds have Many Shades)
Literature
- Ami Virangana Balchhi (I am the Heroine of War, Speaking...) – memoir by Nilima Ibrahim
- Ekatture Uttar Ronangaon ('71 Northern Front) – Factual War Accounts (in Bangla) by Muhammad Hamidullah Khan, Sector Commander 11, War of Independence – Bangladesh
- Ghum Nei (Sleepless Nights) – memoir by Nasiruddin Yusuf
- Ami Bijoy Dekhechi (I have witnessed the Victory) – memoir by M. R. Akhtar Mukul
- A Tale of Millions – memoir by Major (R) Rafik Ul Islam
- Ekattorer Dinguli (Days of 71) – memoir by Jahanara Imam (1986) ISBN 984-480-000-5
- Maa (The Mother) – novel by Anisul Hoque (2003) ISBN 984-458-422-1
- Jochhna o Janani'r Galpo (The Tale of Moonlight and the Motherland) – novel by Humayun Ahmed (2004) ISBN 984-8682-76-7
- Of Blood and Fire –
- September on Jessore Road – poem by Allen Ginsberg[3]
- A Golden Age – novel by Tahmima Anam
Music
- The Concert for Bangladesh, New York, 1971
- Song for Bangladesh - song by Joan Baez[4]
- Bangla Desh - song by George Harrison
- Shrestho - album by Cryptic Fate
Art
- Jatiyo Smriti Soudho (National Monument for Remembrance) in Savar, Dhaka
- Aparajeyo Bangla (Invincible Bengal) – sculpture in Dhaka University
- Shabash Bangladesh (Bravo, Bangladesh) – sculpture in Rajshahi University
- Shoparjito Shadhinota (Self Achieved Freedom) – sculpture in Dhaka University
Museums
- Liberation War Museum, Dhaka
- Shahid Smriti Sangrohoshala (Martyr Memorial Museum), Rajshahi
Artistic depictions of the Bengali Language Movement
Songs
- Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano (My Brothers Blood Spattered) by Abdul Gaffar Choudhury
- Ora Amar Mukher Kotha (They are my Words) by Abdul Latif
- Ekushey February (21 February) by Kabir Suman
Poems
- Kadte Ashini Fashir Dabi Niye Ashechi (I have not come to mourn but to appeal for hanging) by Mahbub Ul Alam Choudhury
- Bornomala, Amar Dukhini Bornomala by Shamsur Rahman
- February 1969 by Shamsur Rahman
- Amake ki malyo debe dao by Nirmalendu Goon
- Chithi by Abu Zafar Obaidullah
- Shobhyotar Monibondhe by Syed Shamsul Haque
Novels
- Ekushey February by Zahir Raihan
- Artonaad by Shawkat Osman
- Nirontor Ghontadhoni by Selina Hossain
Films
- Jibon Theke Neya (Taken from Life) directed by Zahir Raihan
Stage play
- Kobor (Grave) by Munier Chowdhury
Timeline of Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War started on March 26, 1971 and ended on December 16, 1971. Some of the major events of the war are listed in the timeline below.Timeline
Before the war
- March 1: General Yahya Khan calls off the session of National Council to be held on March 3 in a radio address.[1]
- March 7: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - leader of Awami League party that had just won a landslide victory in East Pakistan in the Federal Elections - announces to a jubilant crowd at the Dhaka Race Course ground, "The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation! The struggle this time is the struggle for independence!".[2]
- March 9: Workers of Chittagong port refuse to unload weapons from the ship 'Swat'.
- March 10: Expatriate Bengali students demonstrate in front of the United Nations Headquarters and calls for UN intervention to put an end to violence on Bengali people.[3]
- March 16: Yahya Khan starts negotiation with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
- March 19: Nearly 50 people die as Pakistan Army opens fire on demonstrators at Jaydevpur.[4]
- March 24: Pakistan Army opens fire on Bengali demonstrators in Syedpur, Rangpur and Chittagong. More than a thousand people are killed.[5]
Events of the War
March
- March 25: Pakistan Army starts Operation Searchlight in Dhaka and rest of the country, attacking political activists, students, and Bengali members of armed forces and police
- March 26: Independence of Bangladesh is declared by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman shortly before his arrest. This is Bangladesh's official Independence Day.
- March 31: Kushtia resistance begins.
April
- April 2: Jinjira massacre.
- April 6: The Blood Telegram
- April 11: Radio address by Tajuddin Ahmad, the Prime Minister.
- April 10: A provisional Bangladesh government-in-exile is formed.
- April 12: M. A. G. Osmani takes up the command of Bangladesh Armed Forces.
- April 17: A provisional government-in-exile took oath in Boiddonathtola (now called Mujibnagar) in Meherpur District
- April 18: Battle of Daruin, Comilla and Battle of Rangamati-Mahalchari waterway, Chittagong Hill Tracts.
- April 24: Formation of Bangladesh Action Committee at Coventry, UK by non-resident Bangladeshis.
- April 28: Tajuddin pleas for arms aid to neighbors.
May
- May 5: Gopalpur massacre.[6]
- May 15: Indian army starts aiding Mukti Bahini.[7]
- May 20:The Chuknagar massacre takes place at Khulna where the Pakistan army kills nearly 10 thousand people
- May 24: Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra finds home in Kolkata.
July
- July 11–17: Sector Commanders Conference 1971.
August
- August 1: The Concert for Bangladesh in Madison Square Garden, New York by George Harrison and friends.
- August 16: Operation Jackpot, Bangladesh naval commando operation.
- August 20: Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman (military pilot)'s attempt to defect by hijacking a fighter.
- August 30: Pakistan Army crackdown on Dhaka guerrillas.[8]
September
- September 5: Battle of Goahati, Jessore.
- September 28: Bangladesh Air Force starts functioning.
October
- October 13: Dhaka guerrillas kill Abdul Monem Khan, governor of East Pakistan.
- October 28: Battle of Dhalai Outpost, Srimongol.
- October 31 to November 3: Battle of Dhalai: Indian attack from Tripura into East Pakistan to stop Pakistani cross-border shelling.
November
- November 9: Six small ships constitute the first fleet of Bangladesh Navy.
- November 16: Battle of Ajmiriganj, an 18 hour encounter between MB and Pakistan army. A famous freedom fighter, Jagatyoti Das, is martyred.
- November 20 to November 21: Battle of Garibpur: Indian attack in Boyra salient in East Pakistan
- November 21: Mitro Bahini, the joint force of Bngladesh and Indian army is formed.
- November 22 to December 13, and sporadic fighting to December 16: Battle of Hilli: Indian attack on Bogra in East Pakistan.
December (Indo-Pakistan War)
- December 3: Bangladesh Air Force destroys Pakistani oil depots[9].. Pakistani air attacks on India result in India declaring war on Pakistan.
- December 4 : Battle of Longewala: Indians stop a Pakistani invasion directed at Jaisalmer.
- December 5 : Battle of Basantar: Indians attack and take over Pakistani territory opposite Jammu.
- December 6: India becomes the first country to recognize Bangladesh. Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra becomes Bangladesh Betar.
- December 7: Liberation of Jessore, Sylhet and Moulovi Bazar.
- December 8: Operation Python: Indian naval attack on Karachi
- December 9: Battle of Kushtia: Indian attack from West Bengal into East Pakistan.
- Chandpur and Daudkandi liberated.
- December 10: Liberation of Laksham. Two Bangladeshi ships sunk mistakenly by Indian air attack.
- December 11: Liberation of Hilli, Mymenshingh, Kushtia and Noakhali. USS Enterprise is deployed by the USA in the Bay of Bengal to intimidate Indian Navy.
- December 13: Soviet Navy deploys a group of ships to counter USS Enterprise.
- December 14: Selective genocide of nationalist intellectuals. Liberation of Bogra.
- December 16: Pakistan Army surrenders to Mitro Bahini represented by Jagjit Singh Aurora of the Indian Army faction of the military coalition.
- Freedom of Bangladeshi people.
- December 22: The provisional government of Bangladesh arrives in Dhaka from exile.
Mukti Bahini
Origins
Although Mukti Bahini was formed to fight off the military crackdown by the Pakistan army on March 25, 1971 during the climax of the Bangladesh freedom movement, The crisis had already started taking shape with anti-Ayub uprising in 1969 and precipitated into a political crisis at the height of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Six-point movement beginning in the 1970s. In March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in what was then East Pakistan (later, Bangladesh) was met by harsh[3] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment[4] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.[5] India started actively aiding and re-organising what was by this time already the nucleus of the Mukti Bahini.This led to a crackdown by West Pakistan forces[6] became an important factor in precipitating the civil war as a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[7][8] came flooding to the eastern provinces of India.[7]The immediate precursor of the Mukti Bahini was Mukti Fauj ("Fauj" is the Urdu originally from Persian borrowed from Arabic for "Brigade" exported into several languages in South Asia including Bengali), which was preceded denominationally by the sangram parishads formed in the cities and villages by the student and youth leaderships in early March 1971. When and how the Mukti Fauj was created is not clear nor is the later adoption of the name Mukti Bahini. It is, however, certain that the names originated generically refer to the people who fought in the Bangladesh liberation war.
Since the anti-Ayub uprising in 1969 and during the height of Mujib's six points movement, there was a growing movement among the Bengalis in East Pakistan to become independent driven by the nationalists, radicals and leftists. After the election of 1970, the subsequent crisis strengthened that feeling within the people. Sheikh Mujib himself was facing immense pressure from most prominent political quarters, especially the ultra-nationalist young student leaders, to declare independence without delay. Armed preparations were going on by some leftist and nationalist groups, and the Bengali army officers and soldiers were prepared to defect. At the call of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the people of East Pakistan joined in a peaceful movement for non-cooperation from 3 March 1971, and 7th march and onward, which lasted up to midnight of 25 March 1971. On this date the Pakistani Army cracked down upon unarmed civilians to take control of the administration. During the army crackdown on the night of March 25, 1971, there were reports of small scale resistance notably at Iqbal Hall, Dhaka University and at the Rajarbagh Police Headquarter. The latter initially put a strong fight against the Pakistan Army. As political events gathered momentum, the stage was set for a clash between the Pakistan Army and the Bengali people vowing for independence. Bengali members of the Army were also defecting and gathering in various pockets of the country.
All these early fights were disorganized and futile because of the greater military strength of the Pakistani Army. Outside of Dhaka, resistance was more successful. The earliest move towards forming a liberation army officially came from the declaration of independence made by Major Ziaur Rahman of East Bengal Regiment on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the declaration made from Kalurghat Betar Kendra (Chittagong) on March 27, 1971, Zia assumed the title of "provisional commander in chief of the Bangladesh Liberation Army", though his area of operation remained confined to Chittagong and Noakhali areas. Major Ziaur Rahman's declaration on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marked a break with Pakistan by the Bengali units of the army.
Organization during war
Though prolonged Bengali resistance was not anticipated by Pakistani planners of Operation Searchlight,[9] when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, the Mukti Bahini were becoming increasingly visible. Headed by Colonel (later, General) M. A. G. Osmani, a retired Pakistani Army officer, this band was raised as Mujib's action arm and security force before assuming the character of a conventional guerrilla force. After the declaration of independence, the Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry.On April 12, 1971 Colonel (later General) M. A. G. Osmani assumed the command of armed forces at Teliapara (Sylhet) headquarters. Osmani was made the commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces on April 17, 1971. Serious initiative for organising the Bangladesh liberation army was taken between 11–17 July. In a meeting of the sector commanders in Kolkata, four important resolutions were taken in consideration of strategic aspects of the war, existing problems and future course of resistance. These were:
- Composition and tactics of the combatants would be as follows:
- Guerrilla teams comprising 5 to 10 trained members would be sent to specific areas of Bangladesh with specific assignments
- Combat soldiers would carry out frontal attacks against the enemy. Between 50 and 100 per cent would carry arms. Intelligence volunteers would be engaged to collect information about the enemy. 30 percent of these people would be equipped with weapons;
- The regular forces would be organised into battalions and sectors.
- The following strategies would be adopted while carrying out military operations against the enemy
- A large number of guerrillas would be sent out inside Bangladesh to carry out raids and ambushes;
- Industries would be brought to a standstill and electricity supply would be disrupted;
- Pakistanis would be obstructed in exporting manufactured goods and raw materials;
- Communication network would be destroyed in order to obstruct enemy movements;
- Enemy forces would be forced to disperse and scatter for strategic gains;
- The whole area of Bangladesh would be divided into 11 sectors.
Regular and irregular forces
The irregular forces, which after initial training joined different sectors, consisted of the students, peasants, workers and political activists. Irregular forces were initiated inside Bangladesh province to adopt guerrilla warfare against the enemy. The regular forces were engaged in fighting the usual way.
The Mukti Bahini obtained strength from the two main streams of fighting elements: members of armed forces of erstwhile East Pakistan and members of the urban and rural youths many of whome were volunteers. Other groups included members of sangram parishads, youth and student wings of Awami League, NAP, Leftist-Communist Parties and radical groups. The Mukti Bahini had several factions. The foremost one was organized by the members of the regular armed force, who were generally known as Freedom Fighters (FF). Then there was Bangladesh Liberation Forces (BLF) led by four youth leaders of the political wing of Sheikh Mujib's Awami League and the third one generally known as Special Guerrilla Forces (SGF) led by the Communist Party of Bangladesh, National Awami Party, and Bangladesh Students Union. They then jointly launched guerrilla operations against the Pakistani Army causing heavy damages and casualties. This setback prompted the Pakistani Army to induct Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (mostly members of Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Biharis who had settled during the time of partition. This helped Pakistan stem the tide somewhat as the monsoon approached in the months of June and July.
Bangladesh Navy was constituted in August 1971. Initially, there were two ships and 45 navy personnel. These ships carried out many successful raids on the Pakistani fleet. But both of these ships were mistakenly hit and destroyed by Indian fighter planes on 10 December 1971, when they were about to launch a major attack on Mongla seaport.
Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Air Force started functioning on 28 September at Dimapur in Nagaland, under the command of Air Commodore AK Khondakar. Initially, it consisted of 17 officers, 50 technicians, 2 planes and 1 helicopter. The Air Force carried out more than twelve sorties against Pakistani targets and was quite successful during the initial stages of the Indian attack in early December.Independent forces
In addition, there were also some independent forces that fought in various regions of Bangladesh and liberated many areas. These included Mujib Bahini which was organized in India. Major General Oban of the Indian Army and Student League leaders Serajul Alam Khan, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, Kazi Arif Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Tofael Ahmed, A. S. M. Abdur Rab, Shahjahan Siraj, Nur E Alam Siddiqi, and Abdul Quddus Makhon were organisers of this Bahini. There was the Kaderia Bahini under Kader Siddique of Tangail, Afsar Bahini and Aftab Bahini of Mymensingh,Tiger Bahini under Abu Siddique Ahmed of Netrakona Latif Mirza Bahini of Sirajganj, Akbar Hossain Bahini of Jhinaidah, Quddus Molla and Gafur Bahini of Barisal, Hemayet Bahini under Hemayet Uddin of Faridpur..There were also several communist/leftist groups who clashed with the Pakistan Army, and controlled some areas independently.Leftist factions
In addition,there were some other groups of freedom fighters which were controlled by the Leftist parties and groups including the NAP and Communist Parties. Among others, Siraj Sikder raised a strong guerrilla force which fought several battles with the Pakistani soldiers in Payarabagan, Barisal. Although there were ideological conflicts among the communist parties (most notably, split into pro-soviet and pro-Chinese factions and widespread split within the pro-Chinese faction) on deciding a common action in the context of Bangladesh Liberation, many of the individuals and leaders of Mukti Bahini were deeply influenced by the leftist ideology in general. There were strong concerns among the Indian authority and members of the Awami League led provisional government not to lose the control of the liberation war to the leftists. Nevertheless many leftists overcame these internal and external difficulties and actively participated in the Liberation war with the main nucleus of the Mukti Bahini.Sectors of Liberation War
In this meeting Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors and each Sector was assigned a Sector Commander. The 10th Sector was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C’s special force.[10]
The Sector Commanders were chosen from defected officers of Pakistan army who joined the Mukti Bahini. These trained officers directed the guerrilla warfare as well as trained the independence militia who lacked formal training on military operations. Most of these training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with direct assistance from India.
For better efficiency in combat operations, each of the sectors were divided into a number of sub-sectors. The table below provides a list of the sectors along with the name of the sector commanders.
| Sectors of Bangladesh Liberation War | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Area | Sector Commander |
| 1 | Chittagong District, Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the entire eastern area of the Noakhali District on the banks of the river Muhuri. | Major Ziaur Rahman, later replaced by Major Rafiqul Islam |
| 2 | Districts of Dhaka, Comilla, Faridpur, and part of Noakhali District. | Major Khaled Mosharraf, later replaced by Major ATM Haider |
| 3 | Area between Churaman Kathi (near Sreemangal) and Sylhet in the north and Singerbil of Brahmanbaria in the south. | Major KM Shafiullah, later replaced by Major ANM Nuruzzaman. |
| 4 | Area from Habiganj District on the north to Kanaighat Police Station on the south along the 100 mile long border with India. | Major Chittarajan Datta, later replaced by Captain A Rab. |
| 5 | Area from Durgapur to Danki (Tamabil) of Sylhet District and the entire area up to the eastern borders of the district. | Major Mir Shawkat Ali |
| 6 | Rangpur District and part of Dinajpur District. | Wing Commander M Khademul Bashar |
| 7 | Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra and part of Dinajpur District. | Major Nazmul Huq, later replaced by Subedar Major A Rab and Kazi Nuruzzaman. |
| 8 | In April 1971, the operational area of the sector comprised the districts of Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, Faridpur and Patuakhali. At the end of May the sector was reconstituted and comprised the districts of Kuhstia, Jessore, Khulna, Satkhira and the northern part of Faridpur district. | Major Abu Osman Chowdhury, later replaced by Major MA Manzur. |
| 9 | Barisal, Patuakhali, and parts of the district of Khulna and Faridpur. | Major M A Jalil later replaced by Major MA Manzur and Major Joynal Abedin. |
| 10 | This sector was constituted with the naval commandos. | Indian commander MN Sumanta. |
| 11 | Mymensingh and Tangail. | Major M Abu Taher, later replaced by Squadron Leader Hamidullah. |
| Source: Sectors of the War of Liberation; Shirin, S. M.; Banglapedia. | ||
Mukti Bahini in the final phase
The liberation forces started carrying out massive raids into enemy fronts from October 1971. After the signing of the Indo-Soviet Treaty in August 1971, India began to demonstrate more interest in the Bangladesh war. Eventually India legally entered the war on 3 December 1971 (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971) after Pakistan's preemptive air raids on some Indian cities in the western border. In fact, the Indian soldiers were already participating in the war in different guises since November when the independence fighters had launched the Belonia battle. When the Indian Army planned to avoid battles and seize the capital Dhaka in the shortest campaign possible, the Mukti Bahini made the task much easier by confining the Pakistani army and holding them back from moving towards to capital.Despite the difficult terrain of Bangladesh, the war was won rapidly. Dhaka was liberated in a matter of two weeks. The Mukti Bahini were a major contributing factor in the Indian Victory fighting both as irregulars, and as conventional forces alongside the Indians. Several actions in the heart of the capital and the killing of Monaem Khan, a loyalist, anti-Bengali and ex-governor of East Pakistan, proved the effectiveness and capability of the guerrillas.
On 16 December 1971, commander of the 14 division of Pakistan army Major General Jamshed surrendered to Indian General Nagra near Mirpur bridge in Dhaka. At 10.40 am, the Indian allied force and Kader Siddique entered Dhaka city. That signaled the end of the 9-month long War of Liberation of Bangladesh. Scattered battles were still waged at various places of the country.
The Commander of Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army, Lt. General A. A. K. Niazi surrendered to the commander of the joint Indo-Bangladesh force and the chief of Indian eastern command Lt. General Jagjit Singh Arora. The Bangladesh Forces were represented at the ceremony by Group Captain A. K. Khandker.
Mitro Bahini
Liberation War Museum
The Liberation War Museum (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ যাদুঘর Muktijuddho Jadughôr) is a museum in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh that commemorates the Bangladesh Liberation War, which led to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.The museum opened on 22 March 1996, and has more than 10,000 collectibles and exhibits on display in the museum or stored in its archives.[1] It is currently being rebuilt.
Galleries
The galleries on the ground floor begin with covering the early history of Bangladesh and the Indian independence movement against British Raj in Bengal. A major section records the events of the Language Movement for the recognition of the Bengali language in Pakistan, which is regarded as the beginning of the movement for Bangladesh's independence. Several galleries highlight the building sectional conflict between West Pakistan and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), the rise of Bengali nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the events of 1971, when the postponement by Pakistan's military ruler Gen. Yahya Khan of the convening of the National Assembly, in which Sheikh Mujib's Awami League had won a majority, led to the call for the independence of Bangladesh.The coverage of the liberation war includes the training and operations of the Mukti Bahini, the guerrilla army built by the Awami League to resist Pakistani forces. Several galleries focus on the genocide carried out by the Pakistani army against the Bengali population, with Operation Searchlight targeting Bengali intellectuals, students, Hindus and Awami League leaders, and the humanitarian crisis created with the pouring of an estimated ten million refugees into neighbouring India.[2]
The coverage of the war continues to India's support for the Mukti Bahini and its subsequent direct intervention with the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which led to the surrender of all Pakistani forces in Bangladesh on 16 December, 1971.
The galleries display the weapons used by the Mukti Bahini, personal effects of many Mukti Bahini fighters and civilian victims of the atrocities committed by Pakistani forces, many donated by their families after the conflict. Also displayed are remains of human skulls and bones retrieved from mass graves of civilians killed by Pakistani forces.
