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{{Short description|1971 Bangladesh–Pakistan armed conflict}} | |||
{{For|Indian intervention in the conflict|Indo-Pakistani War of 1971}} | |||
{{pp- |
{{pp-extended|small=yes}} | ||
{{short description|Conflict that led to the independence of the majority-Bengali country}} | |||
{{Use British English|date=December 2015}} | {{Use British English|date=December 2015}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=March |
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} | ||
{{Infobox military conflict | {{Infobox military conflict | ||
| conflict = Bangladesh Liberation War<br />মুক্তিযুদ্ধ |
| conflict = Bangladesh Liberation War<br />মুক্তিযুদ্ধ<br />Muktijuddhô | ||
| partof = ] |
| partof = the ], the ] and the ] | ||
| image = BangladeshLiberationWarMontage.jpg | | image = BangladeshLiberationWarMontage.jpg | ||
| image_size = 280px | | image_size = 280px | ||
| caption = Clockwise from top left |
| caption = '''Clockwise from top left''': ]; ] ]; ] signs the ] to the joint forces in the presence of ];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl%2F5312%2FInstrument+of+Surrender+of+Pakistan+forces+in+Dacca|title=Instrument of Surrender of Pakistan forces in Dacca|website=mea.gov.in|quote=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.|access-date=14 July 2017|archive-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927005435/http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl%2F5312%2FInstrument+of+Surrender+of+Pakistan+forces+in+Dacca|url-status=live}}</ref> and the {{ship|PNS|Ghazi||6}} | ||
| place = ] |
| place = ] (] ])<br />{{Collapsible list|title=Spillovers: | ||
|''Eastern Front:'' | |||
| coordinates = | |||
* ] | |||
| map_type = | |||
* ] | |||
| map_relief = | |||
* parts of ] and ] | |||
| latitude = | |||
|''Western Front:'' | |||
| longitude = | |||
* ] | |||
| map_size = | |||
** ] (]) | |||
| map_marksize = | |||
** ] | |||
| map_caption = | |||
|''Indian Ocean:'' | |||
| map_label = | |||
* ] (Eastern Front) | |||
| date = 26 March – 16 December 1971 | |||
* ] (Western Front) | |||
| territory = ] of ] from ] as the sovereign ] | |||
| result = According to many Indian commentators: Indian victory <ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of India|first=Surjit|last=Mansingh|quote=A rapid and complete Indian victory brought about the liberation of Bangladesh in December|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=225|isbn=9780810865020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Crossing the Frontiers of Conflict in the North East and Jammu and Kashmir: From Real Politik to Ideal Politik|author=V.K. Nayar|year=2005|page=198|publisher=Shipra Publications |isbn=9788175412187|quote=Though Indian victory in the India- Pakistan War 1971 and the liberation of Bangladesh refurbished India's image}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Wars and No Peace Over Kashmir|page=51|author=M. Maroof Raza|quote=key aspect for the Indian Army with its successful liberation of Bangladesh.... Indian victory in 1971, was in the words of M. J. Akbar|year=1996|publisher=Lancer|isbn=9781897829165}}</ref><br> | |||
According to the official ]: Indian-Bangladeshi Victory<ref>Tom Ruys, Olivier Corten, Alexandra Hofer, '''', page 170, ], 2018</ref><ref>S. K. Kochhar, '', page 167, Sterling Publishers, 1984</ref><ref>Avtar Singh Bhasin, ''India-Bangladesh Relations, Documents, 1971-2002: Political'', page 11, Geetika Publishers</ref><ref>Vijay Prakash Malhotra, ''Defence-related Treaties of India'', page 81, ] India, 2002</ref> | |||
* Surrender of Eastern Command of Pakistan | |||
* Establishment of the sovereignty of Bangladesh | |||
| combatant1 = {{flagdeco|Bangladesh|1971}} ] | |||
: {{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} ] | |||
---- | |||
{{flag|India}} | |||
: {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg}} ]<br />{{small|(3–16 December 1971)}} | |||
| combatant2 = {{flag|Pakistan}} | |||
: {{flagicon image|Flag of Pakistan-moon and star.png}} {{small|]}} | |||
---- | |||
* ] | |||
** ]: | |||
* {{small|]}} | |||
* {{small|]}} | |||
* {{small|]}} | |||
* {{small|]}} | |||
* {{small|]}} | |||
| combatant3 = | |||
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|Bangladesh|1971}} ]<br />{{small|(] of ])}}<br /> | |||
{{flagdeco|Bangladesh|1971}} ]<br />{{small|(] of ])}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} ]<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} ] ]<br />{{small|(Commander, ])}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} ] ]<br />{{small|(Commander, ])}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} ] ] <br />{{small|(Commander, ])}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} ] ] <br />{{small|(Second-in-Command, ])}} | |||
---- | |||
{{flagdeco|India}} ]<br />{{small|(])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India}} ]<br />{{small|(])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(GOC-in-C, ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(Dir., ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(COS, Eastern Command)}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(Cdr Training of ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|naval}} ] ]<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|India|air force}} ] ]<br />{{small|(], ])}} | |||
| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan|army}} ] ]<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan|army}} ] ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{small|(Commander, ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan|army}} ] ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />] ] ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />{{flagicon image|Naval Jack of Pakistan.svg}} ] ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{small|(], Eastern Naval Command)}}<br />{{flagicon image|Naval Jack of Pakistan.svg}} ] ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{small|(], ]}})<br />{{flagicon image|Naval Jack of Pakistan.svg}} ] ]{{KIA}}<br />{{small|(], {{ship|PNS|Ghazi||6}})}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan|air force}} ] ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{small|(], Eastern Air Command)}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan|air force}} ] ]<br />{{small|(AOC, Eastern Air Cmnd. (1969–71))}}<br /> | |||
---- | |||
{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(], ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(] of ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(Leader, ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(Leader, ])}}<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br />{{small|(Leader, ])}} | |||
| units1 = | |||
| units2 = | |||
| strength1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} 175,000<ref name=ACIG/><ref>Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway By Owen Bennett-Jones, Lindsay Brown, John Mock, Sarina Singh, Pg 30</ref> <br /> {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg}} 250,000<ref name=ACIG/> | |||
| strength2 = {{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ~365,000 regular troops (~97,000+ in East Pakistan)<ref name=ACIG/> <br /> ~25,000 militiamen<ref>p. 442 ''Indian Army after Independence'' by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 {{ISBN|81-7062-014-7}}</ref> | |||
| casualties1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Mukti Bahini-DeFacto.svg}} ~30,000 killed<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Thiranagama|editor-first1=Sharika|editor-last2=Kelly|editor-first2=Tobias |year=2012 |title=Traitors : suspicion, intimacy, and the ethics of state-building |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia, Pa.|isbn=978-0812222371}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18049515 |title=Bangladesh Islamist leader Ghulam Azam charged |publisher=BBC |date=13 May 2012 |accessdate=13 May 2012}}</ref> <br /> {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg}} 1,426–1,525 killed<ref name="FallOfDacca">Figures from ''The Fall of Dacca'' by ] in ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' dated 23 December 1973 quoted in ''Indian Army after Independence'' by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 {{ISBN|81-7062-014-7}}</ref> <br /> 3,611–4,061 wounded<ref name="FallOfDacca"/> | |||
| casualties2 = {{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ~8,000 killed <br /> ~10,000 wounded <br /> 90,000—93,000 captured<ref name="dailytimes1912005" >{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Shahnawaz |date=19 January 2005 |title=54 Indian PoWs of 1971 war still in Pakistan |url=http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/19-Jan-2005/54-indian-pows-of-1971-war-still-in-pakistan |location=Lahore |newspaper=Daily Times |accessdate=11 October 2011}}</ref> (including 79,676 troops and 10,324—12,192 local militiamen)<ref name="FallOfDacca" /><ref>Figure from ''Pakistani Prisoners of War in India'' by Col S. P. Salunke p. 10 quoted in ''Indian Army after Independence'' by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 ({{ISBN|81-7062-014-7}})</ref><ref name="India's Borderland Disputes: China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0RBOnS8KsgcC&pg=PA117 |title=India's Borderland Disputes: China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal |last=Orton |first=Anna |publisher=Epitome Books |year=2010 |isbn=9789380297156 |page=117}}</ref> | |||
| casualties3 = ]:<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Estimates range between 300,000 and 3 million. | |||
| notes = | |||
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Bangladesh Liberation War}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
| coordinates = | |||
| map_type = | |||
| map_relief = | |||
| latitude = | |||
| longitude = | |||
| map_size = | |||
| map_marksize = | |||
| map_caption = | |||
| map_label = | |||
| date = 26 March – 16 December 1971<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=3|day1=26|year1=1971|month2=12|day2=16|year2=1971}}) | |||
| territory = East Pakistan ] from ] as the ] | |||
| result = Bangladeshi–Indian victory<ref name="Shamshad2017">{{cite book |author=Rizwana Shamshad |title=Bangladeshi Migrants in India: Foreigners, Refugees, or Infiltrators? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9789DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT119 |date=3 October 2017 |publisher=OUP India |isbn=978-0-19-909159-1 |pages=119– |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214830/https://books.google.com/books?id=9789DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT119 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lu2018">{{cite book |author=Jing Lu |title=On State Secession from International Law Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4MJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 |date=30 October 2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-97448-4 |pages=211– |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214833/https://books.google.com/books?id=4MJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="KaulJha2018">{{cite book |author1=J.L. Kaul |author2=Anupam Jha |title=Shifting Horizons of Public International Law: A South Asian Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2e5FDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA241 |date=8 January 2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-81-322-3724-2 |pages=241– |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214803/https://books.google.com/books?id=2e5FDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA241 |url-status=live}}</ref><br />{{bulleted list|]|]}} | |||
| combatant1 = {{flagdeco|Provisional Government of Bangladesh}} ''']'''<br />{{flagdeco|India}} ''']''' | |||
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Pakistan.svg}} ''']''' | |||
| units1 = {{Armed forces|Provisional Government of Bangladesh}}<br />{{Armed forces|India}} (3–16 Dec.) | |||
| units2 = {{Armed forces|Pakistan}} | |||
{{Hr}} | |||
{{Collapsible list|title=Paramilitary forces, political parties and militias: | |||
| {{flagicon image|Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Flag.svg}} ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
}} | |||
| commander1 = '''Political:'''<br />{{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh}} ]<br />{{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh}} ]<br />{{flag icon|India}} ]<br /><br />'''Military:'''<br />{{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh|military}} ]<br />{{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh|military}} ]<br />{{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh|military}} ]<br />{{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh|military}} ]<br />{{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh|military}} ]<br />{{flag icon|India|military}} ]<br />{{flag icon|India|military}} ] | |||
| commander2 = '''Political:'''<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Pakistan.svg}} ]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Pakistan.svg}} ]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Pakistan.svg}} ]<br />{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} ]<br /><br />'''Military:'''<br />{{flag icon|Pakistan|military}} ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{flag icon|Pakistan|military}} ]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{flag icon|Pakistan|military}} ]{{Surrendered}} | |||
{{Hr}} | |||
{{Collapsible list|title=Militias: | |||
| {{flagicon image|Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Flag.svg}} ]{{executed}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ]{{executed}} | |||
| ]{{pow}} | |||
}} | |||
| strength1 = {{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh|military}} 175,000<ref name=ACIG/><ref>Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway By Owen Bennett-Jones, Lindsay Brown, John Mock, Sarina Singh, Pg 30</ref><br />{{flag icon|India|military}} 250,000<ref name=ACIG/> | |||
| strength2 = {{flag icon|Pakistan|military}} ~91,000 regular troops{{NoteTag|name=fn1|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 ] broke out.<ref name=ACIG/> Cloughley clarifies that only a quarter of the 365,000 Pakistan Army, roughly 91,000, was in East Pakistan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cloughley |first=Brian |year=2016 |orig-year=First published 1999 |title=A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections |edition=4th |publisher=] |pages=149, 222 |isbn=978-1-63144-039-7}}</ref>}}<br /> 280,000 Paramilitary forces{{NoteTag|name=fn1}}<br /> ~25,000 militiamen<ref>{{cite book |last=Praval |first=K. C. |year=1987 |title=Indian Army after Independence |publisher=] |page=442 |isbn=81-7062-014-7}}</ref> | |||
| casualties1 = {{flag icon|Provisional Government of Bangladesh|military}} ~30,000 killed<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Thiranagama|editor-first1=Sharika|editor-last2=Kelly|editor-first2=Tobias |year=2012 |title=Traitors : suspicion, intimacy, and the ethics of state-building |publisher=]|location=Philadelphia, Pa.|isbn=978-0812222371}}</ref><br /> {{flag icon|India|military}} 1,426–1,525 killed<ref name="FallOfDacca">Figures from ''The Fall of Dacca'' by ] in ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' dated 23 December 1973 quoted in {{cite book |last=Praval |first=K. C. |year=1987 |title=Indian Army after Independence |publisher=Lancer International |page=486 |isbn=81-7062-014-7}}</ref> <br /> 3,611–4,061 wounded<ref name="FallOfDacca"/> | |||
| casualties2 = {{flag icon|Pakistan|military}} ~8,000 killed<br />~10,000 wounded<br />90,000–93,000 captured<ref name="dailytimes1912005" >{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Shahnawaz |date=19 January 2005 |title=54 Indian PoWs of 1971 war still in Pakistan |url=http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/19-Jan-2005/54-indian-pows-of-1971-war-still-in-pakistan |location=] |newspaper=] |access-date=11 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919100557/http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/19-Jan-2005/54-indian-pows-of-1971-war-still-in-pakistan |archive-date=19 September 2015}}</ref> (including 79,676 troops and 10,324–12,192 local militiamen)<ref name="FallOfDacca" /><ref>Figure from ''Pakistani Prisoners of War in India'' by Col S. P. Salunke p. 10 quoted in {{cite book |last=Praval |first=K. C. |year=1987 |title=Indian Army after Independence |publisher=Lancer International |page=485 |isbn=81-7062-014-7}}</ref> | |||
| casualties3 = ]:<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18049515 |title=Bangladesh Islamist leader Ghulam Azam charged |publisher=] |date=13 May 2012 |access-date=13 May 2012 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215152004/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18049515 |url-status=live }}</ref> Estimates range between 300,000 and 3,000,000. | |||
| notes = | |||
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Bangladesh Liberation War}} | |||
}} | |||
{{Independence of Bangladesh}} | |||
{{History of Bangladesh}} | {{History of Bangladesh}} | ||
The '''Bangladesh Liberation War'''{{NoteTag|This war is known in Bangla as ''Muktijuddho'' or ''Shwadhinota Juddho''.<ref>, Page 289</ref> This war is also called the Civil War in Pakistan.<ref name="Social 2005 p93"> | The '''Bangladesh Liberation War'''{{NoteTag|This war is known in Bangla as ''Muktijuddho'' or ''Shwadhinota Juddho''.<ref>, Page 289</ref> This war is also called the Civil War in Pakistan.<ref name="Social 2005 p93">{{cite book |last=Moss |first=Peter |title=Secondary Social Studies For Pakistan |year=2005 |publisher=] |location=Karachi |isbn=9780195977042 |page=93 |oclc=651126824}}</ref>}} ({{langx|bn|মুক্তিযুদ্ধ}}, {{IPA|bn|mukt̪iɟud̪d̪ʱo|pron}}), also known as the '''Bangladesh War of Independence''' and known as the '''Liberation War''' in ], was an ] sparked by the rise of the ] and ] movement in ], which resulted in the independence of ]. The war began when the Pakistani ] based in ]—under the orders of ]—launched ] against East Pakistanis on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paul |first=Priyam Pritim |date=26 March 2024 |title=Administrative dynamics in 1971's War of Liberation |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/independence-day-special-2024/news/administrative-dynamics-1971s-war-liberation-3575151 |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=]}}</ref> | ||
{{cite book|last=Moss|first=Peter|title=Secondary Social Studies For Pakistan|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Karachi|isbn=9780195977042|page=93|oclc=651126824}}</ref>}} ({{lang-bn|মুক্তিযুদ্ধ}}, ''{{transl|bn|Muktijuddho}}''), also known as the '''Bangladesh War of Independence''', or simply the '''Liberation War''' in Bangladesh, was a ] and ] sparked by the rise of the ] and ] movement in what was then ] during the ]. It resulted in the independence of the ]. The war began after the ]i ] based in ] launched ] against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971. It pursued the systematic elimination of nationalist Bengali civilians, students, ], religious minorities and armed personnel. The junta annulled the results of the ] and arrested ] ]. The war ended on 16 December 1971 after West Pakistan surrendered. | |||
In response to the violence, members of the ]—a ] ] formed by Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians—launched a mass guerrilla war against the ], liberating numerous towns and cities in the war's initial months. At first, the Pakistan Army regained momentum during the ], but Bengali ] counterattacked by carrying out widespread sabotage, including through ] against the ], while the nascent ] flew ]s against Pakistani military bases.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jamal |first=Ahmed |date=5–17 October 2008 |title=Mukti Bahini and the liberation war of Bangladesh: A review of conflicting views |url=http://www.cdrb.org/journal/2008/4/1.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Asian Affairs |volume=30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103014904/http://www.cdrb.org/journal/2008/4/1.pdf |archive-date=3 January 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015}}</ref> India joined the war on 3 December 1971, after Pakistan launched ] on northern India. The subsequent ] involved fighting on two fronts; with ] achieved in the eastern theatre and the rapid advance of the ], Pakistan ] in Dhaka on 16 December 1971, in what remains to date the largest surrender of armed personnel since the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Srinivasaraju |first=Sugata |date=21 December 2021 |title=The Bangladeshi liberation has lessons for India today |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/the-bangladeshi-liberation-has-lessons-for-india-today/articleshow/88412623.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222204349/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/the-bangladeshi-liberation-has-lessons-for-india-today/articleshow/88412623.cms |archive-date=22 December 2021 |access-date=29 December 2021 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
Rural and urban areas across East Pakistan saw extensive military operations and air strikes to suppress the tide of ] that formed following the 1970 election stalemate. The ], which had the backing of Islamists, created radical religious militias—the ], ] and ]—to assist it during raids on the local populace.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQHIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA57#v=onepage|title=The World's Most Threatening Terrorist Networks and Criminal Gangs|last=Schneider|first=B.|last2=Post|first2=J.|last3=Kindt|first3=M. |year=2009 |publisher=Springer|isbn=9780230623293|location=|page=57|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168#v=onepage|title=Pakistan: From the Rhetoric of Democracy to the Rise of Militancy|last=Kalia|first=Ravi |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136516412|location=|page=168|language=en}}</ref><ref>Pg 600. Schmid, Alex, ed. (2011). ''The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research''. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-41157-8}}.</ref><ref>Pg. 240 Tomsen, Peter (2011). ''The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers''. Public Affairs. {{ISBN|978-1-58648-763-8}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdrcAgAAQBAJ|title=Unconventional Warfare in South Asia: Shadow Warriors and Counterinsurgency|last=Roy|first=Dr Kaushik|last2=Gates|first2=Professor Scott |year=2014 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9781472405791|language=en}}</ref> Urdu-speaking ] (ethnic minority) were also in support of Pakistani military. Members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias engaged in mass murder, deportation and ]. The capital ] was the scene of numerous massacres, including ] and the ]. An estimated 10 million Bengali ] fled to neighbouring India, while 30 million were internally displaced.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rgGA91skoP4C&lpg=PR2&pg=PA34#v=onepage |title=Dictionary of Genocide: A-L |last=Totten|first=Samuel|last2=Bartrop|first2=Paul Robert |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9780313346422 |location=|page=34|language=en}}</ref> ] broke out between Bengalis and ]. An academic consensus prevails that the atrocities committed by the Pakistani military were a ]. | |||
Rural and urban areas across East Pakistan saw extensive military operations and air strikes to suppress the tide of ] that formed after the ]. The ], backed by Islamists, created radical religious militias—the ], ] and ]—to assist it during raids on the local populace.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQHIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA57|title=The World's Most Threatening Terrorist Networks and Criminal Gangs|last1=Schneider|first1=B.|last2=Post|first2=J.|last3=Kindt|first3=M.|year=2009|publisher=Springer|isbn=9780230623293|page=57|language=en|access-date=8 March 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214803/https://books.google.com/books?id=LQHIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA57|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Grare|first=Frederic|editor-last=Kalia|editor-first=Ravi|chapter=Pakistan's Pursuit of Democracy|title=Pakistan: From the Rhetoric of Democracy to the Rise of Militancy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168|year=2012|publisher=]|isbn=978-0-415-67040-1|page=168|language=en|access-date=8 March 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214843/https://books.google.com/books?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Pg 600. Schmid, Alex, ed. (2011). ''The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research''. ]. {{ISBN|978-0-415-41157-8}}.</ref><ref>Pg. 240 Tomsen, Peter (2011). ''The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers''. Public Affairs. {{ISBN|978-1-58648-763-8}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdrcAgAAQBAJ|title=Unconventional Warfare in South Asia: Shadow Warriors and Counterinsurgency|last1=Roy|first1=Kaushik|last2=Gates|first2=Professor Scott|year=2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9781472405791|language=en|access-date=21 August 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214838/https://books.google.com/books?id=PdrcAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias engaged in mass murder, deportation and ], pursuing a systematic campaign of annihilation against nationalist Bengali civilians, students, ], religious minorities and armed personnel. The capital, ], was the scene of numerous massacres, including the ]. ] also broke out between Bengalis and ]. An estimated 10 million Bengali ] fled to neighbouring India, while 30 million were internally displaced.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgGA91skoP4C&pg=PA34 |title=Dictionary of Genocide: A-L |last1=Totten |first1=Samuel |last2=Bartrop |first2=Paul Robert |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9780313346422 |page=34 |language=en |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111192649/https://books.google.com/books?id=rgGA91skoP4C&pg=PA34 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
The ] was proclaimed from ] by members of the ]—the national liberation army formed by Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians. The ] and the ] played a crucial role in the resistance. Led by General ] and ], the ] waged a mass ] against the Pakistani military. They liberated numerous towns and cities in the initial months of the conflict. The Pakistan Army regained momentum in the ]. Bengali guerrillas carried out widespread sabotage, including ] against the Pakistan Navy. The nascent ] flew ]s against Pakistani military bases. By November, the Bangladesh forces restricted the Pakistani military to its barracks during the night. They secured control of most parts of the countryside.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jamal|first=Ahmed|date=5–17 October 2008|title=Mukti Bahini and the liberation war of Bangladesh: A review of conflicting views|url=http://www.cdrb.org/journal/2008/4/1.pdf|journal=Asian Affairs|volume=30|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103014904/http://www.cdrb.org/journal/2008/4/1.pdf|archive-date=3 January 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
The war changed the geopolitical landscape of South Asia, with the emergence of Bangladesh as the world's seventh-most populous country. Due to complex regional alliances, the war was a major episode in ] tensions involving the United States, the ] and China. The majority of member states in the United Nations recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign nation in 1972. | |||
The ] was formed on 17 April 1971 in ] and moved to ] as a ]. Bengali members of the Pakistani civil, military and ] defected to the Bangladeshi provisional government. Thousands of Bengali families were ] in West Pakistan, from where many escaped to ]. Bengali cultural activists operated the clandestine ]. The plight of millions of war-ravaged Bengali civilians caused worldwide outrage and alarm. ], which was led by ], provided substantial diplomatic, economic and military support to Bangladeshi nationalists. British, Indian and American musicians organised the ] in ] to support the Bangladeshi people. Senator ] in the United States led a ] campaign for an end to Pakistani military persecution; while U.S. diplomats in East Pakistan strongly ] with the ]'s close ties to the Pakistani military dictator ]. | |||
== Background == | |||
India joined the war on 3 December 1971, after Pakistan launched ] on North India. The subsequent ] witnessed engagements on two war fronts. With ] achieved in the eastern theatre and the rapid advance of the ] of Bangladesh and India, Pakistan ] in Dacca on 16 December 1971. | |||
] in 1909 showing ] majority areas in green, including modern-day Bangladesh in the east and Pakistan in the west]] | |||
Before the ], the ] initially envisaged separate ]-majority states in British India's eastern and northwestern zones. A proposal for an independent ] was mooted by Prime Minister ] in 1946 but opposed by the colonial authorities. The ] advocated the creation of a ] in eastern British India.<ref name="Sarasota Herald-Tribune">{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VbYqAAAAIBAJ&pg=1342,6305096 |title=India Partition with Present Many Problems |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=8 June 1947 |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154917/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VbYqAAAAIBAJ&pg=1342,6305096 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
The war changed the geopolitical landscape of ], 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 ] tensions involving the ], the ] and the ]. The majority of member states in the ] recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign nation in 1972. | |||
Political negotiations led, in August 1947, to the official birth of two states, ] and India,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=78xTAAAAIBAJ&pg=1738,3655 |title=Britain Proposes Indian Partition |work=The Leader-Post |date=2 June 1947 |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154915/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=78xTAAAAIBAJ&pg=1738,3655 |url-status=live}}</ref> giving presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus, respectively, after the British departed. The ] comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west, with India in between.<ref name="Sarasota Herald-Tribune"/> | |||
== Background == | |||
] in 1909 showing ] majority areas in green, including modern-day Bangladesh in the east and Pakistan in the west.]] | |||
The western zone was popularly (and, for a period, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed ] and later East Pakistan. Although the two zones' population 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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WPdUAAAAIBAJ&pg=7167,1795176 |title=Problems of Partition |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 June 1947 |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154916/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WPdUAAAAIBAJ&pg=7167,1795176 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Prior to the ], the ] initially envisaged separate ]-majority states in the eastern and northwestern zones of British India. A proposal for an independent ] was mooted by Prime Minister ] in 1946, but was opposed by the colonial authorities. The ] advocated the creation of a ] in eastern British India. Eventually, political negotiations led, in August 1947, to ], ] and ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=78xTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6DgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1738,3655&dq=india+partition |title=Britain Proposes Indian Partition |work=The Leader-Post |date=2 June 1947 |access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> giving presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus respectively following the departure of the British. The ] comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west with India in between.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VbYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mGQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1342,6305096&dq=india+partition |title=India Partition with Present Many Problems |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=8 June 1947 |access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> The western zone was popularly (and for a period, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed ] 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WPdUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GZMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7167,1795176&dq=india+partition |title=Problems of Partition |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 June 1947 |access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> On 25 March 1971, after an election won by an East Pakistani political party (the ]) was ignored by the ruling (West Pakistani) establishment, rising political discontent and ] in East Pakistan was met by brutal<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html |title=Gendercide Watch: Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971 |website=gendercide.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721230201/http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html |archive-date=21 July 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/21.htm|title=Bangladesh – The Zia Regime and Its Aftermath, 1977–82|website=countrystudies.us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113093702/http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/21.htm|archive-date=13 November 2016|url-status=|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> in what came to be termed ].<ref name="epw">{{cite journal |last=Bose |first=Sarmila |date=8 October 2005 |title=Anatomy of Violence, Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971 |url=http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=10&filename=9223&filetype=html |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=40 |issue=41 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301084941/http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=10&filename=9223&filetype=html |archivedate=1 March 2007 |accessdate=27 July 2015}}</ref> The violent crackdown by the Pakistan Army<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/opinion/nixon-and-kissingers-forgotten-shame.html|title=Nixon and Kissinger's Forgotten Shame|last=Bass|first=Gary J.|date=29 September 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=11 June 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> led to Awami League leader ] declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of ] on 26 March 1971.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rk4fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jtEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2676,6420028&dq=east+pakistan+independence |title=Civil War Rocks East Pakistan |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |date=27 March 1971 |access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> Most Bengalis threw their support behind this move although ] and Biharis opposed this and sided with the Pakistan Army instead.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bose|first=Sarmila|date=8 October 2005|title=Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971|url=http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/materials/profile_materials/sbose-anatomy_of_violence-epw_v_40_no_41_2005.pdf|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|page=4463}}</ref> Pakistani President ] ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war.<ref name=":1" /> The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/research/refugees-in-india-partition-bangladesh-war-tibet-occupation-sri-lankan-tamils-rohingyas-mynamar-world-refugee-day-five-human-influxes-that-have-shaped-india-2864449/|title=World Refugee Day: Five human influxes that have shaped India|date=20 June 2016|work=The Indian Express|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155-2,00.html|title=The World: India and Pakistan: Over the Edge|date=13 December 1971|work=Time|access-date=11 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523003701/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C910155-2%2C00.html|archive-date=23 May 2011|url-status=|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> flooding into the ].<ref name="report">''Crisis in South Asia – A report'' by Senator Edward Kennedy to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1 November 1971, U.S. Govt. Press.pp6-7</ref> Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the ]. | |||
On 25 March 1971, after an election won by an East Pakistani political party (the ]) was ignored by the ruling (West Pakistani) establishment, rising political discontent and ] in East Pakistan was met by brutal<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html |title=Gendercide Watch: Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971 |website=gendercide.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721230201/http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html |archive-date=21 July 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> and suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment, in what came to be termed ].<ref name="epw">{{harvnb|Bose|2005|p=4465}}</ref> The Pakistan Army's violent crackdown<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/opinion/nixon-and-kissingers-forgotten-shame.html|title=Nixon and Kissinger's Forgotten Shame|last=Bass|first=Gary J.|date=29 September 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=11 June 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=21 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321044356/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/opinion/nixon-and-kissingers-forgotten-shame.html|url-status=live}}</ref> led to Awami League leader ] ].<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rk4fAAAAIBAJ&pg=2676,6420028 |title=Civil War Rocks East Pakistan |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |date=27 March 1971 |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154917/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rk4fAAAAIBAJ&pg=2676,6420028 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most Bengalis supported this move, although some ] and Biharis opposed it and sided with the Pakistan Army instead.<ref>{{harvnb|Bose|2005|p=4463}}</ref> | |||
Pakistani President ] ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war.<ref name=":1" /> The war led a substantial number of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/research/refugees-in-india-partition-bangladesh-war-tibet-occupation-sri-lankan-tamils-rohingyas-mynamar-world-refugee-day-five-human-influxes-that-have-shaped-india-2864449/|title=World Refugee Day: Five human influxes that have shaped India|date=20 June 2016|work=The Indian Express|access-date=11 June 2017|archive-date=21 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321044430/https://indianexpress.com/article/research/refugees-in-india-partition-bangladesh-war-tibet-occupation-sri-lankan-tamils-rohingyas-mynamar-world-refugee-day-five-human-influxes-that-have-shaped-india-2864449/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155-2,00.html|title=The World: India and Pakistan: Over the Edge|date=13 December 1971|magazine=Time|access-date=11 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523003701/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C910155-2%2C00.html|archive-date=23 May 2011|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> to flood ].<ref name="report">''Crisis in South Asia – A report'' by Senator Edward Kennedy to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1 November 1971, U.S. Govt. Press.pp6-7</ref> Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India actively aided and organised the Bangladeshi resistance army, the ].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
=== Language controversy === | === Language controversy === | ||
{{Main|Bengali language movement}} | {{Main|Bengali language movement}} | ||
In 1948, ] ] declared that "], and only Urdu" would be Pakistan's federal language.<ref>{{Cite Banglapedia|title=Language Movement|author=Bashir Al Helal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BKzbHnFTfEC&pg=PA158|title=Sociolinguistics and Language Education|last1=Hornberger|first1=Nancy H.|last2=McKay|first2=Sandra Lee|year=2010|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=9781847694010|pages=158|language=en|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214842/https://books.google.com/books?id=2BKzbHnFTfEC&pg=PA158|url-status=live}}</ref> But Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north, central, and western ]; in East Bengal, the native language was ], one of the two most easterly branches of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/languages/bengali/|title=SOAS Language Centre – Bengali Language Courses|website=soas.ac.uk|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=21 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321044427/https://www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/languages/bengali/|url-status=live}}</ref> Bengali speakers constituted over 56% of Pakistan's population.<ref>{{cite news|title=Language Movement paved way for independence: Hasina|url=https://m.bdnews24.com/en/detail/bangladesh/1861277|newspaper=bdnews24|date=20 February 2021|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=21 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321044430/https://m.bdnews24.com/en/detail/bangladesh/1861277|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=From Dhaka to fall of Dhaka|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/405968-from-dhaka-to-fall-of-dhaka|access-date=12 March 2021|date=15 December 2018|newspaper=The News (Pakistan)|first=Wajid Shamsul|last=Hasan|archive-date=21 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321044402/https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/405968-from-dhaka-to-fall-of-dhaka|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
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 ] began in 1948, as civil society protested the removal of ] from currency and stamps, which were in place since the ].<ref name="International Mother Language Day">{{Cite web|title = International Mother Language Day|url = https://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/|website = United Nations|access-date = 19 February 2016|archive-date = 17 May 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190517175429/https://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/|url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
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 ]. In memory of the deaths, ] declared 21 February ] in November 1999.<ref name="International Mother Language Day"/> | |||
In 1948, ] ] declared that "], and only Urdu" would be the federal language of Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Language_Movement|title=Language Movement |website=en.banglapedia.org|access-date=11 June 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307033428/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Language_Movement|archive-date=7 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BKzbHnFTfEC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA158#v=onepage|title=Sociolinguistics and Language Education|last=Hornberger|first=Nancy H.|last2=McKay|first2=Sandra Lee |year=2010 |publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=9781847694010|location=|pages=158|language=en}}</ref> However, Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north, central, and western region of the ]; whereas in East Bengal, the native language was ], one of the two most easterly branches of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/languages/bengali/|title=SOAS Language Centre – Bengali Language Courses|website=soas.ac.uk}}</ref> The Bengali-speaking people of Pakistan constituted over 30% of the country's population. 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 ] began in 1948, as civil society protested the removal of the ] from currency and stamps, which were in place since the ]. The movement reached its climax in 1952, when on ], the police fired on protesting students and civilians, causing several deaths. The day is revered in Bangladesh as the ]. Later, in memory of the deaths in 1952, ] declared 21 February as ] in November 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|title = International Mother Language Day|url = https://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/ |website=United Nations |access-date = 19 February 2016}}</ref> | |||
=== Disparities === | === Disparities === | ||
Although East Pakistan had |
Although, East Pakistan had the larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto; width:550px;text-align:center;" | {| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto; width:550px;text-align:center;" | ||
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| colspan="4" | <small>''Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I,<br /> published by the planning commission of Pakistan.''</small> | | colspan="4" | <small>''Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I,<br /> published by the planning commission of Pakistan.''</small> | ||
|} | |} | ||
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 |
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.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 136">{{harvnb|van Schendel|2009|p=136}}</ref> | ||
Bengalis were |
Also, Bengalis were underrepresented in the Pakistani military. Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of the overall force by 1965; of these, only a few were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative posts.<ref name="Library">{{cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bd0139%29 |title=Library of Congress studies |publisher=Memory.loc.gov |date=1 July 1947 |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-date=5 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705131255/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r%3Ffrd/cstdy:@field(DOCID%2Bbd0139) |url-status=live }}</ref> West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined", unlike ] and ]; Bengalis dismissed the "]s" notion as ridiculous and humiliating.<ref name="Library" /> | ||
Moreover, despite huge defence spending, East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts, purchasing and military support jobs. The ] over ] also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis, as only an under-strength ] division and 15 ] without tank support were in East Pakistan to repulse any Indian retaliations during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/dec/demons.htm |title=Demons of December – Road from East Pakistan to Bangladesh |website=Defencejournal.com |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110609122558/http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/dec/demons.htm |archive-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Rounaq Jahan |author-link=Rounaq Jahan |title=Pakistan: Failure in National Integration |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1972 |pages=166–167 |isbn=978-0-231-03625-2}}</ref> | |||
=== Ideological and cultural differences === | === Ideological and cultural differences === | ||
] | |||
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 ], democracy and socialism.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 183">{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y2bBQAAQBAJ |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-511-99741-9|page=183}}</ref> Many Bengali Muslims strongly objected to the Islamist paradigm imposed by the Pakistani state.<ref name="Haqqani2010">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PA19|title=Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military |year=2010 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment|isbn=978-0-87003-285-1|pages=19–|author=Husain Haqqani}}</ref> Most members of West Pakistan's ruling elite also belonged to a liberal society, yet understood a common faith as the mobilising factor behind Pakistan's creation and the subsuming of Pakistan's multiple identities into one.<ref name="Haqqani2010"/> West Pakistanis were substantially more supportive than East Pakistanis of an Islamic state, a tendency which persisted after 1971.<ref name="Baxter 1997 70">{{cite book |last=Baxter |first=Craig |year=1997 |title=Bangladesh: From A Nation To A State |publisher=Westview Press |page=70 |isbn=978-0-813-33632-9}}</ref> | |||
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 ], democracy and socialism.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 183">{{harvnb|van Schendel|2009|p=183}}</ref> Many Bengali Muslims strongly objected to the Islamist paradigm the Pakistani state imposed.<ref name="Haqqani2010">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PA19|title=Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military |year=2010 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment|isbn=978-0-87003-285-1|pages=19–|author=Husain Haqqani}}</ref> | |||
Cultural and linguistic differences between the two wings outweighed any religious unity. The Bengalis took great pride in their culture and language which, with its ] and ], was unacceptable to the West Pakistani elite, who believed that it possessed considerable Hindu cultural influences.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 183"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gK3d627xESAC&pg=PA24|title=Military Intervention and Secession in South Asia: The Cases of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, and Punjab|last=Anne Noronha dos Santos|year=2007|isbn=9780275999490|location=|pages=24}}</ref> West Pakistanis, in an attempt to "Islamise" the East, wanted the Bengalis to adopt Urdu.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 183"/> The events of the language movement brought about a sentiment among Bengalis in favour of discarding Pakistan's communalism in favour of secular politics.<ref>{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y2bBQAAQBAJ |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-511-99741-9|page=114}}</ref> The Awami League began propagating its secular message through its newspaper to the Bengali readership.<ref>{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y2bBQAAQBAJ |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-511-99741-9|page=117}}</ref> | |||
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.<ref name="Haqqani2010"/> West Pakistanis were substantially more supportive than East Pakistanis of an Islamic state, a tendency that persisted after 1971.<ref name="Baxter 1997 70">{{harvnb|Baxter|1997|p=70}}</ref> | |||
The Awami League's emphasis on secularism differentiated it from the Muslim League.<ref>{{cite book|author=Craig Baxter|title=Bangladesh: From A Nation To A State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJdNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT97 |year=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-813-33632-9|page=88–}}</ref> In 1971, the Bangladeshi liberation struggle against Pakistan was led by secular leaders<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168#v=onepage|title=Pakistan: From the Rhetoric of Democracy to the Rise of Militancy|last=|first=|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=9781136516412|location=|pages=168}}</ref> and secularists hailed the Bangladeshi victory as the triumph of secular Bengali nationalism over religion-centred Pakistani nationalism.<ref name="RiazRahman2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nC9-CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|title=Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Bangladesh |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-30877-5|pages=46–|author1=Ali Riaz|author2=Mohammad Sajjadur Rahman}}</ref> While Pakistan's government strives for an Islamic state, Bangladesh was established secular.<ref name="Baxter 1997 70"/> After the liberation victory, the Awami League attempted to build a secular order<ref name="Baxter2018">{{cite book|author=Craig Baxter|title=Bangladesh: From A Nation To A State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJdNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |year=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-813-33632-9|page=xiii}}</ref> and the pro-Pakistan Islamist parties were barred from political participation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y2bBQAAQBAJ |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-511-99741-9|page=175}}</ref> The majority of East Pakistani ] had either remained neutral or supported the Pakistani state, since they felt that the break-up of Pakistan would be detrimental for Islam.<ref name="Ahmed1998">{{cite book|author=Ishtiaq Ahmed|title=State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czSm7cmhgA0C&pg=PA223|year=1998|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-85567-578-0|pages=223–}}</ref> | |||
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 ] and ], was unacceptable to the West Pakistani elite, who believed that it had assimilated considerable Hindu cultural influences.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 183"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gK3d627xESAC&pg=PA24|title=Military Intervention and Secession in South Asia: The Cases of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, and Punjab|last=Anne Noronha dos Santos|year=2007|isbn=9780275999490|pages=24|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |access-date=21 August 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214807/https://books.google.com/books?id=gK3d627xESAC&pg=PA24|url-status=live}}</ref> West Pakistanis, in an attempt to "Islamise" the East, wanted the Bengalis to adopt Urdu.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 183"/> The activities of the language movement nurtured a sentiment among Bengalis in favour of discarding Pakistan's communalism in favour of secular politics.<ref>{{harvnb|van Schendel|2009|p=114}}</ref> The Awami League began propagating its secular message through its newspaper to the Bengali readership.<ref>{{harvnb|van Schendel|2009|p=117}}</ref> | |||
The Awami League's emphasis on secularism differentiated it from the Muslim League.<ref>{{harvnb|Baxter|1997|p=88}}</ref> In 1971, the Bangladeshi liberation struggle against Pakistan was led by secular leaders<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168|title=Pakistan: From the Rhetoric of Democracy to the Rise of Militancy|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=9781136516412|pages=168|access-date=8 March 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214843/https://books.google.com/books?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168|url-status=live}}</ref> and secularists hailed the Bangladeshi victory as the triumph of secular Bengali nationalism over religion-centred Pakistani nationalism.<ref name="RiazRahman2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nC9-CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|title=Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Bangladesh |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-30877-5|pages=46–|author1=Ali Riaz|author2=Mohammad Sajjadur Rahman}}</ref> While Pakistan's government strives for an Islamic state, Bangladesh was established secular.<ref name="Baxter 1997 70"/> After the liberation victory, the Awami League attempted to build a secular order<ref name="Baxter2018">{{harvnb|Baxter|1997|p=xiii}}</ref> and the pro-Pakistan Islamist parties were barred from political participation.<ref>{{harvnb|van Schendel|2009|p=175}}</ref> The majority of East Pakistani ] had either remained neutral or supported the Pakistani state, since they felt that the break-up of Pakistan would be detrimental for Islam.<ref name="Ahmed1998">{{cite book|author=Ishtiaq Ahmed|title=State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czSm7cmhgA0C&pg=PA223|year=1998|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-85567-578-0|pages=223–|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214856/https://books.google.com/books?id=czSm7cmhgA0C&pg=PA223|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
=== Political differences === | === Political differences === | ||
], the leader of East Pakistan, and later Bangladesh]] | |||
Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population,<ref name="pop">{{cite book|title=The Political System of Pakistan | |||
|first=Khalid B.|last=Sayeed|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1967|page=61}}</ref> 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 "]" scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes. | |||
Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population,<ref name="pop">{{cite book |title=The Political System of Pakistan |first=Khalid B. |last=Sayeed |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1967 |page=61}}</ref> 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 "]" scheme, whereby all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
After the assassination of ], Pakistan's first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to devolve to the new ], which replaced the office of ] 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. | |||
After the 1951 assassination of ], Pakistan's first prime minister, political power began to devolve to the new position of ], which replaced the office of ] 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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
The East Pakistanis observed that the West Pakistani establishment would swiftly depose any East Pakistanis elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, such as ], ], or ]. Their suspicions were further aggravated by the military dictatorships of ] (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and ] (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis. The situation reached a climax in 1970, when the ], the largest East Pakistani political party, led by ], 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, ] (a former Foreign Minister), the leader of the ], refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393"> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last = Hassan, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | |||
| first = Dr. Professor Mubashir | |||
| authorlink = Mubashir Hassan | |||
| title =The Mirage of Power | |||
| place =Oxford University, United Kingdom | |||
| publisher =Dr. Professor ], professor of Civil Engineering at the ] and the Oxford University Press | |||
| series = | |||
| year = 2000 | |||
| edition = | |||
| chapter = §Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: All Power to People! Democracy and Socialism to People! | |||
| chapterurl= | |||
| pages = 50–90 | |||
| language = | isbn = 978-0-19-579300-0 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> 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 ]. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in ] to decide the fate of the country. 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, ].<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> A message was conveyed, and Rahman decided to meet Bhutto.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> Upon his arrival, Rahman met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Rahman as Premier and Bhutto as President.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> However, the military was unaware of these developments, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Rahman to reach a decision.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> | |||
The East Pakistanis observed that the West Pakistani establishment swiftly deposed any East Pakistanis elected leader of Pakistan, such as ], ], ], and ]. Their suspicions were further aggravated by the military dictatorships of ] (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and ] (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis. The situation reached a climax in 1970, when the ], the largest East Pakistani political party, led by ], 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, ] (a former Foreign Minister), the leader of the ], refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393">{{cite book |last=Hassan, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) |first=Mubashir |author-link=Mubashir Hassan |title=The Mirage of Power |place=Oxford University, United Kingdom |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |chapter=§Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: All Power to People! Democracy and Socialism to People! |pages=50–90 |isbn=978-0-19-579300-0}}</ref> | |||
On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be the prime minister) delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called the ]). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider at the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March: | |||
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 ]. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in ] to decide the fate of the country.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> | |||
After their discussions yielded no satisfactory results, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a ]. Bhutto feared a civil war, therefore, he sent his trusted companion, ].<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> A message was conveyed, and Rahman decided to meet Bhutto.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> Upon his arrival, Rahman met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Rahman as premier and Bhutto as president,<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> but Sheikh Mujib later ruled out such a possibility.<ref>{{cite news|script-title=bn:টানা আন্দোলনের চতুর্থ দিন, মৃত্যু ছাপিয়ে ক্ষোভ|url=https://www.prothomalo.com/diary-1971/%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A5-%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81-%E0%A6%9B%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%AD|newspaper=Prothom Alo|date=5 March 2021|access-date=14 January 2022|archive-date=14 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114105154/https://www.prothomalo.com/diary-1971/%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A5-%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81-%E0%A6%9B%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%AD|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, the military was unaware of these developments, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Rahman to reach a decision.<ref name="Hassan 2000 p. 393" /> | |||
On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be prime minister) ] at the Racecourse Ground (now the ]). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider at the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
* The immediate lifting of ]. | * The immediate lifting of ]. | ||
* Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks. | * Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks. | ||
Line 148: | Line 155: | ||
* Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March. | * 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|date=May 2019}} the main event that inspired the nation to fight for its independence. General ] was flown into Dacca to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in. | 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|date=May 2019}} the main event that inspired the nation to fight for its independence. General ] was flown into Dacca to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
Between 10 and 13 March, ] cancelled all |
Between 10 and 13 March, ] cancelled all its 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 ] Port, but the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship. A unit of ] refused to obey commands to fire on the Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny among the Bengali soldiers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mascarenhas |first=Anthony |url=https://archive.org/details/the-rape-of-bangladesh/page/76/mode/2up |title=The Rape of Bangladesh |isbn=0706901487 |pages=78}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chittagong’s pivotal role in Liberation War |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/141642/chittagong%E2%80%99s-pivotal-role-in-liberation-war |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Dhaka Tribune |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-16 |title=The Chattogram Resistance |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/victory-day-special-2021/news/the-chattogram-resistance-2918051 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref> | ||
=== Response to the 1970 cyclone === | === Response to the 1970 cyclone === | ||
{{Main|1970 Bhola cyclone}} | |||
The 1970 Bhola cyclone made ] on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November, around the same time as a local ],<ref name="IMD">{{cite web|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd024_pdf/005ED281.pdf#page=10|title=Annual Summary – Storms & Depressions|work=India Weather Review 1970|author=India Meteorological Department|author-link=India Meteorological Department|year=1970|access-date=15 April 2007|format=PDF|pages=10–11|archive-date=6 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006111905/https://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd024_pdf/005ED281.pdf#page=10|url-status=dead}}</ref> killing an estimated 300,000 people. A 2017 ] panel considers it the deadliest ] since at least 1873.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cerveny |first1=Randall S. |last2=Bessemoulin |first2=Pierre |last3=Burt |first3=Christopher C. |last4=Cooper |first4=Mary Ann |last5=Cunjie |first5=Zhang |last6=Dewan |first6=Ashraf |last7=Finch |first7=Jonathan |last8=Holle |first8=Ronald L. |last9=Kalkstein |first9=Laurence |last10=Kruger |first10=Andries |last11=Lee |first11=Tsz-cheung |last12=Martínez |first12=Rodney |last13=Mohapatra |first13=M. |last14=Pattanaik |first14=D. R. |last15=Peterson |first15=Thomas C. |last16=Sheridan |first16=Scott |last17=Trewin |first17=Blair |last18=Tait |first18=Andrew |last19=Wahab |first19=M. M. Abdel |display-authors=5 |title=WMO Assessment of Weather and Climate Mortality Extremes: Lightning, Tropical Cyclones, Tornadoes, and Hail |journal=Weather, Climate, and Society |date=1 July 2017 |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=487–497 |doi=10.1175/WCAS-D-16-0120.1|s2cid=55003021 |doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11937/53049 |hdl-access=free |issn = 1948-8327 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="NYT-6">{{cite news|title=Yahya Condedes 'Slips' In Relief|first=Sydney|last=Schanberg|author-link=Sydney Schanberg|work=]|date=22 November 1970}}</ref> | |||
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.<ref name="NYT-10">{{cite news |title=East Pakistani Leaders Assail Yahya on Cyclone Relief|agency=] |newspaper=]|date=23 November 1970}}</ref> On 19 November, students held a march in Dacca protesting the slowness of the government's response.<ref name="NYT-13">{{cite news|title=Copter Shortage Balks Cyclone Aid|newspaper=]|date=18 November 1970}}</ref> ] addressed a rally of 50,000 people on 24 November, where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
The ] made ] on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November, around the same time as a local ],<ref name="IMD">{{cite web |url = http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd024_pdf/005ED281.pdf#page=10 |title = Annual Summary – Storms & Depressions |work=India Weather Review 1970|author=India Meteorological Department |author-link=India Meteorological Department |year=1970 |access-date=15 April 2007|format=PDF|pages=10–11}}</ref> killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people. Though the exact death toll is not known, it is considered{{by whom|date=May 2019}} the deadliest ] on record.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag127e/ag127e07.htm |title = Thematic paper: Role of forests and trees in protecting coastal areas against cyclones |last=Fritz |first=Hermann M. |last2=Blount |first2=Chris |work=Coastal protection in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami: What role for forests and trees? |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129050856/http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag127e/AG127E07.htm |archive-date=29 November 2014 |access-date=27 July 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NYT-6">{{cite news|title=Yahya Condedes 'Slips' In Relief|first=Sydney|last=Schanberg|authorlink=Sydney Schanberg|work=The New York Times|date=22 November 1970}}</ref> | |||
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.<ref name="NYT-10">{{cite news |title=East Pakistani Leaders Assail Yahya on Cyclone Relief|agency=Reuters |newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 November 1970}}</ref> On 19 November, students held a march in Dacca protesting the slowness of the government's response.<ref name="NYT-13">{{cite news|title=Copter Shortage Balks Cyclone Aid|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 November 1970}}</ref> ] 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 ] and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the ]. 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.<ref name="NYT-12">{{cite news |last=Durdin |first=Tillman |date=11 March 1971 |title=Pakistanis Crisis Virtually Halts Rehabilitation Work in Cyclone Region |newspaper=The New York Times |page=2}}</ref> 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.<ref name="USAID">{{cite web |url = http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/publications/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf|access-date=15 April 2007|date=21 February 2005|title=A Critical Juncture Analysis, 1964–2003|last=Olson|first=Richard|publisher=] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070414002649/http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/publications/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf |archive-date= 14 April 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | 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 ] and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the ]. 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.<ref name="NYT-12">{{cite news |last=Durdin |first=Tillman |date=11 March 1971 |title=Pakistanis Crisis Virtually Halts Rehabilitation Work in Cyclone Region |newspaper=The New York Times |page=2}}</ref> 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.<ref name="USAID">{{cite web |url = http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/publications/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf|access-date=15 April 2007|date=21 February 2005|title=A Critical Juncture Analysis, 1964–2003|last=Olson|first=Richard|publisher=] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070414002649/http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/publications/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf |archive-date= 14 April 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
Line 162: | Line 169: | ||
=== Operation Searchlight === | === Operation Searchlight === | ||
{{Main|Operation Searchlight}} | {{Main|Operation Searchlight}} | ||
], March 1971]] | |||
A planned military pacification carried out by the ]—codenamed ''Operation Searchlight''—started on 25 March 1971 to curb the ] independence movement<ref name="epw"/> by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|pp=63, 228–9}}</ref> within one month. The Pakistani state used ] by Bengalis in early March to justify Operation Searchlight.<ref>{{Cite book |last=D'Costa |first=Bina |author-link=Bina D'Costa |year=2011 |title=Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia |publisher=] |page=103 |isbn=978-0-415-56566-0}}</ref> | |||
], March 1971]] | |||
A planned military pacification carried out by the ]—codenamed ''Operation Searchlight''—started on 25 March 1971 to curb the ] independence movement<ref name="epw"/> by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,<ref>Salik, Siddiq, ''Witness To Surrender'', pp 63, 228–9 {{ISBN|984-05-1373-7}}</ref> within one month. The Pakistani state claimed to justify starting Operation Searchlight on the basis of ] by Bengalis in early March.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia |last=D' Costa |first=Bina |publisher=Routledge|year=2011|isbn=9780415565660|location=|page=103}}</ref> | |||
Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Siddiqui |first=Asif |date=December 1997 |title=From Deterrence and Coercive Diplomacy to War: The 1971 Crisis in South Asia |journal=Journal of International and Area Studies |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=73–92 |jstor=43106996}}</ref> | Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Siddiqui |first=Asif |date=December 1997 |title=From Deterrence and Coercive Diplomacy to War: The 1971 Crisis in South Asia |journal=Journal of International and Area Studies |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=73–92 |jstor=43106996}}</ref> | ||
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 ]. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, |
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 ]. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, resulting in East Pakistan's secession later that year. Bangladeshi media and reference books in English have published casualty figures that vary greatly, from 5,000 to 35,000 in Dacca, and 300,000 to 3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://necrometrics.com/20c1m.htm#Bangladesh |title = Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls |website = necrometrics.com |access-date = 11 June 2017 |archive-date = 5 March 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110305175626/http://necrometrics.com/20c1m.htm#Bangladesh |url-status = live }}</ref> Independent researchers, including the ], have put forward figures ranging from 125,000 to 505,000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bergman|first=David|title=Questioning an iconic number|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/questioning-an-iconic-number/article5940833.ece|access-date=28 September 2016|newspaper=]|date=24 April 2014|archive-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228012642/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/questioning-an-iconic-number/article5940833.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> American ] ] puts total deaths at 1.5 million.<ref>{{cite book | last = Rummel | first = Rudolph | author-link = Rudolph Rummel | title = Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder since 1900 | chapter = Chapter 8: Statistics of Pakistan's Democide Estimates, Calculations, And Sources | page = 544 | isbn = 978-3-8258-4010-5 | quote = "...They also planned to indiscriminately murder hundreds of thousands of its Hindus and drive the rest into India. ... This despicable and cutthroat plan was outright genocide'.| year = 1998| publisher = LIT Verlag Münster }}</ref> The atrocities have been called acts of ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Zunaid Kazi |url = http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/holocaust.html |title=History : The Bangali Genocide, 1971 |publisher=Virtual Bangladesh |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723203401/http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/holocaust.html |archive-date=23 July 2011 |access-date=23 June 2011}}</ref> | ||
According to the ''Asia Times'' |
According to the ''Asia Times:''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF23Df04.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050624014444/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF23Df04.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=24 June 2005|newspaper=]|title=Indians are bastards anyway|last=Debasish Roy Chowdhury|date=23 June 2005}}</ref> | ||
{{ |
{{blockquote|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 ] were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential 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 |
Although the violence focused on the provincial capital, Dacca, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the ] were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential 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, but the ] in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used. 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 ], whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories.<ref name="nurullah">{{cite book |last=Malik |first=Amita |author-link=Amita Malik |title=The Year of the Vulture |publisher=Orient Longmans |location=New Delhi |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-8046-8817-8 |pages=79–83}}</ref> | ||
| last = Malik | |||
| first = Amita | |||
| authorlink = Amita Malik | |||
| title = The Year of the Vulture | |||
| publisher=Orient Longmans | |||
| location = New Delhi | |||
| year = 1972 | |||
| isbn = 978-0-8046-8817-8 | |||
| pages= 79–83 | |||
}}</ref> | |||
The scale of the atrocities was first made clear in the West when ], a Pakistani journalist who had been sent to the province by the military authorities to write a story favourable to Pakistan |
The scale of the atrocities was first made clear in the West, when ], a Pakistani journalist who had been sent to the province by the military authorities to write a story favourable to Pakistan, instead fled to the United Kingdom and, on 13 June 1971, published an article in '']'' describing the systematic killings by the military. The ] 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 ] saying that Mascarenhas' article led her "to prepare the ground for India's armed intervention".<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16207201 |title = Bangladesh war: The article that changed history – Asia |publisher = BBC |date = 16 December 2011 |access-date = 20 July 2018 |archive-date = 8 May 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190508091712/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16207201 |url-status = live }}</ref> | ||
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) ] 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.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url = |
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) ] 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.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/651231/Agha-Mohammad-Yahya-Khan |title = Encyclopædia Britannica Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604051235/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/651231/Agha-Mohammad-Yahya-Khan |archive-date= 4 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
=== Declaration of independence === | === Declaration of independence === | ||
{{See also|Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence|7 March Speech of Bangabandhu}} | {{See also|Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence|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:{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
{{blockquote|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 .}} | |||
] on 25 March 1971, ] declared the ] and called for nationwide resistance on 26 March midnight, which led the Bangladesh Liberation War to officially start within hours.]] | |||
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: | |||
{{quote|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 .}} | |||
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). | 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).{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
] on ], representing the Pakistani military junta as demons |
] propaganda poster by ] on ], representing the Pakistani military junta as demons<ref>{{cite news |last=Afreen Mallick |first=Sadya |title='Potua' and freedom's colours |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=119256 |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=12 February 2016 |date=25 December 2009 |archive-date=24 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224034828/http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=119256 |url-status=live}}</ref>]] | ||
A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in ]. The message was translated |
A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in ]. The message was translated into Bengali by Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of ], but the message was read several times by the independent Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro Radio established by rebel Bangali Radio workers in Kalurghat. Major ] was requested to provide security for the station and also read the Declaration on 27 March 1971.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://arts.bdnews24.com/?p=2769 |script-title=bn:সংযোজনস্বাধীনতার ঘোষণা: বেলাল মোহাম্মদের সাক্ষাৎকার |trans-title=Declaration of Independence: Bilal Mohammad interview |work=bdnews24.com |language=bn |access-date=28 January 2014 |archive-date=29 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329134219/http://arts.bdnews24.com/?p=2769 |url-status=live }}</ref> He broadcast the announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: | ||
{{ |
{{blockquote|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.<ref name=Gupta>{{cite book |last=Sen Gupta |first=Jyoti |date=1974 |title=History of freedom movement in Bangladesh, 1943–1973: some involvement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DedtAAAAMAAJ |location=Calcutta |publisher=Naya Prokash |pages=325–326 |access-date=18 February 2013}}</ref>}} | ||
The ] Radio Station's transmission capability was limited, but the message was picked up by a Japanese ship in the ]. It was then re-transmitted by ]<ref |
The ] Radio Station's transmission capability was limited, but the message was picked up by a Japanese ship in the ]. It was then re-transmitted by ]<ref name=Gupta /> and later by the BBC. | ||
], 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/declaration.html |title=History : The Declaration of Independence |website=Virtual Bangladesh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901035519/http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/declaration.html |archive-date=1 September 2014}}</ref> | ], 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/declaration.html |title=History : The Declaration of Independence |website=Virtual Bangladesh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901035519/http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/declaration.html |archive-date=1 September 2014}}</ref> | ||
26 March 1971 is considered the official ], and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth. In July 1971, Indian Prime Minister ] openly referred to the former East Pakistan as Bangladesh.<ref> {{ISBN|0-87609-199-0}}, 1997, Council on Foreign Relations. pp 37</ref> Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971. | 26 March 1971 is considered the official ], and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth. In July 1971, Indian Prime Minister ] openly referred to the former East Pakistan as Bangladesh.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129164149/https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0876091990&id=srCLD-PXl-gC&pg=PA143&lpg=PA143#PPA37, |date=29 November 2022 }} {{ISBN|0-87609-199-0}}, 1997, Council on Foreign Relations. pp 37</ref> Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
== Liberation |
== Liberation War == | ||
{{main|Mukti Bahini|Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War}} | {{main|Mukti Bahini|Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War}} | ||
=== March–June === | === March–June === | ||
At first, resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.<ref>Pakistan Defence Journal, 1977, Vol 2, pp. 2–3</ref> |
At first, resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.<ref>Pakistan Defence Journal, 1977, Vol 2, pp. 2–3</ref> But when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The ] 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 ], ] and ] (mostly members of the Muslim League and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and ]i Muslims who had settled during the time of ].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
On 17 April 1971, a provisional government was formed in ] in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as |
On 17 April 1971, a ] was formed in ] in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as president, ] as acting president, ] as prime minister, and General ] 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|date=December 2021}} | ||
=== June–September === | === June–September === | ||
Line 226: | Line 220: | ||
] during the Bangladesh Liberation War]] | ] during the Bangladesh Liberation War]] | ||
] ]'s "]" single, released in July 1971 to raise international awareness and funds for the millions of Bangladeshi refugees |
] ]'s "]" 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. ] as commander-in-chief (C-in-C) with the status of Cabinet Minister, Lt. Col. |
Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. ] 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).{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
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.<ref>{{harvnb|Jacob|1997|pp=90–91}}</ref> With the Bangladesh government in exile, Osmani favoured a different strategy:<ref>{{harvnb|Jacob|1997|pp=42–44, 90–91}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hasan|2004|pp=45–46}}</ref> | |||
* Bengali conventional forces would occupy |
* Bengali conventional forces would occupy lodgments inside Bangladesh and the Bangladesh government would request international ] and intervention. Initially ] was picked for this operation, but Osmani later settled on Sylhet. | ||
* Sending the maximum number |
* Sending the maximum number of guerrillas into Bangladesh as soon as possible with the following objectives:<ref>{{harvnb|Islam|1981|pp=227, 235}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Safiullah|1989|pp=161–163}}</ref> | ||
** Increasing Pakistani casualties through raids and ambush. | ** Increasing Pakistani casualties through raids and ambush. | ||
** Cripple economic activity by hitting power stations, railway lines, storage depots and communication networks. | ** Cripple economic activity by hitting power stations, railway lines, storage depots and communication networks. | ||
** Destroy Pakistan |
** 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. | ** 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 ] in July,<ref>Islam |
Bangladesh was divided into ] in July,<ref>{{harvnb|Islam|1981|pp=226–231}}</ref> each with a commander chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani army who joined the Mukti Bahini to lead guerrilla operations.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} The Mukti Bahini forces were given two to five weeks of training by the Indian army on guerilla warfare.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dowlah|first=Caf|title=The Bangladesh Liberation War, the Sheikh Mujib Regime, and Contemporary Controversies|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4985-3418-5|page=59|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.liberationwarmuseumbd.org/history/#blaf |title = Bangladesh Liberation Armed Force |website = Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh |access-date = 30 October 2015 |archive-date = 6 September 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150906143409/http://www.liberationwarmuseumbd.org/history/#blaf |url-status = live }}</ref> Three brigades (eventually 8 battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raja |first1=Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar |title=O General My General |date=2010 |publisher=Osmany Memorial Trust |isbn=978-984-8866-18-4 |pages=72, 74–75}}</ref> | ||
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.<ref>{{harvnb|Jacob|1997|p=44}}</ref> During June and July, Mukti Bahini regrouped across the border with Indian aid through ] and began sending 2,000–5,000 guerrillas across the border,<ref>{{harvnb|Hasan|2004|p=44}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Hasan|2004|pp=64–65}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Khan|1973|p=125}}</ref> Bengali regular forces also attacked border outposts in ], ] and ], but the results were mixed. Pakistani authorities concluded that they had successfully contained the Monsoon Offensive, which proved a near-accurate observation.<ref>{{harvnb|Ali|1992|p=96}}</ref> | |||
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, ], ] and ] on 15 August 1971.<ref name="Untold heroism of Muktibahini Frogmen">{{cite book|last=Roy|first=Mihir |
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, ], ] and ] on 15 August 1971.<ref name="Untold heroism of Muktibahini Frogmen">{{cite book|last=Roy|first=Mihir K.|title=War in the Indian Ocean|year=1995|publisher=Lancer Publisher & Distributor|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-1-897829-11-0|page=154}}</ref><ref name="On the water front spectacular achievement">{{cite book|last=Robi|first=Mir Mustak Ahmed|title=Chetonai Ekattor|year=2008|publisher=Zonaki Publisher|location=Dhaka|url=http://opac.iub.edu.bd/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=15244&query_desc=%28su%3A{Bangladesh}%29|page=69}}</ref> | ||
=== October–December === | === October–December === | ||
Line 256: | Line 250: | ||
|} | |} | ||
Bangladeshi conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and the ] are a few examples. 90 out of 370 |
Bangladeshi conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and the ] 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 ] at ] and ].<ref name=ACIG>{{cite web |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_326.shtml |title=India – Pakistan War, 1971; Introduction By Tom Cooper, with Khan Syed Shaiz Ali |publisher=Acig.org |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606195040/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_326.shtml |archive-date=6 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent another five battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
== Indian involvement == | == Indian involvement == | ||
{{see also|Indo-Pakistani |
{{see also|Indo-Pakistani war of 1971}} | ||
] | ] | ||
{{ |
{{blockquote|text=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.|author=]|source=Letter to ], 15 December 1971{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}}} | ||
]]] | ]]] | ||
] tanks on their way to Dacca]] | |||
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi |
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi concluded that instead of taking in millions of refugees, India would be economically better off going to war against Pakistan.<ref name="MSN Encarta" /> As early as 28 April 1971, the Indian Cabinet had asked General ] (]) to "Go into East Pakistan".<ref>{{Cite web|title = 1971: Making Bangladesh a reality – I|url = http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/1971-making-bangladesh-a-reality-i/|website = Indian Defence Review| date=16 December 2012 |access-date = 21 June 2015|archive-date = 24 September 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924034413/http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/1971-making-bangladesh-a-reality-i/|url-status = live}}</ref> Hostile relations in the past between India and Pakistan added to India's decision to intervene in Pakistan's civil war.<ref name="MSN Encarta"/> | ||
As a result, the Indian government decided to support the creation of a separate state for ethnic Bengalis by supporting the ].<ref>{{Cite book |script-title=bn:বাংলাদেশ ও অনুপ্রেরণার গল্প |publisher=Inspiring Bangladesh |isbn=978-984-35-0351-0 |page=21 |language=bn |trans-title=Bangladesh and Story of Inspiration |date=2022 }}</ref> ] helped to organise, train and arm these insurgents. Consequently, the Mukti Bahini succeeded in harassing Pakistani military in East Pakistan, creating conditions conducive to a full-scale Indian military intervention in early December.<ref name="MSN Encarta">{{cite encyclopaedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761588350_3/Indo-Pakistani_Wars.html |title=Indo-Pakistani Wars |encyclopaedia=MSN Encarta |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5kwrHv6ph?url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761588350_3/Indo-Pakistani_Wars.html |archive-date=1 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
The ] (PAF) launched ] on 3 December 1971. The attack was modelled on the ]'s ] during the ], and intended to neutralise the ] planes on the ground. The strike was seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression, which marked the official start of the ]. 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 ].<ref name="time-edge">{{cite magazine |url= http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155,00.html|title=India and Pakistan: Over the Edge|magazine=Time|date=13 December 1971|access-date=18 May 2020}}</ref> | |||
The ] (PAF) launched ] on 3 December 1971. The attack was modelled on the ]'s ] during the ] and intended to neutralise the ] planes on the ground. India saw the strike as an open act of unprovoked aggression, which marked the official start of the ]. In 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 ].<ref name="time-edge">{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155,00.html|title=India and Pakistan: Over the Edge|magazine=Time|date=13 December 1971|access-date=18 May 2020|archive-date=8 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008221847/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Three Indian ] were involved in the liberation of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three ]s of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more who were fighting irregularly. That was far superior to the Pakistani army of three ].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878969-4,00.html |title=Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born |magazine=Time |date=20 December 1971 |access-date=23 June 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>''Indian Army after Independence'' by Maj KC Praval 1993 Lancer, p. 317 {{ISBN|1-897829-45-0}}</ref> Unable to defend Dacca, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971. | |||
] tanks on their way to Dacca]] | |||
Three Indian ] were involved in the liberation of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three ]s of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more who were fighting irregularly. That was far superior to the Pakistani army of three ].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878969-4,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103235823/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878969-4,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 November 2007 |title=Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born |magazine=Time |date=20 December 1971 |access-date=23 June 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Praval |first=K. C. |year=1987 |title=Indian Army after Independence |publisher=Lancer International |page=441 |isbn=81-7062-014-7}}</ref> Unable to defend Dacca, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
=== Air and naval war === | === 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 ] near-total ] 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 |
The Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan, and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. It ] near-total ] 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 Bangladeshi airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitola, Lalmonirhat and Shamsher Nagar. ] from the carrier {{INS|Vikrant|1961|6}} also struck Chittagong, ] and ], destroying the eastern wing of the ] and effectively blockading the East Pakistan ports, cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers. The nascent ] (comprising officers and sailors who defected from the Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/independence-day-special-2015/submariners-heroism-and-the-first-military-response-france|title=Naval Commandos in Operation Jackpot|work=The Daily Star|date=26 March 2015|access-date=30 March 2015|archive-date=27 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327073557/http://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/independence-day-special-2015/submariners-heroism-and-the-first-military-response-france|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2020}} | ||
== Surrender and aftermath == | == Surrender and aftermath == | ||
{{further|Pakistani Instrument of Surrender}} | {{further|Pakistani Instrument of Surrender}} | ||
{{See also|Delhi Agreement}} | {{See also|Delhi Agreement}} | ||
] by Pakistan's Lt.Gen. ] in the presence of Indian military officers in ] on 16 Dec' 1971]] | ] | ||
] by Pakistan's Lt.Gen. ] and ] on behalf of Indian and ] in ] on 16 Dec. 1971]] | |||
On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen ], ] of ] and Commander of Pakistan Army forces |
On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen ], ] of ] and Commander of Pakistan Army forces in East Pakistan signed the ]. At the time of surrender only a few countries had provided ] to the new nation. Over 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces and Bangladesh Liberation forces, making it the largest surrender since ].<ref name="dailytimes1912005" /><ref name="BBC1971">{{cite news|title=The 1971 war|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/1971.stm|access-date=11 October 2011|work=BBC News|archive-date=13 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113173555/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/1971.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
Bangladesh sought admission to the UN with most voting in its favour. China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/1972/1972-1-9.htm |title=Situation in the Indian Subcontinent |work=mofa.go.jp |access-date=10 January 2007 |archive-date=20 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420223314/http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/1972/1972-1-9.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224195916/http://www.newint.org/issue332/guess.htm |date=24 February 2007}} Naeem Bangali</ref> To ensure a smooth transition, in 1972 the ] was signed between India and Pakistan. The treaty ensured that Pakistan recognised the independence of Bangladesh in exchange for the return of the Pakistani ].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Ahmad |first=Fayazuddin |date=17 January 2009 |title=Law and Our Rights |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/law/2009/01/03/index.htm |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
India treated all the PoWs in strict accordance with the Geneva Convention, rule 1925.<ref name=":4" /> It released more than 93,000 Pakistani PoWs in five months.<ref name="dailytimes1912005" /> Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were pardoned by India.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.efsas.org/publications/study-papers/bangladesh%E2%80%99s-genocide-debate;-a-conscientious-research/ |title=Bangladesh's genocide debate; A conscientious research |publisher=EFSAS |access-date=3 August 2020 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926032926/https://www.efsas.org/publications/study-papers/bangladesh%E2%80%99s-genocide-debate;-a-conscientious-research/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The accord also gave back {{convert|13000|km²|0|abbr=on}} of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A109&Pg=6 |title=The Simla Agreement 1972 – Story of Pakistan |website=Story of Pakistan |date=1 June 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614014904/http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A109&Pg=6 |archive-date= 14 June 2011 |access-date=23 June 2011}}</ref> most notably ] (which was in turn the focal point of ] 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<ref>{{cite web |title=India's Strategic Blunders in the 1971 War |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-three-indian-blunders-in-the-1971-war/20111212.htm |website=Rediff.com |access-date=3 August 2014 |archive-date=23 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123073209/http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-three-indian-blunders-in-the-1971-war/20111212.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
=== Reaction in West Pakistan to the war === | === 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. ]'s dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto, who took the opportunity to rise to power. |
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. ]'s dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto, who took the opportunity to rise to power.<ref name="Defencejournal">{{cite web |url = http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/oct/yaqub.htm |title=Defencejournal |publisher=Defencejournal |access-date=18 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018222302/http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/oct/yaqub.htm |archive-date=18 October 2012}}</ref><!--dead link<ref>{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref>--><ref name="ghazali.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.ghazali.net/book8/Chapter_5/body_chapter_5.html |title=General Niazi's Failure in High Command |website=Ghazali.net |date=21 August 2000 |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-date=19 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219015252/http://www.ghazali.net/book8/Chapter_5/body_chapter_5.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
], 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".<ref name="Defencejournal"/><!--dead link<ref>{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref>--><ref name="ghazali.net"/> | |||
== Atrocities == | == Atrocities == | ||
{{Main|1971 Bangladesh genocide|1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals|Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War}} | {{Main|1971 Bangladesh genocide|1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals|Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War}} | ||
], 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 beginning with ] on 25 March 1971. Members of the ] and supporting paramilitary forces killed an estimated 300,000<ref name="BBC"/> to 3,000,000 people<ref name="MathewWhite">White, Matthew, '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305175626/http://necrometrics.com/20c1m.htm#Bangladesh |date=5 March 2011 }}''</ref> and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 ] women in a systematic campaign of ].{{sfn|Sharlach|2000|pp=92–93}}{{sfn|Sajjad|2012|p=225}} Pakistan's religious leaders openly supported the crime by labelling ] "Hindus" and Bengali women "the booty of war".<ref>{{cite book |last=Siddiqi |first=Dina M. |year=1998 |chapter=Taslima Nasreen and Others: The Contest over Gender in Bangladesh |editor-last1=Bodman |editor-first1=Herbert L. |editor-last2=Tohidi |editor-first2=Nayereh Esfahlani |title=Women in Muslim Societies: Diversity Within Unity |publisher=Lynne Rienner |pages=208–209 |isbn=978-1-55587-578-7 |quote=Sometime during the war, a fatwa originating in West Pakistan labeled Bengali freedom fighters 'Hindus' and declared that 'the wealth and women' to be secured by warfare with them could be treated as the booty of war. S. A. Hossain, "Fatwa in Islam: Bangladesh Perspective," ''Daily Star'' (Dhaka), 28 December 1994, 7.}}</ref> In fact, more than 80 percent of the Bengali people were Muslims at that time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Population |title=Population |website=Banglapedia |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=1 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401041939/https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Population |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
] | |||
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the ] and ] forces,<ref>Many of the eyewitness accounts of relations that were picked up by "Al Badr" forces describe them as Bengali men. The only survivor of the Rayerbazar killings describes the captors and killers of Bengali professionals as fellow Bengalis. See 57 Dilawar Hossain, account reproduced in ''Ekattorer Ghatok-dalalera ke Kothay'' (Muktijuddha Chetona Bikash Kendro, Dacca, 1989)</ref> at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2005/12/14/d512141501115.htm |title=The loss continues to haunt us |last=Khan |first=Md. Asadullah |date=14 December 2005 |type=Editorial |work=The Daily Star |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305011706/http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/14/d512141501115.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Just two days before the surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and the 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/19/archives/125-slain-in-dacca-area-believed-elite-of-bengal-125-found-slain.html|title=125 Slain in Dacca Area Believed Elite of Bengal|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=19 December 1971|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=11 June 2017|issn=0362-4331|quote=At least 125 persons, believed to be physicians, professors, writers and teachers, were found murdered today in a field outside Dacca. All the victims' hands were tied behind their backs and they had been bayoneted, garroted or shot. They were among an estimated 300 Bengali intellectuals who had been seized by West Pakistani soldiers and locally recruited supporters.|archive-date=28 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328143516/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C13F83C5E127A93CBA81789D95F458785F9|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
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 ] on 25 March 1971. Members of the ] and supporting Islamist ]s from Jamaat e Islami killed an estimated 300,000<ref name="BBC"/> to 3,000,000 people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 ] women in a systematic campaign of ].{{sfn|Sharlach|2000|pp=92–93}}{{sfn|Sajjad|2012|p=225}}<ref name="MathewWhite">White, Matthew, ''''</ref> During the war, a ] in Pakistan declared that the Bengali freedom fighters were Hindus and that their women could be taken as "the booty of war".<ref>{{cite book |last=Siddiqi |first=Dina M. |year=1998 |chapter=Taslima Nasreen and Others: The Contest over Gender in Bangladesh |editor-last1=Bodman |editor-first1=Herbert L. |editor-last2=Tohidi |editor-first2=Nayereh Esfahlani |title=Women in Muslim Societies: Diversity Within Unity |publisher=Lynne Rienner |pages=208–209 |isbn=978-1-55587-578-7 |quote=Sometime during the war, a fatwa originating in West Pakistan labeled Bengali freedom fighters 'Hindus' and declared that 'the wealth and women' to be secured by warfare with them could be treated as the booty of war. S. A. Hossain, "Fatwa in Islam: Bangladesh Perspective," ''Daily Star'' (Dhaka), 28 December 1994, 7.}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
], 1971)]] | |||
Many mass graves have been discovered in Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99aug08/world.htm#7 |title=Mass grave found in Bangladesh |work=The Tribune |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228012627/https://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99aug08/world.htm#7 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dacca to the U.S. State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of ] and other civilians.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/|title=The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971|last=Evans|first=Michael|website=nsarchive.gwu.edu|access-date=11 June 2017|archive-date=12 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612151003/http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/|url-status=live}}</ref> Numerous women were tortured, raped, and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are debated. The widespread rape of Bangladeshi women led to birth of thousands of ].<ref>{{cite news | title = Bengali Wives Raped in War Are Said to Face Ostracism | date = 8 January 1972 | url = http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720118_nyt_bengali_wives_raped_in_war_are_said_to_face_ostracism.pdf | work = The New York Times | access-date = 10 November 2011 | archive-date = 21 December 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111221082405/http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720118_nyt_bengali_wives_raped_in_war_are_said_to_face_ostracism.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Aubrey | last = Menen | author-link = Aubrey Menen | title = The Rapes of Bangladesh | date = 23 July 1972 | url = http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720723_nyt_the_rapes_of_bangladesh.pdf | newspaper = The New York Times | access-date = 10 November 2011 | archive-date = 21 December 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111221082430/http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720723_nyt_the_rapes_of_bangladesh.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Anthony | last = Astrachan | title = U.N. Asked to Aid Bengali Abortions | date = 22 March 1972 | url = http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720322_wp_un_asked_to_aid_bengali_abortions.pdf | newspaper = The Washington Post | access-date = 10 November 2011 | archive-date = 21 December 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111221082448/http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720322_wp_un_asked_to_aid_bengali_abortions.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> | |||
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the ] and ] forces,<ref>Many of the eyewitness accounts of relations that were picked up by "Al Badr" forces describe them as Bengali men. The only survivor of the Rayerbazar killings describes the captors and killers of Bengali professionals as fellow Bengalis. See 57 Dilawar Hossain, account reproduced in ''Ekattorer Ghatok-dalalera ke Kothay'' (Muktijuddha Chetona Bikash Kendro, Dacca, 1989)</ref> at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://archive.thedailystar.net/2005/12/14/d512141501115.htm |title=The loss continues to haunt us |last=Khan |first=Md. Asadullah |date=14 December 2005 |type=Editorial |website=The Daily Star|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/19/archives/125-slain-in-dacca-area-believed-elite-of-bengal-125-found-slain.html |title = 125 Slain in Dacca Area Believed Elite of Bengal |last=Times|first=Special to the New York|date=19 December 1971|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=11 June 2017|issn=0362-4331|quote=At least 125 persons, believed to be physicians, professors, writers and teachers, were found murdered today in a field outside Dacca. All the victims' hands were tied behind their backs and they had been bayoneted, garroted or shot. They were among an estimated 300 Bengali intellectuals who had been seized by West Pakistani soldiers and locally recruited supporters.}}</ref> | |||
The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex slaves inside the Dacca Cantonment. Most were captured from Dacca University and private homes.<ref name="time.oct25-1971">{{cite magazine |title=East Pakistan: Even the Skies Weep |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877316,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104001659/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877316,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2007 |url-access=subscription |magazine=] |date=25 October 1971 |page=43 |quote=Refugees are still trekking into India ... telling of villages burned, residents shot, and prominent figures carried off and never heard from again. One of the more horrible revelations concerns 563 young Bengali women, some only 18, who have been held captive inside Dacca's dingy military cantonment since the first days of the fighting. Seized from Dacca University and private homes and forced into military brothels, the girls are all three to five months pregnant. The army is reported to have enlisted Bengali gynecologists to abort girls held at military installations. But for those at the Dacca cantonment it is too late for abortion.}}</ref> There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,<ref name="usconsulate_cable_march31">U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221082405/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/BEBB6.pdf |date=21 December 2011 }}, 31 March 1971, Confidential, 3 pp</ref> but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially ].<ref name="Bihari Refugees">{{cite journal |last=Sen |first=Sumit |year=1999 |title=Stateless Refugees and the Right to Return: the Bihari Refugees of South Asia, Part 1 |journal=] |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=625–645 |doi=10.1093/ijrl/11.4.625}}</ref> In June 1971, Bihari representatives said that 500,000 Biharis were killed by Bengalis.<ref name="Gerlach2010">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=48N-XbOltMEC&pg=PA148|title=Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the Twentieth-Century World|last=Gerlach|first=Christian|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=9781139493512|page=148|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214806/https://books.google.com/books?id=48N-XbOltMEC&pg=PA148|url-status=live}}</ref> R. J. Rummel gives a prudent estimate of 150,000 killed.<ref name=":12">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aYBrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA334|title=Death by Government|last=Rummel|first=R. J.|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=1997|isbn=9781560009276|page=334|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214903/https://books.google.com/books?id=aYBrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA334|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
On 16 December 2002, the ]'s ] published a collection of declassified documents, consisting mostly of communications between |
On 16 December 2002, the ]'s ] published a collection of declassified documents, consisting mostly of communications between U.S. embassy officials and ] centres in Dacca and India, and officials in Washington, D.C.<ref name=":2" /> These documents show that U.S. officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms "selective genocide"<ref name="SelectiveGenocide">U.S. Consulate in Dacca (27 March 1971), '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612052659/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/ |date=12 June 2009 }}'', Cable (PDF)</ref> and "genocide" (see ]) for information on events they had knowledge of at the time. '']'' is the term still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh,<ref name="bangladeshobserver">{{cite news |title=The Jamaat Talks Back |url=http://www.bangladeshobserveronline.com/new/2005/12/30/editorial.htm |newspaper=] |type=Editorial |date=30 December 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070123033307/http://www.bangladeshobserveronline.com/new/2005/12/30/editorial.htm |archive-date=23 January 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2005/12/03/remembrance.htm |title=Remembering a Martyr |magazine=Star Weekend Magazine |publisher=The Daily Star |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=27 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027095320/http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2005/12/03/remembrance.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> although in Pakistan, the accusations against Pakistani forces continue to be disputed.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
== International |
== International reactions == | ||
] vowed to fight alongside the Mukti Bahini in the Liberation War.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/28/bernard-henri-levy-andre-malraux-s-bangladesh-before-the-radicals.html|title=Bernard-Henri Levy: Andre Malraux's Bangladesh, Before the Radicals|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=28 April 2014|last1=Lévy|first1=Bernard-Henri}}</ref><ref>{{cite |
] vowed to fight alongside the Mukti Bahini in the Liberation War.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/28/bernard-henri-levy-andre-malraux-s-bangladesh-before-the-radicals.html|title=Bernard-Henri Levy: Andre Malraux's Bangladesh, Before the Radicals|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=28 April 2014|last1=Lévy|first1=Bernard-Henri|access-date=2 April 2015|archive-date=7 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407100546/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/28/bernard-henri-levy-andre-malraux-s-bangladesh-before-the-radicals.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212838:andre-malraux-a-true-friend-of-bangladesh&catid=182:city-life&Itemid=220 |title=André Malraux: A true friend of Bangladesh |work=The Independent |location=Dhaka |date=25 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411040048/http://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212838:andre-malraux-a-true-friend-of-bangladesh&catid=182:city-life&Itemid=220 |archive-date=11 April 2015}}</ref>]] | ||
Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of independence in March 1971, a worldwide campaign was undertaken by the ] to drum up political support for the independence of East Pakistan as well as humanitarian support for the Bengali people. | Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of independence in March 1971, a worldwide campaign was undertaken by the ] to drum up political support for the independence of East Pakistan as well as humanitarian support for the Bengali people.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
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.<ref name="recog-story">{{cite web|url=http://www.bdsdf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3072 |title=The Recognition Story |publisher=Bangladesh Strategic and Development Forum | |
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.<ref name="recog-story">{{cite web|url=http://www.bdsdf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3072 |title=The Recognition Story |publisher=Bangladesh Strategic and Development Forum |access-date=17 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725050939/http://www.bdsdf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3072 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Also, following Pakistan's defeat, it ensured prompt recognition of the newly independent state of Bangladesh.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
=== United Nations === | === 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. | 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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
After India entered the war, Pakistan, fearing certain defeat, made urgent appeals to the United Nations to intervene and force India to agree to a ]. The ] 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.<ref name="time-edge" /><ref name=":3">{{cite book|url=https://en.wikisource.org/Zulfiqar_Ali_Bhutto%27s_farewell_speech_to_the_United_Nations_Security_Council|title=Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's farewell speech to the United Nations Security Council|last=Bhutto|first=Zulfiqar Ali|access-date=11 June 2017|archive-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428162858/https://en.wikisource.org/Zulfiqar_Ali_Bhutto%27s_farewell_speech_to_the_United_Nations_Security_Council|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
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 |
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 ceasefire. 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.<ref name=":3" /> | ||
Most UN member nations were quick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence.<ref name="recog-story" /> | Most UN member nations were quick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence.<ref name="recog-story" /> | ||
===Bhutan=== | ===Bhutan=== | ||
As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat of the Pakistan Army, the Himalayan kingdom of ] became the first state in the world to recognise the newly independent country on 6 December 1971.<ref>{{cite |
As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat of the Pakistan Army, the Himalayan kingdom of ] became the first state in the world to recognise the newly independent country on 6 December 1971.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/dec/08/bhutan-recognised-bangladesh-first|title=Bhutan recognised Bangladesh first|work=]|date=8 December 2014|access-date=14 December 2014|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108132617/https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/dec/08/bhutan-recognised-bangladesh-first|url-status=live}}</ref> ], the first ], visited Bhutan to attend the coronation of ], the fourth King of Bhutan in June 1974.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | ||
=== US and USSR === | === US and USSR === | ||
] led US congressional support for Bangladeshi independence]] | ] led US congressional support for Bangladeshi independence.]] | ||
The US government stood by its old ally Pakistan in terms of diplomacy and military threats.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jarrod Hayes | |
The US government stood by its old ally Pakistan in terms of diplomacy and military threats.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jarrod Hayes |year=2012 |title=Securitization, social identity, and democratic security: Nixon, India, and the ties that bind |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241754960 |journal=International Organization |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=63–93 |doi=10.1017/S0020818311000324 |jstor=41428946|s2cid=145504278 }}</ref> US President ] and his National Security Advisor ] feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with which Nixon had been negotiating a '']'' and which he ] in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of ] 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.<ref name="Shalom">Shalom, Stephen R., {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823000531/http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/issue47/articles/a07.htm |date=23 August 2009 }}</ref><ref name="thedailystar.net">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/perspective/the-triumvirate-the-diplomat-the-journalist-and-the-artist-1330978|title=The triumvirate of the Diplomat, the Journalist and the Artist|date=17 December 2016|newspaper=The Daily Star|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=13 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113110423/http://www.thedailystar.net/perspective/the-triumvirate-the-diplomat-the-journalist-and-the-artist-1330978|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
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,<ref name="Shalom"/> 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 ].<ref name="thedailystar.net"/> | |||
] was widely criticised for its close ties with the military junta led by General ]. American diplomats in East Pakistan expressed profound dissent in the ].]] | ] was widely criticised for its close ties with the military junta led by General ]. American diplomats in East Pakistan expressed profound dissent in the ].]] | ||
Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan, but when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, |
Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan, but when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, he sent the aircraft carrier ] to the ],<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Scott |title=Naval 'Show of Force' By Nixon Meant as Blunt Warning to India |work=Bangor Daily News |date=21 December 1971 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HUU0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5099,2016461 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154916/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HUU0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5099,2016461 |url-status=live }}</ref> a move the Indians deemed a nuclear threat. ''Enterprise'' arrived on station on 11 December 1971. On 6 and 13 December, the ] dispatched two groups of ships, armed with nuclear missiles, from ]; they trailed US ] in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until 7 January 1972.<ref name="White2011">{{cite book|author=Matthew White|title=Atrocitology: Humanity's 100 Deadliest Achievements|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5w9qmd1UeMC&q=pakistani+dictator+yahya+khan&pg=PR45|year=2011|publisher=Canongate Books|isbn=978-0-85786-125-2|page=45|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214807/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5w9qmd1UeMC&q=pakistani+dictator+yahya+khan&pg=PR45|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/books/review/the-blood-telegram-by-gary-j-bass.html|title=Collateral Damage:'The Blood Telegram,' by Gary J. Bass|author=Dexter Filkins|date=27 September 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 December 2015|archive-date=11 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611054151/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/books/review/the-blood-telegram-by-gary-j-bass.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies, as well as the ] 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 |
The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies, as well as the ] 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 U.S. or China developed, the USSR would take countermeasures. This was enshrined in the ] signed in August 1971. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS ''Enterprise'' in the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1161217/jsp/frontpage/story_125276.jsp|title=That same fleet but new face|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=13 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113063248/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1161217/jsp/frontpage/story_125276.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
At the end of the war, the ] countries were among the first to recognise Bangladesh. The Soviet Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972.<ref>{{cite news |title=USSR, Czechoslovakia Recognize Bangladesh |agency=Associated Press |location=Sumter, South Carolina, US |date=25 January 1972 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0dIoAAAAIBAJ& |
At the end of the war, the ] countries were among the first to recognise Bangladesh. The Soviet Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972.<ref>{{cite news |title=USSR, Czechoslovakia Recognize Bangladesh |agency=Associated Press |location=Sumter, South Carolina, US |date=25 January 1972 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0dIoAAAAIBAJ&pg=2219,2272476 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154918/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0dIoAAAAIBAJ&pg=2219,2272476 |url-status=live }}</ref> The United States delayed recognition for some months, before according it on 8 April 1972.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nixon Hopes for Subcontinent Peace |agency=Associated Press |location=Spartanburg, South Carolina, US |date=9 April 1972 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5TMsAAAAIBAJ&pg=3505,1398456 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154918/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5TMsAAAAIBAJ&pg=3505,1398456 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
=== China === | === 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 ]. On December |
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 ]. On 10 December 1971, Nixon instructed 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 ], China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, later that evening.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/xi/45650.htm|title=Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971|access-date=19 May 2020|website=]|archive-date=11 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311235955/https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/xi/45650.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=1971|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2S-wAQAAQBAJ|publisher=Harvard University Press|pages=101–105|author=Srinath Raghavan|date = 12 November 2013|isbn = 9780674731295}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=East Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IRmDwAAQBAJ|pages=52–53|author=Noah Berlatsky|date=26 October 2012|publisher=Greenhaven Publishing|isbn=9780737762563|access-date=18 May 2020|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214855/https://books.google.com/books?id=1IRmDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
The Chinese did not respond to this encouragement, because unlike the ], 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.<ref name="time-edge" /> China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} | |||
When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972, China vetoed |
When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972, China vetoed its application<ref name="oxnard">{{cite news |title=China Recognizes Bangladesh |agency=Associated Press |location=Oxnard, California, US |date=1 September 1975 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rnVKAAAAIBAJ&pg=4237,20391 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028213206/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rnVKAAAAIBAJ&pg=4237,20391 |url-status=live }}</ref> because two U.N. resolutions about the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians had not yet been implemented.<ref>{{cite news |title=China Veto Downs Bangladesh UN Entry |agency=United Press International |date=26 August 1972 |location=Montreal, Quebec, Canada |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GQsyAAAAIBAJ&pg=4712,6055847 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414025755/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GQsyAAAAIBAJ&pg=4712,6055847 |url-status=live }}</ref> China was also among the last countries to recognise independent Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 31 August 1975.<ref name="recog-story" /><ref name="oxnard" /> | ||
=== Sri Lanka === | === Sri Lanka === | ||
Sri Lanka saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for |
Sri Lanka (then called ]) saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for itself and feared India might use its enhanced power against it in the future.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP83S00854R000200130001-0.pdf |title=India and Its Neighbors: Cooperation of Confrontation? |author=Office of Near East-South Asia Analysis |author-link=Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies |date=19 January 2011 |website=] |access-date=12 January 2021 |quote="Nepal and Sri Lanka saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for themselves and feared that India might use its enhanced power against them at some future date." |quote-page=7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115114828/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP83S00854R000200130001-0.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|7}} Despite the left-wing government of ] following a neutral non-aligned foreign policy, Sri Lanka decided to help Pakistan in the war.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=13217 |title=The Foreign Policy of Sirimavo Bandaranaike |work=The Island |date=11 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213125733/http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=13217 |archive-date=13 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mfa.gov.lk/brief-overview-of-sri-lankas-foreign-relations-to-post-independence/ |title=You are being redirected... |website=mfa.gov.lk |access-date=9 April 2019 |archive-date=8 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408011417/https://www.mfa.gov.lk/brief-overview-of-sri-lankas-foreign-relations-to-post-independence/ |url-status=live}}</ref> As Pakistani aircraft could not fly over Indian territory, they would have to take a longer route around India and so they stopped at ] in Sri Lanka where they were refuelled before flying to ].<ref>{{cite news |date=11 June 2011 |title=Pak thanks Lanka for help in 1971 war |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world/pak-thanks-lanka-for-help-in-1971-war/story-UpZWXd0fFX5eDPac0KMIYL.html |newspaper=Hindustan Times |access-date=14 February 2019 |archive-date=21 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321063210/https://www.hindustantimes.com/world/pak-thanks-lanka-for-help-in-1971-war/story-UpZWXd0fFX5eDPac0KMIYL.html |url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
=== Arab |
=== Arab world === | ||
As many ] were allied with both the |
As many ] 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 ] and the ]. Nixon gave permission for Jordan to send ten ]s and promised to provide replacements.<ref name="Shalom" /> According to author Martin Bowman, "Libyan ] were reportedly deployed to ], perhaps as a potential training unit to prepare Pakistani pilots for an influx of more F-5s from Saudi Arabia."<ref name="Pen and Sword, Bowman">{{cite book |last1=Bowman |first1=Martin |year=2016 |title=Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations 1950–1972 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QleqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |publisher=Pen and Sword |page=112 |isbn=978-1-4738-7463-3 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214845/https://books.google.com/books?id=QleqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
] dictator ] 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.<ref name="THe News International">{{cite news |last=Nazar Abbas |title=Gaddafi is gone, long live Libya |url=https://www.thenews.com/Todays-News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-live-Libya |newspaper=The News International |date=26 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809005813/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-live-Libya |archive-date=9 August 2013 |access-date=9 August 2013}}</ref> In addition to these three countries, an unidentified Middle Eastern ally also supplied Pakistan with ]s.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} | |||
=== Iran === | |||
During the course of the conflict, ] also stood with Pakistan politically and diplomatically.<ref name="British Academic Press, Mudiam">{{cite book |last1=Mudiam |first1=Prithvi Ram |year=1994 |title=India and the Middle East |url=https://books.google.com/?id=jiDYjw4gCzEC&pg=PA79 |publisher=British Academic Press |page= |isbn=978-1-85043-703-1}}</ref>{{rp|78–79}} It was concerned with the imminent break-up of Pakistan which, it feared, would have caused the state to ], ultimately resulting in Iran's encirclement by rivals. At the beginning of the conflict, Iran had helped Pakistan by sheltering PAF's fighter jets and providing it with free fuel to take part in the conflict, in an attempt to keep Pakistan's regional integrity united.<ref name="British Academic Press, Mudiam"/>{{rp|80}}{{verification needed|date=September 2017}} When Pakistan called for unilateral ceasefire and the surrender was announced, the ] hastily responded by preparing the ] to come up with contingency plans to forcefully invade Pakistan and annex its ] into ], by any means necessary, before anybody else did it.<ref name="British Academic Press, Mudiam"/>{{rp|79}}{{verification needed|date=September 2017}} | |||
== In popular culture == | == In popular culture == | ||
Line 352: | Line 360: | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
{{Portal|Bangladesh |
{{Portal|Bangladesh}} | ||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
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=== Sources === | === Sources === | ||
{{refbegin}} | {{refbegin|30em}} | ||
* {{ |
* {{Country study}} | ||
* {{cite book |last= |
* {{cite book |last=Ali |first=Rao Farman |author-link=Rao Farman Ali |title=How Pakistan Got Divided |year=1992 |publisher=Jang Publishers |isbn=984-05-0157-7}} | ||
* {{cite book |last=Baxter |first=Craig |author-link=Craig Baxter |year=1997 |title=Bangladesh: From A Nation To A State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJdNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=978-0-813-33632-9 |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214844/https://books.google.com/books?id=FJdNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite journal |last=Sharlach|first=Lisa |title = Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda |journal=New Political Science |year=2000 |volume=1 |issue=22 |doi=10.1080/713687893 |pages=89–102 |ref= harv}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Bose |first=Sarmila |date=8 October 2005 |title=Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971 |url=http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/materials/profile_materials/sbose-anatomy_of_violence-epw_v_40_no_41_2005.pdf |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=40 |issue=41 |access-date=7 March 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228012627/https://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/materials/profile_materials/sbose-anatomy_of_violence-epw_v_40_no_41_2005.pdf |url-status=dead}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Hasan |first=Moyeedul |title=Muldhara, 71 |year=2004 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-984-05-0121-2}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Islam |first=Rafiqul |title=A Tale of Millions |year=1981 |publisher=Bangladesh Books International |oclc=499426590}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Jacob |first=JFR |author-link=J. F. R. Jacob |title=Surrender at Dacca: Birth of A Nation |year=1997 |publisher=Manohar |isbn=81-7304-189-X}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Khan |first=Fazal Mukeem |title=Pakistan's Crisis in Leadership |year=1973 |publisher=National Book Foundation |oclc=976643179}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Safiullah |first=K. M. |author-link=K. M. Shafiullah |title=Bangladesh at War |year=1989 |publisher=Academic Publishers |oclc=24300969}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Sajjad |first=Tazreena |title=Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide |year=2012 |publisher=Transaction |isbn=978-1412847599 |pages=219–248 |edition=Reprint |editor=Samuel Totten |chapter=The Post-Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Salik |first=Siddiq |author-link=Siddique Salik |title=Witness to Surrender |year=1997 |orig-year=First published 1977 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-577761-1}} | |||
* {{cite journal |last=Sharlach |first=Lisa |title=Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda |journal=New Political Science |year=2000 |volume=1 |issue=22 |doi=10.1080/713687893 |pages=89–102 |s2cid=144966485}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=van Schendel |first=Willem |title=A History of Bangladesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y2bBQAAQBAJ |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-99741-9 |access-date=4 December 2018 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214523/https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y2bBQAAQBAJ |url-status=live}} | |||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
{{Main list|List of books on Liberation War of Bangladesh}} | {{Main list|List of books on Liberation War of Bangladesh}} | ||
{{refbegin| |
{{refbegin|30em}} | ||
* Ayoob, Mohammed and ], ''The Liberation War'', S. Chand and Co. pvt Ltd. New Delhi, 1972. | * Ayoob, Mohammed and ], ''The Liberation War'', S. Chand and Co. pvt Ltd. New Delhi, 1972. | ||
* Ayub, Muhammad (2005). An Army, its Role and Rule: A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil 1947–1999. Pittsburgh: RoseDog Books. {{ISBN|0-8059-9594-3}}. | |||
* Bass, Gary J. ''The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide.'' Vintage, 2014. {{ISBN|0307744620}} | * 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. | * Bhargava, G.S., ''Crush India or Pakistan's Death Wish'', ISSD, New Delhi, 1972. | ||
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* {{cite journal |last=Choudhury |first=G. W. |author-link=G. W. Choudhury |date=April 1972 |title=Bangladesh: Why It Happened |journal=International Affairs |publisher=Royal Institute of International Affairs |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=242–249 |doi=10.2307/2613440 |issn=0020-5850 |jstor=2613440}} | * {{cite journal |last=Choudhury |first=G. W. |author-link=G. W. Choudhury |date=April 1972 |title=Bangladesh: Why It Happened |journal=International Affairs |publisher=Royal Institute of International Affairs |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=242–249 |doi=10.2307/2613440 |issn=0020-5850 |jstor=2613440}} | ||
* {{cite book |last=Choudhury |first=G. W. |author-link=G. W. Choudhury |year=1994 |orig-year=First published 1974 |title=The Last Days of United Pakistan |publisher=University Press |location=Dhaka |isbn=978-984-05-1242-3}} | * {{cite book |last=Choudhury |first=G. W. |author-link=G. W. Choudhury |year=1994 |orig-year=First published 1974 |title=The Last Days of United Pakistan |publisher=University Press |location=Dhaka |isbn=978-984-05-1242-3}} | ||
* Govt. of Bangladesh, ''Documents of the war of Independence'', Vol |
* 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}} | * Hitchens, Christopher, ''The Trials of Henry Kissinger'', Verso (2001). {{ISBN|1-85984-631-9}} | ||
* Kanjilal, Kalidas, ''The Perishing Humanity'', Sahitya Loke, Calcutta, 1976 | * Kanjilal, Kalidas, ''The Perishing Humanity'', Sahitya Loke, Calcutta, 1976 | ||
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* Malik, Amita, ''The Year of the Vulture'', Orient Longmans, New Delhi, 1972. | * 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. | * 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. |
* 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, | * National Security Archive, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050420033838/http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/ |date=20 April 2005 }} | ||
* Quereshi, Major General Hakeem Arshad, ''The 1971 Indo-Pak War, A Soldiers Narrative'', Oxford University Press, 2002. | * 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. | * Raghavan, Srinath, ''1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh,'' Harvard Univ. Press, 2013. | ||
* Rummel, R. J., ''Death By Government'', Transaction Publishers, 1997. | |||
* Salik, Siddiq, ''Witness to Surrender'', Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 1977. | |||
* Sisson, Richard & Rose, Leo, ''War and secession: Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh'', University of California Press (Berkeley), 1990. | * 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}} | * 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 | * 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, | * US Department of State Office of the Historian, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222120320/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v11 |date=22 December 2015 }} | ||
* Zaheer, Hasan: ''The separation of East Pakistan: The rise and realisation of Bengali Muslim nationalism'', Oxford University Press, 1994. | * Zaheer, Hasan: ''The separation of East Pakistan: The rise and realisation of Bengali Muslim nationalism'', Oxford University Press, 1994. | ||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |title=O General My General (Life and Works of General M. A. G. Osmani) |year=2010 |author=Raja, Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar |publisher=The Osmani Memorial Trust, Dacca, Bangladesh |isbn=978-984-8866-18-4}} | ||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
== |
==External links== | ||
{{Commons category|Bangladesh Liberation War}} | {{Commons category|Bangladesh Liberation War}} | ||
{{Wikiquote}} | {{Wikiquote}} | ||
* {{Banglapedia|War_of_Liberation,_The|The Liberation war of Bangladesh}} | |||
* {{YouTube|G_kP0A60tNA|Rare video documentary}} | |||
* | |||
* {{YouTube|vFHlPID-eSk|Dateline Bangladesh: Documentary by Gita Mehta}} | |||
* , The Daily Star | |||
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* <sub>Graphic images, viewer discretion advised</sub> | * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926052212/http://www.banglagallery.com/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=5 |date=26 September 2021 }} <sub>Graphic images, viewer discretion advised</sub> | ||
* | * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192438/http://archive.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2010/12/victory_day/facts.html |date=2 January 2014 }} | ||
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* | * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625033855/http://www.observerbd.com/details.php?id=63378 |date=25 June 2020 }} | ||
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Latest revision as of 14:29, 19 December 2024
1971 Bangladesh–Pakistan armed conflict
Bangladesh Liberation War মুক্তিযুদ্ধ Muktijuddhô | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the independence of Bangladesh, the Indo-Pakistani conflicts and the Cold War | |||||||||
Clockwise from top left: Martyred Intellectuals Memorial; Bangladesh Forces howitzer; A. A. K. Niazi signs the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender to the joint forces in the presence of Jagjit Singh Aurora; and the PNS Ghazi | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
Bangladesh India | Pakistan | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Political: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tajuddin Ahmad Indira Gandhi Military: M. A. G. Osmani A. K. Khandker Ziaur Rahman K. M. Shafiullah Khaled Mosharraf Sam Manekshaw Jagjit Singh Arora |
Political: Militias: | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
Mukti Bahini Indian Armed Forces (3–16 Dec.) |
Paramilitary forces, political parties and militias: | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
175,000 250,000 |
~91,000 regular troops 280,000 Paramilitary forces ~25,000 militiamen | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
~30,000 killed 1,426–1,525 killed 3,611–4,061 wounded |
~8,000 killed ~10,000 wounded 90,000–93,000 captured (including 79,676 troops and 10,324–12,192 local militiamen) | ||||||||
Civilian deaths: Estimates range between 300,000 and 3,000,000. |
Bangladesh Liberation War | |
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Systematic events
§ indicates events in the internal resistance movement linked to the Indo-Pakistani War. |
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Events |
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Key persons |
Related |
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Part of a series on the |
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History of Bangladesh |
British Raj 1858 – 1947 |
East Bengal 1947 – 1955 |
East Pakistan 1955 – 1971
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The Bangladesh Liberation War (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, pronounced [mukt̪iɟud̪d̪ʱo]), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence and known as the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was an 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 East Pakistanis on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.
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 war's initial months. 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. India joined the war on 3 December 1971, after Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on northern India. The subsequent Indo-Pakistani War involved fighting on two fronts; 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.
Rural and urban areas across East Pakistan saw extensive military operations and air strikes to suppress the tide of civil disobedience that formed after the 1970 election stalemate. The Pakistan Army, backed by Islamists, created radical religious militias—the Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams—to assist it during raids on the local populace. 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.
The war changed the geopolitical landscape of South Asia, with the emergence of Bangladesh as the world's seventh-most populous country. Due to complex regional alliances, the war was a major episode in Cold War tensions involving the United States, the Soviet Union and China. The majority of member states in the United Nations recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign nation in 1972.
Background
Before the Partition of British India, the Lahore Resolution initially envisaged separate Muslim-majority states in British India's eastern and northwestern zones. A proposal for an independent United Bengal was mooted by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1946 but opposed by the colonial authorities. The East Pakistan Renaissance Society advocated the creation of a sovereign state in eastern British India.
Political negotiations led, in August 1947, to the official birth of two states, Pakistan and India, giving presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus, respectively, after the British departed. The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west, with India in between.
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 two zones' population 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.
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 and suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment, in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight. The Pakistan Army's violent crackdown led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971. Most Bengalis supported this move, although some Islamists and Biharis opposed it and sided with the Pakistan Army instead.
Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war. The war led a substantial number of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) to flood India's eastern provinces. Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India actively aided and organised the Bangladeshi resistance army, the Mukti Bahini.
Language controversy
Main article: Bengali language movementIn 1948, Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be Pakistan's federal language. But Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north, central, and western subcontinent; in East Bengal, the native language was Bengali, one of the two most easterly branches of the Indo-European languages. Bengali speakers constituted over 56% of Pakistan's population.
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 Bengali script from currency and stamps, which were in place since the British Raj.
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. In memory of the deaths, UNESCO declared 21 February International Mother Language Day in November 1999.
Disparities
Although, East Pakistan had the 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.
Also, Bengalis were underrepresented in the Pakistani military. Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of the overall force by 1965; of these, only a few were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative posts. West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined", unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis; Bengalis dismissed the "martial races" notion as ridiculous and humiliating.
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 repulse any Indian retaliations during the conflict.
Ideological and cultural differences
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. Many Bengali Muslims strongly objected to the Islamist paradigm the Pakistani state imposed.
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. West Pakistanis were substantially more supportive than East Pakistanis of an Islamic state, a tendency that persisted after 1971.
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. West Pakistanis, in an attempt to "Islamise" the East, wanted the Bengalis to adopt Urdu. The activities of the language movement nurtured a sentiment among Bengalis in favour of discarding Pakistan's communalism in favour of secular politics. The Awami League began propagating its secular message through its newspaper to the Bengali readership.
The Awami League's emphasis on secularism differentiated it from the Muslim League. In 1971, the Bangladeshi liberation struggle against Pakistan was led by secular leaders and secularists hailed the Bangladeshi victory as the triumph of secular Bengali nationalism over religion-centred Pakistani nationalism. While Pakistan's government strives for an Islamic state, Bangladesh was established secular. After the liberation victory, the Awami League attempted to build a secular order and the pro-Pakistan Islamist parties were barred from political participation. 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.
Political differences
Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population, 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, whereby all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes.
After the 1951 assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, political power began to devolve to the new position of 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 swiftly deposed any East Pakistanis elected leader of Pakistan, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, and Iskander Mirza. 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.
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.
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. A message was conveyed, and Rahman decided to meet Bhutto. Upon his arrival, Rahman met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Rahman as premier and Bhutto as president, but Sheikh Mujib later ruled out such a possibility. Meanwhile, the military was unaware of these developments, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Rahman to reach a decision.
On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be prime minister) delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now 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 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 its 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
Main article: 1970 Bhola cycloneThe 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, killing an estimated 300,000 people. A 2017 World Meteorological Organization panel considers it the deadliest tropical cyclone since at least 1873. 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.
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. On 19 November, students held a march in Dacca protesting the slowness of the government's response. 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. 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.
Operation Searchlight
Main article: Operation SearchlightA planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army—codenamed Operation Searchlight—started on 25 March 1971 to curb the Bengali independence movement by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military, within one month. The Pakistani state used anti-Bihari violence by Bengalis in early March to justify Operation Searchlight.
Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.
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 Bangladesh genocide. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, resulting in East Pakistan's secession later that year. Bangladeshi media and reference books in English have published casualty figures that vary greatly, from 5,000 to 35,000 in Dacca, and 300,000 to 3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole. Independent researchers, including the British Medical Journal, have put forward figures ranging from 125,000 to 505,000. American political scientist Rudolph Rummel puts total deaths at 1.5 million. The atrocities have been called acts of genocide.
According to the Asia Times:
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, but the Hamoodur Rahman Commission in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used. 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.
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, 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 saying that Mascarenhas' article led her "to prepare the ground for India's armed intervention".
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.
Declaration of independence
See also: Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence and 7 March Speech of BangabandhuThe 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 .
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).
A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in Chittagong. The message was translated into Bengali by Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, but the message was read several times by the independent Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro Radio established by rebel Bangali Radio workers in Kalurghat. Major Ziaur Rahman was requested to provide security for the station and also read the Declaration on 27 March 1971. He broadcast the 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.
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 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.
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. 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 WarMarch–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. 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
See also: List of sectors in the Bangladesh Liberation War and Military plans of the Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh 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).
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.
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 (eventually 8 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.
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.
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 |
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. 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 1971All 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 concluded that instead of taking in millions of refugees, India would be economically better off going to war against Pakistan. 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". Hostile relations in the past between India and Pakistan added to India's decision to intervene in Pakistan's civil war.
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, creating conditions conducive to a full-scale Indian military intervention in early December.
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a preemptive 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. India saw the strike as an open act of unprovoked aggression, which marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War. In 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.
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. 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. 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 Bangladeshi airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitola, 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, 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 information: Pakistani Instrument of Surrender See also: Delhi AgreementOn 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 km (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 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".
Atrocities
Main articles: 1971 Bangladesh genocide, 1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals, and Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation WarDuring 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 beginning with Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971. Members of the Pakistani military and supporting paramilitary forces killed an estimated 300,000 to 3,000,000 people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bangladeshi women in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. Pakistan's religious leaders openly supported the crime by labelling Bengali freedom fighters "Hindus" and Bengali women "the booty of war". In fact, more than 80 percent of the Bengali people were Muslims at that time.
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces, at the instruction of the Pakistani Army. Just two days before the surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and the 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.
Many mass graves have been discovered in Bangladesh. The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dacca to the U.S. State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dacca University and other civilians. Numerous women were tortured, raped, and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are debated. The widespread rape of Bangladeshi women led to birth of thousands of war babies.
The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex slaves inside the Dacca Cantonment. Most were captured from Dacca University and private homes. There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army, but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis. In June 1971, Bihari representatives said that 500,000 Biharis were killed by Bengalis. R. J. Rummel gives a prudent estimate of 150,000 killed.
On 16 December 2002, the George Washington University's National Security Archive published a collection of declassified documents, consisting mostly of communications between U.S. embassy officials and United States Information Service centres in Dacca and India, and officials in Washington, D.C. These documents show that U.S. officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms "selective genocide" and "genocide" (see The Blood Telegram) for information on events they had knowledge of at the time. Genocide is the term still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh, although in Pakistan, the accusations against Pakistani forces continue to be disputed.
International reactions
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. 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.
After India entered 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.
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 ceasefire. 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.
Most UN member nations were quick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence.
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. 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
The US government stood by its old ally Pakistan in terms of diplomacy and military threats. 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 which 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.
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, 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.
Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan, but when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, he sent the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal, a move the Indians deemed 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.
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 U.S. 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.
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. The United States delayed recognition for some months, before according it on 8 April 1972.
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, Nixon instructed 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.
The Chinese did not 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. China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.
When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972, China vetoed its application because two U.N. resolutions about the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians had not yet been implemented. China was also among the last countries to recognise independent Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 31 August 1975.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for itself and feared India might use its enhanced power against it in the future. Despite the left-wing government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike following a neutral non-aligned foreign policy, Sri Lanka decided to help Pakistan in the war. 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.
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. Nixon gave permission for Jordan to send ten F-104s and promised to provide replacements. 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."
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. In addition to these three countries, an unidentified Middle Eastern ally also supplied Pakistan with Mirage IIIs.
In popular culture
Main article: Artistic depictions of the Bangladesh Liberation WarSee also
- Bangladesh Liberation War and Islam
- Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War
- Liberation War Museum
- Movement demanding trial of war criminals (Bangladesh)
- NAP-Communist Party-Students Union Special Guerrilla Forces
- Kader Bahini
- Irregular military
Notes
- ^ 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. Cloughley clarifies that only a quarter of the 365,000 Pakistan Army, roughly 91,000, was in East Pakistan.
- This war is known in Bangla as Muktijuddho or Shwadhinota Juddho. This war is also called the Civil War in Pakistan.
References
- "Instrument of Surrender of Pakistan forces in Dacca". mea.gov.in. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
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.
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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. 48 (2). Royal Institute of International Affairs: 242–249. doi:10.2307/2613440. ISSN 0020-5850. JSTOR 2613440.
- Choudhury, G. W. (1994) . 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.
- 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 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
- 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 Archived 26 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine Graphic images, viewer discretion advised
- Rashid Askari:Liberation War facts Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- 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 Archived 25 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- The case for UN recognition of Bangladesh genocide
- Bangladesh Liberation War
- Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Asia
- Civil wars of the 20th century
- Military history of Bangladesh
- Separatist rebellion-based civil wars
- War crimes in Bangladesh
- Wars involving Bangladesh
- Wars of independence
- Wars involving Pakistan
- Bangladesh–Pakistan relations
- Post-independence history of Pakistan