MuktiJuddho

The Bangladesh Liberation War (MuktiJuddho) refers to an armed conflict between West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that lasted for roughly nine months, from 26 March until 16 December 1971. The war resulted in Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan.

Reasons for war

Background

During the Partition of India, Pakistan, as a country, gained independence on 14 August 1947 following the end of British rule over South Asian countries. The division was made based on religion. Pakistan was created out of huge Muslim majority territories in the West and East, and India was created out of the vast Hindu majority regions in the centre. The Western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) called West Pakistan and the Eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was called East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. The capital of Pakistan was established in Karachi in West Pakistan and then moved to Islamabad in 1958.

Economic exploitation

West Pakistan (consisting of four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province) dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget than the more populous East.

Year	Spending on West Pakistan (in billion Rupees)	Spending on East Pakistan (in billion Rupees)	Amount spent on East as percentage of West
1950/51-54/55	11.29	5.24	46.4
1955/56-59/60	16.55	5.24	31.7
1960/61-64/65	33.55	14.04	41.8
1965/66-69/70	51.95	21.41	41.2
Total	113.34	45.93	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.

Between 1948 and 1960, East Pakistan produced 70% of all of Pakistan's exports, while it only received 25% of import earnings. In 1948 (shortly after independence from Britain), East Pakistan had 11 textile mills while the West had 9. In 1971, the number of textile mills in the West had grown to 150 while that in the East had only gone up to 26. Furthermore, 2.6 billion dollars' (in 1971 exchange rates) worth of resources were transferred over time from East Pakistan to West Pakistan. It was widely felt in East Pakistan that much of the income generated by the east was diverted towards fighting wars in Kashmir.

Political differences

Although East Pakistan was the majority province in terms of population, political power remained firmly in the hands of West Pakistanis, specifically the Punjabis. 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 of "One Unit", where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes. Ironically, after the East broke away to form Bangladesh, the Punjab insisted that politics in the rump West Pakistan now be decided on the basis of a straightforward vote, since Punjabis were more numerous than the other groups, such as Sindhis, Pathans, or Balochs. After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, political power began to be concentrated in the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President. East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy were elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, they were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings. Finally, when Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won a clear majority in the elections of 1970, the West Pakistan establishment refused to allow Mujib to form a government. This finally convinced the East that they would never get their rightful political rights in a joint Pakistan and that independence was the only way out.

Language clash

Close ties existed between East Pakistan and West Bengal, one of the Indian states bordering Bangladesh, as both were composed mostly of Bengalis. West Pakistan viewed East Pakistani links with India unfavourably as relations between India and Pakistan had been very poor since independence. In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared in Dhaka (then usually spelt Dacca in English) that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the sole official language for all of Pakistan. This proved highly controversial, since Urdu was a language that was only spoken in the West by Muhajir and in the East by Biharis. The majority groups in West Pakistan spoke Punjabi and Sindhi, while Bangla was spoken by the majority of East Pakistanis. The language controversy eventually reached a point where East Pakistan revolted. Several students and civilians lost their lives in a police crackdown on February 21, 1952. The day is revered in Bangladesh and in West Bengal as the Language Martyrs' Day. Later, in memory of the 1952 killings, UNESCO declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day. The deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.

Impact of the tropical cyclone

The already tense situation was further aggravated by a tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan in 1970. It was a particularly devastating year as the deadliest cyclone on record - the 1970 Bhola cyclone - struck Bangladesh claiming nearly half a million lives. The apathy of West Pakistan leadership and its failure in responding quickly was a further platform for the Awami League, that capitalised on this tragedy. The Pakistan Army failed to do relief work of any significance to alleviate the problem, which further antagonised the already estranged Bengali populace.

Political climax

The political prelude to the war included several factors. Due to the differences between the two states, a nascent separatist movement developed in East Pakistan. Any such movements were sharply limited, especially when martial law was in force between 1958 and 1962 (under General Ayub Khan) and between 1969 and 1972 (under General Yahya Khan). These military rulers were of West Pakistani origin and continued to favour West Pakistan in terms of economic advantages. The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections winning 160 of the 162 seats allotted for East Pakistan, and a majority of the 300 total seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the right to form a government. However, the leader of Pakistan People's Party, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed a notion of two Prime Ministers. Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nation-wide strike.

Mujib's speech of 7 March

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

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

He urged "his people" to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, "The struggle this time is for our freedom. The struggle this time is for our independence." This speech is considered the main event that inspired the nation to fight for their independence.

Military preparation in West Pakistan

General Tikka Khan was flown in to Dhaka to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in. MV Swat, a ship of the Pakistani Navy, carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harboured in Chittagong Port and the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship. A unit of East Pakistan Rifles refused to obey commands to fire on Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny of Bengali soldiers. Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dhaka. These so-called "Government Passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress.

Violence of 25 March

On the night of 25 March, the Pakistani Army began a violent effort to suppress the Bengali opposition. Before this began, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from Bangladesh. Bengali members of military services were disarmed. The operation was called Operation Searchlight by the Pakistani Army and was carefully devised by several top army generals to "crush" Bengalis. Although the violence focused on the provincial capital, Dhaka, the process of ethnic elimination was also carried out all around Bangladesh. Residential halls of University of Dhaka were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall - the Jagannath Hall - was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered. The Pakistani army denies any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamoodur Rahman commission* in Pakistan states that overwhelming force was used at the university. This fact and the massacre at Jagannath Hall and nearby student dormitories of Dhaka University are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Prof. Nur Ullah of the East Pakistan Engineering University, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories. Hindu areas all over Bangladesh suffered particularly heavy blows. By midnight, Dhaka was literally burning, especially the Hindu dominated eastern part of the city. Time magazine reported on August 2, 1971, "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military hatred." Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was considered dangerous and, hence, arrested by the Pakistani Army. The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan. Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dhaka to avoid arrest. Declaration of independence On 26 March, the nation waged an armed struggle against the Pakistani occupation forces following the killings of the night of 25 March. The Pakistani forces arrested Sheikh Mujib, who, through a wireless message, had called upon the people to resist the occupation forces [source: The Daily Star, March 26, 2005]. Mujib was arrested on the night of March 25-26, 1971 at about 1:30 a.m. (per Radio Pakistan's news on March 29, 1971) which means effectively on March 26, 1971. On 26 March 1971, M A Hannan, an Awami League leader from Chittagong, is said to have made the first announcement of the declaration of independence over radio, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official declaration that read:

"Today Bangladesh is a sovereign and independent country. On Thursday night West Pakistani armed forces suddenly attacked the police barracks at Razarbagh and the EPR headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka. Many innocent and unarmed have been killed in Dhaka city and other places of Bangladesh. Violent clashes between EPR 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 God aid us in our fight for freedom. Joy Bangla. "

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
25 March 1971
(Source: "The History of the Liberation Movement in Bangladesh" by J. S. Gupta)

A telegram reached some students in Chittagong. They realized the message could be broadcast from Agrabad Station of Radio Pakistan. The message was translated to Bangla by Dr Manjula Anwar. They failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message. They crossed Kalurghat Bridge into an area controlled by East Bengal Regiment under Major Ziaur Rahman. Bengali soldiers guarded the station as engineers prepared for transmission. At 19:45 on 26 March 1971, Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast another announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur which is as follows.

"This is Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. At his direction, I have taken command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalis to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our Motherland. By the grace of Allah, victory is ours. Joy Bangla."

Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited. The message was picked up by a Japanese ship in Bay of Bengal and then re-transmitted by Radio Australia and later the British Broadcasting Corporation. 26 March 1971 is hence considered the official Independence Day and according to all Bangladeshi sources, the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth. Certain sources, especially of Indian and Pakistani origin, continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until the following 16 December.

The war

As political events gathered momentum, the stage was set for a clash between the Pakistan Army and the insurgents. Though smaller maoist style paramilitary bands started emerging, the Mukti Bahini were becoming increasingly visible. Headed by Colonel Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, a retired Pakistani Army officer, this band was raised as Mujib's action arm and security force before assuming the character of a conventional guerrilla force. After the declaration of independence, the Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry. They then jointly launched operations against the Pakistani Army killing many in the process. This setback prompted the Pakistani Army to induct Razakars, Al-badr and Al-Shams (who were mostly current leaders of Jamaat-i-Islami) and other Bengalis who did not want Bangladesh to become an independent country. These people were essentially viewed as traitors and with suspicion by local Bengalis, as a vast majority of these recruits were Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time of partition. This helped Pakistan stem the tide somewhat as the monsoon approached in the months of June and July. Undeterred by this setback, Mukti Bahini regrouped as they gained in strength and capability. Aided by the Indian government in West Bengal, they were equipped and trained to counter the Pakistan Army. As there was no action during the monsoon, it was seen by the Pakistan military brass as a weakening of the Bangladesh cause. However it was merely the lull before the storm. After sensing the magnitude of the issue, the army was beefed up as troop strength was increased to more than 80,000. This caused a rise in tensions across the border as India realised the gravity of the situation. The Indian military were preparing for the eventual onslaught with the aid of the separatists and waited for the end of the monsoon season to enable easy passage. The Indians aimed to bypass the villages and towns and instead concentrate on the cities and the highways which ultimately would lead to the capture of Dhaka. Pakistan decided to nullify such an attack and on December 3 launched a series of preemptive air strikes. The attack was modelled on the Operation Focus employed by Israel Air Force during the Six-Day War. However the plan failed to achieve the desired success and was seen as an open act of unprovoked aggression against the Indians. Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi then ordered the immediate mobilisation of troops and launched the full scale invasion. This marked the official start of the India-Pak war with fighting commencing in West Pakistan. The Indian Army, far superior in numbers and equipment to that of Pakistan, executed a three-pronged pincer movement on Dhaka launched from the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. In all these places the Mukti Bahini and the local Bengalis played a vital role in aiding the Indian Army. Many soldiers were ferried in the night by the locals across rivers and valuable information on the location and whereabouts of different military strongholds were gleaned. It was backed up by the Indian Air Force which achieved near total air supremacy towards the end of the war as the entire East Pakistan airbase with all the flights were destroyed. The Indian Navy, also annihilated the eastern wing of the Pakistan Navy and blockaded the East Pakistan ports, thereby cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers. The fledgling Bangladesh Navy (comprising officers and sailors who defected from Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably Operation Jackpot. Meanwhile, on the ground, nearly 3 brigades of Mukti Bahini along with the Indian forces fought in a conventional formation. This was supplemented by guerrilla style attacks on Pakistanis who were facing hostilities on land, air, water in both covert and overt ways. Undeterred, Pakistan tried to fight back and boost the sagging morale by incorporating the Special Services Group commandos in sabotage and rescue missions. This however could not stop the juggernaut of the invading columns whose speed and power were too much to contain for the Pakistani Army. On 16 December, within just 12 days, the capital Dhaka fell to the Mitro Bahini - the allied forces. Lt. Gen. Niazi surrendered to the combined forces headed by its commander Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora by signing the Instrument of Surrender at Ramna Racecourse, 17:01 Bangladesh Standard Time. Bangladesh became liberated.

Foreign intervention

India

Due to the ongoing violence, millions of Bangladeshis fled to neighbouring India creating a huge refugee crisis there. Troubled by the increasing number of Bangladeshi refugees on its soil, India estimated that it would be cheaper to wage a war on Pakistan than to support the millions of Bangladeshi refugees. On December 3 1971, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, declared war on Pakistan and aligned itself with the Mukti Bahini. India's external intelligence agency, R.A.W., played a crucial role in providing logistic support to the Mukti Bahini during the initial stages of the war. RAW's operations in then East Pakistan, was the largest covert mission in the history of South Asia. Wary of the growing involvement of India, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a pre-emptive strike on India. However, PAF lost several aircraft to Indian anti-aircraft guns during the mission. In retaliation, the Indian Air Force carried out several sorties againt Pakistan and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. With India winning the air war, Pakistan launched a desperate attack on India's western front hoping to force Indian troops away from East Pakistan. However, the Indians repelled the Pakistani invasion and decisive Indian victory during the Battle of Basantar and Battle of Longewala thrashed all Pakistani hopes to win the war. Backed by the Indian Air Force and the Navy, the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini won several battles on the eastern front including the famous Battle of Hilli. On December 16 1971, the Indian Army entered Dhaka and more than 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and their abettors surrendered to joint forces (Mitro Bahini) and were taken as prisoner of war by the Indian Army, the largest surrender since World War II.

USA and USSR

The United States supported Pakistan both politically and materially. U.S. President Richard Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan. But when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, Nixon sent the USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal, a move deemed by the Indians as a nuclear threat. Enterprise arrived on station on December 11, 1971. Several documents released from the Nixon Presidential Archives show the extent of the tilt that the Nixon Administration demonstrated in favor of Pakistan. Among them, the infamous Blood telegram from the US embassy in Dhaka, East Pakistan, stated the horrors of the systematic mass murders initiated by the Pakistani Military in East Pakistan. Notwithstanding this, Nixon, backed by Henry Kissinger, wanted to protect the interests of Pakistan as they were apprehensive of India. Archer Blood was promptly transferred out of Dhaka. As revealed in the newly declassified transcripts released by the US State Department, President Nixon was using the Pakistanis to normalize relations with China. This would have three important effects, viz., opening rifts between the Soviet Union, China and North Vietnam, opening the potentially huge Chinese market to American business and creating a foreign policy coup in time to win the 1972 Presidential Elections. Since Nixon believed the existence of Pakistan to be critical to the success of his term he went to great lengths to protect his ally. In direct violation of the US Congress-imposed sanctions on Pakistan, Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan and routed them through Jordan and Iran. After the war, the U.S. maintained a largely pro-Pakistani position, against world opinion. The Soviet Union had sympathized with the Bangladeshis, and supported the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini during the war. It gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States developed, the USSR would provide all necessary support to India. This was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean.

China

After the USA had failed to act decisively in a manner that would not draw world condemnation to itself, it sought to rope the People's Republic of China into the conflict. The plan was to attack India on two sides with the help of China and thus stopping the attack on East Pakistan. Kissinger's meeting with the Chinese was with this intention. In fact, China was the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that was supportive of such an attack, and even provided economic and military assistance. But the support was limited to protecting West Pakistan in the face of a threat from India, and not aimed directly at the internal conflict. It was also suspicious that the U.S. did not want to dirty its hands. The Chinese government wanted a strongly worded UN Security Council resolution after which the PRC would help Pakistan. It however did not materialise due to the Soviet veto and China did not intervene in the war.

United Nations

Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations, it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war. The Security Council assembled on December 4 to discuss the volatile situation in South Asia. USSR vetoed the resolution twice. After lengthy discussions on December 7, the General Assembly promptly adopted by a majority resolution calling for an "immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops." The United States on December 12 requested that the Security Council be reconvened. However by the time it was reconvened, and proposals were finalised, the war ended, making the measures merely academic. The inaction of the United Nations in face of the East Pakistan crisis was widely criticized. The conflict also exposed the delay in decision making that failed to address the underlying issues in time.

End of the war

After Pakistan's surrender late in 1971, people in Bangladesh rejoiced at their liberation. This was followed by a need to get international acceptance for Bangladesh, as only a few countries recognised the new nation. Bangladesh sought admission in the UN with most voting in its favour, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally. However the United States grudgingly recognized it, and to ensure a smooth transition, in 1972 the Shimla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan. The treaty was a watershed in the history of the South Asian region as it ensured that Bangladesh would get official recognition from Pakistan and its principal allies in exchange for the return of the Pakistani PoWs. India treated all the PoWs exactly as they should be treated under the Geneva Convention, 1925. It released more than 90,000 Pakistani PoWs in a record five months. As a gesture of goodwill, the nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India. The accord also gave back more than 13,000 sq. km of land that Indian troops had won in West Pakistan during the war, holding on to a few strategic places; most notably Kargil (which would in turn again be the focal point for a war between the two nations in 1999). This was done as a measure of ensuring "lasting peace" and was acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India. But some in India felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for more leeway as he felt that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being too harsh in Pakistan.

West Pakistan's reaction to the war

Reaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and layman alike. No one had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight and were also very angry at the meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan. The myth of the Pakistan Army's might was shattered and the leadership stood exposed. Yahya Khan's dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto who took the opportunity to rise to power. General Niazi, who surrendered along with 93,000 troops, was viewed with suspicion and hatred upon his return to Pakistan. He was shunned and branded a traitor. The war also exposed the shortcoming of the defence strategy that the "defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan". Pakistan also failed to gather international support and were found fighting a lone battle with only the USA providing any external help. This further embittered the Pakistanis who had faced the worst military defeat of an army in decades. The debacle immediately prompted an enquiry headed by Justice Hamoodur Rahman. Called the Hamoodur Rahman Commission*, it was initially suppressed by Bhutto as it put the military in poor light. When it was declassified, it showed many failings from the strategic to the tactical levels. It also condemned the atrocities and the crimes committed by the armed forces. It confirmed the rapes and the killings by the Pakistan Army and their local agents (mostly Jamaati-i-Islami followers) athough the figures are far lower than the one quoted by Bangladesh. 200,000 women were raped, according to Bangladesh. Over 3 million people were killed. However, the army's role in splintering Pakistan after its greatest military debacle was largely ignored by successive Pakistani governments.

*I have a pdf version of the Justice Hamoodur Rahman Comission's report, if you'd like to have a copy, please e-mail me, I would be happy to send you a copy.

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