Introduction:
The Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as
the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh,
was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali
nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan and the 1971
Bangladesh genocide. It resulted in the independence of the People’s Republic
of Bangladesh. The war began after the Pakistani military junta based in West
Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on
the night of 25 March 1971. It pursued the systematic elimination of
nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities
and armed personnel. The junta annulled the results of the 1970 elections and
arrested Prime Minister-elect Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Background:
Map of the British Indian Empire in 1909
showing Muslim majority areas in green, including modern-day Bangladesh on the
east and Pakistan on the west. 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
population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was
concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan
was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. On 25 March 1971,
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
suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment, in
what came to be termed Operation Searchlight. The violent crackdown by Pakistan
Army led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan’s
independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971. Pakistani President
Agha Mohammed Yahya ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani
government’s authority, beginning the civil war. The war led to a sea of
refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) flooding into the
eastern provinces of India. Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis,
India started actively aiding and organizing the Bangladeshi resistance army
known as the MuktiBahini.
Language
controversy:
In 1948, Governor General Mohammad Ali Jinnah
declared that “Urdu, and only Urdu” would be the federal language of Pakistan.
However, Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north, central, and
western region of the subcontinent; whereas in East Bengal, the native language
was Bengali, the most easterly branch of the Indo-European languages. The
Bengali-speaking people of Pakistan constituted over 50% of the country’s
population. The people of East Bengal demanded that their language be given
federal status alongside Urdu and English. The Bengali Language Movement began
in 1948, as civil society protested the removal of the Bengali script from
currency and stamps, which were in place since the British Raj. 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 Martyr’s Day. Later, in memory of the deaths in
1952, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day in
November 1999.
Disparities:
Although East Pakistan had a larger population,
West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money
from the common budget.Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the
armed forces made up just 5% of overall force by 1965; of these, only a few
were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative
posts. West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not “martially inclined”
unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis; the “Martial Races” notion was dismissed as
ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis. Moreover, despite huge defence
spending, East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts,
purchasing and military support jobs. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over
Kashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis, as
only an under-strength infantry division and 15 combat aircraft without tank
support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliations during the
conflict.
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, where all of West
Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the
East wing’s votes. After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s
first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to develop to the new President
of Pakistan, which replaced the office of Governor General when Pakistan became
a republic, and eventually, the military. The East Pakistanis observed that the
West Pakistani establishment would swiftly depose any East Pakistanis elected
Prime Minister of Pakistan, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or
HuseynShaheedSuhrawardy. The situation reached a climax in 1970, when the Awami
League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of
the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats
in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right
to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a former Foreign Minister),
the leader of the Pakistan Peoples 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 7 March 1971,
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be the prime minister) delivered a speech at the
Racecourse Ground (now called the SuhrawardyUdyan). In this speech he mentioned
a further four-point condition to consider at the National Assembly Meeting on
25 March:
Ø The immediate lifting of martial law.
Ø Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel
to their barracks.
Ø An inquiry into the loss of life.
Ø 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.
Operation
Searchlight:
A planned military pacification carried out by
the Pakistan Army - codenamed Operation
Searchlight – started on 25 March 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 main phase of
Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali
hands in mid-May. The Operation also began the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities.
These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, which ultimately
resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. 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. 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. 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:
The violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces
on 25 March 1971 proved the last straw to the efforts to negotiate a
settlement. Following these outrages, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official
declaration that read:
“Today Bangladesh is a sovereign and
independent country. On Thursday night, West Pakistani armed forces suddenly
attacked the police barracks at Razarbagh and the EPR headquarters at Pilkhana
in Dacca. Many innocent and unarmed have been killed in Dhaka city and other
places of Bangladesh. Violent clashes between E.P.R. and Police on the one hand
and the armed forces of Pakistan on the other, are going on. The Bengalis are
fighting the enemy with great courage for an independent Bangladesh. May Allah
aid us in our fight for freedom. Joy Bangla [May Bangladesh be victorious].”
Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to
resist the occupation forces through a radio message. Rahman was arrested on
the night of 25-26 March 1971 at about 1:30 am. Major ZiaurRahman also read the Declaration on 27 March 1971
and broadcast announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 26 March 1971 is considered the official Independence
Day of Bangladesh, and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth.
Liberation
war:
At first, resistance was spontaneous and
disorganized, and was not expected to be prolonged. However, when the Pakistani
Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The MuktiBahini became
increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but
increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to this underground “Bangladesh
army”. These Bengali units slowly merged into the MuktiBahini and bolstered
their weaponry with supplies from India. Pakistan responded by airlifting in
two infantry divisions and reorganizing their forces. They also raised
paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams, as well as other
Bengalis who opposed independence, and Bihari Muslims who had settled during
the time of partition. On 17 April 1971, a provisional government was formed in
Meherpur district in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as
Acting President, Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister, and General Muhammad
AtaulGhaniOsmani as Commander-in-Chief, Bangladesh Forces. General Osmani had
differences of opinion with the Indian leadership regarding the role of the
MuktiBahini in the conflict. Indian leadership initially envisioned Bengali
forces to be trained into a small elite guerrilla force of 8,000 members, led
by the surviving East Bengal Regiment soldiers operating in small cells around
Bangladesh to facilitate the eventual Indian intervention, but with the
Bangladesh government in exile, General Osmanifavoured a different strategy.
Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors in July, each with a commander
chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani army who joined the MuktiBahini
to conduct guerrilla operations and train fighters. The 10th Sector
was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) General M.A.G. Osmani
and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C’s special force. During June and
July, MuktiBahini had regrouped across the border with Indian aid through Operation
Jackpot and Began sending 2000-5000 guerrillas across the border, the so-called
Monsoon Offensive, which for various reasons failed to achieve its objectives.
Bengali regularly forces also attacked BOPs 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. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval
commands mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong, Mongla, Narayanganj and
Chandpur on 15 August 1971. 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.
Surrender
and aftermath:
On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen A.A.K. Niazi, CO
of Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of
Surrender. At the time of surrender only a few countries had provided
diplomatic recognition to the new nation. Over 93,000 Pakistani troops
surrendered to the Indian forces and Bangladesh Liberation forces, making it
the largest surrender since World War ll.