The Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971

Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971

The Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 was for independence from

Pakistan. India and Pakistan got independence from the British rule in

1947. Pakistan was formed for the Muslims and India had a majority of

Hindus. Pakistan had two parts, East and West, which were separated by

about 1,000 miles. East Pakistan was mainly the eastern part of the

province of Bengal. The capital of Pakistan was Karachi in West Pakistan

and was moved to Islamabad in 1958. However, due to discrimination in

economy and ruling powers against them, the East Pakistanis vigorously

protested and declared independence on March 26, 1971 under the

leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But during the year prior to that,

to suppress the unrest in East Pakistan, the Pakistani government sent

troops to East Pakistan and unleashed a massacre. And thus, the war for

liberation commenced.

The Reasons for war

Both East and West Pakistan remained united because of their religion,

Islam. West Pakistan had 97% Muslims and East Pakistanis had

85% Muslims. However, there were several significant reasons

that caused the East Pakistani people to fight for their

independence.

West Pakistan had four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and

the North-West Frontier. The fifth province was East Pakistan. Having

control over the provinces, the West used up more resources than the

East. Between 1948 and 1960, East Pakistan made 70% of all of

Pakistan's exports, while it only received 25% of imported money. In

1948, East Pakistan had 11 fabric mills while the West had nine. In 1971,

the number of fabric mills in the West grew to 150 while the number in

the East went down to 26. About 2.6 billion dollars of resources were

also shifted over time from East Pakistan to West Pakistan.

Although East Pakistan had the largest population among all the

provinces, it had much less political power than West Pakistan. This

eventually made the people of East Pakistan rebel. Sheik Mujibur

Rahman, the leader of the Awami League in East Pakistan, explicitly

demanded more economic and political powers. The struggle finally

culminated into the war of independence.

There was also the language issue that kept East Pakistan and

West Pakistan in an uneasy status. In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah stated

in Dhaka that Urdu was the official language for Pakistan. There was a

big argument about this because only the Muhajir in the West and the

Biharis in the East spoke Urdu. Most of the West Pakistanis spoke

Punjabi and Sindhi, while East Pakistanis spoke Bangla. East Pakistan

therefore disagreed; seven students were killed in a fierce protest on

February 21, 1952. This day has been remembered since then and is

observed each year to emphasize the importance of the Bengali

language. February 21st is now recognized as the International Mother

Language Day by the United Nations.

A devastating cyclone hit East Pakistan in 1970. It was called the

Bhola Cyclone. It killed about 500,000 people and made many more

homeless. It brought great shock and deep depression among the East

Pakistani people. But, the government did not provide enough relief to

alleviate the extremely miserable conditions wrought by the cyclone.

This caused enormous misery in East Pakistan.

The War

The Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a

landslide victory in the national elections in 1971 and demanded

autonomy for East Pakistan. The party won a 160 seats and a majority in

the national assembly. This victory also gave it the right to form a

government, but Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Chairman of the Pakistan

People’s Party refused to let the Sheikh become the Prime Minister of

Pakistan. This initiated the war. The Sheik gave a speech on March 7,

1971 when he urged the people to turn all their homes into a fort of

fight. He demanded transfer of power to the elected representative

before the assembly meeting on March 25.

Tikka Khan, a West Pakistani general, flew to Dhaka to become

the Governor of East Bengal. But, the East Pakistani judges denied him

entry. Thereafter, on the night of March 25, the Pakistani army tried to

violently crush the Bengali’s opposition. Residence halls of the Dhaka

University were viciously attacked. On March 26, the Pakistani forces

arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On the same day, he signed an official

declaration for the independence of Bangladesh. M. A. Hannan, an

Awami league leader, is said to have been the first person to read and

announce the Declaration of

Independence over the

radio.

Political events

approached a climax. The

war between the Pakistan Army and the Bengali freedom fighters, the

Mukti Bahini, began. The head of the Mukti Bahini was General

Muhammad Osmani. The Mukti Bahini were trained like guerillas. India

gave shelter to the refugees and trained the Mukti Bahini. India also

helped with ammunition and its own soldiers. They attacked the

Pakistani army. During the training period of the Mukti Bahini, the

Pakistani Army encouraged Razakars, the Bengalis who did not want

Bangladesh to become an independent country, to suppress the

rebellion. The Pakistani Army faced problems as the monsoon came.

This helped Mukti Bahini because they could counter the moves of the

Pakistanis.

India assumed an active role. Indira Gandhi ordered air and

ground attacks. India, having superior equipment and forces, mounted a

three-pronged movement on Dhaka from the Indian province West

Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. The Indian soldiers, Air Force, and Navy

defeated the Pakistani army, while the Bangladeshi Navy helped India.

On the ground, three groups of Mukti Bahini and Indian forces fought the

Pakistanis. The Pakistanis tried to fight back, but failed to resist them.

The Victory

On December 16th, 1971, Dhaka fell to the Mitro Bahini, the elite

forces of the Mukti Bahini and the Indian army. An “Instrument of

Surrender” was signed by the defeated Pakistani General Niazi and by

the Indian commander General Aurora at 16:31 Indian Standard Time.

This is how Bangladesh became liberated and independent. December

16th is recognized as the Victory Day in Bangladesh, while March 26 is

recognized as the Independence Day. With sovereignty, Bangladesh is

progressing in all aspects.