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.
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test and One Day International (ODI) status. It played its first Test match in 2000 against India in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test cricket playing nation.Bangladesh's first official foray into international cricket came in the 1979 ICC Trophy in England, leaving the tournament with 2 wins and 2 defeats.Bangladesh made debut in international cricket through Asia cup in 1986.On 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played in its first ODI match against Pakistan in the 1986 Asia Cup. Cricket has gradually become very popular in urban areas of the country. Although football was the most popular game for a long time, cricket gained momentum and soon surpassed football, especially after Bangladesh won the 1997 ICC Trophy in Malaysia. By winning the tournament, Bangladesh qualified for the 1999 Cricket World Cup for the first time, where they defeated Pakistan, creating one of the biggest upsets in their cricketing history and also defeated Scotland. In 1997, Bangladesh became a regular ICC member with the right to play ODIs. It attained the status of a Test playing nation on 26 June 2000.Bangladesh holds the record for most consecutive losses in Tests (21, between 1999 and 2002) and ODIs (23, between 2001 and 2004). After gaining full member status with the ICC, Bangladesh had to wait until 2004 for its first ODI win since the 1999 World Cup. The team on the losing side on that occasion was Zimbabwe, who also participated in Bangladesh's maiden Test victory in 2005; by securing a draw in the second match, Bangladesh won their first Test series. In 2009 Bangladesh toured the West Indies for two Tests and by winning both secured their first overseas series victory.As of 12 April 2013, Bangladesh has played 77 Tests, winni ng only 3.Its first victory was against a young and inexperienced Zimbabwe team, which was hit by a player crisis and the other two were against a West Indian team crippled by a players' strike. Of the 66 matches it has lost, 35 were by an innings.The lack of a first-class tournament in the country before it was granted Test status has been cited as one of the reasons for the side's struggle to adapt to the longest form of the game, and Bangladesh's performance has led to repeated calls for it to lose its Test status. The team has been slightly more successful in ODIs, having won 76 of its 270 matches, and has also played 28 Twenty20 Internationals, winning eight.
