Liberating Bangladesh: India’s Finest Moment – Commemorating 50 years of India’s victory in 1971

Event Brief:

The Peninsula Foundation and the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, Madras University co-hosted a seminar on ‘Liberating Bangladesh: India’s Finest Moment’ on 22nd December to commemorate 50 years of India’s victory in the 1971 war. Hon’ble Chief Guest, Lt. Gen A Arun YSM SM VSM, GOC – Dakshin Bharat Area, presided over the seminar followed by a panel discussion among Lt Gen P R Shankar PVSM AVSM VSM (Retd), Cmde R S Vasan (Retd) and Ambassador M Ganapathi IFS (Retd). The session was moderated by Air Marshal Matheswaran AVSM VM PhD (Retd). 

Historical Background:

Lasting just thirteen days, the India-Pakistan war of 1971 was one of the short but intense and bitter wars in history. The war ended years of oppression by West Pakistan on East Pakistan (erstwhile Bangladesh). 

Operation Searchlight, which was carried out by the Pakistan army was aimed at curbing the Bengali Nationalist movement. Nearly 3 lakh people were killed by Pakistani soldiers. The brutal operation saw rape, murder, and pillage forcing about 10 million refugees to flee to India. 

Months of bloodshed, oppression, and barbarity by Pakistan forced India to intervene militarily in support of the Bangladesh freedom fighters against Pakistan. On December 3rd, 1971, Pakistan Air Force launched strikes on airfields in western India. At this point, India retaliated and declared war on Pakistan. The speed and scale by which India defeated Pakistan and helped liberate East Pakistan to formally become Bangladesh stunned the world. 

India created the nation-state of Bangladesh and simply walked out of it. No annexation or occupation of territories took place. It was a successful intervention without much destruction. It was a great example of strong political resolve. Despite having been burdened with many problems such as a poor economy, poverty, etc, India invested in Bangladesh militarily, economically and financially to fight the war against Pakistan. This victory was India’s finest moment which served as an example of a just war to the world.

How it started:

East Pakistan, proud of its Bengali language and traditions was undermined by the Punjabi dominance from West Pakistan since the partition of India in 1947. There were disparities in the economic status of both regions. The attempt made by East Pakistan to increase their status and earn respect for their language was met with severe oppression. Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League won a majority victory in the 1970 elections which entitled him to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, Bhutto, the political leader in West Pakistan and Yahya Khan, the military dictator, were unwilling to acknowledge Mujibur Rehman’s victory and claim.  Yahya Khan, advised by Bhutto, launched military oppression in East Pakistan.

Operation Searchlight began on the night of 25th March 1971, to crush the Bengali resistance. It resulted in uprisings among the people and to suppress them, the military became even more brutal. Students, intellectuals, and civilians were killed. Thousands of Bengali women were raped by the Pakistani army. This led to a mass exodus of people into India. Millions of refugees entered India making it a large humanitarian crisis. This made India’s involvement in the war inevitable. 

The rebels inside Bangladesh who took up arms commonly referred to as Mukti Bahini were trained by India to conduct guerrilla war inside Bangladesh. The provisional Government of Bangladesh (PGB) was formed. Pakistan increased its troops which led to an increase in the number of refugees. The final straw was when Pakistan launched pre-emptive airstrikes on India on December 3rd, 1971. India responded and declared war on Pakistan.

India’s achievements:

There were several achievements by India in the course of the war:

• Synergy (Politico-military)
• Policy formulation (before/during/after the war)
• Formulation of a national strategy
• Military strategy
• Diplomatic ties (especially with Russia)
• Modification of Objectives in the course of the war.
• Covert intelligence activities

India was able to fight on different fronts and was able to organise and reorganise its troops in different positions, both offensive and defensive. The military capability was remarkable. India defended the Siliguri corridor and conducted one of the best and most successful blitzkriegs. 

The Indo-Soviet Treaty of ‘Peace, Friendship and Cooperation’ played an important role in the liberation war. In addition, the 3 Soviet vetoes in the UNSC, were critical in neutralising China and USA’s strong support to Pakistan and enabled India to conduct its operations smoothly. 

In the Post-war period, the Indian army before releasing the prisoners of war, took care of 93000 Pakistan army prisoners of war, including nearly 15000 Pakistani civilians, women and children until the Shimla accord was signed. 

The Mukti Bahini:

Some of the refugees were recruited and trained to form the Mukti Bahini and they played a stellar role in support of the Indian military. The Mukti Bahini were used for intelligence, sabotage, observation, pathfinding, etc. The terror let loose by the Pakistan army motivated many young people to join the Mukti Bahini. Even the deserters volunteered.

In only 13 days, the Indian military and the Mukti Bahini liberated Bangladesh in a Blitzkrieg operation. On 16th December 1971, the cease-fire was declared. 

The role of the Indian Navy:

On December 4th, when the Indian Air Force and Indian Army were mounting an offensive on the ground and in the air, a master plan was devised and carried out by the Indian Navy that became its first full-scale engagement after independence. The successful attack on Karachi port on December 4 is celebrated as Navy Day.

When hostilities on the eastern front began, the Indian Navy engaged in the battle against the Pakistan Navy on the western front. The plan, code-named Operation Trident, was to blockade Pakistani ports. India ended up causing significant damage to Pakistani ships in the Karachi port.

Five days later, INS Khukri became the only Indian ship to sink on the sea off the coast of Diu after being torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine. Captain Mahendra Nath Mullah stayed behind with his men who were trapped inside. Giving his life jacket to someone else, he preferred to stand by his 18 officers and 176 sailors who went down with the Khukri. 

Vijay Diwas:

Golden Jubilee of Vijay Diwas was celebrated at the national level on December 16th by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate 50 years of India’s victory on Pakistan and to pay respect to the brave soldiers, sailors, and air warriors who died in the war. It was held at the National War Memorial (NWM) in New Delhi. PM Modi, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and the Tri-Service Chiefs laid a wreath and paid respect to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. 

The Prime Minister also lit the ‘Swarnim Vijay Mashaal’ from the internal flame of the memorial. Four torches were lit and carried to the cities and villages of the 1971 war heroes who had received the gallantry awards – Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra. Soil from the villages of these awardees and from areas where major battles were fought in 1971 was brought to the NWM.