The Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971

1.1 Introduction

The history of our country is strongly influenced by our liberation war. Our heroic freedom
fighters fought tremendously hard to snatch victory from the Pakistani army. The blood of the
martyred freedom fighters and every other people who sacrificed their lives worth for great
value. It is their contribution and credit what give us the right to live freely in our own country.
Our liberation war was not an incident or sudden war. It has a deep and long history. We found
our country by the death of 3 million martyrs, form a 9 month long independence war. But the
victory was not come from 9 month. It has a long history. After the creation of Pakistan the
journey of Bangladesh is started. The beginning of liberation war in 1971 has some major part.
We are now discussing about the major storyline of creation of our country. In August 1947,
the Partition of India gave birth to two new states named Pakistan and India.

1.2 Language Movement, 1952

The first movement of Bangladesh was begun for the mother language. On March 21, 1948, in
a meeting in the Racecourse of Dhaka (now Suhrawardy Garden), Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the
first Governor General of Pakistan declared unequivocally, “Urdo and only Urdu shall be the
state language of Pakistan.” The announcement of Urdu as the official state language
triggered off the language controversy and a new phase of the Bengali language movement
began. People in East Bengal, especially the students were not ready to accept this
decision. They argued that this was not the rules of democracy whereas, 56% of total
population speaks in Bengali, and it has to be the National Language along with URDU. The
final phase of the Language movement started in 1952 after the declaration of Khwaja
Nazimuddin that Urdo will be the only state language of Bangladesh. The students and student
leaders of Dhaka University, Dhaka Medical College and Engineering College could not agree
with that decision. Hundreds of students and workers put toiled immensely towards the
preparation of meetings, processions and the final strike of February 21st and therefore were
not ready to give up due to the fear of its consequences. The government declare 144 act. But
the student broke the 144 and start meetings. The police and parliamentary forces resorted to
wide-spread tear gas shelling, clubbing and finally shooting. Salam, Rafiq, Barkat, and many
more students are killed. And finally the Pakistani government are agreed to make Bangla the
state language of Bangladesh with Urdu. We gain right to speak in our mother toung by giving
blood.

1.3 Election of United Front

The first election for East Bengal Provincial Assembly was held between 8 March and 12
March 1954. The Awami Muslim League, Krishak-Sramik Party and Nezam-e-Islam formed
the United Front, on the basis of 21-points agenda.

Notable pledges contained in the 21-points were:

1. Making Bengali one of the main state languages

2. Autonomy for the province

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3. Reforms in education

4. Independence of the judiciary

5. Making the legislative assembly effective

The United Front won 215 out of 237 Muslim seats in the election. The ruling Muslim League
got only nine seats. Khilafat-E-Rabbani Party got one, while the independents got twelve seats.
Later, seven independent members joined the United Front while one joined the Muslim
League.

1.4 The "Revolution" of Ayub Khan, 1958

In 1958 Ayub khan took the power of Pakistan. Throughout the Ayub years, East Pakistan and
West Pakistan grew farther apart. The death of the Awami League's Suhrawardy in 1963 gave
the mercurial Sheikh Mujibur Rahman--commonly known as Mujib--the leadership of East
Pakistan's dominant party. Mujib, who as early as 1956 had advocated the "liberation" of East
Pakistan and had been jailed in 1958 during the military coup, quickly and successfully brought
the issue of East Pakistan's movement for autonomy to the forefront of the nation's politics.

1.5 Movement for Education Report, 1962

Justice Hamidur Rahman published the education report. A general strike was observed all
over the country demanding adult franchise and the repeal of the report of the Education
Commission led by Justice Hamidur Rahman.

1.6 Six Point Movement, 1966

At a 1966 Lahore conference of both the eastern and the western chapters of the Awami
League, Mujib announced his controversial six-point political and economic program for East
Pakistani provincial autonomy. The six points were as follows:

Point 1: Pakistan shall be a Federal State. There shall be parliamentary government formed by
a legislature elected on the basis of universal adult franchise.

Point 2: The federating units or the provinces shall deal with all affairs except foreign relations
and defense.

Point 3: There shall be two separate but easily convertible currencies for the two wings of
Pakistan. Or, alternatively, there may by a single currency with the proviso that the Federal
Bank shall take adequate measures to stop the ciphering of money from East Pakistan to West
Pakistan.

Point 4: The federating units or provinces shall reserve the right to levy taxes. The central
government, of course, shall have some share of the tax proceeds.

Point 5: Separate accounts shall be maintained for the foreign exchange earnings of the two
wings. The foreign exchange earned from foreign trade shall be under the control of the
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respective wings. The federating units shall be independent in conducting trades with foreign
countries.

Point 6: The federating provinces shall be able to raise Para-militia or Para-military forces
for their own defense
Mujib's six points ran directly counter to President Ayub's plan for greater national
integration. Ayub's anxieties were shared by many West Pakistanis, who feared that Mujib's
plan would divide Pakistan by encouraging ethnic and linguistic cleavages in West Pakistan,
and would leave East Pakistan, with its Bengali ethnic and linguistic unity, by far the most
populous and powerful of the federating units. Ayub interpreted Mujib's demands as
tantamount to a call for independence. After pro-Mujib supporters rioted in a general strike in
Dhaka, the government arrested Mujib in January 1968.

1.7 Mass Movement, 1969

On February 21, 1969, Ayub announced that he would not run in the next presidential election
in 1970. A state of near anarchy reigned with protests and strikes throughout the country. The
police appeared helpless to control the mob violence, and the military stood aloof. At length,
on March 25 Ayub resigned and handed over the administration to the commander in chief,
General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan. Once again the country was placed under martial law.

1.8 National Assembly Election,1970

The elections were the first in the history of Pakistan in which voters were able to elect
members of the National Assembly directly. In a convincing demonstration of Bengali
dissatisfaction with the West Pakistani regime, the Awami League won all but two of the 162
seats allotted East Pakistan in the National Assembly. The Awami League's electoral victory
promised it control of the government, with Mujib as the country's prime minister, but the
inaugural assembly never met.

After the election the main liberation war was begun.The bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman
declaer osohojog andolon against the Pakistan.

1.9 East west Grievances

The separation of East Pakistan was a great setback to Pakistan. By 1970, sentiments for
national unity had weakened in East Pakistan to the extent that constant conflict between the
two Wings dramatically erupted into mass civil disorder. This tragically resulted in the brutal
and violent amputation of Pakistan's Eastern Wing.

The physical separation of a thousand miles between the two wings without a common border,
and being surrounded by Indian territory and influences, led to constant political, economic
and social conflicts between the two wings; embittering relations bringing the country on the
verge of collapse. The most common causes are as follows –

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 Economic Difference.
 Political differences.
 Military Imbalance.
 Language Controversy.
 Impact of the Tropical Cyclone.

2.0 Economic Difference:

West Pakistan had four provinces; they are Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, & North-West Frontier
Province. It was widely perceived that West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically
and exploited the East economically, leading to many grievances. They received more money
from the common budget than the more populous east.

Year Spent on West Spent on East Amount spent on

Pakistan (in Crore ) Pakistan (in Crore ) East as percentage
of West
1950/51–54/55 1,129 524 46.4
1955/56-59/60 1,655 524 31.7
1960/61-64/65 3,355 1,404 41.8
1965/66-69/70 5,195 2,141 41.2
Total 11,334 4,593 40.5

2.2 Political differences:

East Pakistan had the majority of the country’s population but 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 “One Unit” scheme, where all the 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 province insisted that
politics in West Pakistan now be decided on the basis of a straightforward vote, since Punjabis
were more numerous than the other groups, such as Sindhis, Pashtuns, or Balochs.

East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad
Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shahid 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.

In 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections.

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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 the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party refused
to allow Sheikh Mujibur 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 Mujib's Six Points.

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

 The immediate lifting on Martial Law.

 Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.
 An inquiry into the loss of life.
 Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before
the assembly meeting 25th 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 their independence. 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.

Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international
routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dhaka. These "Government Passengers"
were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress. MV Swat, a ship of the Pakistani Navy,
carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harbored 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.

2.3 Military Imbalance:

Yet another issue was that apart from economic and political exploitation, there was gross
underrepresentation of Bengalis in the Pakistan military. 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 Pathans and Punjabis;
the "martial races" notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis. Moreover,
despite huge defense 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
retaliation during the conflict.
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2.4 Language Controversy:

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 unfavorably as relations between India and Pakistan had been very poor since
independence. In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared in Dhaka 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.

2.5 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 lead to further growth of the
Awami League. The Pakistan Army failed to do relief work of any significance to alleviate the
problem, further antagonizing the already estranged Bengali populace.

2.6 Eventful March, 1971

Curfew was claimed (8am-8pm) in all over the East Pakistan on 2nd March. Student & teacher
began to make massive rally to protest the curfew. However on this day the flag of Bangladesh
was raised at first time at Battala of Dhaka University. On the next day the song of
Rabindranath tagor “ Amar sonar bangle ame tomay valobashi” was selected as national
anthum at the meeting of Chatra league. On 6th March the president Yahiya Khan announced
that the Assembly session would be held on the 23rd of March and appointed General Tikka
Khan as the Governor of East Pakistan. On March 7 Bangabandu shaik Mujib had delivered a
meaningful speech to the Bangalee nation at Racecourse ground (now sohrawardy uddyan) .
Where he said “we have already donated our blood so we are ready to donate more blood
for our country”. He also said “The struggle this time is the struggle for liberation... the
struggle this time is for independence,” About millions of people had attended there to take
direction of their leader, that what they should do.

On 15th March President Yahiya Khan arrived along with several other generals at Dhaka at
2:20 pm to meet Mujib & started talk with mujib .But on 22nd March suddenly the president
Yahiya postponed national assembly.

On the 11pm of 25th March the Pakistani force started to kill Bangladeshis when the
Bangladeshies don’t know what is happening. The operation is known as “operation search
light”.
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2.7 Operation Searchlight: March 25/26

This is a brief description of the units engaged and the result of Pakistani military action from
March 25 until April 10, when the operation was supposed to end. This only covers events in
the areas that were the major focus of Operation Searchlight, not the Bengali resistance
throughout East Pakistan. In some areas, Pakistani assault and mass murders started clashes
with the Bengali forces on 25 March. In other areas, no clashes took place until as late as the
30 March.

Pakistani troops in Dhaka, commanded by Maj. Gen. Farman, had the following objectives:

Impose curfew at 0110 hrs and

close telephone/telegraph/radio station
and shut all presses down
 Seal off the city by taking over
road, rail and river communication and
patrol river
 Arrest Sheikh Mujib and 15 top
Awami League leaders during operation
 Conduct house to house search in
Dhanmondi and Hindu areas
 Subdue Dhaka University, EPR
HQ and Rajarbagh police line, disarm 2nd
and 10th EBR
 Take over and protect
Ammunition factory at Gazipur and Arms depot at Rajendrapur.

Chittagong housed the only oil refinery in East Pakistan, had a large fuel depot, was the largest
seaport and MV Swat, and with 9000 tons of arms and ammunition was in port. Bengali units
substantially outnumbered the West Pakistani Chittagong garrison, which was a cause of
concern for Pakistani planners. Bengali officers of EPR and EBR had discussed a preemptive
strike on Pakistan forces, but the senior Bengali officers (Lt. Col M.R. Choudhury -Chief
Instructor, EBRC) and Major Ziaur Rahman (2IC, 8 EBR), dissuaded Captain Rafiq (Sector
Adjutant, EPR) from rebelling in the belief that the Pakistani army would not take action
against civilians. Attempts to unload arms and ammunition from MV Swat were a partial failure
during March 20-25th, as civilian protestors blocked any attempt to take the arms to the
cantonment and many were shot by the army. Brig. Mazumdar was relieved of his post because
of this failure.Pakistani units were given the following objectives in Chittagong:

 Disarm EBRC units, 8 EBR, EPR and police units

 Seize police armory, radio station and telephone exchange
 Liaise with Pakistani Navy
 Arrest Col. MR Chaudhury and Awami League leaders.
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The Chittagong garrison was to be reinforced by the bilk of 53rd Brigade troops from Comilla
on March 26.

2.8 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 Dhaka. 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.

Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio
message. Mujib was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 at about 1:30 a.m. (as per
Radio Pakistan’s news on 29 March 1971).

A telegram containing the text of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached
some students in Chittagong. The message was translated to Bangla by Dr. Manjula Anwar.
The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from
the nearby Agrabad Station of Radio Pakistan. They crossed Kalurghat Bridge into an area
controlled by an East Bengal Regiment under Major Ziaur Rahman. Bengali soldiers guarded
the station as engineers prepared for transmission. At 19:45 hrs on 27 March 1971, Major Ziaur
Rahman broadcast announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh
Mujibur.On 28 March Major Ziaur Rahman made another announcement, which is as follows:

This is Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu
sheikh 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.

The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited. The message was picked
up by a Japanese ship in Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia and later
by the British Broadcasting Corporation.M A Hannan, an Awami League leader from
Chittagong, is said to have made the first announcement of the declaration of independence
over the radio on 26 March 1971.

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There is controversy now as to when Major Zia gave his speech. BNP sources maintain that it
was 26 March, and there was no message regarding declaration of independence from Mujibur
Rahman. Pakistani sources, like Siddiq Salik in Witness to Surrender had written that he heard
about Mujibor Rahman's message on the Radio while Operation Searchlight was going on, and
Maj. Gen. Hakeem A. Qureshi in his book The 1971 Indo-Pak War: A Soldier's Narrative,
gives the date of Zia's speech as 27 March 1971.

2,9 Mukti Bahini

The Bangladesh government in exile was formed by the Awami League leadership on April 17
at Meherpur in Kushtia, which confirmed Col. Osmani as commander of Mukti Bahini (regular
armed forces and insurgents) under the authority of Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed.
Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M A G Osmani as commander
in chief, Lt. Col. Abdur Rab as chief of Army Staff and Group Captain A K Khandker as
Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Force.Bangladesh was divided into Eleven
Sectors each with a commander chosen from defected officers of Pakistan army who joined
the Mukti Bahini to conduct guerrilla operations and train fighters. Most of their training camps
were situated near the border area and were operated with assistance from India. The 10th
Sector was directly placed under Commander in Chief (C-in-C) and included the Naval
Commandos and C-in-C’s special force. Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for
conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated 100,000) was trained. Bangladesh
Forces Headquarters were set up in Kolkata (Calcutta) with Col. MAG Osmani as commander
in chief, Lt. Col. MA Rab as Chief of Staff (based in Agartala, Tripura), and Group Captain
AR Khandker as deputy Chief of Staff..The Bengali resistance, after being driven out of
Bangladesh, began reorganizing to focus on irregular warfare.

3.0 List of Sectors and Subsectors

Sector Area Sector Commander

1 Chittagong District, Chittagong Hill Tracts, • Major Ziaur Rahman (April 10, 1971
and the entire eastern area of the Noakhali – June 25, 1971)
District on the banks of the river Muhuri. • Major Rafiqul Islam (June 28, 1971 –
The headquarters of the sector was at February 14, 1972)
Harina.

2 Districts of Dhaka, Comilla, and Faridpur, • Major Khaled Mosharraf (April 10,
and part of Noakhali District. 1971 – September 22, 1971)
• Major ATM Haider (Sector
Commander September 22, 1971 –
December 18, 1972)

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3 Area between Churaman Kathi (near • Major K M Shafiullah (April 10, 1971
Sreemangal) and Sylhet in the north and – July 21, 1972)
Singerbil of Brahmanbaria in the south. • Captain ANM Nuruzzaman (July 23,
1971 – February 14, 1972)
4 Area from Habiganj District on the north to • Major Chittarajan Datta (April 10,
Kanaighat Police Station on the south along 1971 – February 14, 1972)
the 100 mile long border with India. The • Captain A Rab
headquarters of the sector was initially at
Karimganj and later at Masimpur.
5 Area from Durgapur to Danki (Tamabil) of • Major Mir Shawkat Ali (April 10,
Sylhet District and the entire area up to the 1971 – February 14, 1972)
eastern borders of the district. The
headquarters of the sector was at Banshtala.
6 Rangpur District and part of Dinajpur • Wing Commander M Khademul
District. The headquarters of the sector was Bashar (April 1971 – February 14,
at Burimari near Patgram. 1972)
7 Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra and part of Dinajpur • Major Nazmul Haq (April 10 –
District. The headquarters of the sector was August 20, 1971)
at Taranngapur. • Major Kazi Nuruzzaman (August 21
– February 14, 1972)
• Subedar Major A Rab
8 In April 1971, the operational area of the • Major Abu Osman Chowdhury (April
sector comprised the districts of Kushtia, 10 – July 17, 1971)
Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, Faridpur and • Major MA Manzur (August 14, 1971
Patuakhali. At the end of May the sector – February 14, 1972)
was reconstituted and comprised the
districts of Kuhstia, Jessore, Khulna,
Satkhira and the northern part of Faridpur
district. The headquarters of the sector was
at Benapole.
9 Barisal, Patuakhali, and parts of the district • Major M A Jalil (July 17 – December
of Khulna and Faridpur. 24, 1971)
• Major MA Manzur
• Major Joynal Abedin
10 This sector was constituted with the naval • Commander HQ BD Forces
commandos. (December 3 – December 16, 1971)
11 Mymensingh and Tangail along with parts • Major Ziaur Rahman (June 27, 1971
of Rangpur - Gaibandha, Ulipur, Kamalpur – October 10, 1971)
and Chilmari. The headquarters of the • Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah
sector was at Teldhala until October 10, Khan (November 2, 1971 – February
then transferred to Mahendraganj. 14, 1972)
• Major Abu Taher (October 10, 1971
– November 2, 1971)
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3.1 List of guerilla organizations

 Z Force, under Major Ziaur Rahman, consisted of 1, 3 and 8 East Bengal Regiment.

 K Force, commanded by Major Khaled Mosharraf was created with 4, 9 and 10 East
Bengal Regiment.

 S Force, under Lt. Col. Safiullah, was created in October 1971 and consisted of 2 and
11 East Bengal Regiment.

There are many regional teams, from there Kaderia group was famous for fight against
Pakistanis as well as forming a volunteer’s team.

3.2 The Government in-exile of Bangladesh, 17th April, 1971

Mujibnagar Government On 17th April 1971, the Government of the People’s Republic of
Bangladesh was formed through a proclamation of independence issued from Mujibnagar. It
confirmed the declaration of independence made earlier.

President : Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (interned in Pakistani jail)

Vice President : Syed Nazrul Islam (served as the Acting President in the absence of the
President).

Prime Minister : Tajuddin Ahmed.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law : Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad

Finance Minister : M Mansur Ali

Minister for Home Affairs, Relief and Rehabilitation : AHM Qamaruzzaman

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces : General Mohammad Ataul Ghani Osmany

Chief of Staff : Major General Abdur Rab

Departmental Chiefs : Abdul Mannan (Press, Information, Radio and Film); Professor Yusuf
Ali (Relief and Rehabilitation); Matiur Rahman (Commerce); Barrister Amirul Islam
(Volunteer Corps)

Chairmen in charge of various zones: Professor Nurul Islam Chowdhury, MNA and Zahur
Ahmed Chowdhury, MPA (Southeast Zone); Dewan Farid Gazi, MNA and Shamsur Rahman
Khan (Northeast Zone); Lt. Col. M A Rab, MNA (East Zone); Matiur Rahman and Abdur Rauf,

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MNA (North Zone); Azizur Rahman and Ashraful Islam (West Zone), MNA; M A Rauf
Chowdhury, MPA and Phani Bhushan Majumdar, MPA (Southwest Zone).

Officers in charge of zonal offices: Faiz Uddin Ahmed, S A Samad, Kazi Raquibuddin Ahmed,
Abdur Rab Serniabat.

3.3 Sympathy for Bangladesh in outer world:

On 1st August a concert was organized one of the biggest concerts at Madison Square Garden.
Ravi Shankar conceived the idea of the concert to raise awareness and funds to help the victims
of the jihadi Pakistani soldiers. He got together with George Harrison, an ex-Beetle. Shankar,
Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Leon Russel, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann,
Badfinger, Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Joey Molland, Mike Gibbons, Allan Beutler, Jesse Ed Davis,
Chuck Findly, Marlin Greene, Jeanne Greene, JD Green, Dolores Hall, Jim Horn, Kamala
Chakravarty, Jackie Kelso, Jim Keltner, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Claudia Lennear, Lou
McCreary, Ollie Mitchell, Don Nix, Don Preston, Carl Radle, Alla Rakah performed at this
historic concert that brought the genocide to world attention.

Without it the US poet Alen Ginsberg played a vital role by writing the his famous poem “
September on Jessor road” which had expressed about the Bangladesh liberation world to the
outer world.

3.4 Operation Jackpot

The Bangladesh naval commando operation that was called "Operation Jackpot" was
precipitated by events in Toulon, a coastal city of southern France. In 1971, there were 11 East
Pakistan naval submarine crewmen receiving training there aboard a Pakistani submarine. One
commissioned officer (Mosharraf Hassain) and 8 crewmen decided to take control of the
submarine and to fight against Pakistan. Their plan was disclosed, however, causing them to
flee from death threats made by Pakistani intelligence. Out of the 9 crewmen, one was killed
by Pakistani Intelligence, but the others managed to travel to the Indian Embassy in Geneva,
Switzerland. From Geneva, embassy officials took them to New Delhi on the 9th of April where
they began a program of top secret naval training.

At the conclusion of Operation Searchlight, the Pakistani Army had driven the Mukti Bahini
into India, where they entered a period of reorganization during June and July 1971 to train
guerrillas, set up networks and safe houses in the occupied territories to run the insurgency and
rebuild the conventional forces. As the pace of military operations in East Pakistan slacked off,
the civilian morale was adversely affected,[21] which prompted Pakistani authorities to claim
that the situation had returned to "normal". In response to this declaration, the Mukti Bahini
launched 2 operations: 1) Guerrilla attacks in targets in Dhaka by a crack commando group
trained by Major ATM Haider (ex-SSG commando), and 2) the simultaneous mining and
damaging of ships in Chittagong, Chandpur, Mongla and Narayanganj on the 15th of August,
which became known in Bangladesh and international media as "Operation Jackpot".

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3.5 The Operation

The operation was planned in the last week of September, under tight security. Information on
river tides, weather and Pakistani infrastructure and deployment was collected through the
Mukti Bahini. Selected commandos were sent from C2P to forward bases in Tripura and West
Bengal, where a final briefing was given to them. Mukti Bahini in Sector 1 assisted the group
going to Chittagong, Sector 2 aided the groups going to Chandpur and Naryanganj and Sector
9 assisted the group targeting Mongla. Each commando carried a pair of fins, a knife, a limpet
mine, and swimming trunks. Some had compasses, 1 in 3 commandos had sten guns and hand
grenades, the group leaders carried a transistor radio. All the groups carried their own
equipment to their targets and after entering Bangladesh between August 3 and 9, reached their
destinations by August 12, using the local Mukti Bahini network of safehouses. A pair of songs
was played in India Radio (Akashbani) at specific times to convey the intended signal for
commencing the operations. The first song (Amar putul ajke prothom jabe shoshur bari was
played on the 13th of August, the second song (Ami tomay joto shuniyechilem gan tar bodole
chaini kono dan)] on the 14th. The result of this operation was:

 Chittagong: 60 commandos were sent, out of which 31 finally took part in the sabotage
operation on the 16th. Between 1:45 to 2:15AM explosions sank the MV Al-Abbas, the
MV Hormuz and the Orient barge no.6, sinking 19,000 tons of arms and ammunitions.
 Chandpur: 18 out of 40 commandos finally took part in the operation. 3
steamers/barges were damaged or sunk.
 Narayanganj: 20 commandos conducted the sabotage operation. 4 ships were sunk or
damaged.
 Mongla: 20 commandos managed to damage 6 foreign owned ships.

The simultaneous attacks on Pakistani shipping assets on August 16 destroyed the myth of
normalcy in East Pakistan when the news was flashed in the international media.

3.6 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. The war
is closely associated with the Bangladesh Liberation War (sometimes also referred to as the
Pakistani Civil War). Although there is some disagreement about the exact dates of the war,
hostilities between India and Pakistan commenced officially on the evening of December 3,
1971. The armed conflict on India's western front during the period between 3 December 1971
and 16 December 1971 is called the "Indo-Pakistani War" by both the Bangladeshi and Indian
armies. The war ended in the surrender of the Pakistani military after armed hostilities on two
fronts.

3.7 American and Soviet involvement

The United States supported Pakistan both politically and materially. Nixon, backed by Henry
Kissinger, feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Nixon feared that an Indian
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invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would
seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of
America's new tacit ally, China. In order to demonstrate to China the bona fides of the United
States as an ally, and in direct violation of the US Congress-imposed sanctions on Pakistan,
Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan, routing them through Jordan and Iran, while also
encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan.

The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the 'genocidal' activities of the
Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably the Blood telegram. When Pakistan's defeat in
the eastern sector seemed certain, Nixon sent the USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal, a move
which was a nuclear threat. The Enterprise arrived on station on December 11, 1971. On 6
December and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of ships, armed with
nuclear missiles, from Vladivostok; they trailed U.S. Task Force 74 into the Indian Ocean from
18 December 1971 until 7 January 1972. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off
the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean. when the USS Enterprise reached the
Indian Ocean, Soviet nuclear submarines surfaced without any kind of verbal warning or threat.
There was no formal or informal dialogue between the USSR and the United States. As the
United States were not ready to risk open nuclear warfare with the Soviets the Enterprise simply
turned around and sailed back to the US.

The Soviet Union sympathized with the Bangladeshis, and supported the Indian Army and
Mukti Bahini during the war, recognizing that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken
the position of its rivals - the United States and China. The USSR gave assurances to India that
if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, it would take counter-measures.
This assurance was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971.

3.8 Last killing mission of our betrayer

During the war, the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators carried out a systematic execution
of the leading Bengali intellectuals. A number of professors from Dhaka University were killed
during the first few days of the war. However, the most extreme cases of targeted killing of
intellectuals took place during the last few days of the war. Professors, journalists, doctors,
artists, engineers, writers were rounded up by Pakistan Army and the Razakar militia in Dhaka,
blindfolded, taken to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other
locations in different sections of the city to be executed en masse in the killing fields, most
notably at Rayerbazar and Mirpur. Allegedly, the Pakistani Army and its paramilitary arm, the
Al-Badr and Al-Shams forces created a list of doctors, teachers, poets, and scholars. Some
sources also allege the role of the CIA in devising the plan.

On 14 December 1971, only two days before surrendering to the Indian military and the Mukhti
Bahini forces, the Pakistani army with the assistance of local collaborators systematically
executed an estimated 991 teachers, 13 journalists, 49 physicians, 42 lawyers, and 16 writers,
artists and engineers. Even after the official ending of the war on 16 December there were
reports of firing from the armed Pakistani soldiers or their collaborators. In one such incident,
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notable film-maker Jahir Raihan was killed on January 30, 1972 in Mirpur allegedly by the
armed Beharis. In memory of the persons killed, December 14 is mourned in Bangladesh as
Shaheed Buddhijibi Dibosh ("Day of the Martyred Intellectuals").

Several noted intellectuals who were killed from the time period of 25 March to 16 December,
1971 in different parts of the country include Dhaka University professors Dr. Govinda
Chandra Dev (Philosophy), Dr. Munier Chowdhury (Bengali Literature), Dr. Mufazzal Haider
Chaudhury (Bengali Literature), Dr. Anwar Pasha (Bengali Literature), Dr M Abul Khair
(History), Dr. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta (English Literature), Humayun Kabir (English
Literature), Rashidul Hasan (English Literature) and Saidul Hassan (Physics), as well Dr.
Hobibur Rahman (Professor of Mathematics at Rajshahi University), Dr. Mohammed Fazle
Rabbee (Cardiologist), Dr. Alim Chowdhury (Ophthalmologist), Shahidullah Kaiser
(Journalist), Nizamuddin Ahmed (Journalist), Selina Parvin (Journalist), Altaf Mahmud
(Lyricist and musician), Dhirendranath Datta (Politician) and RP Saha (Philanthropist).

3.9 Surrender of Pakistan & final victory of Bangladesh:

On 16 December 1971, When Muktijoddha & Indian army surrounded the Dhaka city, then
they request Pakistan army to surrender .For the bombing n governor house governor Malek &
his ministers escaped from there and took shelter at Hotel intercontinental ( now
Sheraton).Then Indian army throw many liflet towards Pakistan army by writing “ Surrender
to us before the grab by Muktijoddha.

Then some times later Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi, CO of Pakistan Army forces located in East
Pakistan signed the instrument of surrender when they had 91,000 army.At that time a Pakistani
said to erase the wrd Bangladesh from the instrument of surrender. At the time of surrender
only a few countries had provided diplomatic recognition to the new nation. Bangladesh sought
admission in the UN with most voting in its favor, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its
key ally.

4.0 Aftermath:

The war ended with the surrender of the Pakistani military to the allied forces of India and
Bangladesh, jointly known as the Mitro Bahini. Bangladesh became an independent nation, the
world's third most populous Muslim state. The loss of East Pakistan demoralized the Pakistani
military. President Yahya Khan resigned, to be replaced by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Mujibur
Rahman was released from a West Pakistani prison, returning to Dhaka on January 10, 1972.
About 30 millions of Bangladeshies including civil,East bengle regiment,
Military,children,woman and all types of people had been killed.Total stucture of Bangladesh
had been damaged .And total transfort system had been destroyed. Finally we got an
independent country where we can take a pure safe breath.

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4.1 Conclusion:

Our liberation war is something for what we can be very proud as we got our independence, a
heavenly right of living through this. Today, we are passing through several problems and
threatening disasters which make some kind of chaotic atmosphere in the country. The situation
is not expected in a country which got independence through a war which snatched away almost
3000000 lives and many other things which worth more than life. The survival of the brutal
criminals and the miserable condition of many of the freedom fighters are something what
make us feel ashamed as citizens of this independent nation. We cannot let this continue and
make us feel like dwellers of a dependent nation. We need to make proper public awareness of
what is happening here and take necessary steps to fix things up. Or else our glorious liberation
war, the blood of the martyred freedom fighters and the achievement through this would
become worthless. We cannot let it happen as we are the proud citizens of an independent
nation which has the glorious history of the liberation war.

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Bibliography

 Mukti sangram,page by Abul Kashem Fajlul Huq.

 Witness to surrender by Siddiq Salik.

 Banladesh liberation war, www.wikipiedia.com

 Banglades fights for independence, Lieutenant Genaral ASM Nasim Bir Bikram.

 Muktti Judher Itihas, Md. Jafor Iqbal.

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