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মাতৃভাষা দিবস অমর ২১শে

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অমর ২১শে আমি কি ভুলিতে পারি।
মাতৃভাষা দিবসের মাস ফেব্রুয়ারি এলেই আমরা শ্রদ্ধার সঙ্গে স্মরণ করি সেই ভাষা সৈনিকদের যাদের রক্তে রঞ্জিত হয়েছিল ১৯৫২ সালের ঢাকার রাজপথ। কী তাঁদের পরিচয়?

রফিকঃ  রফিকের পুরো নাম রফিক উদ্দিন আহমদ। জন্ম '২৬ সালের ৩০ অক্টোবর মানিকগঞ্জ জেলার সিংগাইর থানার পারিল বলধারা গ্রামে। বাবা আব্দুল লতিফ ছিলেন ঢাকার বাদামতলীর একটি প্রেসের মালিক। রফিক ম্যাট্রিক পাস করেন '৪৯ সালে স্থানীয় বায়রা স্কুল থেকে। তারপর তিনি ভর্তি হন মানিকগঞ্জ দেবেন্দ্রনাথ কলেজে। এই কলেজে তিনি আই. কম. (যেটা এসএসসি সমমানের) পর্যন্ত পড়াশোনা করেন। তারপর তিনি কলেজের পড়া লেখা অসমাপ্ত রেখে ঢাকায় চলে আসেন বাবাকে প্রেস পরিচালনার কাজে সাহায্য করতে।এ সময় রাষ্ট্রভাষা বাংলার দাবীতে উত্তপ্ত হয়ে ওঠে ঢাকা শহর। জারী করা হয় ১৪৪ ধারা। কিন্তু বাংলার সাহসী মানুষেরা সেটা মানবে কেন ? তারা বিক্ষোভ প্রদর্শন করতে থাকে চরমভাবে। রফিক যোগ দেন সেই বিক্ষোভ মিছিলে। কিন্তু পাকিস্তান সরকারের ঘাতক পুলিশ বাহিনী গুলি চালায় এই মিছিলের উপর। গুলি লাগে রফিকের মাথায়। ঘটনাস্থলেই মৃত্যুর কোলে ঢলে পড়েন তিনি। সেদিন ছিল ১৯৫২ সালের ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি। ঢাকা মেডিকেল কলেজ হাসপাতালের মর্গে নেওয়া হয় রফিকের লাশ। সেদিন রাত তিনটায় সামরিক বাহিনীর পাহারায় তাঁর লাশ দাফন করা হয় আজিমপুর গোরস্তানে।
বরকতঃ  বরকতের পুরো নাম আবুল বরকত। তার জন্ম ১৯২৭ সালের ১৩ জুন ভারতের মুর্শিদাবাদের বাবলা গ্রামে। তিনি ১৯৪৫ সালে স্থানীয় তালিবপুর হাইস্কুল থেকে ম্যাট্রিক পাস করেন। তারপর তিনি ভর্তি হন বহরমপুর কৃষ্ণনাথ কলেজে। ১৯৪৭ সালে তিনি এই কলেজ থেকে আই.এ পাস করেন। ১৯৪৭ সালের ১৪ আগস্ট পাকিস্তান প্রতিষ্ঠার পর তিনি মুর্শিদাবাদ ছেড়ে ঢাকায় চলে আসেন এবং ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে স্নাতক শ্রেণীতে ভর্তি হন। ১৯৫১ সালে তিনি দ্বিতীয় শ্রেণীতে চতুর্থ স্থান অধিকার করে রাষ্ট্রবিজ্ঞানে বি.এ অনার্স পাস করেন। তারপর তিনি একই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে এম.এ ক্লাসে ভর্তি হন। ৫২'র ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি বাংলাকে রাষ্ট্রভাষা করার দাবীতে ১৪৪ ধারা উপেক্ষা করে মিছিল এগিয়ে গেলে সেই মিছিলের উপর গুলি বর্ষণ করে পুলিশ। ঢাকা মেডিকেল কলেজের হোস্টেলের ১২ নম্বর শেডের বারান্দায় গুলিবিদ্ধ হন বরকত। মারাত্মকভাবে আহত হন তিনি। তাকে ভর্তি করানো হয় ঢাকা মেডিক্যাল কলেজ হাসপাতালের ইমারজেন্সি বিভাগে। ডাক্তাররা প্রাণপণে চেষ্টা করেন তাকে সুস্থ করে তুলতে। কিন্তু সব চেষ্টা ব্যর্থ হয় তাদের। অতিরিক্ত রক্ত ক্ষরণের ফলে ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি রাত আটটায় মৃত্যুর কোলে ঢলে পড়েন তিনি। ঐ রাতেই তাঁর আত্মীয় স্বজনদের উপস্থিতিতে আজিমপুর গোরস্থানে দাফন হয় তাঁর লাশ। সালামঃ  শহীদ সালামের পুরো নাম আব্দুস সালাম। জন্ম ফেনী জেলার লক্ষীপুর গ্রামে। তবে তাঁর জন্ম তারিখ জানা যায়নি। পিতার নাম মো. ফাজিল মিয়া। পেশায় তিনি ছিলেন একজন পিয়ন। ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারির সেই ঐতিহাসিক মিছিলে সব ভয়কে দূরে ঠেলে যোগদান করেন সালাম। পুলিশের গুলিতে আহত হন তিনি। দ্রুত ঢাকা মেডিক্যাল কলেজ হাসপাতালে নেওয়া হয় তাকে। দীর্ঘ দেড় মাস হাসপাতালের বিছানায় পড়ে থাকেন তিনি। অবশেষে ৭ এপ্রিল তিনি শেষ নিঃশ্বাস ত্যাগ কারণ। খালি হয়ে যায় তার দরিদ্র পিতা মাতার বুক।
শফিউরঃ  শহীদ শফিউরের পুরোনাম শফিউর রহমান। তার জন্ম ১৯১৮ সালের ২৪ জানুয়ারি ভারতের চব্বিশ পরগনার কোন্নগর গ্রামে। তার পিতার নাম মাহবুবুর রহমান। তিনি ছিলেন ঢাকার পোস্ট অ্যান্ড টেলিগ্রাফ অফিসের সুপারিনটেনডেন্ট। শফিউর ম্যাট্রিক পাস করেন স্থানীয় স্কুল থেকে। তারপর তিনি ভর্তি হন কলকাতা গভর্নমেন্ট কমার্সিয়াল কলেজে। এই কলেজ থেকে তিনি কৃতিত্বের সাথে আই.কম পাস করেন। এরপর তিনি চব্বিশ পরগনা সিভিল সাপ্লাই অফিসের কেরানির চাকরি গ্রহণ করেন। ১৯৪৭ সালে দেশ বিভাগের পর তিনি চব্বিশ পরগনা ছেড়ে পিতার সঙ্গে চলে আসেন ঢাকায়। কিছুদিন পর তিনি ঢাকা হাইকোর্টের হিসাব রক্ষণ শাখায় কেরানি পদে যোগদান করেন। ৫২'র ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি সকাল ১০টায় ৬নং রঘুনাথ দাস লেনের বাসা থেকে সাইকেলে চড়ে তিনি রওনা হন অফিসের উদ্দেশ্যে। এ সময় ছাত্র জনতার বিক্ষোভ মিছিল চলছিল। শফিউর যোগ দেন সেই মিছিলে। পুলিশ মিছিলে গুলি বর্ষণ করলে গুলি লাগে শফিউরের পিঠে। মারাত্মক আহত অবস্থায় এম্বুলেন্সে করে তাকে নিয়ে যাওয়া হয় ঢাকা মেডিক্যাল কলেজ হাসপাতালে। ডা. এলিনসন তার দেহে অস্ত্রোপাচার করেন। অস্ত্রোপাচার সফল না হওয়ায় ঐদিন সন্ধ্যা ৭টায় তিনি পরলোকগমন করেন। রাত তিনটায় পুলিশ পাহারায় তার লাশ দাফন করা হয় আজিমপুর গোরস্থানে।
জব্বারঃ  ভাষা শহীদ জব্বারের পুরো নাম আব্দুল জব্বার। তাঁর জন্ম ১৯১৯ সালের ময়মনসিংহ জেলার গফরগাঁও থানার পাঁচুয়া গ্রামে। তবে তাঁর সঠিক জন্ম তারিখ জানা যায়নি। তিনি স্থানীয় পাঠশালায় কিছুদিন পড়াশোনা করেন। কিন্তু দারিদ্র্যের কারণে পড়াশোনা চালিয়ে নেওয়া সম্ভব হয় না তার পক্ষে। লেখাপড়া ত্যাগ করে তিনি পিতাকে কৃষিকাজে সাহায্য করতে থাকেন।১৫/১৬ বছর বয়সে হঠাৎ একদিন তিনি খেয়ালের বশে সবার অজান্তে বাড়ি ছেড়ে ট্রেনে চড়ে চলে আসেন নারায়ণগঞ্জে। এখানকার জাহাজ ঘাটে এক ইংরেজ সাহেবের সাথে তার দেখা হয়। এই ইংরেজ সাহেব তাকে একটি চাকরী দেন। এই চাকরীর সূত্রে তিনি চলে যান বার্মায়। দশ বারো বছর বার্মায় কাটানোর পর তিনি চলে আসেন দেশে। দেশে ফিরে তিনি বিয়ে করেন। তার স্ত্রীর নাম আমেনা খাতুন। কিছুদিন পর তার শাশুড়ি ক্যান্সারে আক্রান্ত হন। চিকিৎসার জন্যে তিনি ৫২'র ২০ ফেব্রুয়ারি শাশুড়িকে নিয়ে ঢাকায় আসেন। শাশুড়িকে ভর্তি করান ঢাকা মেডিক্যাল কলেজ হাসপাতালে। পরদিন অর্থাৎ ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি মেডিক্যাল কলেজ হোস্টেলের সামনে হাজার হাজার সংগ্রামী মানুষের সমাবেশ ঘটে। আব্দুল জব্বার ছুটে যান সেই সমাবেশে যোগ দিতে। পুলিশ এই সমাবেশের উপর গুলি চালালে তিনি গুরুতরভাবে আহত হন। তাকে ভর্তি করানো হয় ঢাকা মেডিক্যাল কলেজ হাসপাতালে ঐদিন (২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি) রাতে হাসপাতালেই শেষ নিঃশ্বাস ত্যাগ করেন তিনি।
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যেভাবে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ শুরু হয়েছিল - জিয়াউর রহমান, বীর উত্তম


১৯৬৯ সালের এপ্রিল মাসে আমাকে নিয়োগ করা হলো জয়দেবপুরে। ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্টের দ্বিতীয় ব্যাটেলিয়নে আমি ছিলাম সেখানে সেকেন্ড-ইন-কমান্ড। অফিসার কমান্ডিং লেঃ কর্নেল আবদুল কাইয়ুম ছিল একজন সাহসী পাকিস্তানী। একদিন ময়মনসিংহের এক ভোজসভায় ধমকের সুরে সে ঘোষণা করলো- বাংলাদেশের জনগণ যদি সদাচরণ না করে তাহলে সামরিক আইনের সত্যিকার ও নির্মম বিকাশ এখানে ঘটানো হবে। আর তাতে হবে প্রচুর রক্তপাত। এই ভোজসভায় কয়েকজন বেসামরিক ভদ্রলোকও উপস্থিত ছিলেন। তাদের মাঝে ছিলেন ময়মনসিংহের তদানীন্তন ডেপুটি কমিশনার জনাব মোকাম্মেল।

লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল কাইয়ুমের এই দম্ভোক্তি আমাদের বিস্মিত করলো। এর আগেও কাইয়ুম এক গুরুত্বপুর্ণ পদে অধিষ্ঠিত ছিল। ইসলামাবাদে পাকিস্তানী নীতি নির্ধারকের সাথে সংযোগ ছিল তার। তার মুখে পুরানো প্রভুদের মনের কথাই ভাষা পেয়েছে কিন্তু, তাই আমি ভাবছিলাম। পরবর্তী সময়ে এ ব্যাপারে আমি অনেকগুলো প্রশ্ন করি এবং এর কোনো কথা থেকে আমার কাছে এটা স্পষ্ট হয়ে উঠে যে সে যা বলেছে, তা জেনেশুনেই বলেছে। উপযুক্ত সময়ে কার্যকরী করার জন্য সামরিক ব্যবস্থার এক পরিকল্পনা তৈরি করা হয়েছে। আর কাইয়ুম সে সম্পর্কে ওয়াকিবহাল। আমি এতে আতংকগ্রস্ত হয়ে পড়ি। এই সময়ে আমি একদিন চতুর্দশ ডিভিশন সদর দফতরে যাই। জিএসও-১ (গোয়েন্দা) লেঃ কর্নেল তাজ আমাদের রাজনৈতিক নেতাদের কয়েকজন সম্পর্কে আমার কাছে অনেক কিছু জানতে চায়। আমি তার এসব তথ্য সংগ্রহের উদ্দেশ্য সম্পর্কে কিছু জিজ্ঞাসা করি। সে আমাকে জানায় যে, তারা বাঙালি নেতাদের জীবনী সংক্রান্ত তথ্য সংগ্রহের কাজ করছে। আমি বারবার তাকে জিজ্ঞেস করি- এসব খুঁটিনাটির প্রয়োজন কি? এই প্রশ্নের জবাবে সে জানায়- ভবিষ্যৎ রাজনৈতিক গতিধারায় এগুলো কাজে লাগবে। গতিক যে বেশি সুবিধার নয়, তার সাথে আলোচনা করেই আমি তা বুঝতে পারি। সেই বছরেই সেপ্টেম্বর মাসে চার মাসের জন্য আমি পশ্চিম জার্মানী যাই। এ সময়ে বাংলাদেশের সর্বত্র এক রাজনৈতিক বিক্ষোভ-ঝড় বয়ে যায়। পশ্চিম জার্মানীতে অবস্থানকালে আমি একদিন দেখি, সামরিক এ্যাটাচি কর্নেল জুলফিকার সে সময়ে পাকিস্তানের রাজনৈতিক পরিস্থিতি নিয়ে কারিগরি এ্যাটাচির সাথে কথা বলছিল। এই ব্যক্তিটি ছিল এক সরলমনা পাঠান অফিসার। তাদের সামনে ছিল করাচীর দৈনিক পত্রিকা ডন-এর একটা সংখ্যা। এতে প্রকাশিত হয়েছিল ইয়াহিয়ার ঘোষণা- ১৯৭০ সালেই নির্বাচন হবে। সরলমনা পাঠান অফিসারটি বলছিল, "নির্বাচন হলে আওয়ামী লীগ ব্যাপকভাবে নির্বাচনে জয়ী হবে, আর সেখানেই পাকিস্তানের পরিসমাপ্তি।" এর জবাবে কর্নেল জুলফিকার বললো, "আওয়ামী লীগ বাংলাদেশের সংখ্যাগিরষ্ঠতা লাভ করতে পারে কিন্তু কেন্দ্রে সে ক্ষমতা পাবে না। কেননা অন্যান্য দল মিলে কেন্দ্রে আওয়ামী লীগকে ছাড়িয়ে যাবে। আমি এটা জেনে বলছি। এ সম্পর্কে আমার কাছে বিশেষ খবর আছে।"



এরপর আমি বাংলাদেশে ফিরে এলাম। ১৯৭০ সালের সেপ্টেম্বরে আমাকে নিয়োগ করা হলো চট্টগ্রামে। এবার ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্টের অষ্টম ব্যাটেলিয়নের সেকেন্ড-ইন-কমান্ড। এর কয়েকদিন পর আমাকে ঢাকা যেতে হয়। নির্বাচনের সময়টা আমি ছিলাম ক্যান্টনমেন্টে। প্রথম থেকেই পাকিস্তানী অফিসাররা মনে করতো চূড়ান্ত বিজয় তাদের হবে। কিন্তু নির্বাচনের দ্বিতীয় দিনে তাদের মুখে আমি দেখলাম হতাশার সুস্পষ্ট ছাপ। ঢাকায় অবস্থানকারী পাকিস্তানী সিনিয়র অফিসারদের মুখে দেখলাম আমি আতংকের ছবি। তাদের এ আতংকের কারণও আমার অজানা ছিল না। শিগগিরই জনগণ গণতন্ত্র ফিরে পাবে, এই আশায় আমরা বাঙালি অফিসাররা তখন আনন্দে উৎফুল্ল হয়ে উঠেছিলাম।



চট্টগ্রামে আমরা ব্যস্ত ছিলাম অষ্টম ব্যাটেলিয়নকে গড়ে তোলার কাজে। এটা ছিল রেজিমেন্টের তরুণতম ব্যাটেলিয়ন। এটার ঘাঁটি ছিল ষোলশহর বাজারে। ১৯৭১ সালের এপ্রিল মাসে এই ব্যাটেলিয়নকে পাকিস্তানের খারিয়ানে নিয়ে যাওয়ার কথা ছিল। এর জন্য আমাদের সেখানে পাঠাতে হয়েছিল দু'শ

জওয়ানের এক দ্রুতগামী দল। অন্যরা ছিল একেবারেই প্রাথমিক পর্যায়ের সৈনিক। আমাদের তখন যেসব অস্ত্র-শস্ত্র দেয়া হয়েছিল, তার মধ্যে ছিল ৩শ' পুরানো ০০৩ রাইফেলস, চারটা এলএমজি ও দুটি তিন ইঞ্চি মর্টার। গোলাবারুদের পরিমাণও ছিল নগণ্য। আমাদের এন্টিট্যাঙ্ক বা ভারি মেশিনগান ছিল না। ফেব্রুয়ারির শেষ দিকে বাংলাদেশের যখন রাজনৈতিক পরিস্থিতি বিস্ফোরণোন্মুখ হয়ে উঠেছিল তখন আমি একদিন খবর পেলাম তৃতীয় কমান্ডো ব্যাটালিয়নের সৈনিকরা চট্টগ্রাম শহরের বিভিন্ন এলাকায় ছোট ছোট দলে বিভক্ত হয়ে বিহারীদের বাড়িতে বাস করতে শুরু করেছে। খবর নিয়ে আমি আরো জানলাম কমান্ডোরা বিপুল পরিমাণ অস্ত্র-শস্ত্র আর গোলাবারুদ নিয়ে বিহারী বাড়িগুলোতে জমা করেছে এবং রাতের অকারে বিপুল সংখ্যায় তরুণ বিহারীদের সামরিক ট্রেনিং দিচ্ছে, এসব থেকে এরা যে ভয়ানক রকমের অশুভ একটা কিছু করবে তার সুস্পষ্ট আভাসই আমি পেলাম।

তারপর এলো ১ মার্চ। এই সময়ে আমার ব্যাটেলিয়নের এনসিওরা আমাকে জানালো, "প্রতিদিন সন্ধ্যায় বিংশতম বালুচ রেজিমেন্টের জওয়ানরা বেসামরিক পোশাক পরে ট্রাকে করে কোথায় যেন যায়। তারা ফিরে আসে আবার শেষ রাতের দিকে।" আমি উৎসুক হলাম, লোক লাগালাম খবর নিতে। খবর নিয়ে জানলাম প্রতি রাতেই তারা যায় কতগুলো নির্দিষ্ট বাঙালি পাড়ায়, নির্বিচারে হত্যা করে সেখানে বাঙালিদের। এই সময় প্রতিদিন ছুরিকাহত বাঙালিদের হাসপাতালে ভর্তি হতেও শোনা যায়।



এই সময়ে আমাদের কমান্ডিং অফিসার লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল জানজুয়া আমার গতিবিধির ওপর লক্ষ্য রাখার জন্যে লোক লাগায়। মাঝে মাঝেই তার লোকেরা গিয়ে আমার সম্পর্কে খোঁজ-খবর নিতে শুরু করে। আমরা তখন আশংকা করছিলাম, আমাদের হয়তো নিরস্ত্র করা হবে। আমি আমার মনোভাব দমন করে কাজ করে যাওয়ার সম্ভাব্য সব ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণ করি। বাঙালি হত্যা ও বাঙালি দোকানপাটে অগ্নিসংযোগের ঘটনা ক্রমেই বাড়তে থাকে।



আমাদের নিরস্ত্র করার চেষ্টা হলে কি ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণ করবো কর্নেল (তখন মেজর) শওকতও আমার কাছে তা জানতে চান। ক্যাপ্টেন শমসের মবিন এবং খালেকুজ্জামান আমাকে জানান যে, স্বাধীনতার জন্য আমি যদি অস্ত্র তুলে নেই তাহলে তারাও দেশের মুক্তির জন্য প্রাণ দিতে কুণ্ঠবোধ করবে না। ক্যাপ্টেন অলি আহমদ আমাদের মাঝে খবর আদান-প্রদান করতেন। জেসিও এবং এনসিওরাও দলে দলে বিভক্ত হয়ে আমার কাছে বিভিন্ন স্থানে জমা হতে থাকলো। তারাও আমাকে জানায় যে, কিছু একটা না হলে বাঙালি জাতি চিরদিনের জন্যে দাসে পরিণত হবে। আমি নীরবে তাদের কথা শুনতাম। কিন্তু আমি ঠিক করেছিলাম উপযুক্ত সময় এলেই আমি মুখ খুলবো। সম্ভবত ৪ মার্চে ক্যাপ্টেন অলি আহমদকে ডেকে নেই। আমাদের ছিল সেটা প্রথম বৈঠক। আমি তাকে সোজাসুজি বললাম, সশস্ত্র সংগ্রাম শুরু করার সময় দ্রুত এগিয়ে আসছে। আমাদের সব সময় সতর্ক থাকতে হবে। ক্যাপ্টেন আহমদও আমার সাথে একমত হন। আমরা পরিকল্পনা করি এবং প্রতিদিন আলোচনা বৈঠকে মিলিত হতে শুরু করি।



৭ মার্চ রেসকোর্স ময়দানে শেখ মুজিবের ঘোষণা আমাদের কাছে গ্রীন সিগন্যাল বলে মনে হলো। আমাদের পরিকল্পনাকে চূড়ান্ত রূপ দিলাম। কিন্তু তৃতীয় কোনো ব্যক্তিকে তা জানালাম না। বাঙালি ও পাকিস্তানী সৈনিকদের মাঝেও উত্তেজনা ক্রমেই চরমে উঠছিল। ১৩ মার্চ হলো শেখ মুজিবুর রহমানের সাথে ইয়াহিয়ার আলোচনা। আমরা সবাই ক্ষণিকের জন্য স্বস্তির নিঃশ্বাস ফেললাম। আশা করলাম, পাকিস্তানী নেতারা যুক্তি মানবে এবং পরিস্থিতির উন্নতি হবে। কিন্তু দুর্ভাগ্যজনকভাবে পাকিস্তানীদের সামরিক প্রস্তুতি হ্রাস না পেয়ে দিনদিনই বৃদ্ধি পেতে শুরু করলো। প্রতিদিনই পাকিস্তান থেকে সৈন্য আমদানি করা হলো। বিভিন্ন স্থানে জমা হতে থাকলো অস্ত্র-শস্ত্র আর গোলাবারুদ। সিনিয়র পাকিস্তানী সামরিক অফিসাররা সন্দেহজনকভাবে বিভিন্ন গ্যারিসনে আসা-যাওয়া শুরু করলো। চট্টগ্রামে নৌ-বাহিনীর শক্তি বৃদ্ধি করা হলো।



১৭ মার্চ স্টেডিয়াম ই বি আর সি'র লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল এ আর চৌধুরী, আমি চূড়ান্ত যুক্ত-পরিকল্পনা গ্রহণ করলাম। লেঃ কর্নেল চৌধুরীকে অনুরোধ করলাম নেতৃত্ব দিতে।

দু'দিন পর ইপিআর-এর ক্যাপ্টেন (এখন মেজর) রফিক আমার বাসায় গেলেন এবং ইপিআর বাহিনীকে সঙ্গে নেবার প্রস্তাব দিলেন। আমরা ইপিআর বাহিনীকে আমাদের পরিকল্পনাভুক্ত করলাম।



এর মধ্যে পাকিস্তানী বাহিনীও সামরিক তৎপরতা শুরু করার চূড়ান্ত প্রস্তুতি গ্রহণ করলো। ২১ মার্চ জেনারেল আবদুল হামিদ খান গেল চট্টগ্রাম ক্যান্টমেন্টে। চট্টগ্রামে সামরিক ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণের চূড়ান্ত পরিকল্পনা প্রণয়নই তার এই সফরের উদ্দেশ্য। সেদিন রেজিমেন্ট সেন্টারে ভোজসভায় জেনারেল হামিদ ২০তম বালুচ রেজিমেন্টের কমান্ডিং অফিসার লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল ফাতেমীকে বললো, "ফাতেমী, সংক্ষেপে, ক্ষিপ্রগতিতে আর যত কম সম্ভব লোকক্ষয় করে কাজ করতে হবে।" আমি এ কথাগুলো শুনেছিলাম।



২৪ মার্চ ব্রিগেডিয়ার মজুমদার ঢাকা চলে এলেন। সন্ধ্যায় পাকিস্তানী বাহিনী শক্তি প্রয়োগে চট্টগ্রাম বন্দরে যাওয়ার পথ করে নিল। জাহাজ 'সোয়াত' থেকে অস্ত্র নামানোর জন্যেই বন্দরের দিকে ছিল তাদের এই অভিযান। পথে জনতার সাথে ঘটলো তাদের কয়েক দফা সংঘাত। এতে নিহত হলো বিপুল সংখ্যক বাঙালি। সশস্ত্র সংগ্রাম যে কোন মুহূর্তেই শুরু হতে পারে, এ আমরা ধরেই নিয়েছিলাম। মানসিক দিক দিয়ে আমরা ছিলাম প্রস্তুত। পরদিন আমরা পথের ব্যারিকেড অপসারণের কাজে ব্যস্ত ছিলাম। তারপর এলো সেই কালোরাত ২৫ ও ২৬ মার্চের মধ্যবর্তী কালো রাত। রাত ১ টায় আমার কমান্ডিং অফিসার আমাকে নির্দেশ দিলো নৌবাহিনীর ট্রাকে করে চট্টগ্রাম বন্দরে গিয়ে জেনারেল আনসারির কাছে রিপোর্ট করতে। আমার সাথে নৌবাহিনীর (পাকিস্তানী) প্রহরী থাকবে তাও জানানো হলো। আমি ইচ্ছা করলে আমার সাথে তিনজন অফিসারও থাকবে। অবশ্য কমান্ডিং অফিসাররের মতে, সে যাবে আমাকে গার্ড দিতে।



এ আদেশ পালন করা আমার পক্ষে ছিল অসম্ভব। আমি বন্দরে যাচ্ছি কি না তা দেখার জন্য লোক ছিল। আর বন্দরের (সশরীর) প্রতীক্ষায় ছিল জেনারেল আনসারি। হয়তো বা আমাকে চিরকালের মতোই স্বাগত জানাতে।



আমরা বন্দরের পথে বেরুলাম। আগ্রাবাদে আমাদের থামতে হলো। পথে ছিল ব্যারিকেড। সেই সময়ে সেখানে এলো মেজর খালেকুজ্জামান চৌধুরী, ক্যাপ্টেন অলি আহমদের কাছ থেকে এক বার্তা নিয়ে এসেছে। আমি রাস্তায় হাঁটছিলাম।। খালেক আমাকে একটু দূরে নিয়ে গেল। কানে কানে বললো "তারা ক্যান্টনমেন্ট ও শহরে সামরিক তৎপরতা শুরু করেছে। বহু বাঙালিকে ওরা হত্যা করেছে।" এটা ছিল একটা সিদ্ধান্ত গ্রহণের চূড়ান্ত সময়। কয়েক সেকেন্ডের মধ্যেই আমি বললাম, "আমরা বিদ্রোহ করলাম। তুমি ষোলশহর বাজারে যাও। পাকিস্তানী অফিসারদের গ্রেফতার করো। অলি আহমদকে বলো ব্যাটেলিয়ন তৈরি রাখতে, আমি আসছি।"



আমি নৌবাহিনীর ট্রাকের কাছে ফিরে এলাম। পাকিস্তানী অফিসার, নৌবাহিনীর চীফ অফিসার ও ড্রাইভারকে জানালাম যে আমাদের আর বন্দরে যাওয়ার দরকার নেই। আমি নৌবাহিনীর ট্রাকের কাছে ফিরে এলাম। এতে তাদের মনে কোনো প্রতিক্রিয়া হলো না দেখে আমি পাঞ্জাবী ড্রাইভারকে ট্রাক ঘুরাতে বলালম। ভাগ্য ভালো বলব, সে আমার আদেশ মানলো। আমরা আবার ফিরে চললাম। ষোলশহর বাজারে পৌঁছেই আমি গাড়ি থেকে লাফিয়ে নেমে একটা রাইফেল তুলে নিলাম। পাকিস্তানী অফিসারটির দিকে তাক করে তাকে বলালম, "হাত তোল। আমি তোমাকে গ্রেফতার করলাম।"



সে আমার কথা মানলো। নৌবাহিনীর লোকেরা এতে বিভ্রান্ত হয়ে পড়লো, পর মুহূর্তেই আমি নৌবাহিনীর অফিসারদের দিকে রাইফেল তাক করলাম। তারা ছিল আটজন। সবাই আমার নির্দেশ মানলো এবং অস্ত্র ফেলে দিল।



আমি কমান্ডিং অফিসারের জীপ নিয়ে তার বাসার দিকে রওয়ানা দিলাম। আর বাসায় পৌঁছে হাত রাখলাম কলিং বেলে। কমান্ডিং অফিসার পাজামা পরেই বেরিয়ে এলো, খুলে দিল দরজা। ক্ষিপ্রগতিতে আমি ঘরে ঢুকে পড়লাম এবং গলা শুদ্ধ তার কলার টেনে ধরলাম।



দ্রুত গতিতে আবার দরজা খুলে কর্নেলকে আমি বাইরে আনলাম। বললাম, "বন্দরে পাঠিয়ে আমাকে মারতে চেয়েছিলে? আমি তোমাকে গ্রেফতার করলাম। এখন লক্ষ্মী সোনার মতো আমার সঙ্গে এস।" সে আমার কথা মানলো, আমি তাকে ব্যাটেলিয়নে নিয়ে এলাম। অফিসারদের মেসে যাওয়ার পথে আমি কর্নেল শওকতকে (তখন মেজর) ডাকলাম। জানালাম, সমস্ত পাকিস্তানী অফিসারকে কী করে রাখা হয়েছে। আমি অফিসে গেলাম। সবচেষ্টা ব্যর্থ হলো। তারপর রিং করলাম বেসামরিক বিভাগে টেলিফোন অপারেটরকে। তাকে অনুরোধ জানালাম- ডেপুটি কমিশনার, পুলিশ সুপারিনটেনডেন্ট, কমিশনার, ডিআইজি ও আওয়ামী লীগ নেতাদের জানাতে যে, ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্টের অষ্টম ব্যাটেলিয়ন বিদ্রোহ করেছে। বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতার জন্য যুদ্ধ করবে তারা। এদের সাথে আমি টেলিফোন যোগাযোগ করার চেষ্টা করছি। কিন্তু কাউকে পাইনি। তারা অনুরোধ রক্ষা করতে রাজী হলো। সময় ছিল অতি মূল্যবান। আমি ব্যাটেলিয়নের অফিসার, জেসিও আর জোয়ানদের ডাকলাম এবং তাদের নির্দেশ দিলাম সশস্ত্র সংগ্রামে অবতীর্ণ হতে। তারা সর্বসম্মতিক্রমে হৃষ্টচিত্তে এ আদেশ মেনে নিলো। আমি তাদের একটা সামরিক পরিকল্পনা দিলাম।



তখন রাত ২টা বেজে ১৫ মিনিট, ২৬ মার্চ, ১৯৭১ সাল। রক্তের আঁখরে বাঙালির হৃদয়ে লেখা একটি ক্ষণ। বাংলাদেশের জনগণ চিরদিন স্মরণ রাখতে ভালোবাসবে। এই ক্ষণটিকে তারা কোনদিন ভুলবে না, কোন দিন না।



(সূত্রঃ জিয়াউর রহমান, বিচিত্রা, স্বাধীনতা দিবস সংখ্যা, ১৯৭৪) 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান
President of Bangladesh
In office
11 April 1971 – 12 January 1972
Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Nazrul Islam (Acting)
In office
25 January 1975 – 15 August 1975
Prime Minister Muhammad Mansur Ali
Preceded by Mohammad Mohammadullah
Succeeded by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
In office
12 January 1972 – 24 January 1975
President Abu Sayeed Chowdhury
Mohammad Mohammadullah
Preceded by Tajuddin Ahmad
Succeeded by Muhammad Mansur Ali
Personal details
Born 17 March 1920
Tungipara, British Raj (now Bangladesh)
Died 15 August 1975 (aged 55)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Political party Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (1975)
Other political
affiliations
All-India Muslim League (Before 1949)
Awami League (1949–1975)
Alma mater Maulana Azad College
University of Dhaka
Religion Islam
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bengali: শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান Shekh Mujibur Rôhman) (March 17, 1920 – August 15, 1975) was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh.[1] He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He is popularly referred to as Sheikh Mujib, and with the honorary title of Bangabandhu (বঙ্গবন্ধু Bôngobondhu, "Friend of Bengal"). His eldest daughter Sheikh Hasina Wajed is the present leader of the Awami League and the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
A student political leader, Mujib rose in East Pakistani politics and within the ranks of the Awami League as a charismatic and forceful orator. Though he was an insurance company broker in occupation Mujib became popular for his leadership against the ethnic and institutional discrimination of Bengalis. He demanded increased provincial autonomy, and became a fierce opponent of the military rule of Ayub Khan. At the heightening of sectional tensions, Mujib outlined a six-point autonomy plan, which was seen as separatism in West Pakistan. He was tried in 1968 for allegedly conspiring with the Indian government but was not found guilty. Despite leading his party to a major victory in the 1970 elections, Mujib was not invited to form the government.
After talks broke down with President Yahya Khan and West Pakistani politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Sheikh Mujib on 26 March 1971 announced the declaration of independence of East Pakistan and announced the establishment of the sovereign People's Republic of Bangladesh.[2][3][4] Subsequently he was arrested and tried by a military court. During his nine month detention, guerrilla war erupted between government forces and Bengali nationalists aided by India. An all out war between the Pakistan Army and Bangladesh-India Joint Forces led to the establishment of Bangladesh, and after his release Mujib assumed office as a provisional president, and later prime minister. Even as a constitution was adopted, proclaiming socialism and a secular democracy, Mujib struggled to address the challenges of intense poverty and unemployment, coupled with rampant corruption. In the aftermath of the 1974 famine[5] and amidst rising political agitation, he banned other political parties and most of the newspapers but four Government owned. He established a one party state. After only seven months, Mujib was assassinated along with most of his family by a group of army officers.

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Early life

Rahman was born in Tungipara, a village in Gopalganj District in the province of Bengal,[6] to Sheikh Lutfur Rahman, a serestadar, an officer responsible for record-keeping at the Gopalganj civil court. He was the third child in a family of four daughters and two sons. In 1929, Rahman entered into class three at Gopalganj Public School, and two years later, class four at Madaripur Islamia High School.[7] However, Mujib was withdrawn from school in 1934 to undergo eye surgery, and returned to school only after four years, owing to the severity of the surgery and slow recovery.[citation needed] At the age of eighteen, Mujib married Begum Fazilatnnesa. She gave birth to their two daughters—Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana—and three sons—Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel.[7]
Mujib became politically active when he joined the All India Muslim Students Federation in 1940.[8] He enrolled at the Islamia College (now Maulana Azad College), a well-respected college affiliated to the University of Calcutta to study law and entered student politics there. He joined the Bengal Muslim League in 1943 and grew close to the faction led by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a leading Bengali Muslim leader.[citation needed] During this period, Mujib worked actively for the League's cause of a separate Muslim state of Pakistan and in 1946 he was elected general secretary of the Islamia College Students Union. After obtaining his degree in 1947, Mujib was one of the Muslim politicians working under Suhrawardy during the communal violence that broke out in Calcutta, in 1946, just before the partition of India.[9]

Mujib, a student leader in 1949
On his return to East Bengal, he enrolled in the University of Dhaka to study law and founded the East Pakistan Muslim Students' League and became one of the most prominent student political leaders in the province. During these years, Mujib developed an affinity for socialism as the ideal solution to mass poverty, unemployment and poor living conditions.[citation needed] On January 26, 1949 the government announced that Urdu would officially be the state language of Pakistan. Though still in jail, Mujib encouraged fellow activist groups to launch strikes and protests and undertook a hunger strike for 13 days.[citation needed] Following the declaration of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the province chief minister Khwaja Nazimuddin in 1948 that the people of East Pakistan, mainly Bengalis, would have to adopt Urdu as the state language, agitation broke out amongst the population. Mujib led the Muslim Students League in organising strikes and protests, and was arrested along with Khaleque Nawaz Khan, Shamsul Haque by police on March 11.[10][11] The sustained protest from students and political activists led to the immediate release of Mujib and the others. Mujib was expelled from the university and arrested again in 1949 for attempting to organize the menial and clerical staff in an agitation over workers' rights.[6]

Leader of East Pakistan


Mujib with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, 1949
Following Suhrawardy's death in 1963, Mujib came to head the Awami League, which became one of the largest political parties in Pakistan.[citation needed] The party had dropped the word "Muslim" from its name in a shift towards secularism and a broader appeal to non-Muslim communities. Mujib was one of the key leaders to rally opposition to President Ayub Khan's Basic Democracies

Ziaur Rahman, Bir Uttam, (Bengali: জিয়াউর রহমান Ji-yaur Rôhman) (January 19, 1936 – May 30, 1981) was a Bangladeshi politician and an army officer, who pronounced the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on March 26th, 1971 at Kalurghat, Chittagong, on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He later became the seventh President of Bangladesh from 1977 until 1981. A highly decorated and accomplished military officer, he retired from the Bangladesh Army as a Lieutenant General.[1] He was commander of sector 1, transferred to teldhala in May 1971. He organised and created Sector 11 and remained its commander. During August 1971, He was appointed Brigade Commander of the Bangladesh Forces during the Bangladesh war of independence with Pakistan. During his administration, he first founded JAGODAL but he himself did not become a member of it. Then he founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one of the two largest political parties in the country. He is popularly known as Shaheed President Zia, meaning martyred Zia, in reference to his 1981 assassination.


M. A. G. Osmani


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Mohammad Ataul Gani Osmani
September 1, 1918 – February 16, 1984 (aged 65)
Place of birth Sunamganj, Sylhet, British India (now part of Bangladesh)
Place of death London, England
Resting place Sylhet, Bangladesh
Allegiance  British Raj (till 1947)
PakistanPakistan (after 1947)
Bangladesh Bangladesh after March 1971
Service/branch Bangladesh Armed Forces
Years of service 1939-1947 British Indian Army
1947–1967 Pakistan Army
1971 -1972 Bangladesh Army
Rank General
Commands held 1st East Bengal Regiment
9/14 Punjab Regiment
EPR
Commander in Chief Bangladesh Armed Forces April 1971- April 1972
Battles/wars World War II
Indo-Pakistan War of 1947
Indo-Pakistan War of 1965
Bangladesh Liberation War
General Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, popularly referred to as Bonga Bir General M.A.G. Osmani (1 September 1918– 16 February 1984) was the Supreme Commander of Bangladesh Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He equally presided over the significant Bangladesh Sector Commanders Conference 1971 during which the entire Bangladesh Forces were authorized and created. An officer with the British Indian Army since 1939, he saw service in Burma as part of the Army Service Corps, rising to the rank of Major by 1942. He joined the Pakistan Army after partition of India in 1947 as a Lt. Colonel. His career was checkered, he clashed with his superiors over issues regarding the recruitment and treatment of Bengali soldiers, earned a reputation as a hard nosed, stubborn officer, and retired as a Colonel in 1967 as the DDMO in GHQ Pakistan. A legend among Bengali servicemen for his willingness to butt heads with the brass, he joined the Awami League and was elected MNA in the 1970 Pakistan general elections. He was elected as CIC of all Bangladesh forces in 1971 by Bengali officers, a choice ratified by Bangladesh Government in exile. In April 1972 he retired as the first full General of Bangladesh Army. After serving in various government posts during 1972 -1975, he was active in politics during 1977 - 1984 as the head of Jataya Janata Party until his 

Education


Osmani was born in Sunamganj, Sylhet Division on 1 September 1918. He was a descendant of Shah Nizamuddin Osmani of Dayamir, who came to Sylhet with Hazrat Shah Jalal in 1303. Their immediate family members live in the village of Dayamir. Osmani passed matriculation from Sylhet Government Pilot School in 1934, securing 1st division marks - which was a rare feat in those times. Like many Muslim Bengali students of the era, He attended Aligarh Muslim University, India and graduated in 1938. Osmani then registered for M.A. in geography at the same institution, also took the Indian Civil Service examination as per his father's wishes and passed. The advent of World War II saw Osmani shelf his civilian career plans for the military. This was probably the only time he went against the wishes of his father.

Role in Bangladesh Liberation War

Col. Osmani was present at the house of Sheikh Mujib when Bengali officers informed Awami League leaders of the departure of Yahia Khan and army movement.[11] After failing to persuade Sheikh Mujib to go into hiding, Osmani himself hid in Dhaka until March 29, shaved off his famous mustache (he was often called the man attached to a mustache)[12] then made for the Indian border and reached the area under 2nd EBR control in Sylhet on April 4, 1971. A conference between senior Bengali officers and BSF representatives were held at Teliapara on the same day.[13] On April 10, Bengali Government in Exile at Agartola appointed Col. Osmani Commander of Bangladesh Forces. Osmani appointed 4 sector commanders: Maj. Ziaur Rahman (Chittagong area), Maj. Khaled Musharraf (Comilla), Maj. K M Shafiullah (Sylhet) and Maj. Abu Osman Chowdhury (Kushtia-Jessore). The following day 3 more sector commanders were chosen: Maj. Nazmul Huq (Rajshahi-Pabna), Captain Nawajish (Rangpur-Dinajpur) and Captain Jalil (Barisal).[14] Pakistan Army appointed Lt. Gen. A.A.K Niazi GOC East Pakistan on the same day. With the formation of Bangladesh government on 17 April 1971, retired Colonel Osmani was reinstated to active duty under the authority of Bangladesh government and appointed as Commander-in-Chief of all Bangladesh Forces. He was later promoted to the rank of full General during the 11-17 July Bangladesh Sector Commanders Conference 1971.

The Jatiya Janata Party

Osmani launched a new political party styled as Jatiya Janata Party in September 1976 and was elected its President. He contested in the presidential elections in 1978 as a nominee of the Democratic Alliance. He contested in the presidential elections once again in 1981 as a nominee of the Jatiya Nagarik Committee (National Citizens Committee).

Bangladesh Liberation War

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bangladesh Liberation War
Part of Cold War
Mukti Bahini.jpg
Mukti Bahini Training, 1971
Date 26 March – 16 December 1971
Location East Pakistan
Result • Indian and Mukti Bahini victory against Pakistan
• Subsequent independence of Bangladesh
• Eastern Military High Command collapse
• Disintegration of United Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Territorial
changes
East Pakistan secedes to become Bangladesh
Belligerents
Bangladesh East Pakistan
India India (joins the war on 3 December 1971)[1]
Pakistan West Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Bangladesh General M. A. G. Osmani
Lt.Gen. J.S. Aurora
FM Sam Manekshaw
Lt.Gen. Sagat Singh
Maj.Gen. JFR Jacob
LGen A.A.K. Niazi Surrendered
LGen Tikka Khan
RAdm M. Shariff Surrendered
Air-CDRE Enamul Huq
Strength
Bangladesh Forces: 175,000[2][3]
India: 250,000[2]
Pakistan Combatant Forces: ~ 365,000[2]
Para Military: ~250,000[4]
Casualties and losses
Bangladesh Forces: 30,000
India: 1,426 KIA
3,611 Wounded (Official)
1,525 KIA
4,061 Wounded[5]
Pakistan
~8,000 KIA[citation needed]
~10,000 WIA[citation needed]
93,000 [6] POWs
(56,694 Armed Forces
12,192 Paramilitary
rest civilians)[5] [7]
Civilian death toll: 300,000–3,000,000 (estimates)[8][9]
The Bangladesh Liberation War (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ Muktijuddho) was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh.
The war broke out on 26 March 1971 as army units directed by West Pakistan launched a military operation in East Pakistan against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, and armed personnel who were demanding separation of the East from West Pakistan. Bengali military, paramilitary, and civilians formed the Mukti Bahini (Bengali: মুক্তি বাহিনী "Liberation Army") and used guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the West Pakistan army. India provided economic, military and diplomatic support to the Mukti Bahini rebels, leading West Pakistan to launch Operation Chengiz Khan, a pre-emptive attack on the western border of India which started the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
On 16 December 1971, the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini defeated the West Pakistani forces deployed in the East. The resulting surrender was the largest in number of prisoners of war since World War II.

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Background

In August 1947, the Partition of British India gave birth to two new states;[10] a secular state named India and an Islamic state named Pakistan. Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west of India.[11] The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, 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. Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge.[12]
On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[13] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment[14] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.[15]
The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces[16] led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971.[17] Pakistani President Agha Mohammed Yahya ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war.[17] The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[18][19] flooding into the eastern provinces of India.[18] Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.

East Pakistani grievances

Economic disparities

Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget.
Year Spending on West Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees) Spending on East Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of West
1950–55 11,290 5,240 46.4
1955–60 16,550 5,240 31.7
1960–65 33,550 14,040 41.8
1965–70 51,950 21,410 41.2
Total 113,340 45,930 40.5
Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan.

Political differences

Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population,[20] political power remained firmly 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 be devolved to the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President.
East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, he were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings.
The situation reached a climax when in 1970 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 Sindhi and former professor), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.[21] 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 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike. Bhutto feared a civil war, therefore, he sent his most trusted companion, dr. Mubashir Hassan.[21] A message was convened and Mujib decided to meet Bhutto.[21] Upon his arrival, Mujib met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Mujib as Premier and Bhutto as President.[21] However, these developments were unaware to military, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Mujib to reached a decision.[21]
On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be the prime minister) delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:
  1. The immediate lifting of martial law.
  2. Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.
  3. An inquiry into the loss of life.
  4. 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. 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 Pakistan Navy, carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harboured 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.

Military imbalance

Bengalis were underrepresented 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.[22] 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.[22] 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.[23][24]

Language controversy

In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor-General, declared in Dhaka (then usually spelled Dacca in English) that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the common language for all of Pakistan.[25] This proved highly controversial, since Urdu was a language that was only spoken in the West by Muhajirs and in the East by Biharis, although the Urdu language had been promoted as the lingua franca of Indian Muslims by political and religious leaders such as Sir Khwaja Salimullah, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and Maulvi Abdul Haq. The language was considered a vital element of the Islamic culture for Indian Muslims; Hindi and the Devanagari script were seen as fundamentals of Hindu culture. The majority groups in West Pakistan spoke Punjabi, while the Bengali language was spoken by the vast majority of East Pakistanis.[26] The language controversy eventually reached a point where East Pakistan revolted while the other part of Pakistan remained calm even though Punjabi was spoken by the majority groups of West Pakistan. Several students and civilians lost their lives in a police crackdown on 21 February 1952.[26] The day is revered in Bangladesh and in West Bengal as the Language Martyrs' Day. Later, in memory of the 1952 killings, UNESCO declared 21 February as the International Mother Language Day in 1999.[27]
In West Pakistan, the movement was seen as a sectional uprising against Pakistani national interests[28] and the founding ideology of Pakistan, the Two-Nation Theory.[29] West Pakistani politicians considered Urdu a product of Indian Islamic culture,[30] as Ayub Khan said, as late as 1967, "East Bengalis... still are under considerable Hindu culture and influence."[30] But, the deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.[29][30]

Response to the 1970 cyclone

The 1970 Bhola cyclone made landfall on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November, around the same time as a local high tide,[31] killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people. Though the exact death toll is not known, it is considered the deadliest tropical cyclone on record.[32] A week after the landfall, President Khan conceded that his government had made "slips" and "mistakes" in its handling of the relief efforts due to a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.[33]
A statement released by eleven political leaders in East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with "gross neglect, callous and utter indifference". They also accused the president of playing down the magnitude of the problem in news coverage.[34] On 19 November, students held a march in Dhaka protesting the slowness of the government response.[35] Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50,000 people on 24 November, where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation.
As the conflict between East and West Pakistan developed in March, the Dhaka offices of the two government organisations directly involved in relief efforts were closed for at least two weeks, first by a general strike and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the Awami League. With this increase in tension, foreign personnel were evacuated over fears of violence. Relief work continued in the field, but long-term planning was curtailed.[36] This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This is one of the first times that a natural event helped to trigger a civil war.[37]

Operation Searchlight

A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army – codenamed Operation Searchlight – started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement[38] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,[39] within one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.[40]
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. The international media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which vary greatly, from 5,000–35,000 in Dhaka, and 200,000–3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole,[8] and the atrocities have been referred to as acts of genocide.[41][42]
According to the Asia Times,[43]
At a meeting of the military top brass, Yahya Khan declared: "Kill 3 million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands." Accordingly, on the night of 25 March, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight to "crush" Bengali resistance in which Bengali members of military services were disarmed and killed, students and the intelligentsia systematically liquidated and able-bodied Bengali males just picked up and gunned down.
Although the violence focused on the provincial capital, Dhaka, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the University of Dhaka were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall – the Jagannath Hall – was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered. The Pakistani army denies any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamood-ur-Rehman commission in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used at the university. This fact and the massacre at Jagannath Hall and nearby student dormitories of Dhaka University are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Prof. Nurul Ullah of the East Pakistan Engineering University, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories.[44]
The scale of the atrocities was first made clear in the West when Anthony Mascarenhas, a Pakistani journalist who had been sent to the province by the military authorities to write a story favourable to Pakistan's actions, instead fled to the United Kingdom and, on 13 June 1971, published an article in the Sunday Times describing the systematic killings by the military. The BBC writes: "There is little doubt that Mascarenhas' reportage played its part in ending the war. It helped turn world opinion against Pakistan and encouraged India to play a decisive role", with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself stating that Mascarenhas' article has led her "to prepare the ground for India's armed intervention".[45]
Hindu areas suffered particularly heavy blows. By midnight, Dhaka was burning,[citation needed] especially the Hindu dominated eastern part of the city. Time magazine reported on 2 August 1971, "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Pakistani military hatred."
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Mujib with multiple charges. The tribunal's sentence was never made public, but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case.[citation needed] Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dhaka to avoid arrest. The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan.[46]

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.[47][48]
Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message.[49] Mujib was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 at about 1:30 am (as per Radio Pakistan's news on 29 March 1971).
A telegram containing the text of 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 the announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur. On 28 March Major Ziaur Rahman made another announcement, which was 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. Audio of Zia's announcement (interview – Belal Mohammed)
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.[50] 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.[51]
26 March 1971 is considered the official Independence Day of Bangladesh, and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth. In July 1971, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi openly referred to the former East Pakistan as Bangladesh.[52] Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971.

Liberation war

March to June


Leaflets and pamphlets played an important role in driving public opinion during the war.
At first resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.[53] But when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The Mukti Bahini became increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India. Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganising their forces. They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (who were mostly members of the Muslim League, the then government party and other Islamist groups), 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 Ataul Ghani Osmani as Commander-in-Chief, Bangladesh Forces. As fighting grew between the occupation army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini an estimated 10 million Bengalis, sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.[54]

June – September

Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M. A. G. Osmani as commander-in-chief (C-in-C) with the status of Cabinet Minister, Lt. Col. Abdur Rabb as chief of Staff (COS), Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) and Major A R Chowdhury as Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS). Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors each with a commander chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani 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 the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) General M. A. G. Osmani and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C's special force.[55] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.[56]
Guerrilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August. Economic and military targets in Dhaka were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong on 16 August 1971. Pakistani reprisals claimed lives of thousands of civilians.[citation needed] The Indian army took over supplying the Mukti Bahini from the BSF. They organised six sectors for supplying the Bangladesh forces.

October – December

Also See: Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan, Bangladesh 1971: Opposing Plans, Pakistan Army Order of Battle December 1971 and Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971
Bangladesh conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 BOPs fell to Bengali forces. 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.[57] Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent another 5 battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.

Indian involvement


Illustration showing military units and troop movements during the war.
Major battles
Wary of the growing involvement of India, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a pre-emptive strike on Indian Air Force bases on 3 December 1971. The attack was modelled on the Israeli Air Force's Operation Focus during the Six-Day War, and intended to neutralize the Indian Air Force planes on the ground. However, the plan failed to achieve the desired success since India had anticipated such an action. The strike was however seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression. This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War.
As a response to the attack, both India and Pakistan formally acknowledged the existence of a state of war between the two countries, even though neither government had formally issued a Declaration of War.[58]
Three Indian corps were involved in the invasion of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more fighting irregularly. This was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions.[59] The Indians quickly overran the country, selectively engaging or bypassing heavily defended strongholds. Pakistani forces were unable to effectively counter the Indian attack, as they had been deployed in small units around the border to counter guerrilla attacks by the Mukti Bahini.[60] Unable to defend Dhaka, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971.
The speed of the Indian strategy can be gauged by the fact that one of the regiments of Indian army (7 Punjab now 8 Mechanised Inf Regiment) fought the liberation war along the Jessore and Khulna axis. They were newly converted to a mechanised regiment and it took them just 1 week to reach Khulna after capturing Jessore. Their losses were limited to just 2 newly acquired APCs (SKOT) from the Russians.
India's external intelligence agency, the RAW, played a crucial role in providing logistic support to the Mukti Bahini during the initial stages of the war. RAW's operations, in then East Pakistan, was the largest covert operation in the history of South Asia.

Pakistani response

Pakistan launched a number of armoured thrusts along India's western front in attempts to force Indian troops away from East Pakistan. Pakistan tried to fight back and boost the sagging morale by incorporating the Special Services Group commandos in sabotage and rescue missions.

The air and naval war

The Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan, and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. It achieved near-total air supremacy by the end of the first week as the entire Pakistani air contingent in the east, PAF No.14 Squadron, was grounded because of Indian airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lal Munir Hat and Shamsher Nagar. Sea Hawks from INS Vikrant also struck Chittagong, Barisal and Cox's Bazar, destroying the eastern wing of the Pakistan Navy and effectively blockading the East Pakistan ports, thereby cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers. The nascent Bangladesh Navy (comprising officers and sailors who defected from the Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably Operation Jackpot.

United Nations Security Council involvement

Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations during and following Operation Searchlight, it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war.
Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of independence in March 1971, India undertook a world-wide campaign to drum up political, democratic and humanitarian support for the people of Bangladesh for their liberation struggle. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made a whirlwind tour of a large number of countries in a bid to create awareness of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis. This effort was to prove vital later during the war, in framing the world's context of the war and to justify military action by India.[61] Also, following Pakistan's defeat, it ensured prompt recognition of the newly independent state of Bangladesh.
Following India's entry into the war, Pakistan fearing certain defeat, made urgent appeals to the United Nations to intervene and force India to agree to a cease fire. The UN Security Council assembled on 4 December 1971 to discuss the hostilities in South Asia. After lengthy discussions on 7 December, the United States made a resolution for "immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops." While supported by the majority, the USSR vetoed the resolution twice. In light of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis, the United Kingdom and France abstained on the resolution.[58][62]
On 12 December, with Pakistan facing imminent defeat, the United States requested that the Security Council be reconvened. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was rushed to New York City to make the case for a resolution on the cease fire. The council continued deliberations for four days. By the time proposals were finalised, Pakistan's forces in the East had surrendered and the war had ended, making the measures merely academic. Bhutto, frustrated by the failure of the resolution and the inaction of the United Nations, ripped up his speech and left the council.[62]
Most UN member nations were quick to recognize Bangladesh within months of its liberation.[61]

Surrender and aftermath


Indian Lt. Gen J.S. Aurora and Pakistani Lt. Gen A.A.K. Niazi's signatures on the Instrument of Surrender.
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 90,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces making it the largest surrender since World War II.[6][63] Bangladesh sought admission in the UN with most voting in its favour, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.[64] The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.[65] To ensure a smooth transition, in 1972 the Simla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan. The treaty ensured that Pakistan recognised the independence of Bangladesh in exchange for the return of the Pakistani PoWs. India treated all the PoWs in strict accordance with the Geneva Convention, rule 1925.[66] It released more than 93,000 Pakistani PoWs in five months.[6]
Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India. The accord also gave back more than 13,000 km2 (5,019 sq mi) of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas;[67] most notably Kargil (which would in turn again be the focal point for a war between the two nations in 1999). This was done as a measure of promoting "lasting peace" and was acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India. But some in India felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for leniency, arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being overly harsh by Pakistanis.

Reaction in West Pakistan to the war

Reaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and civilians alike. No one had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight and there was also anger at what was perceived as a meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan. Yahya Khan's dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto who took the opportunity to rise to power. General Niazi, who surrendered along with 93,000 troops, was viewed with suspicion and hatred upon his return to Pakistan. He was shunned and branded a traitor. The war also exposed the shortcomings of Pakistan's declared strategic doctrine that the "defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan".[68] Pakistan also failed to gather international support, and found itself fighting a lone battle with only the USA providing any external help. This further embittered the Pakistanis who had faced the worst military defeat of an army in decades.
The debacle immediately prompted an enquiry headed by Justice Hamoodur Rahman. Called the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, it was initially suppressed by Bhutto as it put the military in a poor light. When it was declassified, it showed many failings from the strategic to the tactical levels. It also condemned the atrocities and the war crimes committed by the armed forces. It confirmed the looting, rapes and the killings by the Pakistan Army and their local agents although the figures are far lower than the ones quoted by Bangladesh. According to Bangladeshi sources, 200,000 women were raped and over 3 million people were killed, while the Rahman Commission report in Pakistan claimed 26,000 died and the rapes were in the hundreds. However, the army's role in splintering Pakistan after its greatest military debacle was largely ignored by successive Pakistani governments.[citation needed]

Atrocities


Rayerbazar killing field photographed immediately after the war, showing dead bodies of intellectuals (Image courtesy: Rashid Talukdar, 1971)
During the war there were widespread killings and other atrocities – including the displacement of civilians in Bangladesh (East Pakistan at the time) and widespread violations of human rights – carried out by the Pakistan Army with support from political and religious militias, beginning with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971. Bangladeshi authorities claim that three million people were killed,[8] while the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, an official Pakistan Government investigation, put the figure as low as 26,000 civilian casualties.[69] The international media and reference books in English have also published figures which vary greatly from 200,000 to 3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole.[8] A further eight to ten million people fled the country to seek safety in India.[70]
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,[71] at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.[72] Just 2 days before the surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and Razakar militia (local collaborators) picked up at least 100 physicians, professors, writers and engineers in Dhaka, and murdered them, leaving the dead bodies in a mass grave.[73] There are many mass graves in Bangladesh, and as years pass, more are being discovered (such as one in an old well near a mosque in Dhaka, located in the non-Bengali region of the city, which was discovered in August 1999).[74] The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dhaka to the United States State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dhaka University and other civilians.[75] Numerous women were tortured, raped and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate. Bangladeshi sources cite a figure of 200,000 women raped, giving birth to thousands of war babies.[76][77][78] The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex-slaves inside the Dhaka Cantonment. Most of the girls were captured from Dhaka University and private homes.[79] There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,[80] but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.[81]
On 16 December 2002, the George Washington University's National Security Archive published a collection of declassified documents, consisting mostly of communications between US embassy officials and United States Information Service centres in Dhaka and India, and officials in Washington DC.[82] These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms selective genocide[83] and genocide (see The Blood Telegram) to describe events they had knowledge of at the time. Genocide is the term that is still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh,[84][85] although elsewhere, particularly in Pakistan, the actual death toll, motives, extent, and destructive impact of the actions of the Pakistani forces are disputed.

Foreign reaction

USA and USSR

The United States supported Pakistan[86] both politically and materially. U.S. President Richard Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan. But when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, Nixon sent the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal,[87] a move deemed by the Indians as a nuclear threat. Enterprise arrived on station on 11 December 1971. On 6 and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of ships, armed with nuclear missiles, from Vladivostok; they trailed U.S. Task Force 74 in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until 7 January 1972.

The Nixon administration provided support to Pakistan President Yahya Khan during the turmoil.
Nixon and Henry Kissinger feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and which he intended to visit in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian 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 and routed them through Jordan and Iran,[88] 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.
The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies, as well as the Mukti Bahini during the war, recognising that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals – the United States and China. It gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, the USSR would take countermeasures. This was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean.
At the end of the war, the Warsaw Pact countries were among the first to recognize Bangladesh. The Soviet Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972.[89] The United States delayed recognition for some months, before according it on 8 April 1972.[90]

China

As a long-standing ally of Pakistan, the People's Republic of China reacted with alarm to the evolving situation in East Pakistan and the prospect of India invading West Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Believing that just such an Indian attack was imminent, Nixon encouraged China to mobilise its armed forces along its border with India to discourage it. The Chinese did not, however, respond to this encouragement, because unlike the 1962 Sino-Indian War when India was caught entirely unaware, this time the Indian Army was prepared and had deployed eight mountain divisions to the Sino-Indian border to guard against such an eventuality.[58] China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.
When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972, China vetoed their application[91] because two United Nations resolutions regarding the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians had not yet been implemented.[92] China was also among the last countries to recognize independent Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 31 August 1975.[91][61]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Gen. Tikka Khan, 87; 'Butcher of Bengal' Led Pakistani Army". The Los Angeles Times. 30 March 2002.
  2. ^ a b c India – Pakistan War, 1971; Introduction – Tom Cooper, Khan Syed Shaiz Ali
  3. ^ Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway By Owen Bennett-Jones, Lindsay Brown, John Mock, Sarina Singh, Pg 30</
  4. ^ p442 Indian Army after Independence by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 [ISBN 81-7062-014-7]
  5. ^ a b Figures from The Fall of Dacca by Jagjit Singh Aurora in The Illustrated Weekly of India dated 23 December 1973 quoted in Indian Army after Independence by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 [ISBN 81-7062-014-7]
  6. ^ a b c "54 Indian PoWs of 1971 war still in Pakistan". DailyTimes. Wednesday, January 19, 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  7. ^ Figure from Pakistani Prisoners of War in India by Col S.P. Salunke p.10 quoted in Indian Army after Independence by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 (ISBN 81-7062-014-7)
  8. ^ a b c d Matthew White's Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century
  9. ^ "Bangladesh sets up war crimes court – Central & South Asia". Al Jazeera English. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Britain Proposes Indian Partition". BUP. The Leader-Post. 2 June 1947.
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  12. ^ "Problems of Partition". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 June 1947.
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  15. ^ Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971: Military Action: Operation Searchlight Bose S Economic and Political Weekly Special Articles, 8 October 2005
  16. ^ The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored , Syndicated Column by Sydney Schanberg, New York Times, 3 May 1994
  17. ^ a b "Civil War Rocks East Pakistan". Associated Press. Daytona Beach, Florida, USA: Daytona Beach Morning Journal, via Google News. 27 March 1971.
  18. ^ a b Crisis in South Asia – A report by Senator Edward Kennedy to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1 November 1971, U.S. Govt. Press.pp6-7
  19. ^ "''India and Pakistan: Over the Edge.'' TIME 13 December 1971 Vol. 98 No. 24". TIME. 13 December 1971. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  20. ^ Sayeed, Khalid B. (1967). The Political System of Pakistan. Houghton Mifflin. p. 61.
  21. ^ a b c d e Hassan, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dr. Professor Mubashir (May 2000) [2000], "§Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: All Power to People! Democracy and Socialism to People!" (in English), The Mirage of Power, Oxford University, United Kingdom: Dr. Professor Mubashir Hassan, professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Engineering and Technology and the Oxford University Press, p. 393, ISBN 0-19-579300-5
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  29. ^ a b Rahman, Tariq (1997). "The Medium of Instruction Controversy in Pakistan" (PDF). Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 18 (2): 145–154. doi:10.1080/01434639708666310. ISSN 0143-4632. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  30. ^ a b c Oldenburg, Philip (August 1985). ""A Place Insufficiently Imagined": Language, Belief, and the Pakistan Crisis of 1971". The Journal of Asian Studies 44 (4): 711–733. doi:10.2307/2056443. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2056443.
  31. ^ India Meteorological Department (1970). "Annual Summary – Storms & Depressions" (PDF). India Weather Review 1970. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  32. ^ Kabir, M. M.; Saha B. C.; Hye, J. M. A.. "Cyclonic Storm Surge Modelling for Design of Coastal Polder" (PDF). Institute of Water Modelling. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  33. ^ Schanberg, Sydney (22 November 1970). "Yahya Condedes 'Slips' In Relief". New York Times.
  34. ^ Staff writer (23 November 1970). "East Pakistani Leaders Assail Yahya on Cyclone Relief". New York Times. Reuters.
  35. ^ Staff writer (18 November 1970). "Copter Shortage Balks Cyclone Aid". New York Times.
  36. ^ Durdin, Tillman (11 March 1971). "Pakistanis Crisis Virtually Halts Rehabilitation Work In Cyclone Region". New York Times.
  37. ^ Olson, Richard (21 February 2005). "A Critical Juncture Analysis, 1964–2003" (PDF). USAID. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  38. ^ Sarmila Bose Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971: Military Action: Operation Searchlight Economic and Political Weekly Special Articles, 8 October 2005
  39. ^ Salik, Siddiq, Witness To Surrender, p63, p228-9 id = ISBN 984-05-1373-7
  40. ^ From Deterrence and Coercive Diplomacy to War – The 1971 Crisis in South Asia. Asif Siddiqui, Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.4 No.1, 1997. 12. pp 73–92.
  41. ^ Zunaid Kazi. "History : The Bangali Genocide, 1971". Virtual Bangladesh. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  42. ^ Rummel, Rudolph. "Chapter 8: Statistics Of Pakistan's Democide Estimates, Calculations, And Sources". Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder since 1900. pp. 544. ISBN 978-3825840105. ""...They also planned to indiscriminately murder hundreds of thousands of its Hindus and drive the rest into India. ... This despicable and cutthroat plan was outright genocide'."
  43. ^ Debasish Roy Chowdhury (23 June 2005). "'Indians are bastards anyway'". Asia Times.
  44. ^ Malik, Amita (1972). The Year of the Vulture. New Delhi: Orient Longmans. pp. 79–83. ISBN 0804688176.
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  46. ^ "Encyclopædia Britannica – Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan". Britannica.com. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  47. ^ "Joy" is the Bengali word that means victory, so Joy Bangla would translate to Victorious Bengal or Victory to Bengal
  48. ^ J. S. Gupta The History of the Liberation Movement in Bangladesh Page ??
  49. ^ The Daily Star, 26 March 2005 Article not specified
  50. ^ "Virtual Bangladesh". Virtual Bangladesh. 26 March 1971. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
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  52. ^ India, Pakistan, and the United States: Breaking with the Past By Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli ISBN 0-87609-199-0, 1997, Council on Foreign Relations. pp 37
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  85. ^ Dr. N. Rabbee "Remembering a Martyr" Star weekend Magazine, The Daily Star 16 December 2005
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References

Further reading

  • Ayoob, Mohammed and Subrahmanyam, K., The Liberation War, S. Chand and Co. pvt Ltd. New Delhi, 1972.
  • Bhargava, G.S., Crush India or Pakistan's Death Wish, ISSD, New Delhi, 1972.
  • Bhattacharyya, S. K., Genocide in East Pakistan/Bangladesh: A Horror Story, A. Ghosh Publishers, 1988.
  • Brownmiller, Susan: Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, Ballantine Books, 1993.
  • Choudhury, G.W., "Bangladesh: Why It Happened." International Affairs. (1973). 48(2): 242–249.
  • Choudhury, G.W., The Last Days of United Pakistan, Oxford University Press, 1994.
  • Govt. of Bangladesh, Documents of the war of Independence, Vol 01-16, Ministry of Information.
  • Kanjilal, Kalidas, The Perishing Humanity, Sahitya Loke, Calcutta, 1976
  • Johnson, Rob, 'A Region in Turmoil' (New York and London, 2005)
  • Malik, Amita, The Year of the Vulture, Orient Longmans, New Delhi, 1972.
  • Mascarenhas, Anthony, The Rape of Bangla Desh, Vikas Publications, 1972.
  • Matinuddin, General Kamal, Tragedy of Errors: East Pakistan Crisis, 1968–1971, Wajidalis, Lahore, Pakistan, 1994.
  • Mookherjee, Nayanika, A Lot of History: Sexual Violence, Public Memories and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, D. Phil thesis in Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London, 2002.
  • National Security Archive, The Tilt: the U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971
  • Quereshi, Major General Hakeem Arshad, The 1971 Indo-Pak War, A Soldiers Narrative, Oxford University Press, 2002.
  • Rummel, R.J., Death By Government, Transaction Publishers, 1997.
  • Salik, Siddiq, Witness to Surrender, Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 1977.
  • Sisson, Richard & Rose, Leo, War and secession: Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh, University of California Press (Berkeley), 1990.
  • Totten, Samuel et al., eds., Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views, Garland Reference Library, 1997
  • US Department of State Office of the Historian, Foreign Relations of the United States: Nixon-Ford Administrations, vol. E-7, Documents on South Asia 1969–1972
  • Zaheer, Hasan: The separation of East Pakistan: The rise and realization of Bengali Muslim nationalism, Oxford University Press, 1994.
  • Raja, Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar (2010). O GENERAL MY GENERAL (Life and Works of General M. A. G. Osmani). The Osmani Memorial Trust, Dhaka, Bangladesh. ISBN 978-984-8866-18-4.

External links