Bangladesh Liberation War

Bangladesh Liberation War
Part of Cold War
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
East Pakistan Mukti Bahini India (joins the war on 3 December 1971)[1]	West Pakistan Pakistan Defence Forces
Commanders and leaders
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  LGen Tikka Khan RAdm M. Shariff  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 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.

Background

In August 1947, the Partition of British India gave birth to two new states; a secular state named India and an Islamic state named Pakistan. But Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west of India. 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.

On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal^[10] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment^[11] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.^[12]

The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces^[13] led to East Pakistan declaring its independence as the state of Bangladesh and to the start of civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)^[14][15] flooding into the eastern provinces of India.^[14] 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,^[16] 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.^[17] 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.^[17] A message was convened and Mujib decided to meet Bhutto.^[17] Upon his arrival, Mujib met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Mujib as Premier and Bhutto as President.^[17] However, these developments were unaware to military, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Mujib to reached a decision.^[17]

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.^[18] 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.^[18] 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.^[19][20]

Language controversy

Main article: Bengali Language Movement

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.^[21] 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.^[22] 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.^[22] 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.^[23]

In West Pakistan, the movement was seen as a sectional uprising against Pakistani national interests^[24] and the founding ideology of Pakistan, the Two-Nation Theory.^[25] West Pakistani politicians considered Urdu a product of Indian Islamic culture,^[26] as Ayub Khan said, as late as 1967, "East Bengalis... still are under considerable Hindu culture and influence."^[26] But, the deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.^[25][26]

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,^[27] 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.^[28] 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.^[29]

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.^[30] On 19 November, students held a march in Dhaka protesting the slowness of the government response.^[31] 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.^[32] 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.^[33]

Operation Searchlight

Main articles: Operation Searchlight and Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan#Evolution of the Pakistan High Command plan in 1971

A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army – codenamed Operation Searchlight – started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement^[34] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,^[35] within one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.^[36]

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. ^[37][38]

According to the Asia Times,^[39]

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.^[40]

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.^[41]

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.^[42][43]

Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message.^[44] 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.^[45] 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.^[46]

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.^[47] Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971.

Liberation war

Main article: Bangladesh War timeline

March to June

Leaflets and pamphlets played an important role in driving public opinion during the war.

See also: Mukti Bahini

At first resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.^[48] 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.^[49]

June – September

The eleven sectors

See also: List of sectors in Bangladesh Liberation War

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.^[50] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.^[51]

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.^[52] 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.

See also: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Major battles Battle of Boyra Battle of Garibpur Battle of Dhalai Battle of Hilli Battle of Kushtia

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.^[53]

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.^[54] 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.^[55] 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.^[56] 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.^[53][57]

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.^[57]

Most UN member nations were quick to recognize Bangladesh within months of its liberation.^[56]

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.^[58][6] Bangladesh sought admission in the UN with most voting in its favour, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.^[59] The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.^[60] 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.^[61] 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 of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas;^[62] 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".^[63] 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)

Main article: 1971 Bangladesh atrocities

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.^[64] 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.^[65]

A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,^[66] at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.^[67] 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.^[68] 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).^[69] 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.^[70] 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.^[71][72][73] 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.^[74] There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,^[75] but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.^[76]

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.^[77] These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms selective genocide^[78] 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,^[79][80] 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 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, 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,^[81] 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. The United States delayed recognition for some months, before according it in April 1972.

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.^[53] China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.

China was also among the last countries to recognize independent Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 8 October 1975.^[56]

See also

• Recipients of Bangladeshi military awards in 1971
• Artistic depictions of Bangladesh Liberation War
• Timeline of the Bangladesh War
• Mukti Bahini
• Liberation War Museum

Footnotes

1. ^ "Gen. Tikka Khan, 87; 'Butcher of Bengal' Led Pakistani Army". The Los Angeles Times. 30 March 2002. http://articles.latimes.com/2002/mar/30/local/me-passings30.1. 
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. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_19-1-2005_pg7_28. 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. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/03/2010325151839747356.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
10. ^ "''Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971.'' Gendercide Watch". Gendercide.org. http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
11. ^ "''Emerging Discontent, 1966–70.'' Country Studies Bangladesh". Countrystudies.us. http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/21.htm. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
12. ^ 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
13. ^ The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored , Syndicated Column by Sydney Schanberg, New York Times, 3 May 1994
14. ^ ^{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
15. ^ "''India and Pakistan: Over the Edge.'' TIME 13 December 1971 Vol. 98 No. 24". TIME. 13 December 1971. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155-2,00.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
16. ^ Sayeed, Khalid B. (1967). The Political System of Pakistan. Houghton Mifflin. p. 61. 
17. ^ ^{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 
18. ^ ^{a b} "Library of Congress studies". Memory.loc.gov. 1 July 1947. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bd0139). Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
19. ^ "Demons of December – Road from East Pakistan to Bangladesh". Defencejournal.com. http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/dec/demons.htm. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
20. ^ Rounaq Jahan (1972). Pakistan: Failure in National Integration. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03625-6.  Pg 166–167
21. ^ Al Helal, Bashir, Language Movement, Banglapedia
22. ^ ^{a b} "Language Movement" (PHP). Banglapedia – The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. http://banglapedia.net/HT/L_0063.HTM. Retrieved 6 February 2007. 
23. ^ "International Mother Language Day – Background and Adoption of the Resolution". Government of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070520205804/http://www.pmo.gov.bd/21february/imld_back.htm. Retrieved 21 June 2007. 
24. ^ Rahman, Tariq (September 1997). "Language and Ethnicity in Pakistan". Asian Survey 37 (9): 833–839. doi:10.1525/as.1997.37.9.01p02786. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2645700. 
25. ^ ^{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. http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/018/0145/jmmd0180145.pdf. Retrieved 21 June 2007. 
26. ^ ^{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. 
27. ^ India Meteorological Department (1970). "Annual Summary – Storms & Depressions" (PDF). India Weather Review 1970. pp. 10–11. http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd024_pdf/005ED281.pdf#page=10. Retrieved 15 April 2007. 
28. ^ Kabir, M. M.; Saha B. C.; Hye, J. M. A.. "Cyclonic Storm Surge Modelling for Design of Coastal Polder" (PDF). Institute of Water Modelling. http://www.iwmbd.org/html/PUBS/publications/P024.PDF. Retrieved 15 April 2007. 
29. ^ Schanberg, Sydney (22 November 1970). "Yahya Condedes 'Slips' In Relief". New York Times. 
30. ^ Staff writer (23 November 1970). "East Pakistani Leaders Assail Yahya on Cyclone Relief". New York Times. Reuters. 
31. ^ Staff writer (18 November 1970). "Copter Shortage Balks Cyclone Aid". New York Times. 
32. ^ Durdin, Tillman (11 March 1971). "Pakistanis Crisis Virtually Halts Rehabilitation Work In Cyclone Region". New York Times. 
33. ^ Olson, Richard (21 February 2005). "A Critical Juncture Analysis, 1964–2003" (PDF). USAID. http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/publications/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf. Retrieved 15 April 2007. 
34. ^ 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
35. ^ Salik, Siddiq, Witness To Surrender, p63, p228-9 id = ISBN 984-05-1373-7
36. ^ 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.
37. ^ Zunaid Kazi. "History : The Bangali Genocide, 1971". Virtual Bangladesh. http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/holocaust.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
38. ^ 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'." 
39. ^ Debasish Roy Chowdhury (23 June 2005). "'Indians are bastards anyway'". Asia Times. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF23Df04.html. 
40. ^ Malik, Amita (1972). The Year of the Vulture. New Delhi: Orient Longmans. pp. 79–83. ISBN 0804688176. 
41. ^ "Encyclopedia Britannica – Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/651231/Agha-Mohammad-Yahya-Khan. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
42. ^ "Joy" is the Bengali word that means victory, so Joy Bangla would translate to Victorious Bengal or Victory to Bengal
43. ^ J. S. Gupta The History of the Liberation Movement in Bangladesh Page ??
44. ^ The Daily Star, 26 March 2005 Article not specified
45. ^ "Virtual Bangladesh". Virtual Bangladesh. 26 March 1971. http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/declaration.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
46. ^ Annex M (Oxford University Press, 2002 ISBN 0-19-579778-7)
47. ^ 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
48. ^ Pakistan Defence Journal, 1977, Vol 2, p2-3
49. ^ "Bangladesh". State.gov. 24 May 2010. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
50. ^ Bangladesh Liberation Armed Force, Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh.
51. ^ Raja, Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar, O GENERAL MY GENERAL (Life and Works of General M. A. G. Osmani), p35-109, ISBN 978-984-8866-18-4
52. ^ "India – Pakistan War, 1971; Introduction By Tom Cooper, with Khan Syed Shaiz Ali". Acig.org. http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_326.shtml. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
53. ^ ^{a b c} "India and Pakistan: Over the Edge". Time Magazine. 1971-12-13. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155-1,00.html. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 
54. ^ Monday, 20 Dec. 1971 (20 December 1971). "Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878969-4,00.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
55. ^ Indian Army after Independence by Maj KC Praval 1993 Lancer p317 ISBN 1-897829-45-0
56. ^ ^{a b c} "The Recognition Story". Bangladesh Strategic and Development Forum. http://www.bdsdf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3072. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 
57. ^ ^{a b} "Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's farewell speech to the United Nations Security Council - Wikisource". En.wikisource.org. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Zulfiqar_Ali_Bhutto's_farewell_speech_to_the_United_Nations_Security_Council. Retrieved 2011-10-26. 
58. ^ "The 1971 war". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/1971.stm. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
59. ^ Section 9. Situation in the Indian Subcontinent, 2. Bangladesh's international position – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
60. ^ Guess who's coming to dinner Naeem Bangali
61. ^ "Bangladesh: Unfinished Justice for the crimes of 1971 – South Asia Citizens Web". Sacw.net. http://www.sacw.net/article524.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
62. ^ "The Simla Agreement 1972 – Story of Pakistan". Storyofpakistan.com. 1 June 2003. http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A109&Pg=6. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
63. ^ Defencejournal, Redefining security imperatives by M Sharif – Article in Jang newspaper, General Niazi's Failure in High Command
64. ^ Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report, chapter 2, paragraph 33
65. ^ Rummel, Rudolph J., "Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900", ISBN 3-8258-4010-7, Chapter 8, Table 8.2 Pakistan Genocide in Bangladesh Estimates, Sources, and Calcualtions: lowest estimate two million claimed by Pakistan (reported by Aziz, Qutubuddin. Blood and tears Karachi: United Press of Pakistan, 1974. pp. 74,226), all the other sources used by Rummel suggest a figure of between 8 and 10 million with one (Johnson, B. L. C. Bangladesh. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1975. pp. 73,75) that "could have been" 12 million.
66. ^ Many of the eyewitness accounts of relations that were picked up by "Al Badr" forces describe them as Bengali men. The only survivor of the Rayerbazar killings describes the captors and killers of Bengali professionals as fellow Bengalis. See 37 Dilawar Hossain, account reproduced in 'Ekattorer Ghatok-dalalera ke Kothay' (Muktijuddha Chetona Bikash Kendro, Dhaka, 1989)
67. ^ Asadullah Khan The loss continues to haunt us in The Daily Star 14 December 2005
68. ^ "125 Slain in Dacca Area, Believed Elite of Bengal". New York Times (New York, NY, USA): p. 1. 19 December 1971. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C13F83C5E127A93CBA81789D95F458785F9. Retrieved 4 January 2008. "At least 125 persons, believed to be physicians, professors, writers and teachers were found murdered today in a field outside Dacca. All the victims' hands were tied behind their backs and they had been bayoneted, garroted or shot. They were among an estimated 300 Bengali intellectuals who had been seized by West Pakistani soldiers and locally recruited supporters." 
69. ^ DPA report Mass grave found in Bangladesh in The Chandigarh Tribune 8 August 1999
70. ^ Sajit Gandhi The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971 National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 79 16 December 2002
71. ^ "Bengali Wives Raped in War Are Said to Face Ostracism". The New York Times. 1972-01-08. http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720118_nyt_bengali_wives_raped_in_war_are_said_to_face_ostracism.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
72. ^ Menen, Aubrey (1972-07-23). "The Rapes of Bangladesh". The New York Times. http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720723_nyt_the_rapes_of_bangladesh.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
73. ^ Astrachan, Anthony (1972-03-22). "U.N. Asked to Aid Bengali Abortions". The Washington Post. http://www.docstrangelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720322_wp_un_asked_to_aid_bengali_abortions.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
74. ^ East Pakistan: Even the Skies Weep, Time Magazine, 25 October 1971.
75. ^ U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep: Army Terror Campaign Continues in Dacca; Evidence Military Faces Some Difficulties Elsewhere, 31 March 1971, Confidential, 3 pp
76. ^ Sen, Sumit (1999). "Stateless Refugees and the Right to Return: the Bihari Refugees of South Asia, Part 1" (PDF). International Journal of Refugee Law 11 (4): 625–645. doi:10.1093/ijrl/11.4.625. http://ijrl.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/11/4/625.pdf. Retrieved 20 October 2006. 
77. ^ Gandhi, Sajit, ed. (16 December 2002), The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971: National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 79
78. ^ U.S. Consulate in Dacca (27 March 1971), Selective genocide, Cable (PDF)
79. ^ Editorial "The Jamaat Talks Back" in The Bangladesh Observer 30 December 2005
80. ^ Dr. N. Rabbee "Remembering a Martyr" Star weekend Magazine, The Daily Star 16 December 2005
81. ^ Shalom, Stephen R., The Men Behind Yahya in the Indo-Pak War of 1971

References

• Pierre Stephen and Robert Payne: Massacre, Macmillan, New York, (1973). ISBN 0-02-595240-4
• Christopher Hitchens "The Trials of Henry Kissinger", Verso (2001). ISBN 1-85984-631-9
• Library of Congress Country Studies

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

• Banglapedia article on the Liberation war of Bangladesh
• 1971 Bangladesh Genocide Archive
• Video Streaming of 5 Liberation war documentaries
• Video, audio footage, news reports, pictures and resources from Mukto-mona
• Picture Gallery of the Language Movement 1952 & the Independence War 1971 of Bangladesh
• Bangladesh Liberation War. Mujibnagar. Government Documents 1971
• Torture in Bangladesh 1971–2004 (PDF)
• Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh
• Genocide 1971
• The women of 1971. Tales of abuse and rape by the Pakistan Army.
• Mathematics of a Massacre, Abul Kashem
• The complete Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report
• 1971 Massacre in Bangladesh and the Fallacy in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report, Dr. M.A. Hasan
• Women of Pakistan Apologize for War Crimes, 1996
• Pakistan Army not involved
• Sheikh Mujib wanted a confederation: US papers, by Anwar Iqbal, Dawn, 7 July 2005
• Page containing copies of the surrender documents
• A website dedicated to Liberation war of Bangladesh
• Video clip of the surrender by Pakistan
• Bangladesh Liberation War Picture Gallery _{Graphic images, viewer discretion advised}