Course Title: History of the Emergence of

Independent Bangladesh

Course Code: BHC 101

Chapter 9: The War of Liberation 1971

 Genocide, repression of women and refugees
 Mukti Fouz, Mukti Bahini, guerillas and the frontal warfare
 The role of super powers (USSR, USA and China)
 The anti-liberation activities of the occupation army, the Peace
Committee, Al- Badar, Al-Shams, Razakars, pro-Pakistan political
parties and Pakistani collaborators, killing of the intellectuals
 Trial of Bangabandhu in jail in Pakistan and reaction of the world
community
 Formation of joint Indo-Bangladesh command and the victory
 The overall contribution of Bangabandhu and his leadership in the
independence struggle

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Genocide, Repression of Women and Refugees
Genocide, 1971 mass killing of the people in East Pakistan by the then Pakistan occupation army
and their collaborators during the war of liberation in 1971. No definite survey has yet been
made to ascertain the exact number of people killed by the Pakistan army. Immediately after the
War of Liberation, it was estimated to be as high as three million. Genocide started with the
army crackdown in Dhaka at midnight of 25 March 1971. The army cordoned Peelkhana,
Rajarbagh police barracks, and the Ansar headquarters at Khilgaon. More than 800 EPR men
were first disarmed and arrested, and many of them were brutally killed. A few hundred of them,
however, managed to escape and later joined the liberation forces. Hundreds of inmates were
gunned down. It was estimated that more than 50,000 men, women and children were killed in
Dhaka, Chittagong, Jessore, Mymensingh, Kushtia and other cities within the first three days of
the genocide beginning from 25 March 1971. This was termed as Operation Searchlight. During
the nine-month-long war, members of the Pakistan Armed Forces and supporting pro-Pakistani
Islamist militias from Jamaat-e-Islami killed people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000
Bengali women. 3,000,000 people were killed during the genocide, making it
the largest genocide since the Holocaust during the Second World War. An estimated 10 million
people of East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) fled the country and took refuge in India
particularly in the Indian states of West Bengal and Indian North East region, especially Tripura
and Assam.

Mukti Fouz, Mukti Bahini, guerillas and the frontal warfare

The Mukti Bahini, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance
movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary and civilians during
the Bangladesh Liberation War that transformed East Pakistan into Bangladesh in 1971. They
were initially called the Mukti Fauj. Using guerrilla warfare tactics, the Mukti Bahini secured
control over large parts of the Bengali countryside. It conducted successful "ambush and
sabotage" campaigns. The Mukti Bahini received training and weapons from India.

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The role of super powers (India, USSR, USA and China)
India, the Soviet Union, China, USA were one of the major key players who had a direct stake in
this war and their roles were quite different as in the field of International Relations. The role of
India was very friendly right from the beginning of the Liberation War of Bangladesh and India
supported Bangladesh from every point of view because they also had their clear stake in this.
India gave shelter to more than 1 million war refugees who lost everything during this war time
and all they wanted to save their lives by crossing the border. Indian government led by then
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi played their charismatic role by taking care of this humiliated
bunch of people by ensuring them food, accommodation, medical assistance. Indira Gandhi went
to visit Moscow to get the support of the Soviet Union in the United Nations Security Council
and we got to see the result later. When UNSC was trying to look for the ceasefire option by the
influence of other actors, the Soviet Union gave their veto in that decision and so India could
make a joint and all scaled classified attack against the Pakistan Army. India also gave
Bangladesh the recognition as an Independent country on the 6th December of 1971. The
Liberation War of Bangladesh got international recognition and support because of the
diplomatic initiatives taken by Soviet Union. China was trying to portray this war as the internal
matter of Pakistan where the whole world was supporting Bangladesh as Pakistan was inhumane
and they were committing a mass genocide by killing millions of people. The USA also treated
this war as the internal matter of Pakistan and they were secretly helping Pakistan financially and
logistically. The USA played some positive roles too by giving financial aid to India for taking
care of the refugees that came from Bangladesh.

The anti-liberation activities of the occupation army, the Peace Committee, Al

Badar, Al-Shams, Razakars, pro-Pakistan political parties and Pakistani
collaborators, killing of the intellectuals
Al-Badr a paramilitary force formed during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 under the
patronage of the then Pakistan government. Its objective was to create public opinion in favour
of the integrity of Pakistan and to provide active assistance to the occupation army in East
Pakistan.

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Al-Badr was constituted in September 1971 with the spirit and zeal of the mujahids of the
historic battle of Badr under the auspices of General Niazi, chief of the eastern command of the
Pakistan occupation army. The Al-Badr was created soon after the formation of the razakar
force. The Pakistan army was responsible for providing security to Al-Badr at the field level. The
Al-Badr had some difference from the Razakars. The Razakars opposed the freedom fighters in
general, while Al-Badr’s objective was to create panic among the common people by terror and
political killings. The members of Al-Badr were involved in the murder of distinguished
intellectuals at Rayerbazar badhya-bhumi (place of execution) in Dhaka.

Trial of Bangabandhu in jail in Pakistan and reaction of the world community

March 26, 1971, Bangabandhu was arrested by the Pakistan army and lodged in Adamjee
Cantonment College for a few days before being flown to solitary confinement in
Pakistan. It was not until April that a photograph of him, in the custody of Pakistani
police at Karachi airport, was released in the media by the Yahya Khan junta. That was
the last the world would see of the Bangali leader that year. On August 10, Indian Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi voiced her concerns over the trial in a message to various heads of
government: “Government and people of India as well as our press and parliament are
greatly perturbed by the reported statement of President Yahya Khan that he is going to
start secret military trial of Mujibur Rahman without affording him any foreign legal
assistance. We apprehend that this so-called trial will be used only as a cover to execute
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.” The trial caused concerns in Washington. Its envoy in
Pakistan, Joseph Farland, met Yahya and discussed the case. This is how a report of the
meeting emanated from American sources: “The US ambassador pressed Yahya not to
execute Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangabandhu was tried by a military court
for treason and sentenced him to death. After the liberation of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971
from Pakistani occupation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released from Pakistan jail and via
London he made a triumphant homecoming, arriving in Dhaka on 10 January 1972 in the midst
of joy and jubilations throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of people of all walks of
life received him at the Tejgaon old Airport according him a heroic welcome. With his
homecoming, all uncertainties loomed large around the leadership of the new republic, for that
matter, the future of Bangladesh were removed.

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Formation of joint Indo-Bangladesh command and the victory
A joint command composed of the Indian Armed Forces and Bangladesh Mukti Bahini.
Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, commander, Eastern Command of Indian Army, became
the commander of the joint forces. The joint command of the Mukti Bahini and the Indian army
was underway from November 1971. Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Commander,
Eastern Command of Indian Army, became the commander of the joint forces. The joint
command of the Mukti Bahini and the Indian Army, however, started operation from the evening
of 3 December, when the Pakistan Air Force bombed Amritsar, Sreenagar and the Kashmir
valley. Immediately, the Indian armed forces were ordered to hit back the Pakistan army and thus
the Indo-Pak war broke out. The Mukti Bahini and the Indian army continued advancing inside
Bangladesh and the defeat and surrender of the Pakistan army became a matter of time.
Near to surrender to allied forces on 14-15th December 1971 local collaborators of the Pakistan
occupation army, Al-Badr and Al-Shams, Rajakars killed and tortured the golden sons of
Bangladesh to death at various points in Dhaka and their bodies were then dumped on the
brickfields of Rayerbazar.
In 16th December 1971, 93,000 Pakistani military officers and soldiers surrender with their
commander Lt. Gen. A.A.K. Niazi to the Indo-Bangladesh Joint-Command at the Race Course in
Dhaka.After a nine months’ war of liberation and with the sacrifice of three million lives the
People’s Republic of Bangladesh was born in 16th December 1971.

The overall contribution of Bangabandhu and his leadership in the

independence struggle
Bangladesh's independence was not achieved overnight. There were many great sacrifices,
struggles, non-cooperation movements and a history of bloodshed behind it. The great leader of
the movement was Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who fought
against injustice all his life. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born on 17 March 1920 in the village
Tungipara under Gopalganj subdivision in the district of Faridpur. His father Sheikh Lutfar

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Rahman. Mujib, the third among six brothers and sisters, had his primary education in the local
Gimadanga School. His early education suffered for about four years due to eye problems. He
passed his Matriculation from Gopalganj Missionary School in 1942, Intermediate of Arts from
Calcutta Islamia College in 1944 and BA from the same college in 1947.
Bangabandhu's struggle against the dictator and military ruler Ayub Khan continued and at one
stage the government left. In 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announced a six-point movement
that was a major blow to Pakistani rulers. The six-point program was basically the main demand
of Bengali autonomy. In 1968, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was made the No. 1 accused in the
Agartala conspiracy case and this false and fabricated case was made with the intention of killing
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
But through the mass uprising of 1969, the Bengali nation freed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman from prison. Election was held in 1970 and the Awami League under the leadership of
Bangabandhu won an absolute majority but the government of Pakistan resorted to various
tactics in the transfer of power. Bangabandhu called the Non-Cooperation Movement and it
succeeded through spontaneous participation of Bengalis. From 2 March to 25 March, 1971, at
the call of Bangabandhu, all-out non-cooperation was observed all over Bengal.
Bangabandhu guessed the trick of the Pak government and on March 7, 1971 he delivered an
everlasting speech on the right and freedom of the people of Bengal.
Bangabandhu's speech on March 7 is one of the best speeches in the world for its uniqueness,
profoundness, multidimensional and dynamic character, extraordinary multiplication and
directional excellence. Nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism were clearly reflected
in Bangabandhu's speech. In his speech, he spoke of Bengali nationalism and the economic,
democratic, cultural and political emancipation of the people of Bengal. On the night of March
25, the Pakistani army launched a brutal attack on the sleeping Bengali nation and carried out a
brutal massacre. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested that night, but before his
arrest, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman issued a declaration of independence. The
message reached various parts of the country at midnight on March 25 and through EPR
transmission on March 26. The war of liberation started with the declaration of independence by
Bangabandhu and independent-sovereign Bangladesh emerged through 9 months of bloody war
at the cost of 3 million lives.

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Bangabandhu, a charismatic and dynamic leader liberated the Bengali nation from exploitation
and slavery and gave birth to an independent-sovereign Bangladesh. That is why Bangladesh and
Bangabandhu are inseparable.