Bangladesh Liberation War

Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War

মুি যু
(Muktijuddho)
Part of the Indo-Pakistani conflicts and the Cold War
Clockwise from top left: Martyred Intellectuals

Memorial; Bangladesh Forces howitzer; Lt. Gen.
Amir Niazi signs the Pakistani Instrument of
Surrender to Indian and Bangladeshi forces in the
presence of Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh;[2] the PNS Ghazi.
Date 26 March – 16 December 1971

Location Predominantly:
East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh)
Spillover:
Eastern Front:
India–East Pakistan border

India–East Pakistan enclaves
parts of East and Northeast India
Western Front:
India–West Pakistan border
Line of Control (Kashmir)

Zero Point
Indian Ocean:
Bay of Bengal (Eastern Front)

Arabian Sea (Western Front)
Result
Bangladeshi–Indian victory[3][4][5]
Surrender of Pakistani forces
Territorial East Pakistan secedes from Pakistan
changes as the People's Republic of
Bangladesh
Belligerents
Provisional Pakistan
Government of (Govt. of East Pakistan)
Bangladesh
Pakistan Armed
Mukti Bahini Forces
(26 March – 16
December 1971)
Paramilitary Forces /
Bangladesh Armed Militias:
Forces (created on 21
November 1971)[1] Jamaat-e-Islami
Nagorik Shanti
India Committee
Razakars
Indian Armed
Forces Al-Badr
(3–16 December 1971) Al-Shams
Commanders and leaders
Sheikh Mujibur Yahya Khan

Rahman (President of Pakistan)
(President of Provisional Nurul Amin
Government of (Prime Minister of
Bangladesh) Pakistan)
Tajuddin Ahmad Abdul Motaleb
(Prime Minister of Malik
Provisional Government (Governor of East
of Bangladesh) Pakistan)
M. A. G. Osmani Gen. A. H. Khan
(Cdr-in-C, Bangladesh (Chief of Staff, Army
Forces) GHQ)
Maj. K. M. Lt. Gen. A. A. K.
Shafiullah Niazi
(Commander, S Force) (Commander, Eastern
Maj. Ziaur Command)
Rahman Maj. Gen. Rao
(Commander, Z Force) Farman Ali
Maj. Khaled (Mil. Adv., Govt. of East
Mosharraf Pakistan)
(Commander, K Force) Maj. Gen. Khadim
Gp Capt. A. K. Hussain
(GOC, 14th Infantry Div.)
Khandker Rr. Adm.
(Second-in-Command, Mohammad Shariff
Bangladesh Forces) (FOC, Eastern Naval
Command)
V. V. Giri Capt. Ahmad
(President of India) Zamir
Indira Gandhi (CO, Pakistan Marine
(Prime Minister of India) Corps, East)
Gen Sam Cdr. Zafar
Manekshaw Muhammad †
(Chief of Army Staff)
(CO, PNS Ghazi)
Air Cdre. Inamul
Lt Gen J. S. Arora
Haque
(GOC-in-C, Eastern
(AOC, Eastern Air
Command)
Command)
Lt Gen Sagat Singh Air Cdre. Zafar
(GOC-in-C, IV Corps) Masud
Maj Gen Inderjit (AOC, Eastern Air Cmnd.
Singh Gill (1969–71))
(Dir., Military Operations)
Maj Gen Om Syed Khwaja Khairuddin
Malhotra (Chair, Nagorik Shanti
(COS, IV Corps) Committee)
Maj.Gen J. F. R. Ghulam Azam
Jacob (Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami)
(COS, Eastern Command) Motiur Rahman Nizami
Maj.Gen Shabeg (Leader, Al-Badr)
Singh Maj. Gen. Mohd.
(Cdr Training of MB) Jamshed
V.Adm Nilakanta (Commander, Razakar)
Krishnan Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry
(FOC-in-C, Eastern Naval (Leader, Al-Shams)
Command)
AM Hari Chand
Dewan
(AOC-in-C, Eastern Air
Command)
Strength
175,000[6][7] ~365,000 regular
250,000[6] troops (~97,000+ in East
Pakistan)[6]
~25,000 militiamen[8]
Casualties and losses
~30,000 killed[9][10] ~8,000 killed
1,426–1,525 ~10,000 wounded
killed [11] 90,000—93,000
3,611–4,061 wounded [11] captured[12] (including
79,676 troops and
10,324—12,192 local
militiamen)[11][13][14]
Civilian deaths:[10] Estimates range between
300,000 and 3 million.
The Bangladesh Liberation War[note 1] (Bengali: মুি যু , pronounced [mukt ̪iɟud̪ d̪ʱo]), also known as the
Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was a revolution and
armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in what was
then East Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. It resulted in the independence of the People's
Republic of Bangladesh. The war began after the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan launched
Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971. It pursued the
systematic elimination of nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities and armed
personnel. The junta annulled the results of the 1970 elections and arrested Prime minister-designate Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman. The war ended on 16 December 1971 after West Pakistan surrendered.
Rural and urban areas across East Pakistan saw extensive military operations and air strikes to suppress the tide
of civil disobedience that formed following the 1970 election stalemate. The Pakistan Army, which had the
backing of Islamists, created radical religious militias — the Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams — to assist it
during raids on the local populace.[17][18][19][20][21] Urdu-speaking Biharis in Bangladesh (an ethnic minority)
were also in support of Pakistani military. Members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias engaged in
mass murder, deportation and genocidal rape. The capital Dhaka was the scene of numerous massacres,
including Operation Searchlight and the Dhaka University massacre. An estimated 10 million Bengali refugees
fled to neighbouring India, while 30 million were internally displaced.[22] Sectarian violence broke out
between Bengalis and Urdu-speaking immigrants. An academic consensus prevails that the atrocities
committed by the Pakistani military were a genocide.
The Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from Chittagong by members of the Mukti
Bahini—the national liberation army formed by Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians. The East Bengal
Regiment and the East Pakistan Rifles played a crucial role in the resistance. Led by General M. A. G. Osmani
and eleven sector commanders, the Bangladesh Forces waged a mass guerrilla war against the Pakistani
military. They liberated numerous towns and cities in the initial months of the conflict. The Pakistan Army
regained momentum in the monsoon. Bengali guerrillas carried out widespread sabotage, including Operation
Jackpot against the Pakistan Navy. The nascent Bangladesh Air Force flew sorties against Pakistani military
bases. By November, the Bangladesh forces restricted the Pakistani military to its barracks during the night.
They secured control of most parts of the countryside.[23]
The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 17 April 1971 in Mujibnagar and moved to
Calcutta as a government in exile. Bengali members of the Pakistani civil, military and diplomatic corps
defected to the Bangladeshi provisional government. Thousands of Bengali families were interned in West
Pakistan, from where many escaped to Afghanistan. Bengali cultural activists operated the clandestine Free
Bengal Radio Station. The plight of millions of war-ravaged Bengali civilians caused worldwide outrage and
alarm. India, which was led by Indira Gandhi, provided substantial diplomatic, economic and military support
to Bangladeshi nationalists. British, Indian and American musicians organised the world's first benefit concert
in New York City to support the Bangladeshi people. Senator Ted Kennedy in the United States led a
congressional campaign for an end to Pakistani military persecution; while U.S. diplomats in East Pakistan
strongly dissented with the Nixon administration's close ties to the Pakistani military dictator Yahya Khan.
India joined the war on 3 December 1971, after Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on North India. The
subsequent Indo-Pakistani War witnessed engagements on two war fronts. With air supremacy achieved in the
eastern theatre and the rapid advance of the Allied Forces of Bangladesh and India, Pakistan surrendered in
Dacca on 16 December 1971.
The war changed the geopolitical landscape of South Asia, with the emergence of Bangladesh as the seventh-
most populous country in the world. Due to complex regional alliances, the war was a major episode in Cold
War tensions involving the United States, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The majority
of member states in the United Nations recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign nation in 1972.
Contents
Background
Language controversy
Disparities
Ideological and cultural differences
Political differences
Response to the 1970 cyclone
Operation Searchlight
Declaration of independence
Liberation war
March–June
June–September
October–December
Indian involvement
Air and naval war
Surrender and aftermath
Reaction in West Pakistan to the war
Atrocities
International reactions
United Nations
Bhutan
US and USSR
China
Sri Lanka
Arab World
Iran
In popular culture
See also
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links
Background
Prior to the Partition of British India, the Lahore
Resolution initially envisaged separate Muslim-majority
states in the eastern and northwestern zones of British
India. A proposal for an independent United Bengal was
mooted by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in
1946, but was opposed by the colonial authorities. The
East Pakistan Renaissance Society advocated the creation
of a sovereign state in eastern British India. Eventually,
political negotiations led, in August 1947, to the official
birth of two states, Pakistan and India,[24] giving
presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus
respectively following the departure of the British. The
Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and Map of the British Raj in 1909 showing Muslim
culturally separate areas to the east and the west with India majority areas in green, including modern-day
in between.[25] The western zone was popularly (and for a Bangladesh in the east and Pakistan in the west.
period, 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.[26] On 25 March 1971, after an election won by an East Pakistani political party (the
Awami League) was ignored by the ruling (West Pakistani) establishment, rising political discontent and
cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[27] and suppressive force from the ruling elite of the
West Pakistan establishment,[28] in what came to be termed as Operation Searchlight.[29] The violent
crackdown by the Pakistan Army[30] led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East
Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971.[31] Most Bengalis supported this move
although Islamists and Biharis opposed this and sided with the Pakistan Army instead.[32] Pakistani President
Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority,
beginning the civil war.[31] The war led to a substantial number of refugees (estimated at the time to be about
10 million)[33][34] flooding into the eastern provinces of India.[35] Facing a mounting humanitarian and
economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the
Mukti Bahini.
Language controversy
In 1948, Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the federal
language of Pakistan.[36][37] However, Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north, central, and western
region of the subcontinent; whereas in East Bengal, the native language was Bengali, one of the two most
easterly branches of the Indo-European languages.[38] The Bengali-speaking people of Pakistan constituted
over 56% of the country's population.[39][40] The government stand was widely viewed as an attempt to
suppress the culture of the eastern wing. The people of East Bengal demanded that their language be given
federal status alongside Urdu and English. The Language Movement began in 1948, as civil society protested
the removal of the Bengali script from currency and stamps, which were in place since the British Raj. The
movement reached its climax in 1952, when on 21 February, the police fired on protesting students and
civilians, causing several deaths. The day is revered in Bangladesh as the Language Movement Day. Later, in
memory of the deaths in 1952, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day in
November 1999.[41]
Disparities
Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and
received more money from the common budget.
Spending on West Spending on East Amount spent on

Year Pakistan (in millions Pakistan (in millions East as percentage of
of Pakistani rupees) of Pakistani rupees) 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.
East Pakistan was already economically disadvantaged at the time of Pakistan's creation yet this economic
disparity only increased under Pakistani rule. Factors included not only the deliberate state discrimination in
developmental policies but also the fact that the presence of the country's capital and more immigrant
businessmen in the Western wing directed greater government allocations there. Due to low numbers of native
businessmen in East Pakistan, substantial labour unrest and a tense political environment, there were also much
lower foreign investments in the eastern wing. The Pakistani state's economic outlook was geared towards
urban industry, which was not compatible with East Pakistan's mainly agrarian economy.[42]
Bengalis were under-represented 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.[43] 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.[43] 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.[44][45]
Ideological and cultural differences
In 1947 the Bengali Muslims had identified themselves with

Pakistan's Islamic project but by the 1970s the people of East Pakistan
had given priority to their Bengali ethnicity over their religious
identity, desiring a society in accordance with Western principles such
as secularism, democracy and socialism.[46] Many Bengali Muslims
strongly objected to the Islamist paradigm imposed by the Pakistani
state.[47] Most members of West Pakistan's ruling elite shared a vision
of a liberal society, but nevertheless viewed a common faith as an
essential mobilising factor behind Pakistan's creation and the
Language movement memorial
subsuming of Pakistan's multiple regional identities into one national
identity.[47] West Pakistanis were substantially more supportive than
East Pakistanis of an Islamic state, a tendency that persisted after 1971.[48]
Cultural and linguistic differences between the two wings gradually outweighed any sense of religious unity.
The Bengalis took great pride in their culture and language which, with its Bengali script and vocabulary, was
unacceptable to the West Pakistani elite, who believed that it had assimilated considerable Hindu cultural
influences.[46][49] West Pakistanis, in an attempt to "Islamise" the East, wanted the Bengalis to adopt Urdu.[46]
The activities of the language movement nurtured a sentiment among Bengalis in favour of discarding
Pakistan's communalism in favour of secular politics.[50] The Awami League began propagating its secular
message through its newspaper to the Bengali readership.[51]
The Awami League's emphasis on secularism differentiated it from the Muslim League.[52] In 1971, the
Bangladeshi liberation struggle against Pakistan was led by secular leaders[53] and secularists hailed the
Bangladeshi victory as the triumph of secular Bengali nationalism over religion-centred Pakistani
nationalism.[54] While Pakistan's government strives for an Islamic state, Bangladesh was established
secular.[48] After the liberation victory, the Awami League attempted to build a secular order[55] and the pro-
Pakistan Islamist parties were barred from political participation.[56] The majority of East Pakistani ulama had
either remained neutral or supported the Pakistani state, since they felt that the break-up of Pakistan would be
detrimental for Islam.[57]
Political differences
Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's

population,[58] political power remained 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 devolve to the new President of Pakistan,
which replaced the office of Governor General when Pakistan became a
republic, and, eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive,
the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting
through the President. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the
leader of East Pakistan, and
The East Pakistanis observed that the West Pakistani establishment would later Bangladesh
swiftly depose any East Pakistanis elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, such as
Khawaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed
Suhrawardy. Their suspicions were further aggravated by the military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October
1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis. The
situation reached a climax in 1970, when the Bangladesh 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 former
Foreign Minister), the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime
Minister of Pakistan.[59] 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 Dacca to decide the fate of the country. After
their discussions yielded no satisfactory results, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike. Bhutto
feared a civil war, therefore, he sent his trusted companion, Mubashir Hassan.[59] A message was conveyed,
and Rahman decided to meet Bhutto.[59] Upon his arrival, Rahman met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a
coalition government with Rahman as premier and Bhutto as president.[59] However, the military was unaware
of these developments, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Rahman to reach a decision.[59]
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 at the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:
The immediate lifting of martial law.

Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.
An inquiry into the loss of life.
Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly
meeting 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 into Dacca 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 Dacca. 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, but 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 the Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny among the
Bengali soldiers.
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,[60] 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.[61] 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.[62]
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.[63] On 19 November, students held a march in Dacca
protesting the slowness of the government's response.[64] 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 Dacca 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.[65] This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and
concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This was one of the first times that a natural event helped trigger a
civil war.[66]
Operation Searchlight
A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army—
codenamed Operation Searchlight—started on 25 March 1971 to curb
the Bengali independence movement[29] by taking control of the
major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political
or military,[67] within one month. The Pakistani state claimed to
justify starting Operation Searchlight on the basis of anti-Bihari
violence by Bengalis in early March.[68]
Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were

systematically deported from East Pakistan.[69]
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 genocide. These systematic killings
served only to enrage the Bengalis, which ultimately resulted in the
secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. Bangladeshi media
and reference books in English have published casualty figures which Location of Bengali and Pakistani
vary greatly, from 5,000 to 35,000 in Dacca, and 200,000 to military units during Operation
3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole, [70] although independent Searchlight, March 1971
researchers, including the British Medical Journal, have put forward
the figure ranging from between 125,000 and 505,000.[71] American
political scientist Rudolph Rummel puts total deaths at 1.5 million.[72] The atrocities have been referred to as
acts of genocide.[73]
According to the Asia Times,[74]
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, Dacca, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan.
Residential halls of the University of Dacca were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall—
Jagannath Hall—was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents
were murdered. The Pakistani army denied any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamoodur
Rahman 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 Dacca University, are corroborated by a
videotape secretly filmed by Professor Nurul Ula of the East Pakistan University of Engineering and
Technology, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories.[75]
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 wrote: "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".[76]
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General)
Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Rahman with multiple charges. The tribunal's
sentence was never made public, but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case. Other
Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dacca to avoid arrest. The Awami League was
banned by General Yahya Khan.[77]
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 incidents, 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 Dacca. 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 [May
Bangladesh be victorious].
Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message. Rahman
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 Bengali
by Dr. Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher
authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of
Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. However, the message was read several
times by the independent Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro Radio established by
some rebel Bangali Radio workers in Kalurghat. Major Ziaur Rahman was
requested to provide security of the station and he also read the Declaration on
27 March 1971.[79] Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast announcement of the
declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I, Major Ziaur Rahman,

at the direction of Bangobondhu Mujibur Rahman, hereby An iconic poster by Quamrul
declare that Independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has Hassan on General Yahya
been established. At his direction, I have taken the command as Khan, representing the
Pakistani military junta as
the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh
demons.[78]
Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalees to rise against the
attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to
free our motherland. Victory is, by the Grace of Allah, ours. Joy
Bangla.[80]
The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited, but the message was picked up by a
Japanese ship in the Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia[81] 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.[82]
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.[83] Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan"
until 16 December 1971.
Liberation war
March–June
At first, resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.[84] However,
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 this 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 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 Ahmad 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.[85]
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).
General Osmani had differences of opinion with the Indian leadership

regarding the role of the Mukti Bahini in the conflict. Indian
leadership initially envisioned Bengali forces to be trained into a small
elite guerrilla force of 8,000 members, led by the surviving East
Bengal Regiment soldiers operating in small cells around Bangladesh
to facilitate the eventual Indian intervention,[86] but with the
Bangladesh government in exile, General Osmani favoured a different
strategy:[87][88]
Bengali conventional forces would occupy lodgment areas

inside Bangladesh and then the Bangladesh government The eleven sectors during the
would request international diplomatic recognition and Bangladesh Liberation War
intervention. Initially Mymensingh was picked for this
operation, but Gen. Osmani later settled on Sylhet.
Sending the maximum number to guerrillas inside
Bangladesh as soon as possible with the following
objectives:[89][90]
Increasing Pakistani casualties through raids and
ambush.
Cripple economic activity by hitting power stations,
railway lines, storage depots and communication
networks.
Destroy Pakistan army mobility by blowing up
bridges/culverts, fuel depots, trains and river crafts.
The strategic objective was to make the Pakistanis
spread their forces inside the province, so attacks could
be made on isolated Pakistani detachments.
Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors in July,[91] 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 Advertisement for former Beatle
George Harrison's "Bangla Desh"
area and were operated with assistance from India. The 10th Sector
single, released in July 1971 to raise
was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) General
international awareness and funds for
M. A. G. Osmani and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C's
the millions of Bangladeshi refugees.
special force.[92] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for
conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000)
was trained.[93]
Three brigades (eight infantry battalions and three artillery batteries) were put into action between July and
September.[94] During June and July, Mukti Bahini had regrouped across the border with Indian aid through
Operation Jackpot and began sending 2000–5000 guerrillas across the border,[95] the so-called Monsoon
Offensive, which for various reasons (lack of proper training, supply shortage, lack of a proper support
network inside Bangladesh) failed to achieve its objectives.[96][97][98] Bengali regular forces also attacked
BOPs in Mymensingh, Comilla and Sylhet, but the results were mixed. Pakistani authorities concluded that
they had successfully contained the Monsoon Offensive, which proved a near-accurate observation.[99][100]
Guerrilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August. Economic and
military targets in Dacca were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval
commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong, Mongla, Narayanganj and Chandpur on 15
August 1971.[101][102]
October–December
Bangladeshi conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia

and the Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 BOPs fell to Major battles
Bengali forces. Guerrilla attacks intensified, as did Pakistani and Razakar
reprisals on civilian populations. Pakistani forces were reinforced by eight Battle of Boyra
battalions from West Pakistan. The Bangladeshi independence fighters even Battle of Garibpur
managed to temporarily capture airstrips at Lalmonirhat and Shalutikar.[6] Both Battle of Dhalai
of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent Battle of Hilli
another five battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements. Battle of Kushtia
Indian involvement
All unprejudiced persons objectively surveying the
grim events in Bangladesh since March 25 have
recognised the revolt of 75 million people, a
people who were forced to the conclusion that
neither their life, nor their liberty, to say nothing of
the possibility of the pursuit of happiness, was
available to them.
— Indira Gandhi, Letter to Richard Nixon, 15

December 1971
Indian Prime Minister Indira

Gandhi had concluded that
instead of taking in millions of
refugees, India would be
economically better off going
to war against Pakistan.[103]
As early as 28 April 1971, the
Indian Cabinet had asked Illustration showing military units and troop
General Manekshaw movements during the war
(Chairman of the Chiefs of
Staff Committee) to "Go into
East Pakistan".[104] Hostile relations in the past between India and Pakistan
added to India's decision to intervene in Pakistan's civil war. As a result, the
Indian government decided to support the creation of a separate state for
Indira Gandhi
ethnic Bengalis by supporting the Mukti Bahini. RAW helped to organise,
train and arm these insurgents. Consequently, the Mukti Bahini succeeded in
harassing Pakistani military in East Pakistan, thus creating conditions
conducive for a full-scale Indian military intervention in early December.[103]
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
neutralise the Indian Air Force planes on the ground. The strike was seen by India as an open act of
unprovoked aggression, which 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.[105]
Three Indian corps were involved in the liberation of East Pakistan. They
were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside
them, and many more who were fighting irregularly. That was far superior to
the Pakistani army of three divisions.[106] 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 the guerrilla Allied Indian T-55 tanks on
attacks by the Mukti Bahini.[107] Unable to defend Dacca, the Pakistanis their way to Dacca
surrendered on 16 December 1971.
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 and Bangladesh
airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lal Munir Hat and Shamsher Nagar. Sea Hawks from the carrier 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.[108]
Surrender and aftermath

On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Chief
Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan and Commander 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 93,000
Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces and Bangladesh
Liberation forces, making it the largest surrender since World War
II.[12][109] Bangladesh sought admission in the UN with most voting
in its favour, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.[110]
The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last
nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.[111] 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.[112] It released more than 93,000
Pakistani PoWs in five months.[12] Further, as a gesture of goodwill,
nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were Pakistani Instrument of Surrender
also pardoned by India.[113] The accord also gave back 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;[114] 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. However, some in India[115] 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.
Signing of Pakistani Instrument of
Surrender by Pakistan's Lt.Gen. A.
Reaction in West Pakistan to the war A. K. Niazi and Jagjit Singh Aurora
on behalf of Indian and Bangladesh
Reaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a Forces in Dhaka on 16 Dec' 1971
shocking loss to top military and civilians alike. Few had expected
that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight, and there
was also unsettlement over 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 contempt 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".[116][117]
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 began with the
start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971. Members of the
Pakistani military and supporting Islamist militias from Jamaat e Islami
killed an estimated 300,000[76] to 3,000,000 people and raped
between 200,000 and 400,000 Bangladeshi women in a systematic
campaign of genocidal rape.[118][119][120] During the war, a fatwa in
Pakistan declared that the Bengali freedom fighters were Hindus and
that their women could be taken as "the booty of war".[121]
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were

murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,[122] at the
instruction of the Pakistani Army.[123] Just two days before the Rayerbazar killing field photographed
surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and Razakar militia immediately after the war, showing
(local collaborators) picked up at least 100 physicians, professors, dead bodies of intellectuals (image
writers and engineers in Dacca, and murdered them, leaving the dead courtesy: Rashid Talukder, 1971)
bodies in a mass grave.[124]
Many mass graves have been discovered in Bangladesh.[125] The first

night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the
American Consulate in Dacca to the United States State Department,
saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dacca University and other
civilians.[126] Numerous women were tortured, raped and killed
during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of
debate. The widespread rape of Bangladeshi women led to birth of
thousands of war babies.[127][128][129] The Pakistan Army also kept
numerous Bengali women as sex-slaves inside the Dacca
Memorial for freedom fighters Cantonment. Most of the girls were captured from Dacca University
and private homes.[130] There was significant sectarian violence not
only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,[131] but also
by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.[132] In June 1971, Bihari
representatives stated that 500,000 Biharis were killed by Bengalis.[133] R. J. Rummel gives a prudent estimate
of 150,000 killed.[134]
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 Dacca and India, and officials in Washington, D.C.[126] These
documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms
"selective genocide"[135] and "genocide" (see The Blood Telegram) for information on 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,[136][137] although in Pakistan, the accusations against Pakistani
forces continue to be disputed.
International reactions
Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of independence in
March 1971, a worldwide campaign was undertaken by the
Provisional Government of Bangladesh to drum up political support
for the independence of East Pakistan as well as humanitarian support
for the Bengali people.
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided extensive diplomatic

and political support to the Bangladesh movement. She toured many
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.[140] Also, following Pakistan's defeat, it ensured prompt
recognition of the newly independent state of Bangladesh.
United Nations
Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations

during and following Operation Searchlight, it failed to defuse the French minister André Malraux
vowed to fight alongside the Mukti
situation politically before the start of the war.
Bahini in the Liberation War.[138][139]
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 ceasefire. 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.[105][141]
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.[141]
Most UN member nations were quick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence.[140]
Bhutan
As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat of the Pakistan Army, the Himalayan kingdom of
Bhutan became the first state in the world to recognise the newly independent country on 6 December
1971.[142] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh visited Bhutan to attend the coronation
of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth King of Bhutan in June 1974.
US and USSR
The US government stood by its old ally Pakistan in terms of diplomacy and
military threats.[143] US President Richard Nixon and his National Security
Advisor 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. 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,[144] while also encouraging China to increase
its arms supplies to Pakistan. The Nixon administration also ignored reports it
Senator Ted Kennedy led
received of the genocidal activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan,
US congressional support
most notably the Blood telegram.[145]
for Bangladeshi
independence
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,[146] 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 US Task Force 74 in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until
The Nixon administration was widely
7 January 1972.[147][148][149] criticised for its close ties with the
military junta led by General Yahya
The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies, as well as Khan. American diplomats in East
the Mukti Bahini during the war, recognising that the independence of Pakistan expressed profound dissent
Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals—the United in the Blood Telegram.
States and the People's Republic of 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.[150]
At the end of the war, the Warsaw Pact countries were among the first to recognise Bangladesh. The Soviet
Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972.[151] The United States delayed recognition
for some months, before according it on 8 April 1972.[152]
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.
On 10 December 1971, US President Nixon instructed Henry Kissinger to ask the Chinese to move some
forces toward the frontier with India. Nixon said, "Threaten to move forces or move them, Henry, that's what
they must do now." Kissinger met with Huang Hua, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
later that evening.[153][154][155] 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.[105]
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[156]
because two United Nations resolutions regarding the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians
had not yet been implemented.[157] China was also among the last countries to recognise independent
Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 31 August 1975.[140][156]
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for themselves and feared India might use its enhanced
power against them in the future.[158]:7 Despite the left wing government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike following
a neutral non-aligned foreign policy, Sri Lanka decided to help Pakistan in the war.[159][160] As Pakistani
aircraft could not fly over Indian territory, they would have to take a longer route around India and so they
stopped at Bandaranaike Airport in Sri Lanka where they were refuelled before flying to East Pakistan.[161]
Arab World
As many Arab countries were allied with both the United States and Pakistan, it was easy for Kissinger to
encourage them to participate. He sent letters to both, the King of Jordan and the King of Saudi Arabia.
President Nixon gave permission for Jordan to send ten F-104s and promised to provide replacements.[144]
According to author Martin Bowman, "Libyan F-5s were reportedly deployed to Sargodha AFB, perhaps as a
potential training unit to prepare Pakistani pilots for an influx of more F-5s from Saudi Arabia."[162] Libyan
dictator Gaddafi also personally directed a strongly worded letter to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
accusing her of aggression against Pakistan, which endeared him to all Pakistanis.[163] In addition to these
three countries, an unidentified Middle Eastern ally also supplied Pakistan with Mirage IIIs. However, other
countries such as Syria and Tunisia were against interfering describing it as an internal matter of Pakistan.[164]
Iran
During the course of the conflict, Iran also stood with Pakistan politically and diplomatically.[165]:78–79 It was
concerned with the imminent break-up of Pakistan which, it feared, would have caused the state to
fractionalise into small pieces, ultimately resulting in Iran's encirclement by rivals. At the beginning of the
conflict, Iran had helped Pakistan by sheltering PAF's fighter jets and providing it with free fuel to take part in
the conflict, in an attempt to keep Pakistan's regional integrity united.[165]:80 When Pakistan called for
unilateral ceasefire and the surrender was announced, the Shah of Iran hastily responded by preparing the
Iranian military to come up with contingency plans to forcefully invade Pakistan and annex its Balochistan
province into its side of Balochistan, by any means necessary, before anybody else did it.[165]:79
In popular culture
See also
Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War
Liberation War Museum
Movement demanding trial of war criminals (Bangladesh)
NAP-Communist Party-Students Union Special Guerrilla Forces
Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War
Notes
1. This war is known in Bangla as Muktijuddho or Shwadhinota Juddho.[15] This war is also
called the Civil War in Pakistan.[16]
References
1. "Significance of Armed Forces Day" (https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-115138). The
Daily Star. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
2. "Instrument of Surrender of Pakistan forces in Dacca" (http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documen
ts.htm?dtl/5312/Instrument+of+Surrender+of+Pakistan+forces+in+Dacca). www.mea.gov.in.
"The Pakistan Eastern Command agree to surrender all Pakistan Armed Forces in Bangladesh
to Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding-in –chief of the Indian
and Bangladesh forces in the eastern theatre."
3. Rizwana Shamshad (3 October 2017). Bangladeshi Migrants in India: Foreigners, Refugees, or
Infiltrators? (https://books.google.com/books?id=9789DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT119). OUP India.
pp. 119–. ISBN 978-0-19-909159-1.
4. Jing Lu (30 October 2018). On State Secession from International Law Perspectives (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=4MJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA211). Springer. pp. 211–. ISBN 978-3-
319-97448-4.
5. J.L. Kaul; Anupam Jha (8 January 2018). Shifting Horizons of Public International Law: A South
Asian Perspective (https://books.google.com/books?id=2e5FDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA241).
Springer. pp. 241–. ISBN 978-81-322-3724-2.
6. "India – Pakistan War, 1971; Introduction By Tom Cooper, with Khan Syed Shaiz Ali" (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20110606195040/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_326.shtml).
Acig.org. Archived from the original (http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_326.shtml) on 6
June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
7. Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway By Owen Bennett-Jones, Lindsay Brown, John Mock,
Sarina Singh, Pg 30
8. p. 442 Indian Army after Independence by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 ISBN 81-7062-014-7
9. Thiranagama, Sharika; Kelly, Tobias, eds. (2012). Traitors : suspicion, intimacy, and the ethics
of state-building. Philadelphia, Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812222371.
10. "Bangladesh Islamist leader Ghulam Azam charged" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-1
8049515). BBC. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
11. 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
12. Khan, Shahnawaz (19 January 2005). "54 Indian PoWs of 1971 war still in Pakistan" (http://arc
hives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/19-Jan-2005/54-indian-pows-of-1971-war-still-in-pakistan).
Daily Times. Lahore. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
13. 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)
14. Orton, Anna (2010). India's Borderland Disputes: China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=0RBOnS8KsgcC&pg=PA117). Epitome Books. p. 117.
ISBN 9789380297156.
15. Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh (https://books.google.com/books?id=bJfcCPUr0OoC&pg=
PA289&dq=known+as+Muktijuddho#v=onepage&q=%20Muktijuddho), Page 289
16. Moss, Peter (2005). Secondary Social Studies For Pakistan. Karachi: Oxford University Press.
p. 93. ISBN 9780195977042. OCLC 651126824 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/651126824).
17. Schneider, B.; Post, J.; Kindt, M. (2009). The World's Most Threatening Terrorist Networks and
Criminal Gangs (https://books.google.com/books?id=LQHIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA57). Springer.
p. 57. ISBN 9780230623293.
18. Kalia, Ravi (2012). Pakistan: From the Rhetoric of Democracy to the Rise of Militancy (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168). Routledge. p. 168.
ISBN 9781136516412.
19. Pg 600. Schmid, Alex, ed. (2011). The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research.
Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-41157-8.
20. Pg. 240 Tomsen, Peter (2011). The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts,
and the Failures of Great Powers. Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-763-8.
21. Roy, Dr Kaushik; Gates, Professor Scott (2014). Unconventional Warfare in South Asia:
Shadow Warriors and Counterinsurgency (https://books.google.com/books?id=PdrcAgAAQBA
J). Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 9781472405791.
22. Totten, Samuel; Bartrop, Paul Robert (2008). Dictionary of Genocide: A-L (https://books.google.
com/books?id=rgGA91skoP4C&pg=PA34). ABC-CLIO. p. 34. ISBN 9780313346422.
23. Jamal, Ahmed (5–17 October 2008). "Mukti Bahini and the liberation war of Bangladesh: A
review of conflicting views" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150103014904/http://www.cdrb.org/j
ournal/2008/4/1.pdf) (PDF). Asian Affairs. 30. Archived from the original (http://www.cdrb.org/jo
urnal/2008/4/1.pdf) (PDF) on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
24. "Britain Proposes Indian Partition" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=78xTAAAAIBAJ&
pg=1738,3655&dq=india+partition). The Leader-Post. 2 June 1947. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
25. "India Partition with Present Many Problems" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VbYqA
AAAIBAJ&pg=1342,6305096&dq=india+partition). Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 8 June 1947.
Retrieved 11 June 2017.
26. "Problems of Partition" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WPdUAAAAIBAJ&pg=7167,
1795176&dq=india+partition). The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 June 1947. Retrieved 11 June
2017.
27. "Gendercide Watch: Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012072123
0201/http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html). gendercide.org. Archived from the
original (http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html) on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June
2017.
28. "Bangladesh – The Zia Regime and Its Aftermath, 1977–82" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
1113093702/http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/21.htm). countrystudies.us. Archived from the
original (http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/21.htm) on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 11 June
2017.
29. Bose, Sarmila (8 October 2005). "Anatomy of Violence, Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan
in 1971" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070301084941/http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.ph
p?root=2005&leaf=10&filename=9223&filetype=html). Economic and Political Weekly. 40 (41).
Archived from the original (http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=10&filena
me=9223&filetype=html) on 1 March 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
30. Bass, Gary J. (29 September 2013). "Nixon and Kissinger's Forgotten Shame" (https://www.nyti
mes.com/2013/09/30/opinion/nixon-and-kissingers-forgotten-shame.html). The New York
Times. ISSN 0362-4331 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 11 June 2017.
31. "Civil War Rocks East Pakistan" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rk4fAAAAIBAJ&pg
=2676,6420028&dq=east+pakistan+independence). Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 27
March 1971. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
32. Bose, Sarmila (8 October 2005). "Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan
in 1971" (http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/materials/profile_materials/sbose-anatomy_of_violence-e
pw_v_40_no_41_2005.pdf) (PDF). Economic and Political Weekly: 4463.
33. "World Refugee Day: Five human influxes that have shaped India" (http://indianexpress.com/art
icle/research/refugees-in-india-partition-bangladesh-war-tibet-occupation-sri-lankan-tamils-rohi
ngyas-mynamar-world-refugee-day-five-human-influxes-that-have-shaped-india-2864449/).
The Indian Express. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
34. "The World: India and Pakistan: Over the Edge" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011052300370
1/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C910155-2%2C00.html). Time. 13
December 1971. ISSN 0040-781X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0040-781X). Archived from
the original (http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910155-2,00.html) on 23 May
2011. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
35. 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
36. Bashir Al Helal (2012). "Bangladesh" (http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bangladesh).
In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the
National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust,
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/oclc/52727562). Retrieved 28 April 2021.
37. Hornberger, Nancy H.; McKay, Sandra Lee (2010). Sociolinguistics and Language Education
(https://books.google.com/books?id=2BKzbHnFTfEC&pg=PA158). Multilingual Matters. p. 158.
ISBN 9781847694010.
38. "SOAS Language Centre – Bengali Language Courses" (https://www.soas.ac.uk/languagecent
re/languages/bengali/). soas.ac.uk.
39. "Language Movement paved way for independence: Hasina" (https://m.bdnews24.com/en/detai
l/bangladesh/1861277). bdnews24. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
40. Hasan, Wajid Shamsul (15 December 2018). "From Dhaka to fall of Dhaka" (https://www.thene
ws.com.pk/amp/405968-from-dhaka-to-fall-of-dhaka). The News (Pakistan). Retrieved
12 March 2021.
41. "International Mother Language Day" (https://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/).
United Nations. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
42. Willem van Schendel (2009). A History of Bangladesh (https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y
2bBQAAQBAJ). Cambridge University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-511-99741-9.
43. "Library of Congress studies" (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bd
0139)). Memory.loc.gov. 1 July 1947. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
44. "Demons of December – Road from East Pakistan to Bangladesh" (http://www.defencejournal.c
om/2002/dec/demons.htm). Defencejournal.com. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201106
09122558/http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/dec/demons.htm) from the original on 9 June
2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
45. Rounaq Jahan (1972). Pakistan: Failure in National Integration. Columbia University Press.
pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-0-231-03625-2.
47. Husain Haqqani (2010). Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PA19). Carnegie Endowment. pp. 19–. ISBN 978-0-87003-285-1.
48. Baxter, Craig (1997). Bangladesh: From A Nation To A State. Westview Press. p. 70.
ISBN 978-0-813-33632-9.
49. Anne Noronha dos Santos (2007). Military Intervention and Secession in South Asia: The
Cases of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, and Punjab (https://books.google.com/books?id=gK
3d627xESAC&pg=PA24). p. 24. ISBN 9780275999490.
52. Craig Baxter (2018). Bangladesh: From A Nation To A State (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=FJdNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT97). Taylor & Francis. p. 88–. ISBN 978-0-813-33632-9.
53. Pakistan: From the Rhetoric of Democracy to the Rise of Militancy (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=NsrfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168). Routledge. 2012. p. 168. ISBN 9781136516412.
54. Ali Riaz; Mohammad Sajjadur Rahman (2016). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary
Bangladesh (https://books.google.com/books?id=nC9-CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46). Routledge.
pp. 46–. ISBN 978-1-317-30877-5.
55. Craig Baxter (2018). Bangladesh: From A Nation To A State (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=FJdNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10). Taylor & Francis. p. xiii. ISBN 978-0-813-33632-9.
57. Ishtiaq Ahmed (1998). State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=czSm7cmhgA0C&pg=PA223). A&C Black. pp. 223–. ISBN 978-1-85567-
578-0.
58. Sayeed, Khalid B. (1967). The Political System of Pakistan. Houghton Mifflin. p. 61.
59. Hassan, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Mubashir (2000). "§Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: All Power to
People! Democracy and Socialism to People!". The Mirage of Power. Oxford University, United
Kingdom: Oxford University Press. pp. 50–90. ISBN 978-0-19-579300-0.
60. India Meteorological Department (1970). "Annual Summary – Storms & Depressions" (http://do
cs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd024_pdf/005ED281.pdf#page=10) (PDF). India Weather Review
1970. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
61. Fritz, Hermann M.; Blount, Chris. "Thematic paper: Role of forests and trees in protecting
coastal areas against cyclones" (http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag127e/ag127e07.htm).
Coastal protection in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami: What role for forests and
trees?. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and
the Pacific. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20141129050856/http://www.fao.org/docrep/
010/ag127e/AG127E07.htm) from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
62. Schanberg, Sydney (22 November 1970). "Yahya Condedes 'Slips' In Relief". The New York
Times.
63. "East Pakistani Leaders Assail Yahya on Cyclone Relief". The New York Times. Reuters. 23
November 1970.
64. "Copter Shortage Balks Cyclone Aid". The New York Times. 18 November 1970.
65. Durdin, Tillman (11 March 1971). "Pakistanis Crisis Virtually Halts Rehabilitation Work in
Cyclone Region". The New York Times. p. 2.
66. Olson, Richard (21 February 2005). "A Critical Juncture Analysis, 1964–2003" (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20070414002649/http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaste
r_assistance/publications/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf) (PDF). USAID. Archived from the
original (http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/publicati
ons/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf) (PDF) on 14 April 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
67. Salik, Siddiq, Witness To Surrender, pp 63, 228–9 ISBN 984-05-1373-7
68. D' Costa, Bina (2011). Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia. Routledge.
p. 103. ISBN 9780415565660.
69. Siddiqui, Asif (December 1997). "From Deterrence and Coercive Diplomacy to War: The 1971
Crisis in South Asia". Journal of International and Area Studies. 4 (1): 73–92.
JSTOR 43106996 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/43106996).
70. "Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls" (http://necrometrics.com/20c1m.htm#Bangladesh).
necrometrics.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
71. Bergman, David (24 April 2014). "Questioning an iconic number" (http://www.thehindu.com/opi
nion/lead/questioning-an-iconic-number/article5940833.ece). The Hindu. Retrieved
28 September 2016.
72. Rummel, Rudolph (1998). "Chapter 8: Statistics of Pakistan's Democide Estimates,
Calculations, And Sources". Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder since 1900.
p. 544. ISBN 978-3-8258-4010-5. ""...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'."
73. Zunaid Kazi. "History : The Bangali Genocide, 1971" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011072320
3401/http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/holocaust.html). Virtual Bangladesh. Archived
from the original (http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/holocaust.html) on 23 July 2011.
74. Debasish Roy Chowdhury (23 June 2005). "Indians are bastards anyway" (https://web.archive.
org/web/20050624014444/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF23Df04.html). Asia Times.
Archived from the original on 24 June 2005.
75. Malik, Amita (1972). The Year of the Vulture. New Delhi: Orient Longmans. pp. 79–83.
ISBN 978-0-8046-8817-8.
76. "Bangladesh war: The article that changed history – Asia" (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-as
ia-16207201). BBC. 16 December 2011.
77. "Encyclopædia Britannica Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan" (http://www.britannica.com/EBcheck
ed/topic/651231/Agha-Mohammad-Yahya-Khan). Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20110604051235/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/651231/Agh
a-Mohammad-Yahya-Khan) from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
78. Afreen Mallick, Sadya (25 December 2009). " 'Potua' and freedom's colours" (http://archive.thed
ailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=119256). The Daily Star. Retrieved 12 February
2016.
79. সংেযাজন াধীনতার ঘাষণা: বলাল মাহা েদর সা াৎকার (http://arts.bdnews24.com/?p=2769)
[Declaration of Independence: Bilal Mohammad interview]. bdnews24.com (in Bengali).
80. Sen Gupta, Jyoti (1974). History of freedom movement in Bangladesh, 1943–1973: some
involvement (https://books.google.com/books?id=DedtAAAAMAAJ). Calcutta: Naya Prokash.
pp. 325–326. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
81. Gupta, Jyoti Sen (1974). History of freedom movement in Bangladesh, 1943–1973: some
involvement (https://books.google.com/books?id=DedtAAAAMAAJ). Naya Prokash. pp. 325–
326.
82. "History : The Declaration of Independence" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140901035519/htt
p://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/declaration.html). Virtual Bangladesh. Archived from the
original (http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/history/declaration.html) on 1 September 2014.
83. M1 India, Pakistan, and the United States: Breaking with the Past By Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli (http
s://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0876091990&id=srCLD-PXl-gC&pg=PA143&lpg=PA14
3&dq=pakistan+army#PPA37,) ISBN 0-87609-199-0, 1997, Council on Foreign Relations. pp
37
84. Pakistan Defence Journal, 1977, Vol 2, pp. 2–3
85. "Bangladesh" (https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm). State.gov. 24 May 2010.
86. Jacob, Lt. Gen. JFR, Surrender at Dacca, pp 90–91
87. Jacob, Lt. Gen. JFR, Surrender at Dacca, pp 42–44, pp 90–91
88. Hassan, Moyeedul, Muldhara' 71, pp 45–46
89. Islam, Major Rafiqul, A Tale of Millions, pp. 227, 235
90. Shafiullah, Maj. Gen. K.M., Bangladesh at War, pp 161–163
91. Islam, Major Rafiqul, A Tale of Millions, pp. 226–231
92. "Bangladesh Liberation Armed Force" (http://www.liberationwarmuseumbd.org/history/#blaf).
Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh.
93. Raja, Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar, O GENERAL MY GENERAL (Life and Works of General
M. A. G. Osmani), pp. 35–109, ISBN 978-984-8866-18-4
94. Jacob, Lt. Gen. JFR, Surrender at Dacca, pp 44
95. Hassan, Moyeedul, Muldhara 71, pp 44
96. Ali, Maj. Gen. Rao Farman, How Pakistan Got Divided, pp 100
97. Hassan, Moyeedul, Muldhara 71, pp 64–65
98. Khan, Maj. Gen. Fazal Mukeem, Pakistan's Crisis in Leadership, p 125
99. Ali, Rao Farman, When Pakistan Got Divided, p 100
00. Niazi, Lt. Gen. A.A.K, The Betrayal of East Pakistan, p 96
01. Roy, Mihir, K (1995). War in the Indian Ocean. 56, Gautaum Nagar, New-Delhi, 110049, India:
Lancer Publisher & Distributor. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-897829-11-0.
02. Robi, Mir Mustak Ahmed (2008). Chetonai Ekattor (http://opac.iub.edu.bd/cgi-bin/koha/opac-det
ail.pl?biblionumber=15244&query_desc=%28su%3A{Bangladesh}%29). 38, Bangla Bazar
(2nd Floor), Dacca-1100, Bangladesh: Zonaki Publisher. p. 69.
03. "Indo-Pakistani Wars" (https://www.webcitation.org/5kwrHv6ph?url=http://encarta.msn.com/enc
yclopedia_761588350_3/Indo-Pakistani_Wars.html). MSN Encarta. Archived from the original
(http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761588350_3/Indo-Pakistani_Wars.html#) on 1
November 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
04. "1971: Making Bangladesh a reality – I" (http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/1971-maki
ng-bangladesh-a-reality-i/). Indian Defence Review. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
05. "India and Pakistan: Over the Edge" (http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,9101
55,00.html). Time. 13 December 1971. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
06. "Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born" (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,
878969-4,00.html). Time. 20 December 1971. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
07. Indian Army after Independence by Maj KC Praval 1993 Lancer, p. 317 ISBN 1-897829-45-0
08. "Naval Commandos in Operation Jackpot" (http://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/independe
nce-day-special-2015/submariners-heroism-and-the-first-military-response-france). The Daily
Star. 26 March 2015.
09. "The 1971 war" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakista
n/timeline/1971.stm). BBC News. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
10. "Situation in the Indian Subcontinent" (http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/1972/1972-
1-9.htm). mofa.go.jp.
11. Guess who's coming to dinner (http://www.newint.org/issue332/guess.htm) Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20070224195916/http://www.newint.org/issue332/guess.htm) 24 February
2007 at the Wayback Machine Naeem Bangali
12. "Bangladesh: Unfinished Justice for the crimes of 1971 – South Asia Citizens Web" (http://ww
w.sacw.net/article524.html). Sacw.net. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110722041729/
http://www.sacw.net/article524.html) from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
13. "Bangladesh's genocide debate; A conscientious research" (https://www.efsas.org/publication
s/study-papers/bangladesh%E2%80%99s-genocide-debate;-a-conscientious-research/).
EFSAS. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
14. "The Simla Agreement 1972 – Story of Pakistan" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011061401490
4/http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A109&Pg=6). Story of Pakistan. 1 June
2003. Archived from the original (http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A109&P
g=6) on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
15. "India's Strategic Blunders in the 1971 War" (http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show
-1-three-indian-blunders-in-the-1971-war/20111212.htm). Rediff.com. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
16. "Defencejournal" (https://web.archive.org/web/20121018222302/http://www.defencejournal.co
m/2000/oct/yaqub.htm). Defencejournal. Archived from the original (http://www.defencejournal.c
om/2000/oct/yaqub.htm) on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
17. "General Niazi's Failure in High Command" (http://www.ghazali.net/book8/Chapter_5/body_ch
apter_5.html). Ghazali.net. 21 August 2000. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
18. Sharlach 2000, pp. 92–93.
19. Sajjad 2012, p. 225.
20. White, Matthew, Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century (http://us
ers.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm#Bangladesh)
21. Siddiqi, Dina M. (1998). "Taslima Nasreen and Others: The Contest over Gender in
Bangladesh". In Bodman, Herbert L.; Tohidi, Nayereh Esfahlani (eds.). Women in Muslim
Societies: Diversity Within Unity. Lynne Rienner. pp. 208–209. ISBN 978-1-55587-578-7.
"Sometime during the war, a fatwa originating in West Pakistan labeled Bengali freedom
fighters 'Hindus' and declared that 'the wealth and women' to be secured by warfare with them
could be treated as the booty of war. [Footnote, on p. 225:] S. A. Hossain, "Fatwa in Islam:
Bangladesh Perspective," Daily Star (Dhaka), 28 December 1994, 7."
22. 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 57 Dilawar Hossain, account
reproduced in Ekattorer Ghatok-dalalera ke Kothay (Muktijuddha Chetona Bikash Kendro,
Dacca, 1989)
23. Khan, Md. Asadullah (14 December 2005). "The loss continues to haunt us" (http://archive.thed
ailystar.net/2005/12/14/d512141501115.htm). The Daily Star (Editorial). Retrieved 11 June
2017.
24. Times, Special to the New York (19 December 1971). "125 Slain in Dacca Area Believed Elite
of Bengal" (https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/19/archives/125-slain-in-dacca-area-believed-elit
e-of-bengal-125-found-slain.html). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 (https://www.worldca
t.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 11 June 2017. "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."
25. "Mass grave found in Bangladesh" (http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99aug08/world.htm#7).
The Tribune. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
26. Evans, Michael. "The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971" (http://nsarchive.gwu.e
du/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/). nsarchive.gwu.edu. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
27. "Bengali Wives Raped in War Are Said to Face Ostracism" (http://www.docstrangelove.com/upl
oads/1971/foreign/19720118_nyt_bengali_wives_raped_in_war_are_said_to_face_ostracism.
pdf) (PDF). The New York Times. 8 January 1972. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
28. Menen, Aubrey (23 July 1972). "The Rapes of Bangladesh" (http://www.docstrangelove.com/up
loads/1971/foreign/19720723_nyt_the_rapes_of_bangladesh.pdf) (PDF). The New York
Times. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
29. Astrachan, Anthony (22 March 1972). "U.N. Asked to Aid Bengali Abortions" (http://www.docstr
angelove.com/uploads/1971/foreign/19720322_wp_un_asked_to_aid_bengali_abortions.pdf)
(PDF). The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
30. "East Pakistan: Even the Skies Weep" (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,8773
16,00.html). Time. 25 October 1971. p. 43. "Refugees are still trekking into India ... telling of
villages burned, residents shot, and prominent figures carried off and never heard from again.
One of the more horrible revelations concerns 563 young Bengali women, some only 18, who
have been held captive inside Dacca's dingy military cantonment since the first days of the
fighting. Seized from Dacca University and private homes and forced into military brothels, the
girls are all three to five months pregnant. The army is reported to have enlisted Bengali
gynecologists to abort girls held at military installations. But for those at the Dacca cantonment
it is too late for abortion."
31. U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep: Army Terror Campaign Continues in Dacca; Evidence
Military Faces Some Difficulties Elsewhere (http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB
79/BEBB6.pdf), 31 March 1971, Confidential, 3 pp
32. Sen, Sumit (1999). "Stateless Refugees and the Right to Return: the Bihari Refugees of South
Asia, Part 1" (http://ijrl.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/11/4/625.pdf) (PDF). International Journal
of Refugee Law. 11 (4): 625–645. doi:10.1093/ijrl/11.4.625 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fijrl%2F1
1.4.625). Retrieved 20 October 2006.
33. Gerlach, Christian (2010). Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the Twentieth-Century
World (https://books.google.com/books?id=48N-XbOltMEC&pg=PA148). Cambridge University
Press. p. 148. ISBN 9781139493512 – via Google Books.
34. Rummel, R. J. (1997). Death by Government (https://books.google.com/books?id=aYBrAgAAQ
BAJ&pg=PA334). Transaction Publishers. p. 334. ISBN 9781560009276 – via Google Book.
35. U.S. Consulate in Dacca (27 March 1971), Selective genocide (http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/BEBB1.pdf), Cable (PDF)
36. "The Jamaat Talks Back" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070123033307/http://www.banglades
hobserveronline.com/new/2005/12/30/editorial.htm). The Bangladesh Observer (Editorial). 30
December 2005. Archived from the original (http://www.bangladeshobserveronline.com/new/20
05/12/30/editorial.htm) on 23 January 2007.
37. "Remembering a Martyr" (http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2005/12/03/remembrance.ht
m). Star Weekend Magazine. The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
38. Lévy, Bernard-Henri (28 April 2014). "Bernard-Henri Levy: Andre Malraux's Bangladesh,
Before the Radicals" (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/28/bernard-henri-levy-andr
e-malraux-s-bangladesh-before-the-radicals.html). The Daily Beast.
39. "André Malraux: A true friend of Bangladesh" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150411040048/htt
p://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212838:andr
e-malraux-a-true-friend-of-bangladesh&catid=182:city-life&Itemid=220). The Independent.
Dhaka. 25 April 2014. Archived from the original (http://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=212838:andre-malraux-a-true-friend-of-bangladesh&cati
d=182:city-life&Itemid=220) on 11 April 2015.
40. "The Recognition Story" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110725050939/http://www.bdsdf.org/fo
rum/index.php?showtopic=3072). Bangladesh Strategic and Development Forum. Archived
from the original (http://www.bdsdf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3072) on 25 July 2011.
Retrieved 17 August 2011.
41. Bhutto, Zulfiqar Ali. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's farewell speech to the United Nations Security Council
(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Zulfiqar_Ali_Bhutto's_farewell_speech_to_the_United_Nations_
Security_Council).
42. "Bhutan recognised Bangladesh first" (http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/dec/08/b
hutan-recognised-bangladesh-first). Dhaka Tribune. 8 December 2014.
43. Jarrod Hayes (2012). "Securitization, social identity, and democratic security: Nixon, India, and
the ties that bind" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241754960). International
Organization. 66 (1): 63–93. doi:10.1017/S0020818311000324 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0
020818311000324). JSTOR 41428946 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/41428946).
S2CID 145504278 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145504278).
44. Shalom, Stephen R., The Men Behind Yahya in the Indo-Pak War of 1971 (http://coat.ncf.ca/our
_magazine/links/issue47/articles/a07.htm)
45. "The triumvirate of the Diplomat, the Journalist and the Artist" (http://www.thedailystar.net/persp
ective/the-triumvirate-the-diplomat-the-journalist-and-the-artist-1330978). The Daily Star. 17
December 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
46. Scott, Paul (21 December 1971). "Naval 'Show of Force' By Nixon Meant as Blunt Warning to
India" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HUU0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5099,2016461&dq=nix
on+pakistan+military). Bangor Daily News.
47. Anna Orton (2010). India's Borderland Disputes: China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=0RBOnS8KsgcC&pg=PA116). Epitome Books. p. 116.
ISBN 978-93-80297-15-6.
48. Matthew White (2011). Atrocitology: Humanity's 100 Deadliest Achievements (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=Q5w9qmd1UeMC&q=pakistani+dictator+yahya+khan&pg=PR45).
Canongate Books. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-85786-125-2.
49. Dexter Filkins (27 September 2013). "Collateral Damage:'The Blood Telegram,' by Gary J.
Bass" (https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/books/review/the-blood-telegram-by-gary-j-bass.ht
ml). The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
50. "That same fleet but new face" (https://www.telegraphindia.com/1161217/jsp/frontpage/story_1
25276.jsp). The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
51. "USSR, Czechoslovakia Recognize Bangladesh" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0d
IoAAAAIBAJ&pg=2219,2272476&dq=bangladesh+ussr+recognize). Sumter, South Carolina,
US. Associated Press. 25 January 1972.
52. "Nixon Hopes for Subcontinent Peace" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5TMsAAAAI
BAJ&pg=3505,1398456&dq=usa+recognize+bangladesh). Spartanburg, South Carolina, US.
Associated Press. 9 April 1972.
53. "Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971" (https://2001-2009.state.g
ov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/xi/45650.htm). US Department of State. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
54. Srinath Raghavan (12 November 2013). 1971 (https://books.google.com/books?id=2S-wAQAA
QBAJ). Harvard University Press. pp. 101–105. ISBN 9780674731295.
55. Noah Berlatsky (26 October 2012). East Pakistan (https://books.google.com/books?id=1IRmD
wAAQBAJ). Greenhaven Publishing. pp. 52–53. ISBN 9780737762563.
56. "China Recognizes Bangladesh" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rnVKAAAAIBAJ&p
g=4237,20391&dq=china+recognize+bangladesh). Oxnard, California, US. Associated Press.
1 September 1975.
57. "China Veto Downs Bangladesh UN Entry" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GQsyAA
AAIBAJ&pg=4712,6055847&dq=bangladesh+united-nations+china). Montreal, Quebec,
Canada. United Press International. 26 August 1972.
58. Office of Near East-South Asia Analysis (19 January 2011). "India and Its Neighbors:
Cooperation of Confrontation?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20201115114828/https://www.cia.
gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP83S00854R000200130001-0.pdf) (PDF). Central
Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/C
IA-RDP83S00854R000200130001-0.pdf) (PDF) on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January
2021. p. 7: "Nepal and Sri Lanka saw the partition of Pakistan as an example for themselves
and feared that India might use its enhanced power against them at some future date."
59. "The Island" (http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&co
de_title=13217). www.island.lk.
60. "You are being redirected..." (https://www.mfa.gov.lk/brief-overview-of-sri-lankas-foreign-relation
s-to-post-independence/) www.mfa.gov.lk.
61. "Pak thanks Lanka for help in 1971 war" (https://www.hindustantimes.com/world/pak-thanks-lan
ka-for-help-in-1971-war/story-UpZWXd0fFX5eDPac0KMIYL.html). Hindustan Times. 11 June
2011. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
62. Bowman, Martin (2016). Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations 1950–1972 (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=QleqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112). Pen and Sword. p. 112.
ISBN 978-1-4738-7463-3.
63. Nazar Abbas (26 August 2011). "Gaddafi is gone, long live Libya" (https://web.archive.org/web/
20130809005813/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-liv
e-Libya). The News International. Archived from the original (https://www.thenews.com/Todays-
News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-live-Libya) on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
64. Ward, Richard Edmund (1992). India's Pro-Arab Policy: A Study in Continuity (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=5n359Tp2FRMC&q=%22Bangladesh+Syria%22&pg=PA80). Greenwood
Publishing Group. p. 80. ISBN 9780275940867. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
65. Mudiam, Prithvi Ram (1994). India and the Middle East (https://books.google.com/books?id=jiD
Yjw4gCzEC&pg=PA79). British Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-85043-703-1.
Sources
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country
Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/).
Sajjad, Tazreena (2012). "The Post-Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women". In Samuel
Totten (ed.). Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide (Reprint ed.).
Transaction. pp. 219–248. ISBN 978-1412847599.
Sharlach, Lisa (2000). "Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda".
New Political Science. 1 (22): 89–102. doi:10.1080/713687893 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F713
687893). S2CID 144966485 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144966485).
Further reading
Ayoob, Mohammed and Subrahmanyam, K., The Liberation War, S. Chand and Co. pvt Ltd.
New Delhi, 1972.
Ayub, Muhammad (2005). An Army, its Role and Rule: A History of the Pakistan Army from
Independence to Kargil 1947–1999. Pittsburgh: RoseDog Books. ISBN 0-8059-9594-3.
Bass, Gary J. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. Vintage, 2014.
ISBN 0307744620
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.
Blood, A. K. (2005). The cruel birth of Bangladesh: Memoirs of an American diplomat. Dhaka:
University Press.
Brownmiller, Susan: Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, Ballantine Books, 1993.
Choudhury, G. W. (April 1972). "Bangladesh: Why It Happened". International Affairs. Royal
Institute of International Affairs. 48 (2): 242–249. doi:10.2307/2613440 (https://doi.org/10.230
7%2F2613440). ISSN 0020-5850 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0020-5850). JSTOR 2613440
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/2613440).
Choudhury, G. W. (1994) [First published 1974]. The Last Days of United Pakistan. Dhaka:
University Press. ISBN 978-984-05-1242-3.
Govt. of Bangladesh, Documents of the war of Independence, Vol 01–16, Ministry of
Information.
Hitchens, Christopher, The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Verso (2001). ISBN 1-85984-631-9
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.
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 (http://www.gw
u.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79)
Quereshi, Major General Hakeem Arshad, The 1971 Indo-Pak War, A Soldiers Narrative,
Oxford University Press, 2002.
Raghavan, Srinath, 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh, Harvard Univ. Press,
2013.
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.
Stephen, Pierre, and Payne, Robert, Massacre, Macmillan, New York, (1973). ISBN 0-02-
595240-4
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, 1969–
1976, Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971 (https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus196
9-76v11)
Zaheer, Hasan: The separation of East Pakistan: The rise and realisation 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, Dacca, Bangladesh. ISBN 978-984-
8866-18-4.
External links
Rare video documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_kP0A60tNA) on YouTube
Dateline Bangladesh: Documentary by Gita Mehta (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFHlPI
D-eSk) on YouTube
The Liberation war of Bangladesh (http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=War_of_Liberatio
n,_The)
1971 Bangladesh Genocide Archive (https://web.archive.org/web/20100308004522/http://www.
genocidebangladesh.org/)
Freedom In the Air (http://archive.thedailystar.net/news2014/freedom-in-the-air)
Video, audio footage, news reports, pictures and resources from Mukto-mona (http://www.mukto
-mona.com/1971/English/archive.htm)
Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh (https://web.archive.org/web/2010072512504
1/http://www.globalwebpost.com/genocide1971/witness/rounaq.htm)
The women of 1971. Tales of abuse and rape by the Pakistan Army (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20030926035236/http://www.drishtipat.org/1971/war.htm)
1971 Massacre in Bangladesh and the Fallacy in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report,
Dr. M.A. Hasan (https://web.archive.org/web/20030501230820/http://www.bangladeshmariners.
com/HmdrRprt/71mass.html)
Women of Pakistan Apologize for War Crimes, 1996 (https://web.archive.org/web/2008022312
3938/http://www.adhunika.com/issues/wpawc71.html)
Study finds no cases of rape by Pakistan Army in 1971 (http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/nation
al/30-Jun-2005/study-finds-no-cases-of-rape-by-pakistan-army-in-1971)
Sheikh Mujib wanted a confederation: US papers, by Anwar Iqbal, Dawn, 7 July 2005 (http://w
ww.dawn.com/news/146732/sheikh-mujib-wanted-a-confederation-us-papers)
Page containing copies of the surrender documents (https://web.archive.org/web/20041013132
951/http://muktadhara.net/page11.html)
Bangladesh Liberation War Picture Gallery (http://www.banglagallery.com/gallery/categories.ph
p?cat_id=5) Graphic images, viewer discretion advised
Rashid Askari:Liberation War facts (http://archive.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2010/12/victory_
day/facts.html)
1971 War: How Russia sank Nixon's gunboat diplomacy (http://in.rbth.com/articles/2011/12/20/
1971_war_how_russia_sank_nixons_gunboat_diplomacy_14041.html)
PM reiterated her vow to declare March 25 as Genocide Day (https://web.archive.org/web/2018
1012094427/http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/81905)
Call for international recognition and observance of genocide day (https://web.archive.org/web/
20170316113441/http://gbnews24.com/breaking-news/article/call-for-international-recognitio/)
Genocide Day: As it was in March 1971 (http://www.observerbd.com/details.php?id=63378)
The case for UN recognition of Bangladesh genocide (http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2
017/03/16/64529/The-case-for-UN-recognition-of-Bangladesh-genocide)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bangladesh_Liberation_War&oldid=1019435211"
This page was last edited on 23 April 2021, at 09:32 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Bangladesh Liberation War

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bangladesh Liberation War

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bangladesh Liberation War

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What was the cause of the Bangladesh Liberation War?

What was the cause of the Bangladesh Liberation War?

Who were the main leaders involved in the war?

Who were the main leaders involved in the war?

Bangladesh Liberation War

Bangladesh Liberation War

Clockwise from top left: Martyred Intellectuals

Date 26 March – 16 December 1971

India–East Pakistan border

India–West Pakistan border

Line of Control (Kashmir)

Bay of Bengal (Eastern Front)

(3–16 December 1971) Al-Shams

Commanders and leaders

Sheikh Mujibur Yahya Khan

Spending on West Spending on East Amount spent on

Ideological and cultural differences

In 1947 the Bengali Muslims had identified themselves with

Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's

The immediate lifting of martial law.

Response to the 1970 cyclone

Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were

According to the Asia Times,[74]

A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration

This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I, Major Ziaur Rahman,

Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M. A.

General Osmani had differences of opinion with the Indian leadership

Bengali conventional forces would occupy lodgment areas

Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors in July,[91] each with a

Bangladeshi conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia

— Indira Gandhi, Letter to Richard Nixon, 15

Indian Prime Minister Indira

Air and naval war

Surrender and aftermath

A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were

Many mass graves have been discovered in Bangladesh.[125] The first

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided extensive diplomatic

Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bangladesh_Liberation_War&oldid=1019435211"

This page was last edited on 23 April 2021, at 09:32 (UTC).

You might also like