Background Guide
Cabinet Committee on Security
Contents
Theme: Page 2
Foreword: Page 3
Introduction: Page 4
Foreign Involvement: Page 7
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THEME
1971 INDO-PAK WAR
(BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR)
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Foreword
This committee, as informed earlier, shall be simulated as one with a
timeline of the year 1971, with updates from the Board as & when they
get them through their channels of communication. The essence of a
historical simulation of a committee is to primarily give an opportunity
to different stakeholders to revisit the situation, explore the various
possibilities & find ways to resolve the issue in the best possible way.
We expect all members to be thoroughly researched & aware of their
interests & positions.
Likewise, it will also be appreciated if the members are clear about the
stance, powers & jurisdiction of their particular agency or ministry.
Though the committee shall react on the basis of updates; the
background guide is solely to give all members an insight into the
events that took place in the year 1971, and help them understand
what the scenario was like in those years and what actions were taken.
It is up to the members to take various decisions in regard to the issue
at hand, and mould the history in ways they think is best suited for the
welfare of the nation. We hope that apart from the various
perspectives for the agenda at hand, this committee shall help
members to learn, act as change-makers and decision makers of the
nation in an interesting environment of a year of changing political
equations, massive external pressures, security threats etc.
Best wishes!
Mohd. Shahrukh Ali: Prime Minister
Email- ID: [email protected]
Akshat M. Awasthy: Deputy Prime Minister
Email- ID: [email protected]
Shashwat Awasthi: Cabinet Secretary
Email- ID: [email protected]
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Introduction
Late 1970 and early 1971 saw many media reports unveiling the dark
truth behind the unfair practices of the Pakistani Army towards the
Bengali-speaking East Pakistani citizens. Many reports stated how a
step-motherly treatment was meted out to these citizens, and how a
large number of killings were also taking place at the same time in East
Pakistan. Though the East of Pakistan had a slight majority of the
country’s population, political power & financial dominance remained
in the hands of West Pakistanis.
To counter the balance of the East wing’s votes, the West Pakistan
rulers established a ‘One Unit Scheme’ where all of West Pakistan was
considered one province. It was observed that any East Pakistani
elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan would be swiftly deposed by
the West Pakistani establishment. Leaders like Khwaja Nazimuddin,
Md. Bogra and Huseyn Suhrawardy were denied their fair rights over
the Prime Minister-ship, solely because they were residents of East
Pakistan. Soon, Pakistan was under the military dictatorship of General
Ayub Khan (1958-69) and later General Yahya Khan (1969-71). Both of
them were West Pakistanis.
In the year 1971 when the Awami League won a clear majority, Sheikh
Mujibur Rehman got a decisive mandate winning 167 of the 169 seats
in East Pakistan. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (leader of the Pakistan
People’s Party) refused to allow Rehman to become the PM. Instead,
his idea was to have two different Prime Ministers for the two wings. In
the meantime, Pakistan Army had secretly started with its pet project
‘Operation Searchlight’ to demolish the political unrest against the
West Pakistani rulers. It is reported how 3, 00,000 civilians were killed,
while 10, 00,000 civilians went missing or crossed over to the Indian
Territory. Although the violence focused on the provincial capital
Dhaka, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the
University of Dhaka were particularly targeted.
The only Hindu residential hall was destroyed by the Pakistani armed
forces, and estimated 600-700 residents were killed. Fearing a brutal
civil war, Bhutto proposed a meeting between him and Rehman to
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work out a solution for the current political scenario. Though initial
considerations yielded consensus, the fallout between the two leaders
became evident soon after and no proper agreement could be reached
out. Facing pressures from the states of India over the ‘refugee
problems’, the central government thought of some solution.
It appealed, in an official document & open speech by the Prime
Minister herself to stop the ‘apparent genocide’ in East Pakistan. The
Indian government, at the same time, set up a large number of refugee
camps for these civilians. Slowly, India tried to contact the United
States (then a supporter of the Pakistani rulers) to persuade Pakistan
to cease the killings of innocent East Pakistani civilians. Though the
United States promised certain action, the Western countries openly
backed Pakistan by placing no sanctions against it. Sheikh Mujibur
Rehman, on 25th March 1971, in a strong speech in Bangladesh raised
the slogan ‘Joi Bongla!’ and reaffirmed his stance of the struggle of the
East Pakistanis’ for freedom from Pakistani suppressing rule. He signed
an official declaration that read that Bangladesh was a sovereign &
independent country.
This was enough to blow things out of proportion for the West
Pakistan rulers, who immediately sent their trusted General as the
Governor of East Bengal among huge resentment against the political
establishment; and started an official war with violent clashes between
the Bangladeshi police and the armed forces of Pakistan. As expected,
the East Pakistani resistance was disorganized & spontaneous but
surprisingly, it was a prolonged one. The resistance gradually grew,
with every crack-down by the Pakistani Army. The Bangladeshi forces
combined to form a ‘Mukti Bahini’- an organization aimed at dislodging
the Pakistani Army from the ruling position.
It is often said that it was in mid-June or early-July that the Mukti
Bahini started receiving indirect aid from the Indian side, in terms of
money and arms. Adopting the techniques from the Indian side, around
2000-5000 guerilla warfare soldiers attacked the Pakistan Army but
failed to achieve their objectives because of the monsoon.
Scared of a possible military intervention by the Indian side, the
Pakistani Air Force launched pre-emptive air strikes after publicly
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threatening India to ‘face war and demolition in the next 10 days’ on
1st December, 1971. India soon retaliated with air strikes on Pakistani
air bases. The Pakistani Army followed a strategy of capturing Western
Indian Territory, while holding on to the East Pakistan territory.
Indian Navy, unlike previous wars, actively participated in the war of
1971 & launched an offensive on the port city of Karachi destroying
key naval bases. The Indian naval forces approached the battle via a
‘two-way approach’ simultaneously attacking Karachi & Chittagong on
two different sides of the Indian Territory. Ultimately, capturing 5000
sq. miles territory of Pakistan & forcing the surrender of the East
Pakistani forces in Dhaka after surrounding it from three sides; 16th
December, 1971 saw the victory of the Indian forces and the official
independence of the Bangladeshi population. India declared a
unilateral ceasefire and later in 1972, the Simla Agreement saw an
official pact been signed between Zulfikar Ali Bhutto & Indira Gandhi
ending the war between the two nations with the release of prisoners
of wars.
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Foreign Involvement
USSR AND USA:
The Soviet Union sympathised with the Bangladeshis, and supported
the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini during the war, recognizing that the
independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals—
the United States and China. The USSR gave assurances to India that if
a confrontation with the United States or China developed, it would
take counter-measures. This assurance was enshrined in the IndoSoviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in August 1971.
The United States supported Pakistan both politically and materially.
President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
refused to use rhetoric in a hopeless attempt to intervene in a large
civil war. They needed Pakistan to help stop Soviet expansion into
South Asia in informal alliance with India. Pakistan was a close formal
ally of the United States and was also on good terms with the People's
Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating
a rapprochement and which he intended would seriously undermine
the global position of the United States and the regional position of
America's new tacit ally, China. Nixon encouraged countries
like Jordan and Iran to send military supplies to Pakistan while also
encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan. The Nixon
administration also ignored reports it received of the ‘genocidal’
activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably the
Blood telegram. This prompted widespread criticism and
condemnation both by the United States Congress and the
international press.
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