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Memories of Another day

Memories of Another day
While my Parents Pulin babu and Basanti devi were living

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman Murder Verdict after 34 years on Indira Birth day!


Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman Murder Verdict after 34 years on Indira Birth day!


Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time -Two Hundred Fourteen

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

Nation pays homage to Indira Gandhi on her 92nd birth anniversary

2009-11-19 12:30:00

The nation today paid homage to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 92nd birth anniversary.

Born in a politically active Nehru family, she was the Prime Minister for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1967 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.

A number of functions and welfare programmes are being organised across the country as a mark of respect.

A religious prayer meeting was held this morning at Shakti Sthal, her memorial.

An annual sports marathon organised in the name of Gandhi has also begun in Allahabad. Over 4000 participants are taking part in the event. (ANI)


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  1. Bangladesh Liberation War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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  1. Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman was born on March 22, 1922, at Faridpur, now in Bangladesh. He was an active member of the Muslim League in pre-Independence India. ...
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19/11/2009

Madhuri Dixit to play Indira Gandhi in new biopic

Los Angeles: Actress Madhuri Dixit is all set to essay the role of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi in a two-part biopic by filmmaker Krishna Shah.

Madhuri Dixit

The Golden Globe nominated Shah has been writing the script of the film 'Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story' for last 23 years and he now plans to bring it onscreen by the end of 2011, Variety magazine reported.

The renowned director-producer, who has earned critical acclaim both on Broadway and in Hollywood, has roped in Dixit to play the lead in his ambitious project.

Shah hopes to begin shooting in April in India and also plans to shoot some parts in the US, UK and Russia.

"It's such an exciting, dramatic story. The canvas of her life is too big to be contained in one film," the writer-director said.

Source: PTI

India remembers Indira on her b'day

More on news

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3429226



Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman Murder Verdict after 34 years on Indira Birth day!Meanwhile, India today joined the US, Pakistan and a dozen other countries in discussing a way forward for Afghanistan, including reconstruction of the war-torn nation, amid threat of a rise in the Taliban insurgency.

Indira Gandhi declred Emergency on 25th June, 1975 and Mujibur Rahman was Murederd with his family on 15th august 1975.

Two major Crimes were committed back to back. Even the Verdict came on a day while Taliban declared guerrilla war against Pakistan army!However we may thank Barack Obama as United states of America has CLARIFIED that Relationship with China not at the expense of India!Indian Diplomacy and foreign Affairs Ministry would depend on it without any option!

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina today broke down and was "overwhelmed with emotion" as Bangladesh's apex court upheld the death sentence on five of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's killers, 34 years after his murder.

Thirty-four years after Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assasinated in a coup, the country's Supreme Court today upheld the death sentence on five of his killers, paving the way for their walk to the gallows after a trial that dragged on for 13 years.

We were opposing Emergency as the SEVENTIES represented the unprecedented student and Youth Uprising in India, on the one hand the Thundering Spring emerged in Naxalbari and on the other hand, a full generation involved in Total revolution of Jai Prakash Narayan. Indira Gandhi dealt with both as an ABSOLUTE Monarch. But she at the same time, emerged as war Goddess Durga who liberated Bangladesh which CLIMAXED into the Tragic Assassination of Mujibur Rahaman. I had a multi dimensional impact on partition victim Dalit refugees in East Bengal.The Love for Motherland was in full revival with resurgence of Bangla Nationality hitherto immersed into Indian Brahaminical Hindu Nationality. My Father, the All India Refugee leader late Pulin Babu simply crossed over the Border and voiced the demand to unite Bengal once again in DHAKA. He was arrested immediately and was put behind bar. He remained there for almost one year.His friends bailed him out. Pulin babu NEVER accepted partition and crossed the border at his will whenever he wanted and Never did use Passport or VISA. He considered the Political Border ARTIFICIAL.. I only wonder why he did not try to cross the Western Border to land in Rawalpindi! Perhaps he could not link himself to the alien land. Birinchi Pad Mandal, prominent refugee leader from Dineshpur , rushed to Bangladesh with his family in a hope to regain their lost home and land. Disappointed, they turned back.

I was fortunate to interact with the bangladeshi freedom Fighters who landed in Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Tripura time to time and got the impression that Mujib wanted to make the country Secular adopting soviet Model of development aligning with Mrs Indira Gandhi. but our people, including my father, believed in their heart that Mrs Gandhi would be able to annex Bangladesh in India as she did with SIKKIM! But she could not do it perhaps because of the first Pro US National Movement led by JP. He had to declare EMERGENCY. Our People understood it. They loved and Supported Mrs Indira Gandhi since 1971.My father was a main opposition leader in Nainital until 1971 and he swinged in favour of Mrs Gandhi just after Bangladesh was liberated. It became the bone of contention between my father and me  and we ceased to discuss Politics as I could Never forgive Mrs Gandhi with Absolute Power. I distanced myself from the Refugee Movement and considered it as a Poloy for Vote Bank Mobilisation.

Until seventies, the First generation refugees survived in a hope to regain their Home Land and they saw hope in Mrs Gandhi. They had not forget anything from their roots and were Home Sick. that is why the Marxists led by Jyoti Basu could convince them to try to establish a fresh HOMELAND in Marichjhanpi!

Mujib was in HASTE as he shifted in Presidential system from Parliamentary system and the Awami League was the Only Party to be recognised. simply , he tried to replicate Mrs Indira Gandhi who was also facing Unprecedented crisis. Indira sought escape route in Emergency but there was NO Escape route for MUJIBUR Rahaman as his ABSOLUTE ways  Polarised the Right wing Pro Pakistan Elements once again and the Liberated Bangla Nationality transformed into Bangladeshi Muslim nationality very soon as  in west Bengal it remained Bengali Brahamin nationality!

Baburam mama `s parents belonged to the same Village in Gopalganj where from Mujib emerged. My Jethima belonged to Orakandi and she had no brother. It was so often that the partition victims lost parents, brothers and sisters in the Holocaust and they would adopt DHARAMA Bap, Dharma Ma, Dharma Bhai and Dharma Boan on the line of God Mother and god father.I had to be in the family as they resided in Chitya ranjan pur Number Two just beside Basantipur.The family was so proud of Mujib that they sold off their home and land and sfor Bangladesh and were stranded in west Bengal wherefrom they returned BEARING after a few years. The old couple died miserably and Baburam mama , a handsome young man, also died soon. his wife, our mami, was very beautiful and I feel sorry for the poor, helpless woman! I may quote many more cases.

Just after Bangladesh liberation , KC Pant won Nainital Loksabha seat with landslide majority in Midterm election, 1971. He was considered a very POOR , detached candidate. My father was instrumental in his win as our People Voted for Indira Gandhi en masses. My father told KC pant in an open Election meeting that he did not deserve the votes, but since he was the son of Pdt. Govind Ballabh pant who rehabilitated Refugees in Uttar Pradesh, refugees vote for him and the Votes go to Mrs Gandhi.MR KC Pant never did forget it and he remained very close to us. Even when my Father was very serious and suffering from cancer, KC pant arranged to admit him in AIIMS, New Delhi.

"The prime minister cried after hearing the verdict. She was overwhelmed with emotion," said Syed Ashraful Islam, ruling Awami League's deputy leader. "This verdict has established justice and rule of law in the country. Our government will act on the verdict and bring back the absconding killers wherever they are," he said.

The five, who will face the gallows, are sacked army officers Lt Col Syed Faruq Rahman, Sultan Shariar Rashid Khan, Mohiuddin Ahmed, AKM Mohiuddin and ex-Maj Bazlul Huda. The apex court upheld the death sentence awarded to 12 army officers by a lower court in 1998.

Sheikh Mujib, popularly called Bangabandhu, who led Bangladesh to independence in 1971, was shot dead at his home in a posh Dhanmandi area, along with his wife and three sons in a coup on August 15, 1975. Hasina was abroad at that time.

A total of 20 people, including domestic staff, were killed when the Army officers stormed into his house, but the murder charges have been brought forward only for the killing of Sheikh Mujib.

The case first came to the court in 1996, when Hasina became the prime minister for the first time. She removed legal barriers enacted by the post-Mujib military governments to protect the killers.

The five are among the 12 sacked Army officers, convicted for the 1975 killing, by the court which delieverd its judgement in 15 minutes amidst unprecendented security measures.

The apex court upheld the death sentence awarded to the killers by a lower court in 1998. Seven others who were also convicted are fugitives abroad.

Sheikh Mujibur, popularly called Bangabandhu, who led Bangladesh to independence in 1971, was gunned down at his home in a posh Dhanmandi area, along with his wife and three sons in a coup on August 15, 1975.

His daughter Sheikh Hasina, who is the current prime minister, was abroad at that time.

A total of 20 people, including domestic staff, were killed when the Army officers stormed into his house, but the murder charges have been brought forward only for the killing of Sheikh Mujibur.

"The Supreme Court has accepted our argument that the five men are guilty and dismissed their appeals. They will go to the gallows now," shief State prosecutor Syed Anisul Haque, said.

Senior judge of the bench Tafazzal Islam delivered the verdict at the heavily guarded and crowded courtroom here, rejecting the leave to appeal prayers of five of the 12 convicted soldiers.

In line with the judgement, all the 12 ex-army officers who were earlier handed down capital punishment, would have to walk to the gallows.

The case first came to the court in 1996, when Sheikh Hasina became the prime minister for the first time. She removed legal barriers enacted by the post-Mujib military governments to protect the killers.

At that time, the lower courts found 15 men guilty and sentenced them to death. Three were acquitted in 2001, while of the remaining 12, five appealed against the verdict to the Supreme Court.

Six of the seven absconding accused are in hiding abroad, and the seventh died in Zimbabwe recently.

The defence for the killers argued that Sheikh Mujib's death was part of a mutiny and the defendants should be tried by a military court.

Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman (March 17, 1920 - August 15, 1975) was a Bengali politician and the founding leader of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He is popularly referred to as Sheikh Mujib. His eldest daughter Sheikh Hasina Wajed is the present leader of the Awami League and the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

A student political leader, Mujib rose in east Pakistani politics and within the ranks of the Awami League as a charismatic and forceful orator. An advocate of socialism, Mujib became popular for his leadership against the ethnic and institutional discrimination of Bengalis. He demanded increased provincial autonomy, and became a fierce opponent of the military rule of Ayub Khan. At the heightening of sectional tensions, Mujib outlined a 6-point autonomy plan, which was seen as separatism in West Pakistan. He was tried in 1968 for allegedly conspiring with the Indian government but was not found guilty. Despite leading his party to a major victory in the 1970 elections, Mujib was not invited to form the government.

After talks broke down with the then president Yahya Khan and West Pakistani politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Sheikh Mujib on 26 March, 1971 announced the declaration of independence of east Pakistan and announced the establishment of the sovereign People's Republic of Bangladesh. Subsequently he was arrested and tried by a military court during his nine month detention. Guerrilla war erupted between government forces and Bengali nationalists aided by India. An all out war between the Pakistan Army and Bangladesh-India Joint Forces led to the establishment of Bangladesh, and after his release Mujib assumed office as a provisional president, and later prime minister. Even as a constitution was adopted, proclaiming socialism and a secular democracy, Mujib struggled to address the challenges of intense poverty and unemployment, coupled with rampant corruption.

Amidst rising popular agitation, he banned other political parties and established a one party state. After only seven months, Mujib was assassinated along with most of his family by a group of army officers.

Justice order of the day

The nation waits to hear the ultimate verdict today in the Bangabandhu murder case trial with bated breath and also in the expectation that finally justice will prevail. It has been a long, painful journey for the people of Bangladesh. It ought not to have been this way, for the particular reason that the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistani occupation in December 1971 was considered symbolic of a clean break with the past. That Bangalees would see democracy grow in their country, that under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman they would go forth to create Shonar Bangla, a cause the Father of the Nation had consistently espoused since he emerged with his Six-Point programme of regional autonomy in the mid-1960s, was not a misplaced expectation. Indeed, it was a dream that seemed eminently attainable with Bangabandhu as the undisputed leader of this country.
Govt focuses on people at risk

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Shakib Al Hasan, world's number one all-rounder in ODIs, has just had another feather added to his already glittering career by becoming the first Bangladeshi cricketer to sign for an English county side.
I just want justice

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stated unequivocally that she wants a fair judgment in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case to be delivered today by the Supreme Court.
Security tightened around SC

The government has deployed several hundred law enforcers on and around the Supreme Court premises to effect foolproof security for the historic judgment proceedings at the Appellate Division today.
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PM pledges food for education for 2m children

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Ensure nat'l interest in Tifa deal

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Jubo League leader shot dead in city

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View the PageEditorial
Facing the moment of truth

TODAY the nation has come face to face with a stark truth. The very fact that we had to wait for the last 34 years to complete the trial of the murder of the founding father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman including most of his family members and bring the killers to justice has brought us face to face with the moment of truth. Why had we to wait so long, for after his killing governments came in succession, one of those -- the BNP government of 1991-- being directly elected by the people. Strangely enough, before the Awami League government of 1996 was voted into office, none of the earlier governments felt the legal and moral obligation that the tragedy of August 15, 1975 at least deserved a hearing in the court of law! What had happened to our proud legacy of protest and struggle against all kinds of injustice?
TI grading does not alter the concern

THE country's position has improved slightly as per the corruption perception index of TI. It has gone three notches down and is now rated 13th out of 180 countries, with a score of 2.4 which was just good enough for not finishing among the ten most corrupt countries in the world. But respectability is still a far cry, as the countries scoring less than 3 are believed to be plagued by all-pervasive corruption.
Civil-military relations in Bangladesh

THE state of civil-military relations (CMR) in Bangladesh is not what it should be. And there are many reasons for it. But what is more irksome than having to bear such a condition is a situation where the two are not very forthcoming in either acknowledging the shortcomings or in engaging in free and frank discussions on the issue.
Can we keep it up?

THE Corruption Perception Index (CPI)-2009 was released by Transparency International (TI) on November 17. It provides international ranking of countries in terms of perceived degree of prevalence of political and administrative corruption. The index shows that Bangladesh is among nine out of the 180 countries included in this survey that have achieved "notable improvements." On a scale of 0-10 Bangladesh scored 2.4, compared to 2.1 last year. In terms of ranking, Bangladesh has become 13th from below which is 139th among 180, whereas in 2008 it was 10th from below or 147th among 180.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/todays-paper.php

India, US along with other states discuss way ahead for Afghan

 India today joined the US, Pakistan and a dozen other countries in discussing a way forward for Afghanistan, including reconstruction of the war-torn nation, amid threat of a rise in the Taliban insurgency.

External affairs minister SM Krishna, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and their Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi along with representatives from 12 other countries discussed situation in Afghanistan and rebuilding efforts at a meeting chaired by Afghan foreign minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta.

"It was an informal meeting on a way ahead for Afghanistan," diplomatic sources said.

The foreign ministers' roundtable discussion took place at the Stor Palace in the premises of the Afghan foreign ministry after the swearing in of Hamid Karzai as the president of this country for a second five-year term.Earlier, Krishna and Clinton had a brief informal chat on the sidelines of a luncheon hosted by Spanta.

The two leaders, who were in the Afghan capital for the inauguration Karzai as president, are understood to have discussed prime minister Manmohan Singh's four-day visit to the US beginning on November 22.

Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Qureshi were seated next to each other at the luncheon. They had earlier met on September 27 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York during which progress on the Mumbai attacks case was
the focus of their discussion.

Taliban declare guerrilla war against Pakistan army

 The Taliban have hit back at Pakistan's claims of success in a major offensive, vowing today that their guerrilla war would expel troops from their stronghold near the Afghan border.

"We have not been defeated. We have voluntarily withdrawn into the mountains under a strategy that will trap the Pakistan army in the area," Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told journalists taken by blindfold to a mountain top.

Pakistan's main umbrella Taliban faction, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) arranged a news conference for journalists from the tribal belt a day after the military flew correspondents into South Waziristan to visit the battlefield.

A reporter, who was among those taken to the undefined mountain top, said Tariq sat on the open ground, without a rug or chairs. Bearded Tariq, who is the spokesman for TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, was flanked by two armed bodyguards. This was his first direct interaction with journalists since the military mounted a major offensive on October 17.

However, the Pak army told reporters that troops waging a major ground and air offensive for five weeks had captured most towns once under rebel control in South Waziristan, part of Pakistan's militant-infested tribal belt.

Journalists from North Waziristan were driven to the border of neighbouring South Waziristan in broad daylight where they were blindfolded and transferred into waiting vehicles.

Relationship with China not at the expense of India

Amid concerns in India over the reference to the Indo-Pak ties in a US-China joint statement, the Obama administration today said its relationship with China is not at the "expense of" India and that nothing much should be read into the document.

"Of course, the United States is interested in perusing the best and healthiest possible partnership with China; but that does not come at the expense of other increasingly important partnership, particularly our relationship with India," under secretary of state for political affairs Bill Burns said in response to a question at an interaction here.

He was asked about concerns in India over the reference to improving Indo-Pak relationship in the US-China joint statement issued at the end of the visit of US president Barack Obama to China.

"The reference in the joint US-China statement with regard to common international concerns, collective concerns about Afghanistan is particular, I think is a very straight forward expression of that we look to China, we look to India, as many other countries in the world, to contribute to stability in Afghanistan," Burns said, adding that the US welcomes India's contribution in Afghanistan.

Ruling out any US mediation in the Indo-Pak peace process, he said it is for India and Pakistan to decide on the "scope, content and pace" of the peace process. Upset over the reference to the Indo-Pak ties in the statement issued after a meeting between Obama and Chinese pPresident Hu Jintao, India today made it clear that it will not brook any third party role in bilateral matters.

"A third country role cannot be envisaged nor is it necessary," external affairs ministry spokesman said in New Delhi. The Indian reaction came a day after both Obama and Hu voiced support for the improvement in Indo-Pak ties and their readiness to promote peace and stability in the region, listing the situation in South Asia among regional and global challenges.

Seeking to downplay any Indian concern over the Obama-Hu statement, US ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said in New Delhi, "I think that is a very positive statement to make." The US and China have only said that they would work for more
peace and stability in South Asia, Roemer said.

The external affairs ministry said, "The government of India is committed to resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan through a peaceful bilateral dialogue in accordance with the Simla Agreement".

Headley hunting in Bollywood!

Prithwish Ganguly / DNA
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 19:16 IST


Mumbai: Whether or not Rahul Bhatt had any connection with terror suspect David Headley, the backlash of the revelations is already being felt not just by the Bhatt family, but several others as well.

Right-wing radicals have stopped the screening of Bhatt's film Tum Mile, and now trouble could be brewing for Pritish Nandy (who owns Moksh gym, where Rahul worked as trainer and Headley is said to have worked out), Emraan Hashmi and even Arti Chhabria.

Blogs and social networking sites are abuzz with the unravelling web of information that traces a path to the 26/11 terror attacks. Even writer Shobhaa De has posted her candid views --- she's called the Bhatts a 'dysfunctional family'.

Needless to say, Mahesh isn't taking anything lying down. "What's worse is that people like Shobhaa, a thinking individual, can write that our family is dysfunctional. It clearly sends out a signal that she too feels that since Rahul knew David, he must have been up to something. This is worse than any political party's reaction to us as it shows that even urban, educated people can believe things without finding out whether accusations are true or not. It is a lynch mob reaction. Celebrities bring in the media spotlight and this case shows how news is being trivialised."

On another tangent, Mahesh and Pooja pointed out that while they were being targeted, no one was questioning Pritish Nandy, who owns the gym where Headley used to work out and where he met Rahul Bhatt in the first place. The Bhatts also alleged that Pritish has sacked Rahul's fitness trainer Vilas soon after the case came to light.

But Nandy defended himself by telling After Hrs, "Moksh is independent from Pritish Nandy Communications. I've asked the managers there and they've told me that no one has been removed from their job. So, I guess the so-called facts are wrong. I feel issues of national security are being ignored. What we are having, alas, are celebrity debates in the media."

In the end, both Pritish and Mahesh feel that the media is using the celeb angle to the Headley case as a TRP grabber -- to the detriment of a more serious look into the security breach.

Shobhaa De sums it up: "Unfortunately, this is the way media and intelligence agencies operate all over the world.For instance, had, Woody Allen's son's name been linked to 9/11, even in an oblique way, do youthink the international press corps wouldn't have gone to town with the information? There is the upside to celebrity and a downside. The David Headley case is an extremely sensitive matter involving national security and has just begun unraveling. We don't know all the ramifications and it's best not to prejudge or trivialise the issue by focusing attention on non-entities." Well, well, now.
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_headley-hunting-in-bollywood_1313424

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

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Sheikh Mujib's body lying on the staircase of his home on August 15, 1975 after his assassination.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh, was assassinated in his own residence in a military coup in the early hours of August 15, 1975 while he was serving as the self-declared life-long president of the country.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Background

Following the independence of Bangladesh (Dec 1971), Mujib was released from custody in Pakistan. He became the Prime Minister and later President of the newly formed state. With an intention to establish communism step by step, he soon established a system of one-party rule (see BAKSAL), banned all the newspapers except four government publications, and declared himself life-long president through a constitutional amendment in early 1975. His declaration of one party rule was opposed by many political opponents and, allegedly,[citation needed] CIA used this to increase propaganda against him. Corruption started to spread during those initial years of Bangladeshi independence. Other major challenges which Mujibur Rahman had to face included the humanitarian disaster (roads, banks, markets, houses & schools were destroyed)that was left behind after the 1971 war, which culminated in a devastating famine in 1974. The main charges against Mujib included nepotism and misgovernance. Public discontent increased as people's purchasing power plummeted and there was no sign of any improvement. The military was also not in control.

[edit] Conspirators

Syed Faruque Rahman, Abdur Rashid, Sharful Haque Dalim, all Majors in the Bangladesh Army and veterans of Mukti Bahini, hatched a conspiracy, the standard account of which is chronicled in Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood by Anthony Mascarenhas, Hodder and Stoughton, 1986 Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed, an Awami League cabinet minister under Mujib rule, agreed to take over the Presidency. Journalist Lawrence Lifschultz paints an alternative picture of the conspiracy, implicating Mustaque and even the CIA as participants [1][2]. It is alleged that the chief of the army General Shafiullah and defence intelligence were unaware of the conspiracy. However, Mujib relied more on Rakshi Bahini, a militia, rather than army, for his ultimate security.

[edit] Events

In the early morning of August 15, 1975, the conspirators were divided into 3 groups. One group attacked Mujib's house in road number 32, Dhanmondi Residential Area in the Dhaka city . Mujib was killed on the stairs, and all the members of his family were also executed except for his two daughters who were in West Germany at the time. Two other groups of soldiers killed Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni, Mujib's nephew and influential leader of Awami League, and Abdur Rab Serniabat, Mujib's brother-in-law, and a minister of the Government. Three months later, four major leaders of Awami League, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali, Syed Nazrul Islam and AHM Kamruzzaman were arrested and jailed (they would later be murdered in jail on November 4, 1975).

[edit] Aftermath

Dictated by the coup masterminds, Khondaker Mustaq Ahmed assumed presidency and the participating army officers became the de-facto leaders of the country. They were later toppled by yet another coup led by General Khaled Mosharraf on November 3, 1975. Mosharraf himself was killed in a counter coup on November 7, which installed General Ziaur Rahman in power. In the meanwhile Faruque Rahman, Rashid, and the other army officers had been promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonels. They were exiled in Libya and other countries, and were given several diplomatic posts in Bangladesh missions abroad. Faruque later returned and founded the Bangladesh Freedom Party.

[edit] Trial

The military took no action like court martial against the military officials who masterminded and participated in the coup. No case was also registered with the police either by relatives of Mujib or his party men. In fact the conspirators could not also be tried in court of law on the charge of assassination because of the Indemnity Ordinance passed by the government under president Khondaker Mustaq Ahmed. However, when Awami League, led by Mujib's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, won the election in 1996, it repealed the ordinance. The Bangabandhu murder trial commenced, and Faruque, and some other coup leaders were arrested. Rashid, however, escaped arrest as he was reportedly in Libya. The trial ended on November 8, 1998 in death sentences for 15 out of 20 accused of the killing[3]. However, the sentences were yet to be carried out as four of the convicts sought permission to file appeals. The decision remained pending due to a shortage of judges in the appellate division of the supreme court since August 2001. On June 18, 2007, one of the conspirators who had been sentenced to death, Mohiuddin Ahmed, was extradited to Bangladesh from the United States. On August 07, 2007, the murder case hearing resumed after 6 years.[4]. The appellate division of the supreme court of Bangladesh let out its verdict on November 19, 2009 after a five-member special bench heard the petition filed by the death-row convicts for 29 days[5][3]. The appeal of the convicts was rejected and the death sentence was kept valid.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Memoir written in 2005 by Lawrence Lifschultz
  2. ^ Bangladesh: The Unfinished Revolution, by Lawrence Lifschultz, London: Zed Press, 1979
  3. ^ a b Mujib murder case appeals verdict today
  4. ^ Bangabandhu murder case hearing resumes today after 6 years - The Daily Star; August 07, 2007
  5. ^ Security tightened around SC - The Daily Star, November 19, 2009
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Sheikh_Mujibur_Rahman"


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The nation waits to hear the ultimate verdict today in the Bangabandhu murder case trial with bated breath and also in the expectation that finally justice will prevail. It has been a long, painful journey for the people of Bangladesh. It ought not to have been this way,(The Daily Star)   • FULL STORY

The victims of Aug 15
I want justice: Hasina

Following is the list of those who were brutally killed on the fateful night of August 15, 1975 are: 1) Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2) Begum Fazilatunnesa - wife of Bangabandhu (3) Sheikh Kamal - Bangabandhu's eldest son (4) Sultana Kamal Khuki - wife of Sheikh Kamal(The Independent)   • FULL STORY

Expressway, metro rail set to be knotty
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Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

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Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান

In office
April 11, 1971 – January 12, 1972
Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad
Preceded by Position created
Succeeded by Syed Nazrul Islam (acting)
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury
In office
January 12, 1972 – January 24, 1975
President Abu Sayeed Chowdhury
Mohammad Mohammadullah
Preceded by Tajuddin Ahmad
Succeeded by Muhammad Mansur Ali
In office
January 25, 1975 – August 15, 1975
Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad
Preceded by Mohammad Mohammadullah
Succeeded by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad
Born March 17, 1920(1920-03-17)
Tungipara, Gopalganj District, Bengal, British Raj (now Bangladesh)
Died August 15, 1975 (aged 55)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nationality Bengali
Political party Awami League
BAKSAL
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Alternate name(s): Bangabandhu (Friend of Bengal)
Movement: Bengali Language Movement
Six point movement
Bangladesh Independence Movement
Notable prizes: Julio Curie Peace Medal[1]

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bengali: শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান Shekh Mujibur Rôhman) (March 17, 1920 – August 15, 1975) was a Bengali politician and the founding leader of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, generally considered in the country as the father of the Bengali nation. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He is popularly referred to as Sheikh Mujib, and with the honorary title of Bangabandhu (বঙ্গবন্ধু Bôngobondhu, "Friend of Bengal"). His eldest daughter Sheikh Hasina Wajed is the present leader of the Awami League and the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

A student political leader, Mujib rose in East Pakistani politics and within the ranks of the Awami League as a charismatic and forceful orator. An advocate of socialism, Mujib became popular for his leadership against the ethnic and institutional discrimination of Bengalis. He demanded increased provincial autonomy, and became a fierce opponent of the military rule of Ayub Khan. At the heightening of sectional tensions, Mujib outlined a 6-point autonomy plan, which was seen as separatism in West Pakistan. He was tried in 1968 for allegedly conspiring with the Indian government but was not found guilty. Despite leading his party to a major victory in the 1970 elections, Mujib was not invited to form the government.

After talks broke down with President Yahya Khan and West Pakistani politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Sheikh Mujib on 26 March, 1971 announced the declaration of independence of East Pakistan and announced the establishment of the sovereign People's Republic of Bangladesh.[2][3][4] Subsequently he was arrested and tried by a military court during his nine month detention. Guerrilla war erupted between government forces and Bengali nationalists aided by India. An all out war between the Pakistan Army and Bangladesh-India Joint Forces led to the establishment of Bangladesh, and after his release Mujib assumed office as a provisional president, and later prime minister. Even as a constitution was adopted, proclaiming socialism and a secular democracy, Mujib struggled to address the challenges of intense poverty and unemployment, coupled with rampant corruption. Amidst rising popular agitation, he banned other political parties and established a one party state. After only seven months, Mujib was assassinated along with most of his family by a group of army officers.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Early life

Mujib, a student leader in 1949

Rahman was born in Tungipara, a village in Gopalganj District in the province of Bengal,[5] to Sheikh Lutfar Rahman, a serestadar, an officer responsible for record-keeping at the Gopalganj civil court. He was the third child in a family of four daughters and two sons. In 1929, Rahman entered into class three at Gopalganj Public School, and two years later, class four at Madaripur Islamia High School.[6] However, Mujib was withdrawn from school in 1934 to undergo eye surgery, and returned to school only after four years, owing to the severity of the surgery and slow recovery.[citation needed] At the age of eighteen, Mujib married Begum Fazilatnnesa. She gave birth to their two daughters—Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana—and three sons—Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel.[6]

Mujib became politically active when he joined the All India Muslim Students Federation in 1940.[7] He enrolled at the Islamia College (now Maulana Azad College), a well-respected college affiliated to the University of Calcutta to study law and entered student politics there. He joined the Bengal Muslim League in 1943 and grew close to the faction led by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a leading Bengali Muslim leader.[citation needed] During this period, Mujib worked actively for the League's cause of a separate Muslim state of Pakistan and in 1946 he was elected general secretary of the Islamia College Students Union. After obtaining his degree in 1947, Mujib was one of the Muslim politicians working under Suhrawardy during the communal violence that broke out in Calcutta, in 1946, just before the partition of India.[8]

On his return to East Bengal, he enrolled in the University of Dhaka to study law and founded the East Pakistan Muslim Students' League and became one of the most prominent student political leaders in the province. During these years, Mujib developed an affinity for socialism as the ideal solution to mass poverty, unemployment and poor living conditions.[citation needed] On January 26, 1949 the government announced that Urdu would officially be the state language of Pakistan. Though still in jail, Mujib encouraged fellow activist groups to launch strikes and protests and undertook a hunger strike for 13 days.[citation needed] Following the declaration of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the province chief minister Khwaja Nazimuddin in 1948 that the people of East Pakistan, mainly Bengalis, would have to adopt Urdu as the state language, agitation broke out amongst the population. Mujib led the Muslim Students League in organising strikes and protests, and was arrested along with his colleagues by police on March 11.[9][10] The outcry of students and political activists led to the immediate release of Mujib and the others. Mujib was expelled from the university and arrested again in 1949 for attempting to organize the menial and clerical staff in an agitation over workers' rights.[5]

[edit] Early political career

See also: Bengali Language Movement
Sheikh Mujib, 1950

Mujib launched his political career, leaving the Muslim League to join Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhashani in the formation of the Awami Muslim League, the predecessor of the Awami League. He was elected joint secretary of its East Pakistan unit in 1949. While Suhrawardy worked to build a larger coalition of East Pakistani and socialist parties, Mujib focused on expanding the grassroots organisation.[citation needed] In 1951, Mujib began organising protests and rallies in response to the killings by police of students who had been protesting against the declaration of Urdu as the sole national language. This period of turmoil, later to be known as the Bengali Language Movement, saw Mujib and many other Bengali politicians arrested. In 1953, he was made the party's general secretary, and elected to the East Bengal Legislative Assembly on a United Front coalition ticket in 1954.[citation needed] Serving briefly as the minister for agriculture, Mujib was briefly arrested for organizing a protest of the central government's decision to dismiss the United Front ministry. He was elected to the second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and served from 1955 to 1958.[5] During a speech in the assembly on the proposed plan to dissolve the provinces in favour of an amalgamated West Pakistan and East Pakistan with a powerful central government, Mujib demanded that the Bengali people's ethnic identity be respected and that a popular verdict should decide the question:

"Sir [President of the Constituent Assembly], you will see that they want to place the word "East Pakistan" instead of "East Bengal." We had demanded so many times that you should use Bengal instead of Pakistan. The word "Bengal" has a history, has a tradition of its own. You can change it only after the people have been consulted. So far as the question of one unit is concerned it can come in the constitution. Why do you want it to be taken up just now? What about the state language, Bengali? We will be prepared to consider one-unit with all these things. So I appeal to my friends on that side to allow the people to give their verdict in any way, in the form of referendum or in the form of plebiscite."[11]

In 1956, Mujib entered a second coalition government as minister of industries, commerce, labour, anti-corruption and village aid, but resigned in 1957 to work full-time for the party organization.[citation needed] When General Ayub Khan suspended the constitution and imposed martial law in 1958, Mujib was arrested for organising resistance and imprisoned till 1961.[5] After his release from prison, Mujib started organising an underground political body called the Swadhin Bangal Biplobi Parishad (Free Bangla Revolutionary Council), comprising student leaders in order to oppose the regime of Ayub Khan and to work for increased political power for Bengalis and the independence of East Pakistan. He was briefly arrested again in 1962 for organising protests.[10]

[edit] Leader of East Pakistan

Main article: Six point movement
Mujib with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, 1949

Following Suhrawardy's death in 1963, Mujib came to head the Awami League, which became one of the largest political parties in Pakistan.[citation needed] The party had dropped the word "Muslim" from its name in a shift towards secularism and a broader appeal to non-Muslim communities. Mujib was one of the key leaders to rally opposition to President Ayub Khan's Basic Democracies plan, the imposition of martial law and the one-unit scheme, which centralized power and merged the provinces.[12] Working with other political parties, he supported opposition candidate Fatima Jinnah against Ayub Khan in the 1964 election. Mujib was arrested two weeks before the election, charged with sedition and jailed for a year.[10] In these years, there was rising discontent in East Pakistan over the atrocities committed by the military against Bengalis and the neglect of the issues and needs of East Pakistan by the ruling regime.[13] Despite forming a majority of the population, the Bengalis were poorly represented in Pakistan's civil services, police and military.[citation needed] There were also conflicts between the allocation of revenues and taxation.[citation needed]

Unrest over continuing denial of democracy spread across Pakistan and Mujib intensified his opposition to the disbandment of provinces. In 1966, Mujib proclaimed a 6-point plan titled Our Charter of Survival at a national conference of opposition political parties at Lahore,[5] in which he demanded self-government and considerable political, economic and defence autonomy for East Pakistan in a Pakistani federation with a weak central government.[12] According to his plan:

  1. The constitution should provide for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense on the Lahore Resolution and the parliamentary form of government with supremacy of a legislature directly elected on the basis of universal adult franchise.
  2. The federal government should deal with only two subjects: defence and foreign affairs, and all other residuary subjects shall be vested in the federating states.
  3. Two separate, but freely convertible currencies for two wings should be introduced; or if this is not feasible, there should be one currency for the whole country, but effective constitutional provisions should be introduced to stop the flight of capital from East to West Pakistan. Furthermore, a separate banking reserve should be established and separate fiscal and monetary policy be adopted for East Pakistan.
  4. The power of taxation and revenue collection shall be vested in the federating units and the federal centre will have no such power. The federation will be entitled to a share in the state taxes to meet its expenditures.
  5. There should be two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings; the foreign exchange requirements of the federal government should be met by the two wings equally or in a ratio to be fixed; indigenous products should move free of duty between the two wings, and the constitution should empower the units to establish trade links with foreign countries.
  6. East Pakistan should have a separate militia or paramilitary forces.
Mujib's points catalysed public support across East Pakistan, launching what some historians have termed the 6 point movement — recognized as the definitive gambit for autonomy and rights of Bengalis in Pakistan.[citation needed] Mujib obtained the broad support of Bengalis, including the Hindu and other religious communities in East Pakistan. However, his demands were considered radical in West Pakistan and interpreted as thinly-veiled separatism. The proposals alienated West Pakistani people and politicians, as well as non-Bengalis and Muslim fundamentalists in East Pakistan.[citation needed] Mujib was arrested by the army and after two years in jail, an official sedition trial in a military court opened. Widely known as the Agartala Conspiracy Case, Mujib and 34 Bengali military officers were accused by the government of colluding with Indian government agents in a scheme to divide Pakistan and threaten its unity, order and national security. The plot was alleged to have been planned in the city of Agartala, in the Indian state of Tripura.[5] The outcry and unrest over Mujib's arrest and the charge of sedition against him destabilised East Pakistan amidst large protests and strikes. Various Bengali political and student groups added demands to address the issues of students, workers and the poor, forming a larger "11-point plan." The government caved to the mounting pressure, dropped the charged and unconditionally released Mujib. He returned to East Pakistan as a public hero.[citation needed] Joining an all-parties conference convened by Ayub Khan in 1969, Mujib demanded the acceptance of his six points and the demands of other political parties and walked out following its rejection. On December 5, 1969 Mujib made a declaration at a public meeting held to observe the death anniversary of Suhrawardy that henceforth East Pakistan would be called "Bangladesh":

"There was a time when all efforts were made to erase the word "Bangla" from this land and its map. The existence of the word "Bangla" was found nowhere except in the term Bay of Bengal. I on behalf of Pakistan announce today that this land will be called "Bangladesh" instead of East Pakistan."[10]

Mujib's declaration heightened tensions across the country. The West Pakistani politicians and the military began to see him as a separatist leader. His assertion of Bengali cultural and ethnic identity also re-defined the debate over regional autonomy. Many scholars and observers believed the Bengali agitation emphasized the rejection of the Two-Nation Theory — the case upon which Pakistan had been created — by asserting the ethno-cultural identity of Bengalis as a nation.[14] Mujib was able to galvanise support throughout East Pakistan, which was home to a majority of the national population, thus making him one of the most powerful political figures in the Indian subcontinent. It was following his 6-point plan that Mujib was increasingly referred to by his supporters as "Bangabandhu" (literally meaning "Friend of Bengal" in Bengali).[citation needed]

[edit] 1970 elections and independence

Also see: This time the struggle is for our freedom

Sheikh Mujib with Maulana Bhashani in a protest march

A major coastal cyclone struck East Pakistan in 1970, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. The subsequent period exposed extreme outrage and unrest over the perceived weak and ineffective response of the central government.[citation needed] Public opinion and political parties in East Pakistan blamed the governing authorities as intentionally negligent.[citation needed] The West Pakistani politicians attacked the Awami League for allegedly using the crisis for political gain.[citation needed] The dissatisfaction led to divisions within the civil services, police and military of Pakistan.[citation needed] In the elections held in December 1970, the Awami League under Mujib's leadership won a massive majority in the provincial legislature, and all but 2 of East Pakistan's quota of seats in the new National Assembly, thus forming a clear majority.[5]

The election result revealed a polarisation between the two wings of Pakistan, with the largest and most successful party in the West being the Pakistan Peoples Party of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was completely opposed to Mujib's demand for greater autonomy.[citation needed] Bhutto threatened to boycott the assembly and oppose the government if Mujib was invited by Yahya Khan (then president of Pakistan) to form the next government, demanding his party's inclusion. There was also widespread opposition in the Pakistani military and the Islamic political parties to Mujib becoming Pakistan's prime minister.[citation needed] And even though neither Mujib nor the League had explicitly advocated political independence for East Pakistan, smaller nationalist groups were demanding independence for Bangladesh.[citation needed]

Following political deadlock, Yahya Khan delayed the convening of the assembly — a move seen by Bengalis as a plan to deny Mujib's party, which formed a majority, from taking charge.[citation needed] It was on March 7, 1971 that Mujib called for independence and asked the people to launch a major campaign of civil disobedience and organised armed resistance at a mass gathering of people held at the Race Course Ground in Dhaka.[citation needed]

"The struggle now is the struggle for our emancipation; the struggle now is the struggle for our independence. Joy Bangla!..Since we have given blood, we will give more blood. God-willing, the people of this country will be liberated...Turn every house into a fort. Face (the enemy) with whatever you have."[citation needed]

Following a last ditch attempt to foster agreement, Yahya Khan declared martial law, banned the Awami League and ordered the army to arrest Mujib and other Bengali leaders and activists.[citation needed] The army launched Operation Searchlight to curb the political and civil unrest, fighting the nationalist militias that were believed to have received training in India. Speaking on radio even as the army began its crackdown, Mujib declared Bangladesh's independence at midnight on March 26, 1971:[10][15]

"This may be my last message; from today Bangladesh is independent. I call upon the people of Bangladesh wherever you might be and with whatever you have, to resist the army of occupation to the last. Your fight must go on until the last soldier of the Pakistan occupation army is expelled from the soil of Bangladesh. Final victory is ours."

Leaflets and pamphlets used to drive public opinion for independent Bangladesh used Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the iconic character.

Mujib was arrested and moved to West Pakistan and kept under heavy guard in a jail near Faisalabad (then Lyallpur). Many other League politicians avoided arrest by fleeing to India and other countries.[citation needed] Pakistani general Rahimuddin Khan was appointed to preside over Mujib's military court case in Faisalabad, the proceedings of which have never been made public.[16].

The Pakistani army's campaign to restore order soon degenerated into a rampage of terror and bloodshed.[17] With militias known as Razakars, the army targeted Bengali intellectuals, politicians and union leaders, as well as ordinary civilians. It targeted Bengali and non-Bengali Hindus across the region, and throughout the year large numbers of Hindus fled across the border to the neighbouring Indian states of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.[18] The East Bengali army and police regiments soon revolted and League leaders formed a government in exile in Kolkata under Tajuddin Ahmad, a politician close to Mujib. A major insurgency led by the Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters) arose across East Pakistan. Despite international pressure, the Pakistani government refused to release Mujib and negotiate with him. Most of the Mujib family was kept under house arrest during this period. His son Sheikh Kamal was a key officer in the Mukti Bahini, which was a part of the struggle between the state forces and the nationalist militia during the war that came to be known as the Bangladesh Liberation War. Following Indian intervention in December 1971, the Pakistani army surrendered to the joint force of Bengali Mukti Bahini and Indian Army, and the League leadership created a government in Dhaka.

Upon assuming the presidency after Yahya Khan's resignation, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto responded to international pressure and released Mujib on January 8, 1972. He was then flown to London where he met with British Prime Minister Edward Heath and addressed the international media. Mujib then flew to New Delhi on a Royal Air Force plane given by the British government to take him back to Dhaka. In New Delhi, he was received by Indian President Varahagiri Venkata Giri and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as well as the entire Indian cabinet and chiefs of armed forces. Delhi was given a festive look as Mujib and Indira addressed a huge crowd where he publicly expressed his gratitude to Indira Gandhi and the "the best friends of my people, the people of India. From New Delhi, Sheikh Mujib flew back to Dhaka on the RAF jet where he was received by a massive and emotional sea of people at Tejgaon Airport.

[edit] Governing Bangladesh

Historic speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, 1971

Mujibur Rahman briefly assumed the provisional presidency and later took office as the prime minister, heading all organs of government and decision-making. In doing so, he dismissed Tajuddin Ahmad following a controversial intra-party power struggle that had occurred during Mujib's incarceration.[citation needed] The politicians elected in 1970 formed the provisional parliament of the new state. The Mukti Bahini and other militias amalgamated to form a new Bangladeshi army to which Indian forces transferred control on March 17.[10] Mujib described the fallout of the war as the "biggest human disaster in the world," claiming the deaths of as many as 3 million people and the rape of more than 200,000 women. The government faced serious challenges, which including the rehabilitation of millions of people displaced in 1971, organising the supply of food, health aids and other necessities. The effects of the 1970 cyclone had not worn off, and the state's economy had immensely deteriorated by the conflict.[citation needed] There was also violence against non-Bengalis and groups who were believed to have assisted the Pakistani forces. By the end of the year, thousands of Bengalis arrived from Pakistan, and thousands of non-Bengalis migrated to Pakistan; and yet many thousands remained in refugee camps.[citation needed]

After Bangladesh achieved recognition from major countries, Mujib helped Bangladesh enter into the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.[citation needed] He travelled to the United States, the United Kingdom and other European nations to obtain humanitarian and developmental assistance for the nation.[10] He signed a treaty of friendship with India, which pledged extensive economic and humanitarian assistance and began training Bangladesh's security forces and government personnel.[19] Mujib forged a close friendship with Indira Gandhi,[20] strongly praising India's decision to intercede, and professed admiration and friendship for India. The two governments remained in close cooperation during Mujib's lifetime.[20]

He charged the provisional parliament to write a new constitution, and proclaimed the four fundamental principles of "nationalism, secularism, democracy and socialism," which would come to be known as "Mujibism."[20] Mujib nationalised hundreds of industries and companies as well as abandoned land and capital and initiated land reform aimed at helping millions of poor farmers.[21] Major efforts were launched to rehabilitate an estimated 10 million refugees. The economy began recovering and a famine was prevented.[22] A constitution was proclaimed in 1973 and elections were held, which resulted in Mujib and his party gaining power with an absolute majority.[5] He further outlined state programmes to expand primary education, sanitation, food, healthcare, water and electric supply across the country. A five-year plan released in 1973 focused state investments into agriculture, rural infrastructure and cottage industries.[23]

Although the state was committed to secularism, Mujib soon began moving closer to political Islam through state policies as well as personal conduct.[24] He revived the Islamic Academy (which had been banned in 1972 for suspected collusion with Pakistani forces) and banned the production and sale of alcohol and banned the practice of gambling, which had been one of the major demands of Islamic groups.[24] Mujib sought Bangladesh's membership in the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Islamic Development Bank and made a significant trip to Lahore in 1974 to attend the OIC summit, which helped repair relations with Pakistan to an extent.[24] In his public appearances and speeches, Mujib made increased usage of Islamic greetings, slogans and references to Islamic ideologies. In his final years, Mujib largely abandoned his trademark "Joy Bangla" salutation for "Khuda Hafez" preferred by religious Muslims.[24]

In 1974, Bangladesh experienced the deadliest Famine ever, which killed around 1.5 millions of Bangladeshi people in Hunger. Bangladesh famine of 1974 is a major source of discontent against Mujib's government. Bangladeshi people feel ashamed, insulted and demoralised as a nation for this famine that was not due to food crisis but, according to Amartya Sen, due to the lack of governance and democratic practices.

[edit] BAKSAL

Sheikh Mujib addresses the foundation meeting of BAKSAL.

Mujib's government soon began encountering increased dissatisfaction and unrest. His programmes of nationalisation and industrial socialism suffered from lack of trained personnel, inefficiency, rampant corruption and poor leadership.[21] Mujib focused almost entirely on national issues and thus neglected local issues and government. The party and central government exercised full control and democracy was weakened, with virtually no elections organised at the grass roots or local levels.[25] Political opposition included communists as well as Islamic fundamentalists, who were angered by the declaration of a secular state. Mujib was criticized for nepotism in appointing family members to important positions.[20] A famine in 1974 further intensified the food crisis, and devastated agriculture — the mainstay of the economy.[5] Intense criticism of Mujib arose over lack of political leadership, a flawed pricing policy, and rising inflation amidst heavy losses suffered by the nationalised industries. Mujib's ambitious social programmes performed poorly, owing to scarcity of resources, funds and personnel, and caused unrest amongst the masses.[21]

Political unrest gave rise to increasing violence, and in response, Mujib began increasing his powers. On January 25, 1975 Mujib declared a state of emergency and his political supporters approved a constitutional amendment banning all opposition political parties. Mujib was declared "president for life," and given extraordinary powers.[20][26] His political supporters amalgamated to form the only legalised political party, the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League, commonly known by its initials—BAKSAL.[5] The party identified itself with the rural masses, farmers and labourers and took control of government machinery. It also launched major socialist programmes. Using government forces and a militia of supporters called the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini, Mujib oversaw the arrest of opposition activists and strict control of political activities across the country.[26][27] The militia and police were accused of torturing suspects and political killings. While retaining support from many segments of the population, Mujib evoked anger amongst veterans of the liberation war for what was seen as a betrayal of the causes of democracy and civil rights.[20] The underground opposition to Mujib's political regime intensified under the clout of dissatisfaction and the government's inability to deal with national challenges and the dissatisfaction within the Bangladeshi army.[citation needed]

[edit] Assassination

Main article: Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujib's body after the assassination

On August 15, 1975, a group of junior army officers invaded the presidential residence with tanks and killed Mujib, his family and the personal staff.[5][20] Only his daughters Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Sheikh Rehana, who were on a visit to West Germany, were left alive. They were banned from returning to Bangladesh.[28] The coup was planned by disgruntled Awami League colleagues and military officers, which included Mujib's colleague and former confidanté Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, who became his immediate successor. There was intense speculation in the media accusing the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency of having instigated the plot.[29] Lawrence Lifschultz has alleged that the CIA was involved in the coup and assassination, basing his assumption on the then US ambassador in Dhaka Eugene Booster.[30]

Mujib's death plunged the nation into many years of political turmoil. The coup leaders were soon overthrown and a series of counter-coups and political assassinations paralysed the country.[26] Order was largely restored after a coup in 1977 gave control to the army chief Ziaur Rahman. Declaring himself President in 1978, Ziaur Rahman signed the Indemnity Ordinance, giving immunity from prosecution to the men who plotted Mujib's assassination and overthrow. Ziaur Rahman and Hossain Mohammad Ershad reversed the state's commitment to secularism and socialism, as well as most of Mujibur Rahman's signature policies.[citation needed]

In exile, Sheikh Hasina became the leader of the Awami League. She returned to Bangladesh on May 17, 1981 and led popular opposition to the military regime of President Ershad.[citation needed] In the elections following the restoration of democracy in 1991, Sheikh Hasina became the leader of the opposition and in 1996, she won the elections to become Bangladesh's prime minister. Revoking the Indemnity Ordinance, an official murder case was lodged and an investigation launched.[citation needed] One of the main coup leaders, Colonel Syed Faruque Rahman was arrested along with 14 other army officers, while others fled abroad.[5][31] Sheikh Hasina lost power in the 2001 elections, but remained the opposition leader and one of the most important politicians in Bangladesh.

[edit] Criticism and legacy

The Bangabandhu Square Monument

The Pakistani leadership in 1971 was considered by some observers and governments to be fighting to keep the country united in face of violent secessionist activities led by Mujib. Indian support for the Mukti Bahini dented the credibility of Mujib and the League in the community of nations.[14][32] Some historians argue that the conflicts and disparities between East and West Pakistan were exaggerated by Mujib and the League and that secession cost Bangladesh valuable industrial and human resources.[32] The governments of Saudi Arabia and China criticised Mujib and many nations did not recognise Bangladesh until after his death.[32] In a secret government affidavit, Yahya Khan stated:

It was Bhutto, not Mujib, who broke Pakistan. Bhutto's stance in 1971 and his stubbornness harmed Pakistan's solidarity much more than Sheikh Mujib's six-point demand. It was his high ambitions and rigid stance that led to rebellion in East Pakistan. He riled up the Bengalis and brought an end to Pakistan's solidarity. East Pakistan broke away.[33]

Several historians regard Mujib as a rabble-rousing, charismatic leader who galvanised the nationalist struggle but proved inept in governing the country.[26] During his tenure as Bangladesh's leader, Muslim religious leaders and politicians intensely criticized Mujib's adoption of state secularism. He alienated some segments of nationalists and the military, who feared Bangladesh would come to depend upon India and become a satellite state by taking extensive aid from the Indian government and allying Bangladesh with India on many foreign and regional affairs.[22] Mujib's imposition of one-party rule and suppression of political opposition alienated large segments of the population and derailed Bangladesh's experiment with democracy for many decades.[14][20]

Following his death, succeeding governments offered low-key commemorations of Mujib, and his public image was restored only with the election of an Awami League government led by his daughter Sheikh Hasina in 1996. August 15 is commemorated as "National Mourning Day," mainly by Awami League supporters.[10] He remains the paramount icon of the Awami League, which continues to profess Mujib's ideals of socialism. Mujib is widely admired by scholars and in Bengali communities in India and across the world for denouncing the military rule and ethnic discrimination that existed in Pakistan, and for leading the Bengali struggle for rights and liberty.[31]

In a 2004 poll conducted on the worldwide listeners of BBC's Bengali radio service, Mujib was voted the "Greatest Bengali of All Time" beating out Rabindranath Tagore and others.[34]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

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  1. ^ Bishwas, Sukumar (2005). Japan-Bangladesh relations, 1972-1990. Dhaka: Mowla Brothers. p. 93. ISBN 9844104351. 
  2. ^ http://muktadhara.net/page23.html
  3. ^ http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=93650
  4. ^ http://www.albd.org/autoalbd/images/stories/compile/2006/dia/dia_letter.jpg
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rashid, Harun-or. "Rahman, (Bangabandhu) Sheikh Mujibur". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/R_0022.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-06. 
  6. ^ a b Kādira, Muhāmmada Nūrula (2004). Independence of Bangladesh in 266 days: history and documentary evidence. Dhaka: Mukto Publishers. p. 440. ISBN 9843208587. 
  7. ^ Ahmad, Syed Nur; Baxter, Craig; Ali, Mahmud (1985). From martial law to martial law: politics in the Punjab, 1919–1958. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. p. 338. ISBN 086531845X. 
  8. ^ Zillur Rahman Khan, The Third World charismat: Sheikh Mujib and the struggle for freedom, page 32, University Press Limited, Dhaka, 1996, ISBN 9840513532
  9. ^ Sukumar Bishwas, Bangladesh liberation war, Mujibnagar government documents, 1971, page 167, Mawla Brothers, Dhaka, 2005, ISBN 9844104343
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Political Profile of Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman". Bangladesh Awami League. http://www.albd.org/bangabandhu/bangabandhu.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-06. 
  11. ^ Official Report, Debates, page 296, Pakistan Constituent Assembly, 1955
  12. ^ a b M. Rashiduzzaman, The Awami League In The Political Development of Pakistan (2006-07-07). "Awami League". http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-4687(197007)10%3A7%3C574%3ATALITP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  13. ^ G. W. Choudhury, Bangladesh: Why It Happened (2006-07-07). "Bengali nationalism". http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0020-5850(197204)48%3A2%3C242%3ABWIH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  14. ^ a b c Charles Kennedy, Craig Baxter (2006-07-11). "Governance and Politics in South Asia". http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=51259067. Retrieved 2006-07-11. 
  15. ^ "Pakistan: Toppling Over the Brink". Time Magazine. 1971-04-05. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,876897-1,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-19. "The army ordered a strict 24-hour curfew in Dacca, with violators shot on sight. But soon the Free Bengal Revolutionary Radio Center, probably somewhere in Chittagong, crackled into life. Over the clandestine station. Mujib proclaimed the creation of the "sovereign independent Bengali nation," and called on its people to "resist the enemy forces at all costs in every corner of Bangla Desh." The defiant words, however, lacked military substance. At 1:30 a.m. the following day, soldiers seized the sheik in his home." 
  16. ^ Khalid, Adnan (2006). "An Honest Look at the Dhaka Debacle". http://www.nosecorrectionabroad.co.uk/nose_correction_news_SECOND_OPINION_An_honest_look_at_the_Dhaka_debacle_Khaled__id_1008.php. Retrieved 2006-01-27. "Brig Siddiqi, commenting on his latest book on the fall of East Pakistan, said that the morale of the Pakistani troops was extremely low in 1970-71, but General Rahimuddin had tried East Pakistan's charismatic leader Mujibur Rehman in Faisalabad. (General Yahya did not confirm it.)" 
  17. ^ Blood, Archer, Transcript of Selective Genocide Telex, Department of State, United States
  18. ^ US State Department, "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976", Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971", Page 165
  19. ^ Frank, Katherine (2002). Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. USA: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 343. ISBN 0-395-73097-X. 
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h Frank, Katherine (2002). Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. USA: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 388. ISBN 0-395-73097-X. 
  21. ^ a b c Shahzad Uddin, A Bangladeshi Soap Opera (2006-07-07). "Mujib's policies" (PDF). http://les.man.ac.uk/ipa97/papers/uddin103.pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  22. ^ a b Rounaq Jahan, Bangladesh in 1972: Nation Building in a New State (2006-07-07). "Governance". http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-4687(197302)13%3A2%3C199%3ABI1NBI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  23. ^ UNESCAP, Integration of Poverty Alleviation and Social Sector Development into the Planning Process in Bangladesh (2006-07-07). "Mujib's policies" (PDF). http://www.unescap.org/drpad/publication/ldc6_2174/chap4.PDF. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  24. ^ a b c d Raman, B. (2006-08-29). "Mujib and Islam" (PHP). http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper232.html. Retrieved 2006-08-29. 
  25. ^ Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Decentralization and Access: Theoretical Framework and Bangladesh Experience (2006-07-07). "Decen and Access (Joint-Asian).pdf Party democracy" (PDF). http://www.yorku.ca/ycar/papers/MUJIB Decen and Access (Joint-Asian).pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  26. ^ a b c d Maniruzzaman, Talukder, "Bangladesh in 1975: The Fall of the Mujib Regime and Its Aftermath," Asian Survey, 16, No. 2, February 1976, 119–29.
  27. ^ Country Studies, Bangladesh (2006-09-12). "Mujib's fall". http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/19.htm. Retrieved 2006-09-12. 
  28. ^ Frank, Katherine (2002). Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. USA: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 389. ISBN 0-395-73097-X. 
  29. ^ "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman". 2006-07-07. http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug172005/national1941362005816.asp. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  30. ^ Lifschultz L. The long shadow of the August 1975 coup. The Daily Star. Vol. 5 Number 434. Available at: http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/08/15/d5081501033.htm. Accessed on June 8, 2007.
  31. ^ a b "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman". 2006-07-07. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1524/15240040.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-07. 
  32. ^ a b c Baxter, Craig (2006-07-11). "Bangladesh: From a Nation to a State". http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=27169589. Retrieved 2006-07-11. 
  33. ^ http://www.probenewsmagazine.com/index.php?index=2&contentId=5049
  34. ^ Listeners name 'greatest Bengali'. BBC. Retrieved 23-04-2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3623345.stm

[edit] References

  • William B.Milam, Pakistan and Bangladesh: Flirting with Failure(2009) ISBN 10:0231700660, Columbia University Press
  • Anthony Mascarenhas, Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood ISBN 0-340-39420-X
  • Katherine Frank, Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi (2002) ISBN 0-395-73097-X
  • M. Ahmed, Era of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1983), University Press
  • Craig Baxter, Bangladesh: From a Nation to a State (1997), Westview Press
  • Craig Baxter et al., Governance and Politics in South Asia (1998), Westview Press

[edit] See also

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The Emergency (India)

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See also State of Emergency in India

The Indian Emergency of 25 June 1975 – 21 March 1977 was a 21-month period, when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties. It is one of the most controversial periods in the history of independent India.[1]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Background

[edit] Political unrest

Opponents had long made allegations that Indira's party, Congress, had practiced electoral fraud to win the 1971 elections. The Gandhian socialist Jaya Prakash Narayan had been agitating in Bihar for a change in provincial government, and increasingly sought to direct popular action against the Central Government through satyagrahas.

Narayan and his supporters sought to unify students, peasants, and labour organisations in a 'Total Revolution' to nonviolently transform Indian society. Indira's party was defeated in Gujarat by a coalition of parties calling itself the Janata Party (People's Party), and even faced an all-party, no-confidence motion in Parliament.

[edit] The Allahabad conviction

See also State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain

Raj Narain, who had been defeated in parliamentary election by Indira Gandhi, lodged cases of election fraud and use of state machinery for election purposes against Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the Allahabad High Court. On June 12, 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court found the Prime Minister guilty on the charge of misuse of government machinery for her election campaign. The court declared her election null and void and unseated her from her seat in the Lok Sabha. The court also banned her from contesting any election for an additional six years. Ironically some serious charges such as bribing voters and election malpractices were dropped and she was held responsible for misusing the government machinery, and found guilty on charges such as using the state police to build a dais, availing the services of an IAS officer, Yashpal Kapoor, during the elections before he had resigned from his position, and use of electricity from the state electricity department. Because the court unseated her on comparatively frivolous charges, while she was acquitted on more serious charges, The Times described it as 'firing the Prime Minister for a traffic ticket'. However, strikes in labor and trade unions, student unions and government unions swept across the country. Protests led by J.P.Narayan, Raj Narain and Morarji Desai flooded the streets of Delhi close to the Parliament building and the PM's residence. The persistent efforts of Raj Narain, was praised worldwide as it took over 4 years for Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha to finally pass judgement against Indira Gandhi. The ruling later became the primary reason for the imposition of emergency by Indira Gandhi. It also encouraged greater belief in the judiciary and democracy in India.

[edit] Declaration of Emergency

President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a State of Emergency upon the advice of the Prime Minister on 26 June 1975. In her own words, Indira brought democracy "to a grinding halt".

As the constitution requires, Indira advised and President Ahmed approved the continuation of Emergency over every six-month period until her decision to hold elections in 1977. The GDP growth was least during the era .

[edit] The Emergency Administration

Elections for the Parliament and state governments were postponed. Invoking article 352 of the Indian Constitution, Indira granted herself extraordinary powers and launched a massive crackdown on civil liberties and political opposition. The Government cited threats to national security, as a recent war with Pakistan had just been concluded. It claimed that the strikes and protests had paralyzed the government and hurt the economy of the country greatly. In face of massive political opposition, desertion and disorder across the country and the party, Indira stuck to the advice of a few close party loyalists and her younger son Sanjay Gandhi, who had become a close political advisor.

The Government used police forces across the country to arrest thousands of protestors and strike leaders. J.P. Narayan, Raj Narain, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Jivatram Kripalani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani,Satyendra Narayan Sinha and other protest leaders were immediately arrested. Organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and opposition political parties were banned. Numerous Communist leaders were arrested along with many others involved with the party.

Indira attempted to re-write the nation's laws with the help of the Parliament, where the Congress controlled over a two-thirds majority. She felt her powers were not amassing quickly enough, so she utilized the President to issue "extraordinary laws" that bypassed parliament altogether, allowing her to rule by decree. She constructed a 20-point economic program to increase agricultural and industrial production, improve public services and fight poverty and illiteracy. Also, she had little trouble in making amendments to the constitution that exonerated her from any culpability in her election fraud case, declaring President's Rule in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu where anti-Indira parties ruled (state legislatures were thereby dissolved and suspended indefinitely), and jailing thousands of opponents.

One of the consequences of the Emergency era was that the Supreme Court of India ordered that, although the Constitution is subject to amendment (as used by Indira), changes that are ultra vires to its basic structure cannot be made by the Parliament of India.

[edit] Sikh Opposition

With the leaders of all opposition parties and other outspoken critics of her government arrested and behind bars, the entire country was in a state of shock. Shortly after the declaration of the Emergency, the Sikh leadership convened meetings in Amritsar where they resolved to oppose the "fascist tendency of the Congress"[2]. The first mass protest in the country, known as the "Campaign to Save Democracy" was organized by the Akali Dal and launched in Amritsar, July 9. A statement to the press recalled the historic Sikh struggle for freedom under the Mughals, then under the British, and voiced concern that what had been fought for and achieved was being lost. The police were out in force for the demonstration and arrested all those who raised the call of "Sat Sri Akal" (Truth is Undying), including the Shiromani Akali Dal and SGPC leaders.

The Prime Minister seemed genuinely surprised at the strength of the response from the Sikhs. Fearing their defiance might inspire civil disobedience in other parts of the county, she offered to negotiate a deal with the Shiromani Akal Dal that would give it joint control of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The leader of the protests, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal refused to meet with government representatives so long as the Emergency was in effect. In a press interview, he made clear the grounds of the Save Democracy campaign.

"The question before us is not whether Indira Gandhi should continue to be prime minister or not. The point is whether democracy in this country is to survive or not. The democratic structure stands on three pillars, namely a strong opposition, independent judiciary and free press. Emergency has destroyed all these essentials."[3]

While the civil disobedience campaign caught on in some parts of the country, especially at Delhi University, the government's tactics of mass arrests, censorship and intimidation curtailed the oppositions's popularity. After January, the Sikhs remained virtually alone in their active resistance to the regime. Hailed by opposition leaders as "the last bastion of democracy"[4], they continued to come out in large numbers each month on the day of the new moon, symbolizing the dark night of Indian democracy, to court arrest.

According to Amnesty International, 140,000 people had been arrested without trial during the twenty months of Indira Gandhi's Emergency. Of them, 40,000 had come from India's two percent Sikh minority.[5]

[edit] The role of RSS

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which was seen close to opposition leaders, and with its large organizational base was seen potential of organizing protests against the Government, was also banned[6].Police clamped down on the organization and thousands of its workers were imprisoned[7].

The RSS defied the ban and thousands participated in Satyagraha (peaceful protests) against the ban and against the curtailment of fundamental rights. Later, when there was no letup, the volunteers of the RSS formed underground movements for the restoration of democracy. Literature that was censored in the media was clandestinely published and distributed on a large scale and funds were collected for the movement. Networks were established between leaders of different political parties in the jail and outside for the coordination of the movement[8].

'The Economist', London, described the movement as "the only non-left revolutionary force in the world". It said that the movement was "dominated by tens of thousands of RSS cadres, though more and more young recruits are coming". Talking about its objectives it said "its platform at the moment has only one plank: to bring democracy back to India"[9].

[edit] Elections of 1977

See Also: Janata Party, Jaya Prakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, Raj Narain, Nandini Satpathy

On January 23, 1977, Indira Gandhi called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners. Emergency officially ended on March 23, 1977. Here came the undefeated heavyweight political rival of Mrs Gandhi, Raj Narain who won again this time in general elections after getting Mrs Gandhi convicted by High Court of Allahabad for using corrupt practices in 1971 general elections against him. Which later became real cause of imposition of emergency in India. This was a biggest change in political scene post independence,and mightiest blow to Congress in last 30 years.

Janata movement's campaign warned Indians that the elections might be their last chance to choose between "democracy and dictatorship." In the Lok Sabha elections, held in February, Indira and Sanjay both lost their Lok Sabha seats, as did most of their loyal followers. Many Congress Party loyalists deserted Indira, who herself lost her constituency seat. The Congress was reduced to just 153 seats, 92 of which were from four of the southern states. The Janata Party's 295 seats (of a total 542) gave it only a slim majority, but opposition candidates together represented more than two-thirds of the Lok Sabha. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India.

[edit] The Tribunal

The efforts of the Janata administration to try government officials and Congress politicians for Emergency-era abuses and crimes were largely a flop due to a disorganized, over-complex and politically-motivated process of litigation. Although special tribunals were organized and scores of senior Congress Party and government officials arrested and charged, including Indira and Sanjay Gandhi, police were unable to submit sufficient evidence for most cases, and only a few low-level officials were convicted of any abuses.

The people lost interest in the hearings owing to their continuous fumbling and complex nature, and the economic and social needs of the country grew more important to them. An impression was created that corruption and political subversion stalled the process of justice.

[edit] The Debate over its Legacy

Indira's emergency rule lasted 21 months, and its legacy remains intensely controversial.

[edit] Support for Indira's Decisions

The Emergency was endorsed by Vinoba Bhave (who called it Anushasan parva or Time for discipline) and Mother Teresa. Pioneer industrialist J. R. D. Tata, and writer Khushwant Singh were among the other prominent supporters. Some have argued that India badly needed economic recovery after the 1971 Indo-Pak war had strained the exchequer. Indira's 20-point economic program increased agricultural production, manufacturing activity, exports and foreign reserves. The national economy achieved high levels of growth and investment, and as strikes were non-existent, productivity increased rapidly. Communal Hindu-Muslim riots, which had re-surfaced in the 1960s and 70s, virtually ceased, and initially the government seemed to be working with vigour. Police in cities had sweeping powers to destroy gang and syndicate structure

[edit] Charges against the Government

Criticism and Accusations of the Emergency-era may be grouped as:

  • Detention of people by police without charge or notification of families
  • Abuse and torture of detainees and political prisoners
  • Use of public and private media institutions, like the national television network Doordarshan, for propaganda
  • Forced vasectomy of thousands of men under the family planning initiative. Indira's son, Sanjay Gandhi, was blamed for this forcible treatment of people [10].
  • Destruction of the slum and low-income housing in the Turkmen Gate and Jama Masjid area of old Delhi.[citation needed]

The Emergency years were the biggest challenge to India's commitment to democracy, which proved vulnerable to the manipulation of powerful leaders and large parliamentary majorities.

[edit] In Fiction

Writer Rahi Masoom Raza criticized the Emergency through his novel Katra bi Aarzoo, which is the most direct and effective condemnation in Hindi fiction.[11]

The plot of the Indian film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi revolves around the period during which the Indira Gandhi government declared a state of emergency . The film, directed by Sudhir Mishra, also tries to portray the growth of the naxalite movement during the emergency era.

The book A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry takes place during the Emergency and highlights some of the abuses that occurred during that period.

The book Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie has the protagonist Saleem Sinai in India during the Emergency. His home in a low income area called the "magician's ghetto" is destroyed as part of the national beautification program. He is sterilised as part of the vasectomy program. The principal antagonist of the book is the Widow (a likeness that Indira Gandhi sued Rushdie for).

Although Satyajit Ray's 1980 film Hirak Rajar Deshe was a children's comedy, it was a satire on the Emergency.

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Film Adaptations

  • 1988 Malayalam film Piravi is about a father searching for his son Rajan, who had been arrested by Police (and allegedly killed in Custody) accusing as a Naxalite during the Emergency

[edit] References

Text document with red question mark.svg
 This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (March 2009)
  1. ^ "India in 1975: Democracy in Eclipse", ND Palmer - Asian Survey, vol 16 no 5. Opening lines.
  2. ^ J.S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab,(Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990) 213
  3. ^ Gurmit Singh, A History of Sikh Struggles, New Delhi, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 1991, 2:39
  4. ^ Ram Narayan Kumar, Georg Sieberer, The Sikh Struggle: Origin, Evolution and Present Phase, Delhi, Chanakya Publishers, 1991, 250
  5. ^ J.S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab,(Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990) 214; Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography,(London/Toronto, Hodder and Stoughton, 1989) 178
  6. ^ Jaffrelot Christophe, Hindu Nationalism, 1987, 297, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691130981, 9780691130989}}
  7. ^ Chitkara M G, Hindutva, Published by APH Publishing, 1997 ISBN 8170247985, 9788170247982
  8. ^ Post Independence India, Encyclopedia of Political Parties,2002,Published by Anmol Publications PVT. LTD, ISBN 8174888659, 9788174888655
  9. ^ 'The Economist' London, dt.4-12-1976
  10. ^ Gwatkin, Davidson R. 'Political Will and Family Planning: The Implications of India's Emergency Experience', in: Population and Development Review, 5/1, 29-59;
  11. ^ Mathur, O.P. (2004). Indira Gandhi and the emergency as viewed in the Indian novel. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 978-8176254618. 

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emergency_(India)"

Bangladesh Liberation War

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Bangladesh Liberation War
Date 26 March – 16 December 1971
Location East Pakistan
Result • Independence of Bangladesh

• Indian and Mukti bahini victory against Pakistan
Territorial
changes		 East Pakistan secedes to become Bangladesh
Belligerents
Bangladesh Mukti Bahini

India India

  Pakistan
Commanders
Bangladesh General. M A G Osmani
India Lt General Jagjit Singh Aurora
India Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw		 Pakistan Lt General A. A. K. Niazi
Pakistan General Tikka Khan
Strength
Bangladesh Forces: 175,000 [1][2]
India: 250,000 [1]		 Pakistan Army: ~ 450,000[citation needed]

Para Military: ~250,000[3]
Casualties and losses
Bangladesh Forces:Unknown number
India: 1,426 KIA
3,611 Wounded (Official)
1,525 KIA
4,061 Wounded [4]		 Pakistan ~8,000 KIA[citation needed]
~10,000 Wounded[citation needed]
91,000 POWs
(56,694 Armed Forces
12,192 Paramilitary
rest civilians)[4]

[5]
Civilian death toll: Estimates exist between 300,000 and 3,000,000[6]

The Bangladesh Liberation War(i) (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ Muktijuddho) was an armed conflict pitting West Pakistan against East Pakistan (two halves of one country) and India, that resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the independent nation of Bangladesh.

The war broke out on 26 March 1971 as army units directed by West Pakistan launched a military operation in East Pakistan against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, and armed personnel who were demanding separation from West Pakistan. Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians formed the Mukti Bahini (or liberation army) and used guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the West Pakistan army. India provided economic, military and diplomatic support to the Mukti Bahini rebels leading Pakistan to launch Operation Chengiz Khan, a pre-emptive attack on the western border of India which started Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

On 16 December 1971, the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini decisively defeated the (West) Pakistani forces deployed in the East resulting in the largest surrender, in terms of the number of POWs, since World War II.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Background

In August 1947, the Partition of British India gave birth to two new states named India and Pakistan. Pakistan was declared as an Islamic state, India being a secular country with equal rights for citizens from all religions. The new nation of Pakistan included two geographically and culturally separate areas in the east and the west of India. The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. It was widely perceived that West Pakistan dominated politically and exploited the East economically, leading to many grievances.[citation needed]

On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[7] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment[8] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.[9]

The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces[10] led to East Pakistan declaring its independence as the state of Bangladesh and to the start of civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[11][12] flooding into the eastern provinces of India[11]. Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organizing the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.

[edit] East Pakistani grievances

[edit] Economic exploitation

Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget.

Year Spending on West Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Spending on East Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of West
1950–55 1,129 524 46.4
1955–60 1,655 524 31.7
1960–65 3,355 1,404 41.8
1965–70 5,195 2,141 41.2
Total 11,334 4,593 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 (Quick reference: crore = 107, or 10 million)

[edit] Political differences

Although East Pakistan accounted for a majority of the country's population,[13] political power remained firmly in the hands of West Pakistanis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the "One Unit" scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes. Ironically, after the East broke away to form Bangladesh, the Punjab province insisted that politics in West Pakistan now be decided on the basis of a straightforward vote, since Punjabis were more numerous than the other groups, such as Sindhis, Pashtuns, or Balochs.

After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to be concentrated in the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President.

East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy were elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, they were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings.

Historic Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 7 March 1971

The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a Sindhi), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for each wing. The proposal elicited outrage in the east wing, already chafing under the other constitutional innovation, the "one unit scheme". Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nation-wide strike.

On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:

  1. The immediate lifting of martial law.
  2. Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.
  3. An inquiry into the loss of life.
  4. Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March.

He urged "his people" to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, "Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our independence." This speech is considered the main event that inspired the nation to fight for their independence. General Tikka Khan was flown in to Dhaka to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in.

Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dhaka. These "Government Passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress. MV Swat, a ship of the Pakistani Navy, carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harboured in Chittagong Port and the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship. A unit of East Pakistan Rifles refused to obey commands to fire on Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny of Bengali soldiers.

[edit] Military imbalance

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.[14] 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.[14] 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.[15][16]

[edit] Language controversy

Main article: Bengali Language Movement

In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor-General, declared in Dhaka (then usually spelled Dacca in English) that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the sole official language for all of Pakistan.[17] This proved highly controversial, since Urdu was a language that was only spoken in the West by Muhajirs and in the East by Biharis. The majority groups in West Pakistan spoke Punjabi, while the Bengali language was spoken by the vast majority of East Pakistanis.[18] The language controversy eventually reached a point where East Pakistan revolted. Several students and civilians lost their lives in a police crackdown on 21 February 1952.[18] The day is revered in Bangladesh and in West Bengal as the Language Martyrs' Day. Later, in memory of the 1952 killings, UNESCO declared 21 February as the International Mother Language Day in 1999.[19]

In West Pakistan, the movement was seen as a sectional uprising against Pakistani national interests[20] and the founding ideology of Pakistan, the Two-Nation Theory.[21] West Pakistani politicians considered Urdu a product of Indian Islamic culture,[22] as Ayub Khan said, as late as in 1967, "East Bengalis... still are under considerable Hindu culture and influence."[22] But, the deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.[21][22]

[edit] 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,[23] 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.[24] A week after the landfall, President Khan conceded that his government had made "slips" and "mistakes" in its handling of the relief efforts for a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.[25]

A statement released by eleven political leaders in East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with "gross neglect, callous indifference and utter indifference". They also accused the president of playing down the magnitude of the problem in news coverage.[26] On 19 November, students held a march in Dhaka protesting the slowness of the government response.[27] Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50,000 people on 24 November, where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation.

As the conflict between East and West Pakistan developed in March, the Dhaka offices of the two government organisations directly involved in relief efforts were closed for at least two weeks, first by a general strike and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the Awami League. With this increase in tension, foreign personnel were evacuated due to fears of violence. Relief work continued in the field, but long-term planning was curtailed.[28] This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This is one of the first times that a natural event helped to trigger a civil war.[29]

[edit] Operation Searchlight

Main article: Operation Searchlight

A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army — codenamed Operation Searchlight — started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement[30] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,[31] within one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.[32]

The main phase of Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali hands in mid-May. The operation also began the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, which ultimately resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. The international media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which vary greatly, from 5,000–35,000 in Dhaka, and 200,000–3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole.[6][33]

According to the Asia Times,[34]

At a meeting of the military top brass, Yahya Khan declared: "Kill 3 million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands." Accordingly, on the night of 25 March, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight to "crush" Bengali resistance in which Bengali members of military services were disarmed and killed, students and the intelligentsia systematically liquidated and able-bodied Bengali males just picked up and gunned down.

Although the violence focused on the provincial capital, Dhaka, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the University of Dhaka were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall — the Jagannath Hall — was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered. The Pakistani army denies any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamood-ur-Rehman commission in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used at the university. This fact and the massacre at Jagannath Hall and nearby student dormitories of Dhaka University are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Prof. Nurul Ullah of the East Pakistan Engineering University, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories. [35]

Hindu areas suffered particularly heavy blows. By midnight, Dhaka was literally burning,[citation needed] especially the Hindu dominated eastern part of the city. Time magazine reported on 2 August 1971, "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Pakistani military hatred."

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Mujib with multiple charges. The tribunal's sentence was never made public, but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case.[citation needed] Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dhaka to avoid arrest. The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan.

[edit] Declaration of independence

The violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces on 25 March 1971, proved the last straw to the efforts to negotiate a settlement. Following these outrages, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official declaration that read:

Today Bangladesh is a sovereign and independent country. On Thursday night, West Pakistani armed forces suddenly attacked the police barracks at Razarbagh and the EPR headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka. Many innocent and unarmed have been killed in Dhaka city and other places of Bangladesh. Violent clashes between E.P.R. and Police on the one hand and the armed forces of Pakistan on the other, are going on. The Bengalis are fighting the enemy with great courage for an independent Bangladesh. May Allah aid us in our fight for freedom. Joy[36] Bangla.[37]

Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message.[38] Mujib was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 at about 1:30 a.m. (as per Radio Pakistan's news on 29 March 1971).

A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in Chittagong. The message was translated to Bangla by Dr. Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Radio Pakistan. They crossed Kalurghat Bridge into an area controlled by an East Bengal Regiment under Major Ziaur Rahman. Bengali soldiers guarded the station as engineers prepared for transmission. At 19:45 hrs on 27 March 1971, Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur. On 28 March Major Ziaur Rahman made another announcement,which is as follows:

This is Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. At his direction, I have taken command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalis to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our Motherland. By the grace of Allah, victory is ours. Joy Bangla. Audio of Zia's announcement (interview - Belal Mohammed)

The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited. The message was picked up by a Japanese ship in Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia and later by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

M A Hannan, an Awami League leader from Chittagong, is said to have made the first announcement of the declaration of independence over the radio on 26 March 1971[39]. There is controversy now as to when Major Zia gave his speech. BNP sources maintain that it was 26 March, and there was no message regarding declaration of independence from Mujibur Rahman. Pakistani sources, like Siddiq Salik in Witness to Surrender had written that he heard about Mujibor Rahman's message on the Radio while Operation Searchlight was going on, and Maj. Gen. Hakeem A. Qureshi in his book The 1971 Indo-Pak War: A Soldier's Narrative, gives the date of Zia's speech as 27 March 1971[40].

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

[edit] Liberation war

Main article: Bangladesh War timeline

[edit] March to June

Leaflets and pamphlets played an important role in driving public opinion during the war.
See also: Mukti Bahini

At first resistance was spontaneous and disorganized, and was not expected to be prolonged.[42] But when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The Mukti Bahini became increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India. Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganizing their forces. They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (who were mostly members of Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time of partition. The Bangladesh government-in-exile was formed on 17 April at Mujib Nagar.

[edit] June – September

The eleven sectors
See also: List of sectors in Bangladesh Liberation War

Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M A G Osmani as commander in chief, Lt. Col. Abdur Rab as chief of Army Staff and Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Force. Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors each with a commander chosen from defected officers of Pakistan army who joined the Mukti Bahini to conduct guerrilla operations and train fighters. Most of their training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with assistance from India. The 10th Sector was directly placed under Commander in Chief (C-in-C) and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C's special force.[43] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated 100,000) was trained.

Guerrilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August. Economic and military targets in Dhaka were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong on 16 August 1971. Pakistani reprisals claimed lives of thousands of civilians. The Indian army took over supplying the Mukti Bahini from the BSF. They organised six sectors for supplying the Bangladesh forces.

[edit] October – December

Also See: Pakistan Army Order of Battle December 1971 and Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971
Bangladesh conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 BOPs fell to Bengali forces. Guerrilla attacks intensified, as did Pakistani and Razakar reprisals on civilian populations. Pakistani forces were reinforced by eight battalions from West Pakistan. The Bangladeshi independence fighters even managed to temporarily capture airstrips at Lalmonirhat and Shalutikar.[44] Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent 5 battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.

[edit] Indian involvement

Illustration showing military units and troop movements during the war.
See also: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Major battles

Wary of the growing involvement of India, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a pre-emptive strike on India. The attack was modelled on the Israeli Air Force's Operation Focus during the Six-Day War. However, the plan failed to achieve the desired success and was seen as an open act of unprovoked aggression against the Indians.

Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi declared war on Pakistan and in aid of the Mukti Bahini, then ordered the immediate mobilisation of troops and launched the full-scale invasion. This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War.

Three Indian corps were involved in the invasion of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more fighting irregularly. This was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions[45]. The Indians quickly overran the country, bypassing heavily defended strongholds. Pakistani forces were unable to effectively counter the Indian attack, as they had been deployed in small units around the border to counter guerrilla attacks by the Mukti Bahini.[46] Unable to defend Dhaka, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971.

The speed of the Indian strategy can be gauged by the fact that one of the regiments of Indian army (7 Punjab now 8 Mechanised Inf Regiment) fought the liberation war along the Jessore and Khulna axis. They were newly converted to a mechanised regiment and it took them just 1 week to reach Khulna after capturing Jessore. Their losses were limited to just 2 newly acquired APCs (SKOT) from the Russians.

Indian Army's T-55 tanks on their way to Dhaka. India's military intervention played a crucial role in turning the tide in favour of the Bangladeshi rebels.

India's external intelligence agency, the R&AW, played a crucial role in providing logistic support to the Mukti Bahini during the initial stages of the war. R&AW's operations, in then-East Pakistan, was the largest covert operation in the history of South Asia.

[edit] Pakistani response

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

[edit] The air and naval war

The Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan, and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. It achieved near-total air supremacy by the end of the first week as the entire Pakistani air contingent in the east, PAF No.14 Squadron, was grounded due to Indian airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lal Munir Hat and Shamsher Nagar. Sea Hawks from INS Vikrant also struck Chittagong, Barisal, 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 Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably Operation Jackpot.

[edit] Surrender and aftermath

Pakistan's Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi signs the instrument of surrender on 16 December, surrendering his forces to Lt. Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora commanding the Mitro Bahini (Allies).
Indian Lt. Gen J.S. Aurora and Pakistani Lt. Gen A.A.K. Niazi's signatures on the Instrument of Surrender.

On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi, CO of Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan signed the instrument of surrender. At the time of surrender only a few countries had provided diplomatic recognition to the new nation. Over 90,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces making it largest surrender since World War 2 Bangladesh sought admission in the UN with most voting in its favor, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.[47] However, the United States was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.[48] To ensure a smooth transition, in 1972 the Simla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan. The treaty ensured that Pakistan recognized 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[49]. It released more than 90,000 Pakistani PoWs in five months[50].

Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India. The accord also gave back more than 13,000 km² of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas;[51] most notably Kargil (which would in turn again be the focal point for a war between the two nations in 1999). This was done as a measure of promoting "lasting peace" and was acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India. But some in India felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for leniency, arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being overly harsh by Pakistanis.

[edit] Reaction in West Pakistan to the war

Reaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and civilians alike. No one had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight and there was also anger at what was perceived as a meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan. Yahya Khan's dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto who took the opportunity to rise to power. General Niazi, who surrendered along with 93,000 troops, was viewed with suspicion and hatred upon his return to Pakistan. He was shunned and branded a traitor. The war also exposed the shortcoming of Pakistan's declared strategic doctrine that the "defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan".[52] Pakistan also failed to gather international support, and were found fighting a lone battle with only the USA providing any external help. This further embittered the Pakistanis who had faced the worst military defeat of an army in decades.

The debacle immediately prompted an enquiry headed by Justice Hamdoor Rahman. Called the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, it was initially suppressed by Bhutto as it put the military in poor light. When it was declassified, it showed many failings from the strategic to the tactical levels. It also condemned the atrocities and the war crimes committed by the armed forces. It confirmed the looting, rapes and the killings by the Pakistan Army and their local agents although the figures are far lower than the ones quoted by Bangladesh. According to Bangladeshi sources, 20,000 women were raped and over 3 million people were killed, while the Rahman Commission report in Pakistan claimed 26,000 died and the rapes were in the hundreds. However, the army's role in splintering Pakistan after its greatest military debacle was largely ignored by successive Pakistani governments.

[edit] Atrocities

Main article: 1971 Bangladesh atrocities

During the war there were widespread killings and other atrocities – including the displacement of civilians in Bangladesh (East Pakistan at the time) and widespread violations of human rights – carried out by the Pakistan Army with support from political and religious militias began with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971.

Bangladeshi authorities claim that three million people were killed,[6] while the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, an official Pakistan Government investigation, put the figure as low as 26,000 civilian casualties.[53] The international media and reference books in English have also published figures which vary greatly from 200,000 to 3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole.[6] A further eight to ten million people fled the country to seek safety in India.[54]

Rayerbazar killing field photographed immediately after the war, showing dead bodies of intellectuals (Image courtesy: Rashid Talukdar, 1971)

A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,[55] at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.[56] Just 2 days before the surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and Razakar militia (local collaborators) picked up at least 100 to 300 physicians, professors, writers and engineers in Dhaka, and executed them, leaving the dead bodies in a mass grave.[57]. There are many mass graves in Bangladesh, and more are continually being discovered (such as one in an old well near a mosque in Dhaka, located in the non-Bengali region of the city, which was discovered in August 1999).[58] The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dhaka to the United States State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dhaka University and other civilians.[59]

Numerous women were tortured, raped and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate. Bangladeshi sources cite a figure of 200,000 women raped, giving birth to thousands of war babies. The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex-slaves inside the Dhaka Cantonment. Most of the girls were captured from Dhaka University and private homes.[60]

There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,[61] but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.[62]

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 centers in Dhaka and India, and officials in Washington DC.[63] These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms selective genocide[64] and genocide (see The Blood Telegram) to describe events they had knowledge of at the time. Genocide is the term that is still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh.[65][66], although elsewhere, particularly in Pakistan, the actual death toll, motives, extent, and destructive impact of the actions of the Pakistani forces are disputed.

[edit] Foreign reaction

[edit] USA and USSR

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

The Nixon administration provided support to Pakistan President Yahya Khan during the turmoil.

Nixon and Henry Kissinger feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and where he intended to visit in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China. In order to demonstrate to China the bona fides of the United States as an ally, and in direct violation of the US Congress-imposed sanctions on Pakistan, Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan and routed them through Jordan and Iran,[67] while also encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan.

The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the genocidal activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably the Blood telegram.

The Soviet Union had supported 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. It gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, the USSR would take counter-measures. 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.

[edit] China

As a long-standing ally of Pakistan, the People's Republic of China reacted with alarm to the evolving situation in East Pakistan and the prospect of India invading West Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Believing that just such an Indian attack was imminent, Nixon encouraged China to mobilize its armed forces along its border with India to discourage such an eventuality; the Chinese did not, however, respond in this manner and instead threw their weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire. China did, however, continue to supply Pakistan with arms and aid. It is believed that had China taken action against India to protect West Pakistan then the Soviet Union would have taken military action against China. One Pakistani writer has speculated that China chose not to attack India because Himalayan passes were snowbound in the wintry months of November and December.[68]

[edit] United Nations

Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations, it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war. The Security Council assembled on 4 December to discuss the volatile situation in South Asia. USSR vetoed the resolution twice. After lengthy discussions on 7 December, the General Assembly promptly adopted by a majority resolution calling for an "immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops." The United States on 12 December requested that the Security Council be reconvened. However, by the time it was reconvened and proposals were finalised, the war had ended, making the measures merely academic.

The inaction of the United Nations in face of the East Pakistan crisis was widely criticized. The conflict also exposed the delay in decision making that failed to address the underlying issues in time.

[edit] Nomenclature

This conflict is referred to by many different names, some of which carry political connotations:

"Bangladesh War" is a common name for this conflict, but this term is also used for the eastern front of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 war, and is generally understood to be coterminous with The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (see below).

"Bangladesh War of Independence" is the most commonly used name outside of the Indian subcontinent. It is a common name formally used to describe many other successful secessionist wars (see list of War of Independence).

"Bangladesh Liberation War" (Mukti Judhho in Bangla) is officially used in Bangladesh by all sources and by Indian official sources. The proponents claim that having won 167 out of 169 seats of East Pakistan, the Awami League had a popular mandate to form a democratic government, and this gave Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, as the leader of the party, the right to declare independence of the country. In Bangladeshi eyes, since Major Ziaur Rahman claimed independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, an independent Bangladeshi government was in existence as early as 26 March 1971, and therefore the war was fought by this government for the liberation of its territory.

This nomenclature is politically preferred by both India and Bangladesh for a few reasons:

  • It gave India the right to enter the war in support of Bangladesh without breaching United Nations laws that prevent countries from interfering with other countries' internal affairs.
  • Members of East Bengal Regiment were able to fight Pakistan Army without being treated as mutineers since they were fighting under command of a Bangladeshi Government.
  • It eased Indian diplomatic efforts to gain support for the recognition of Bangladesh as a country.

"Pakistani Civil War" describes either the period of March 26, 1971 to December 16, 1971 or the period of March 26, 1971 to December 3, 1971. However, it is rejected by Bangladeshis who dislike the association with an internal struggle of the state of Pakistan.

"Indo-Pakistani War of 1971" is most commonly used to describe the period between December 3, 1971 and December 16, 1971. The Indian Army does not explicitly use the term to describe the war in their Eastern Front at any point. Instead, India only refers to the war on the Western Front as the Indo-Pakistani War. (Note that the Indian Parliament recognized the People's Republic of Bangladesh as an independent country on the 6 December 1971.)

The proponents of this terminology also question validity of the declaration of Bangladeshi independence since there was no foreign government that acknowledged the independence; thus the war was effectively between Indian Army and Pakistan Army.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b India - Pakistan War, 1971; Introduction - Tom Cooper, Khan Syed Shaiz Ali
  2. ^ Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway By Owen Bennett-Jones, Lindsay Brown, John Mock, Sarina Singh, Pg 30</
  3. ^ p442 Indian Army after Independence by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 [ISBN 81-7062-014-7]
  4. ^ a b Figures from The Fall of Dacca by Jagjit Singh Aurora in The Illustrated Weekly of India dated 23 December 1973 quoted in Indian Army after Independence by KC Pravel: Lancer 1987 [ISBN 81-7062-014-7]
  5. ^ Figure from Pakistani Prisioners 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]
  6. ^ a b c d Matthew White's Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century
  7. ^ Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971. Gendercide Watch.
  8. ^ Emerging Discontent, 1966-70. Country Studies Bangladesh
  9. ^ Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971: Military Action: Operation Searchlight Bose S Economic and Political Weekly Special Articles, 8 October 2005
  10. ^ The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored , Syndicated Column by Sydney Schanberg, New York Times, 3 May 1994
  11. ^ a b Crisis in South Asia - A report by Senator Edward Kennedy to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1 November 1971, U.S. Govt. Press.pp6-7
  12. ^ India and Pakistan: Over the Edge. TIME 13 December 1971 Vol. 98 No. 24
  13. ^ Sayeed, Khalid B. (1967). The Political System of Pakistan. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 61. 
  14. ^ a b Library of Congress studies
  15. ^ Demons of December — Road from East Pakistan to Bangladesh
  16. ^ Rounaq Jahan (1972). Pakistan: Failure in National Integration. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03625-6.  Pg 166-167
  17. ^ Al Helal, Bashir, Language Movement, Banglapedia
  18. ^ a b "Language Movement" (PHP). Banglapedia - The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. http://banglapedia.net/HT/L_0063.HTM. Retrieved 2007-02-06. 
  19. ^ "International Mother Language Day - Background and Adoption of the Resolution". Government of Bangladesh. http://www.pmo.gov.bd/21february/imld_back.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 
  20. ^ Rahman, Tariq (September 1997). "Language and Ethnicity in Pakistan". Asian Survey 37 (9): 833–839. doi:10.1525/as.1997.37.9.01p02786. ISSN 0004-4687. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-4687(199709)37%3A9%3C833%3ALAEIP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 
  21. ^ a b Rahman, Tariq (1997). "The Medium of Instruction Controversy in Pakistan" (PDF). Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 18 (2): 145–154. doi:10.1080/01434639708666310. ISSN 0143-4632. http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/018/0145/jmmd0180145.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 
  22. ^ a b c Oldenburg, Philip (August 1985). ""A Place Insufficiently Imagined": Language, Belief, and the Pakistan Crisis of 1971". The Journal of Asian Studies 44 (4): 711–733. doi:10.2307/2056443. ISSN 0021-9118. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9118(198508)44%3A4%3C711%3A%22PIILB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 
  23. ^ India Meteorological Department (1970). "Annual Summary - Storms & Depressions" (PDF). India Weather Review 1970. pp. 10-11. http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd024_pdf/005ED281.pdf#page=10. Retrieved 2007-04-15. 
  24. ^ Kabir, M. M.; Saha B. C.; Hye, J. M. A.. "Cyclonic Storm Surge Modelling for Design of Coastal Polder" (PDF). Institute of Water Modelling. http://www.iwmbd.org/html/PUBS/publications/P024.PDF. Retrieved 2007-04-15. 
  25. ^ Schanberg, Sydney (1970-11-22). "Yahya Condedes 'Slips' In Relief". New York Times. 
  26. ^ Staff writer (1970-11-23). "East Pakistani Leaders Assail Yahya on Cyclone Relief". New York Times (Reuters). 
  27. ^ Staff writer (1970-11-18). "Copter Shortage Balks Cyclone Aid". New York Times. 
  28. ^ Durdin, Tillman (1971-03-11). "Pakistanis Crisis Virtually Halts Rehabilitation Work In Cyclone Region". New York Times. 
  29. ^ Olson, Richard (2005-02-21). "A Critical Juncture Analysis, 1964-2003" (PDF). USAID. http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/publications/ofda_cjanalysis_02_21-2005.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-15. 
  30. ^ Sarmila Bose Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971: Military Action: Operation Searchlight Economic and Political Weekly Special Articles, 8 October 2005
  31. ^ Salik, Siddiq, Witness To Surrender, p63, p228-9 id = ISBN 9-840-51373-7
  32. ^ From Deterrence and Coercive Diplomacy to War - The 1971 Crisis in South Asia. Asif Siddiqui, Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.4 No.1, 1997. 12. pp 73-92.
  33. ^ Virtual Bangladesh : History : The Bangali Genocide, 1971
  34. ^ Debasish Roy Chowdhury (2005-06-23). "'Indians are bastards anyway'". Asia Times. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF23Df04.html. 
  35. ^ Malik, Amita (1972). The Year of the Vulture. New Delhi: Orient Longmans. pp. 79–83. ISBN 0804688176. 
  36. ^ "Joy" is Bengali Word that means win
  37. ^ J. S. Gupta The History of the Liberation Movement in Bangladesh Page ??
  38. ^ The Daily Star, 26 March 2005 Article not specified
  39. ^ Virtual Bangladesh
  40. ^ Annex M (Oxford University Press, 2002 ISBN 0-19-579778-7)
  41. ^ India, Pakistan, and the United States: Breaking with the Past By Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli ISBN 0-87609-199-0, 1997, Council on Foreign Relations. pp 37
  42. ^ Pakistan Defence Journal, 1977, Vol 2, p2-3
  43. ^ Bangladesh Liberation Armed Force, Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh.
  44. ^ India - Pakistan War, 1971; Introduction By Tom Cooper, with Khan Syed Shaiz Ali
  45. ^ Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born
  46. ^ Indian Army after Independence by Maj KC Praval 1993 Lancer p317 ISBN 1-897829-45-0
  47. ^ Section 9. Situation in the Indian Subcontinent, 2. Bangladesh's international position - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
  48. ^ Guess who's coming to dinner Naeem Bangali
  49. ^ http://www.sacw.net/article524.html
  50. ^ 54 Indian PoWs of 1971 war still in Pakistan - Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
  51. ^ The Simla Agreement 1972 - Story of Pakistan
  52. ^ Defencejournal, Redefining security imperatives by M Sharif - Article in Jang newspaper, General Niazi's Failure in High Command
  53. ^ Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report, chapter 2, paragraph 33
  54. ^ Rummel, Rudolph J., "Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900", ISBN 3-8258-4010-7, Chapter 8, Table 8.2 Pakistan Genocide in Bangladesh Estimates, Sources, and Calcualtions: lowest estimate two million claimed by Pakistan (reported by Aziz, Qutubuddin. Blood and tears Karachi: United Press of Pakistan, 1974. pp. 74,226), all the other sources used by Rummel suggest a figure of between 8 and 10 million with one (Johnson, B. L. C. Bangladesh. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1975. pp. 73,75) that "could have been" 12 million.
  55. ^ Many of the eyewitness accounts of relations that were picked up by "Al Badr" forces describe them as Bengali men. The only survivor of the Rayerbazar killings describes the captors and killers of Bengali professionals as fellow Bengalis. See 37 Dilawar Hossain, account reproduced in 'Ekattorer Ghatok-dalalera ke Kothay' (Muktijuddha Chetona Bikash Kendro, Dhaka, 1989)
  56. ^ Asadullah Khan The loss continues to haunt us in The Daily Star 14 December 2005
  57. ^ "125 Slain in Dacca Area, Believed Elite of Bengal". New York Times (New York, NY, USA): p. 1. 19 December 1971. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C13F83C5E127A93CBA81789D95F458785F9. Retrieved 2008-01-04. "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." 
  58. ^ DPA report Mass grave found in Bangladesh in The Chandigarh Tribune 8 August 1999
  59. ^ Sajit Gandhi The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971 National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 79 16 December 2002
  60. ^ East Pakistan: Even the Skies Weep, Time Magazine, 25 October 1971.
  61. ^ U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep: Army Terror Campaign Continues in Dacca; Evidence Military Faces Some Difficulties Elsewhere, 31 March 1971, Confidential, 3 pp
  62. ^ Sen, Sumit (1999). "Stateless Refugees and the Right to Return: the Bihari Refugees of South Asia, Part 1" (PDF). International Journal of Refugee Law 11 (4): 625–645. doi:10.1093/ijrl/11.4.625. http://ijrl.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/11/4/625.pdf. Retrieved 2006-10-20. 
  63. ^ Gandhi, Sajit, ed. (16 December 2002), The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971: National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 79
  64. ^ U.S. Consulate in Dacca (27 March 1971), Selective genocide, Cable (PDF)
  65. ^ Editorial "The Jamaat Talks Back" in The Bangladesh Observer 30 December 2005
  66. ^ Dr. N. Rabbee "Remembering a Martyr" Star weekend Magazine, The Daily Star 16 December 2005
  67. ^ Shalom, Stephen R., The Men Behind Yahya in the Indo-Pak War of 1971
  68. ^ The Pakistan Army From 1965 to 1971 Analysis and reappraisal after the 1965 War by Maj (Retd) Agha Humayun Amin

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

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

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Liberation_War"

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