Bangladesh Liberation War Date26 March – 16 December 1971 (8 months, 2 weeks and 2 days) Location East Pakistanand the Bay of Bengal ResultLiberation and independence of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh *.Collapse of the Pakistan Eastern Military Command *.Victory of Bangladesh-India Allied Forces Territorial changes East Pakistansecedes to become independent Bangladesh Belligerents Bangladesh *. Mukti Bahini India(joins the war on 3 December 1971) [ 1 ] Pakistan *. Pakistan Armed Forces Paramilitary Forces : *. Jamaat-e-Islami *. Shanti committee *. Razakars *. Al-Badr *. Al-Shams Commanders and leaders Bangladesh M. A. G. Osmani BangladeshK. M. Shafiullah Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bangladesh Khaled Mosharraf J.S. Aurora Sam Manekshaw Sagat Singh J. F. R. Jacob A.A.K. Niazi (POW) Tikka Khan Abdul Hamid Khan Mohammad Shariff (POW) Patrick D. Callaghan Enamul Huq Khadim Hossein Raja Rao Farman Ali (POW) A. O. Mitha Mohd Jamshed (POW) Jahanzeb Arbab Ghulam Azam( Shanti committee) Motiur Rahman Nizami( Al-Badr) Strength Bangladesh Forces: 175,000 [ 2 ] [ 3 ] India: 250,000 [ 2 ] Pakistan Armed Forces: ~ 365,000 (90,000 in East Pakistan) [ 2 ] Paramilitary forces: ~250,000 [ 4 ] Casualties and losses Bangladesh Forces:30,000 India:1,426 KIA 3,611 Wounded (Official) 1,525 KIA 4,061 Wounded [ 5 ]Pakistan ~8,000 KIA[ citation needed] ~10,000 WIA[ citation needed] 93,000 [ 6 ] POWs (56,694 Armed Forces 12,192 Paramilitary rest civilians) [ 5 ] [ 7 ] Civilian death toll: Estimated between 300,000 [ 8 ]and 3,000,000 [ 9 ] TheBangladesh Liberation War [ a ]( Bengali:মুক্তিযুদ্ধMuktijuddho) was a revolutionary independence warin South Asia during 1971 which established the republic of Bangladesh. [ 13 ]The war pitted East Pakistan(later joined by India) against West Pakistan, and lasted over a duration of nine months. It witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the displacement of 30 million people. [ 14 ] The war broke out on 26 March 1971, when the Pakistani Armylaunched a military operation called Operation Searchlightagainst Bengalicivilians, students, intelligentsiaand armed personnel, who were demanding that the Pakistani military junta accept the results of the 1970 first democratic elections of Pakistan, which were won by an eastern party, or to allow separation between East and West Pakistan. Bengali politicians and army officers announced the declaration of Bangladeshs independencein response to Operation Searchlight. Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians formed the as 1967, East Pakistanis... still are under considerable Hindu culture and influence. [ 37 ]However, the deaths led to bitter feelings among East Bengalis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence in 1971. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] Disparities Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget. YearSpending on West Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees)Spending on East Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees)Amount spent on East as percentage of West 1950–5511,2905,24046.4 1955–6016,5505,24031.7 1960–6533,55014,04041.8 1965–7051,95021,41041.2 Total113,34045,93040.5 Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan. 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. [ 38 ]West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not martially inclined unlike Pashtunsand Punjabis; the Martial Races notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis. [ 38 ]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 1965over Kashmiralso highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis, as only an under-strength infantrydivision and 15 combat aircraftwithout tank support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliations during the conflict. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] Political differences Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the countrys population, [ 41 ]political power remained in the hands of West Pakistanis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the One Unit scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wings votes.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 06:59:20 +0000
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