Victory Day (विजय दिवस) 


 

                      

We all know that India won the 1971 war. Very few know that it was fought for betterment for the people living in neighboring country, to save them from injustice. As the British colonial rule ended in 1947, Bengalis were once again shackled, this time by West Pakistan.

But the people of the then East Pakistan soon found a champion for their cause in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who would go on to deliver on his promise to break the chains of West Pakistani oppression.

As the discontent simmered after over two decades of West Pakistani rule, the Pakistan Army swooped down on the unarmed innocent Bengalis on the night of Mar 25, 1971 to crush their struggle for freedom.

But Bangabandhu, the undisputed leader of the Bengalis, had effectively announced the nation’s independence at the historic Mar 7 rally at the Racecourse grounds, when he proclaimed in a thundering voice: “This time the struggle is for our freedom. This time the struggle is for our independence.”

Bengalis put up a valiant resistance and snatched victory on Dec 16 after nine months of Liberation War. 

 This war stood 13 days from 3rd December to 16th December, 1971

The Belligerents of the war:

Pakistani Armed Forces

Indian Armed forces

 

Mukti Bahini (Bangladeshi Natives)

Supported By/ Aided By

UK

Soviet Union (now Russia)

USA

 

 

The main Causes for this war were:

1.      Militarism
The rise of military power in west Pakistan led to the rise of war mongering thoughts and supremacist thinking. Pakistani army was more interested in purchasing arms and ammunition that expenditure on education.

2.      Alliances
In 1971, Pakistan didn’t had any distinctively mentioned alliance or defense treaty with US, UK, China, still Pakistan was able to receive major aids from the west. PNS Gazi was one such aid. Pakistan was well assured of its global position that it is more powerful than India.

3.      Racial Discrimination

The Pakistani army considered Bangladeshis inferior and weaker to them. Despite of sweeping election results (167/169), the east Pakistanis were denied of their democratic rights, due to provoke a feeling that east Pakistanis are unworthy of ruling.

 

4.      Refugee Problem

Many persecuted Bengalis and Hindus were crossing borders and taking refugee in India to avoid the inhuman suffering and atrocities that were taking place in East Pakistan. India had to intervene in the matter to stop this migration.

The war

The Indian campaign's "blitzkrieg" techniques exploited weaknesses in the Pakistani positions and bypassed opposition; this resulted in a swift victory.[137]: 802  Faced with insurmountable losses, the Pakistani military capitulated in less than a fortnight and psychological panic spread in the Eastern Command's military leadership.[137]: 802  Subsequently, the Indian Army encircled Dacca and issued an ultimatum to surrender in "30-minutes" time window on 16 December 1971.[138] Upon hearing the ultimatum, the East-Pakistan government collapsed when the Lt-Gen. A.A.K. Niazi (Cdr. of Eastern Command) and his deputy, V-Adm. M.S. Khan, surrendered without offering any resistance.[136] Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niyazi, the martial law administrator of the then East Pakistan, signed the official document of surrender sitting next to Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, the joint commander of Indian forces and the Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh, at the Ramna Race Course ground, now Suhrawardy Udyan.

On 16 December 1971, Pakistan ultimately called for unilateral ceasefire and surrendered its entire four-tier military to the Indian Army– hence ending the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.

On the ground, Pakistan suffered the most, with 8,000 killed and 25,000 wounded, while India only had 3,000 dead and 12,000 wounded.[28] The loss of armoured vehicles was similarly imbalanced and this finally represented a major defeat for Pakistan.
This Surrender of 90,368 personnel was the largest since WW2.


Fig : Instrument of Surrender signed by Lt. Gen A A K Niazi to Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Arora


Fig: MuktiBahini in their first day of freedom.

Aftermath

·         A new independent democratic country was formed. Bengali language got it’s recognition.

·         The war stripped Pakistan of more than half of its population, and with nearly one-third of its army in captivity

·         Clear Indian dominance of India over Indian Ocean and political dominance in the subcontinent.

·         For bravery, soldiers and officers on both sides were awarded the highest gallantry award of their respective countries. Following is a list of the recipients of the Indian award Param Vir Chakra

            Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra:[247][248]

·          Lance Naik Albert Ekka (Posthumously)

·         Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon (Posthumously)

·         Major Hoshiar Singh

·         Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal (Posthumously)

 

 

 The Vijay Diwas symbolises the strong bonds of friendship between India and Bangladesh which is made eternal by the shared sacrifices of Muktijoddhas and Indian soldiers who shed their blood to liberate Bangladesh from oppression and atrocities. 

India always helps its neighboring countries in times of grave peril. From ages India has fought against injustice, even if it the mighty Ravan. In the wartime, the most difficult thing is to respect your ethics and values. On 16th Dec 1971, India had the whole Bangladesh under her control. India sided with morals and helped Bangladesh in establishment of their SWARAJYA, this is in true terms a victory of traditional Indian ethics for INDIA.

 


-          By Prajwal Kumbhar

 

References

-          Wikipedia: 1971 war

-          Indian government press notes dt 16/12/2022

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