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Bangladesh Liberation War 1971
Daily Current Affairs and
27 Apr 2021 7 min read Editorials

Daily Mains Answer Writing

Tags: GS Paper - 2 India and its Neighbourhood Practice

Effect of Policies & Politics of Countries on India's Interests Bilateral Groupings & Agreements
Practice Quiz

 Prepare For State PCS

This article is based on “Endeavour, leadership and the story of a nation” Summary of Important Reports
which was published in The Hindu on 26/04/2021. It talks about the
significance of the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971.


Archives by Date
The year 2021 marks the golden jubilee of the Muktijuddho or the Liberation
War. Bangladesh’s Independence in 1971 not only gave Bangladesh its
 Date From Date To
freedom from the clutches of oppressive East Pakistan but changed the
history and geopolitical scenario of South Asia. Go

Oppressive military action by the then west Pakistan’s military led to a
massive refugee and humanitarian crisis. The plight of the ten million
 refugees did have an impact on the Indian government and prompted it to
Archives by Month & Year
launch a retaliatory action against Pakistan.
 2024 January
However, India’s intervention was not only altruistic in nature, but was
primarily based on realpolitik.
Go

Bangladesh Liberation War 1971: Background

Political Imbalance: In the 1950s the centralised Pakistani state was
run undemocratically by a military-bureaucratic oligarchy dominated What’s New
 at s e
by West Pakistan.

Under this system, Bengalis had no political say. But West August 2024: Week-1 Quiz
04 Aug 2024
Pakistan dominance was challenged in 1970 during general
elections.
Editorial Quiz (2nd August 2024)
03 Aug 2024
Landslide Victory of Awami League: East Pakistan' Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman’s Awami League had a clear overall majority, enough to Editorial on Reimagining Biodiversity
 become the prime minister. Conservation in India
02 Aug 2024
However, west Pakistan was not willing to let a leader from its
 eastern provincial wing rule the country. Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme-Article
02 Aug 2024
Cultural Differences: The then West Pakistan (present Pakistan),
under the leadership of Yahya Khan, started a brutal assault on the Editorial Quiz (1st August 2024)
02 Aug 2024
people of East Pakistan (present Bangladesh) who were demanding
 freedom because of the language and cultural differences between
Sansad TV Vishesh: SDG Report 2023-
the two regions. 24
01 Aug 2024
 After political negotiations failed, the Pakistani army under
General Yahya Khan decided to start the crackdown. Editorial Quiz (31st July 2024)
01 Aug 2024

Operation Searchlight: West Pakistan kicked in operation searchlight
across the whole of East Pakistan on March 26, 1971. Mains Practice Question (GS paper 4) -
"The greatness of a nation and its
 moral progress can be judged by the
This resulted in millions of Bangladeshis fleeing to India, mainly way its animals are treated..."
West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. 01 Aug 2024

West Bengal, in particular, was massively burdened by the onrush
Editorial on India's Elderly at the
of the refugees and the state appealed to the then Prime Minister Crossroads
Indira Gandhi and her government for assistance for food and 31 Jul 2024

shelter.
India's Lithium Mining Challenges-
Article
Indo-Bangla Cooperation: With the subsequent bravery of the Indian
31 Jul 2024
 31 Jul 2024
Army coupled with the spirited fight put up by Mukti Bahini — the
Bangladeshi guerilla resistance movement consisting of the
Bangladeshi military, paramilitary and civilians — defeated the
Pakistani forces.

Defeat of Pakistani Military: On December 16, 1971, Lt Gen Amir

Abdullah Khan Niazi, the Chief Martial Law Administrator of East
Pakistan and Commander of Pakistan Army forces located in East
 Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender.

Over 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces and


Bangladesh Liberation forces making it the largest surrender since
World War II.

The intervention brought a conclusion to the war in 13 short days

and led to the birth of a new nation.

Bangladesh Liberation War 1971: Realpolitik or Altruism?
Diminishing the Two-front War Threat: The East Pakistan uprising

provided India with the opportunity to break up Pakistan and
eliminate the threat of a two-front war in any future confrontation.

Although the eastern front remained largely inactive in 1965, it tied
down substantial military resources that could have been deployed
 to greater effect in the western theatre.

Preventing Side-Lining of Pro-India Awami League: India recognised


that a drawn-out civil war in East Pakistan would radicalise the
Bengali population.

This could lead to the side-lining of the pro-India Awami League

and shift the leadership of the movement to left-wing pro-China
parties such as the Bhashani-led National Awami Party and the
Communist Party
 Communist Party.

Negating Internal Security Threat: The Guerrilla warfare, inspired by

Maoist ideology, was the major form of resistance against the
Pakistani military.

If India wouldn’t have intervened in the Bangladesh Liberation War

197, this could have been detrimental for India’s internal security
 interests, especially in the context of the Naxalite movement
which was then raging in eastern India.

 Negating The Communal Threat: By July-August 1971, 90% of the

refugees were Hindus concentrated in the border districts of West
Bengal with large Muslim populations.

Consequently, there was danger of serious communal strife if

 India did not act quickly to ensure their return.

Departure from Non-Alignment: At the diplomatic level, India did not

 act entirely alone. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s carefully crafted
diplomatic dispatches to world leaders had helped create a
groundswell of support for the persecuted Bengalis of East Pakistan.

The signing of the Indo-Soviet Treaty in August 1971 came as a
shot-in-the-arm for India, encouraging it to stay the course.

The victory defined India's much broader role in foreign politics.

 Many countries in the world, including the United States, realised

that the balance of power had shifted to India in South Asia.

Conclusion
The ultimate accolade for India’s role in creating a new nation is that
Bangladesh is today a relatively prosperous country, having made steady
progress from the category of a Least Developed Country to a developing
 progress from the category of a Least Developed Country to a developing
country.

The creation of Bangladesh — from the ashes of East Pakistan — is

presumably India’s finest foreign policy triumph till date.

Drishti Mains Question

The campaign of 1971 achieved India’s strategic objectives while still


maintaining a humanitarian veneer for both domestic and international
consumption. Comment.


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