STORY BEFORE 1971 WAR
This particular
chapter deals with the happenings prior to the 1971 war with Pakistan. On the
date 3rd December 1971 prime minister Indira Gandhi was addressing
the common masses in Kolkata and she was about to return to Delhi on that day
itself. In between the meeting she got know that Pakistan has already started
attacking on Indian camps. And the situation was like that her pilot had to
turn the way to Delhi from Kolkata. This was for the third time in the last ten
years that India has been attacked by an enemy country. And Pakistan has already given the mark of 1971
war from the initial dates of April on 1971 in Dhaka, the then capital of West
Pakistan. During that point of time the situation in Dhaka was very much
disturbed. Till 1971 Pakistan was present in both side of India, on the east to
India it was East Pakistan and on the west it was West Pakistan. There was a
journalist named by Anthony Mascarenes in West Pakistan. Pakistan army took him
to East Pakistan to make him see about how the Pakistan army is doing a welfare
work for the common individuals out there, but after seeing the activities of
the Pakistan army he was totally stunned and he wrote a report about the
condition of that situation and he send that report to Sunday Times of Britain.
When that report got published the whole world got strange about those
happenings in East Pakistan. Few common people were living in East Pakistan who
were speaking Bengali and the people who were living in West Pakistan most of
them were speaking Urdu. Life style and the social structure of both regions
were quite different. Both regions were of one country called Pakistan but the
one was 2000km faraway from the other. Whether it was bureaucracy, defence,
jobs and administration everywhere the West Pakistan was dominating in all
aspects. People of the East Pakistan got violent with all the tortures and they
went against of the administration and to stop all the protest against the
government, the army came into force and then Operation Searchlight emerged.
More than three lakhs were killed by the Pakistan army. People were running
here and there for their survival out of that drastic and devastating
situation, more than ten lakhs of people came to India to save their life. And
at that point of time the prime minister was Indira Gandhi. She was totally
confused with the dual responsibilities that she had to give shelter and food
to the people who came to India to save their life and she had to make sure
that there are no communal riots in the eastern states of India. The problem
was going out of control for Indira. There was no proper place for the shelter
purpose of the refugees. Internal problem with the neighbours problem were
binding Indira from finding any concrete solution to the problem so her nation.
She had already understood that unless and until the problem of East Pakistan
is solved, there is no other way out for her, so on 25th April 1971
she called the cabinet meeting but in that cabinet meeting there were not only
cabinet ministers but also army chief SHF Maniksaw was also there in the
meeting. At the initial period of the meeting Indira Gandhi readout the urgent
telegrams of the chief ministers of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam about the
disturbed situation of their states. She asked the army chief to take some
stand in the East Pakistan. But with due analysis by the army chief on the
existing condition and situation from all aspects, it will be too hard to
expect any positive result outcome out of the stand. After hearing to the army
chief Indira Gandhi was totally fired up. After that meeting it was decided
that India will not be silent to the misdeeds in East Pakistan but Indian army
was not at all ready to go for any war. So the army got the permission for
practice and question came that when the war will on and who will start it?
During that point of time Sheikh Muzbeerehaman was the symbol of the anger of
the people of East Pakistan against Pakistan. He was the person who had been
jailed many times by the Pakistan government because he was fighting for the
rights of the people of the East Pakistan. He was known as Bang Bandhu in East
Pakistan. According to the result of the 1970 election in Pakistan his party
got the majority vote and he was about to be the prime minister of Pakistan but
the duo Zulfelkar Ali Bhutto and Ayub Khan took the government into their
control and declared military rule all over in Pakistan. After that Sheikh
declared war against West Pakistan to get the independent Bangladesh, all the
supporters of him came on to the road and stood against the dictatorial
administration. But the Pakistan government didn’t care about that protest and
on the reply the Pakistan army attacked the agitators. Genocide was scattering
it’s wing everywhere in East Pakistan. Huge numbers of refugees were coming to
India to save their life. Pressure was mounting on Indira Gandhi day by day
that she had to find a solution to the rising problem. What are the options she
had? One was to stop the refugees before entering the Indian Territory, which
was inhuman and quite impossible. She had another option that was the
opportunity to split unity and integrity of Pakistan. And for which she
personally visited the refugee camps on may, 1971 and she assured the refugees
that whatever thing Indian government can do, they will do in a best way. She
didn’t want to interfere in the internal disturbances of Pakistan but the
disturbances were affecting the lives of the common individuals of India as well,
so she thought to put pressure on Pakistan by talking to the big nations like
US, Britain and more others. But this time as well US showcase support to
Pakistan as well. She was totally upset with the approach of the US. At that
point of time she got an opportunity, and that was during that time American
security advisor Henry Kiesinger had been to India, so Indira Gandhi called up
him to her residence and she called another person as well and that person was
the army chief SHF Maniksaw and trickiest ting was she called the army chief to
the meeting and guided him to come in the uniform. She tried to convince
Kiesinger that he should try to convince President Nixon about the behaviour of
Pakistan in East Pakistan. Her intention was clear that if US will not take any
action against the Pakistan and then she will take the action through Indian
army. During that point of time US was trying to be in the good book of China,
so US needed the help of Pakistan. But the way Indira played her plan it was
beyond the imagination of US. On 2nd August 1971 Indira toured
Soviet Russ and on 9th August 1971 India and Soviet Russ signed a
treaty in which both the country assured each other to take the responsibility
of each one’s safety and security concern. At one side Indira was attaining the
diplomatic thing to make the side of India heavier and on the other way army
chief was making the plan to trap Pakistan in its own plan. He was guiding the
army and sending regular note to the east side chief of army to give army training
to the people of East Pakistan under the operation instruction 52, so that they
will engage the Pakistan army in the fight in East Pakistan, and it will help
the Indian army to do their work in a soothing manner. Just after getting the
notes of army chief the assignments have already been started all of a sudden
and the task was given to Brigadier Sujan Singh, who was the chief of special
frontier force during that time and the assignment was also as Establishment
22. And it is a special type of force which is only used for the secret mission
and it is done under the supervision of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). After
getting the order in May the youth of East Pakistan joined the army training
centre in a large number and this is how the Mukti Bahini emerged. India had
set up ten camps for the training of the Mukti Bahini and in September it was
scattered to few more regions as well. now the war has already been started
between Mukti Bahini and Pakistan army. And during that time it came to public
sphere that Pakistan will start legal proceedings against Seikh Muzbeer and
after that Indira declared that she will make release of Muzbeer and India will
openly support Mukti Bahini. Slowly India was about to go for a war against
Pakistan because at that point of time there was no other option. Indira Gandhi
had visited many other countries to make the stand of India very clear so that
there will be no fault from Indian side. But she was disappointed by the other
countries move over these disastrous happening in the East Pakistan by the
Pakistan government. Then all the ways to stop the war finally came to an end
because in November Pakistan had already been regularly entering the Indian Territory
and India had aware Pakistan strictly. But in reply Pakistan aware India for
war within ten days. In between that Mukti Bahini was capturing the Pakistani
camps one by one. And then Pakistan started constant firing from the west side
of India. Those days Indira Gandhi was roaming in the border areas and she was
giving assurance that India will take each possible step to save their life.
After reaching Delhi from Kolkata after addressing the masses, directly she had
been to map room with the chief of army and navy as well. after that she called
the cabinet meeting and then after she met the opposition party and make the
position clear before them and after that she addressed the nation through
radio in which she mentioned about the war which has already been stated by
Pakistan and she confidently announced that in this war it will be the win of
the daring Indian soldiers and India. Then Pakistan committed the mistake for
which India was waiting for tat Pakistan started open war with India. This war
was the replication of the theory proposed by Mohd. Ali Jinah that he wanted
two different nation based two religions and now this war is going on for
independence of one more nation which will get rid of the way less and
dictatorship government of Pakistan. This time Bengali speaking Muslims in East
Pakistan aren’t interested and ready to stay with the Urdu speaking Muslims in
West Pakistan. Now what? Is the theory and dream of Jinha which is about to
destroy for ever.
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