Indo-Pakistani war of 1971

See also: Bangladesh Liberation War

Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
Part of the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts, Cold War, and Bangladesh Liberation War

First row: Lt-Gen. A.A.K. Niazi, the Cdr. of Pakistani Eastern Comnd., signing the documented Instrument of Surrender in Dacca in the presence of Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora (GOC-in-C of Indian Eastern Comnd.). Surojit Sen of All India Radio is seen holding a microphone on the right.
Second row (left to right): Vice Adm. N. Krishnan (FOC-in-C Eastern Naval Comnd.), Air Mshl. H.C. Dewan, (AOC-in-C Eastern Air Comnd.), Lt Gen. Sagat Singh (Cdr. IV Corps), Maj Gen. JFR Jacob (COS Eastern Comnd.) and Flt Lt Krishnamurthy (peering over Jacob‘s shoulder).
Date3–16 December 1971
(1 week and 6 days)
Location

Result Indian victory[1][2][3]
Eastern front:
Surrender of East Pakistan military command
Western front:
Unilateral ceasefire[4][5][6]
Territorial
changes

Eastern Front:

Western Front:

  • Indian forces captured around 15,010 km2 (5,795 sq mi) of land in the West but returned it in the 1972 Simla Agreement as a gesture of goodwill.[7][8][9]
  • India retained 883 km2 (341.1 sq mi) of the gained territory in Jammu and Kashmir while Pakistan retained 53 km2 (20.4 sq mi) territory [10]
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders

India Indira Gandhi
India Swaran Singh
Sam Manekshaw
J.S. Arora
G.G. Bewoor
Sagat Singh
J. F. R. Jacob
S. M. Nanda
S. N. Kohli
Nilakanta Krishnan
Pratap C. Lal
H. C. Dewan

Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Provisional Government of Bangladesh M. A. G. Osmani

Pakistan Yahya Khan
A.A.K. Niazi Surrendered
Rao Farman
Tikka Khan
Iftikhar Janjua  †
Muzaffar Hassan
Rashid Ahmed
Md Shariff  Surrendered
M.A.K. Lodhi
Leslie Norman
Abdul Rahim Khan
Inamul Haq Surrendered
Z.A. Khan Surrendered

Pakistan Abdul Motaleb Malik  Surrendered
Strength

Indian Armed Forces: 825,000[11] – 860,000[12]

Mukti Bahini: 180,000[13]

Pakistan Armed Forces: 350,000[14] – 365,000[12]

Razakars: 35,000[15]
Casualties and losses

 India
2,500[15]–3,843 killed[16][17]
9,851[16]–12,000[18] injured

Neutral claims[15]

Indian claims

Pakistani claims

 Pakistan
9,000 killed[15]
25,000 wounded[18]
93,000 captured
2 destroyers[citation needed]
1 Minesweeper[citation needed]}
1 Submarine[24]
3 Patrol vessels
7 gunboats

  • Pakistani main port Karachi facilities damaged/fuel tanks destroyed[25]
  • Pakistani airfields damaged and cratered[26]

Neutral claims[15]

Indian claims

Pakistani claims

The Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, also known as the third India-Pakistan war, was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 December 1971. The war began with Pakistan's Operation Chengiz Khan, consisting of preemptive aerial strikes on eight Indian air stations. The strikes led to India declaring war on Pakistan, marking their entry into the war for East Pakistan's independence, on the side of Bengali nationalist forces. India's entry expanded the existing conflict with Indian and Pakistani forces engaging on both the eastern and western fronts.[28] Thirteen days after the war started, India achieved a clear upper hand, and the Eastern Command of the Pakistan military signed the instrument of surrender[29] on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka, marking the formation of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh. Approximately 93,000 Pakistani servicemen were taken prisoner by the Indian Army, which included 79,676 to 81,000 uniformed personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces, including some Bengali soldiers who had remained loyal to Pakistan.[30][31] The remaining 10,324 to 12,500 prisoners were civilians, either family members of the military personnel or collaborators (Razakars).[32][33][30]

It is estimated that members of the Pakistani military and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 civilians in Bangladesh.[34][35][36][37] As a result of the conflict, a further eight to ten million people fled the country to seek refuge in India.[38]

During the 1971 Bangladesh war for independence, members of the Pakistani military and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias called the Razakars raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bangladeshi women and girls in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape.[39][40][41][42]

  1. ^ Lyon, Peter (2008). Conflict between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-57607-712-2. India's decisive victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war and emergence of independent Bangladesh dramatically transformed the power balance of South Asia
  2. ^ Kemp, Geoffrey (2010). The East Moves West India, China, and Asia's Growing Presence in the Middle East. Brookings Institution Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8157-0388-4. However, India's decisive victory over Pakistan in 1971 led the Shah to pursue closer relations with India
  3. ^ Byman, Daniel (2005). Deadly connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism. Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-521-83973-0. India's decisive victory in 1971 led to the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972
  4. ^ Faruki, Kemal A. “THE INDO-PAKISTAN WAR, 1971, AND THE UNITED NATIONS.” Pakistan Horizon, vol. 25, no. 1, 1972, pp. 10–20. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41393109. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024. "On the next day, Dacca surrendered, President Yahya Khan talked of 'war until victory', India made a unilateral declaration of ceasefire in the West and the Security Council chose to adjourn having accumulated in its possession, by that time, six draft resolutions from various member States of the Security Council."
  5. ^ Burke, S. M. “The Postwar Diplomacy of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.” Asian Survey, vol. 13, no. 11, 1973, pp. 1036–49. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2642858. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024. "In Kashmir they agreed to respect 'the line of control resulting from the ceasefire of December 17, 1971...without prejudice to the recognized position of either side.'"
  6. ^ Siniver A. The India-Pakistan War, December 1971. In: Nixon, Kissinger, and US Foreign Policy Making: The Machinery of Crisis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2008:148-184. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511511660.008 "The fall of Dacca and the unconditional surrender of the outnumbered Pakistani forces in the East were followed the next day by a mutual declaration of cease-fire along the Western border."
  7. ^ Nawaz, Shuja (2008). Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within. Oxford University Press. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-19-547697-2.
  8. ^ Chitkara, M. G (1996). Benazir, a Profile. APH. p. 81. ISBN 9788170247524. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  9. ^ Schofield, Victoria (2003). Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending Ward. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 117. ISBN 9781860648984. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  10. ^ Warikoo, K. (2009). Himalayan Frontiers of India: Historical, Geo-Political and Strategic Perspectives. Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series. Taylor & Francis. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-134-03294-5.
  11. ^ Palit, Maj Gen DK (1998). The Lightning Campaign: The Indo-Pakistan War, 1971. Lancer Publishers. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-897829-37-0. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  12. ^ a b Cloughley, Brian (5 January 2016). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63144-039-7. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  13. ^ Rashiduzzaman, M. (March 1972). "Leadership, Organization, Strategies and Tactics of the Bangla Desh Movement". Asian Survey. 12 (3): 191. doi:10.2307/2642872. JSTOR 2642872. The Pakistan Government, however, claimed [in June 1971] that the combined fighting strength of the 'secessionists' amounted to about 180,000 armed personnel.
  14. ^ Dixit, J.N. (2 September 2003). India-Pakistan in War and Peace. Routledge. ISBN 1134407572. while the size of the Indian armed forces remained static at one million men and Pakistan's at around 350,000.
  15. ^ a b c d e Boewe, Charles (2006). "Indian-Pakistani Wars". In Leonard, Thomas M. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Vol. 2. Routledge. p. 806. ISBN 978-0-415-97663-3. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  16. ^ a b "This Vijay Diwas, remember the sacrifices and do good by our disabled soldiers". The Times of India. 16 December 2018. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. About 3,843 Indian soldiers died in this war that resulted in the unilateral surrender of the Pakistan Army and led to the creation of Bangladesh. Among the soldiers who returned home triumphant were also 9,851 injured; many of them disabled.
  17. ^ Kapur, Anu (11 March 2010). Vulnerable India: A Geographical Study of Disasters. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9788132105428. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2020 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ a b The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Air Warfare, edited by Chris Bishop (Amber publishing 1997, republished 2004 pages 384–387 ISBN 1-904687-26-1)
  19. ^ "Chapter 10: Naval Operations in the Western Naval Command". Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
  20. ^ "Damage Assessment– 1971 Indo Pak Naval War". Orbat.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  21. ^ Dr. He Hemant Kumar Pandey & Manish Raj Singh (1 August 2017). INDIA'S MAJOR MILITARY & RESCUE OPERATIONS. Horizon Books ( A Division of Ignited Minds Edutech P Ltd), 2017. p. 117.
  22. ^ a b "IAF Combat Kills – 1971 Indo-Pak Air War" (PDF). orbat.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  23. ^ "Pakistan Air Force – Official website". Paf.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  24. ^ "The Sinking of the Ghazi". Bharat Rakshak Monitor, 4(2). Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  25. ^ "How west was won...on the waterfront". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  26. ^ "India – Pakistan War, 1971; Western Front, Part I". acig.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  27. ^ "Aircraft Losses in Pakistan – 1971 War". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference time27Dec1971 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ "1971 War: 'I will give you 30 minutes'". Sify. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  30. ^ a b Burke, S. M (1974). Mainsprings of Indian and Pakistani Foreign Policies – S. M. Burke. University of Minnesota Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780816607204. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  31. ^ Bose, Sarmila (November 2011). "The question of genocide and the quest for justice in the 1971 war" (PDF). Journal of Genocide Research. 13 (4): 398. doi:10.1080/14623528.2011.625750. S2CID 38668401. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  32. ^ "Jamaat claims denied by evidence". THE DAILY STAR. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference Haqqani2005p87 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ Alston, Margaret (2015). Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh. Routledge. p. 40. ISBN 9781317684862. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  35. ^ Debnath, Angela (2012) [First published 2009]. "The Bangladesh Genocide: The Plight of Women". In Totten, Samuel (ed.). Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide. Transaction Publishers. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4128-4759-9. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  36. ^ Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep: Army Terror Campaign Continues in Dacca; Evidence Military Faces Some Difficulties Elsewhere Archived 21 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 31 March 1971, Confidential, 3 pp.
  37. ^ Kennedy, Senator Edward, "Crisis in South Asia – A report 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, page 66. Sen. Kennedy wrote, "Field reports to the U.S. Government, countless eye-witness journalistic accounts, reports of International agencies such as World Bank and additional information available to the subcommittee document the reign of terror which grips East Bengal (East Pakistan). Hardest hit have been members of the Hindu community who have been robbed of their lands and shops, systematically slaughtered, and in some places, painted with yellow patches marked 'H'. All of this has been officially sanctioned, ordered and implemented under martial law from Islamabad."
  38. ^ Rummel, Rudolph J., "Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900" Archived 21 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, ISBN 3-8258-4010-7, Chapter 8, Table 8.2 Pakistan Genocide in Bangladesh Estimates, Sources, and Calculations Archived 4 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine: lowest estimate 2 million claimed by Pakistan (reported by Aziz, Qutubuddin. Blood and tears Karachi: United Press of Pakistan, 1974. pp. 74, 226), some 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.
  39. ^ Sharlach, Lisa (2000). "Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda". New Political Science. 22 (1): 92–93. doi:10.1080/713687893. S2CID 144966485.
  40. ^ Sharlach, Lisa (2002). "State Rape: Sexual Violence as Genocide". In Kent Worcester; Sally A. Bermanzohn; Mark Ungar (eds.). Violence and Politics: Globalization's Paradox. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-415-93111-3.
  41. ^ Sajjad, Tazreena (2012) [First published 2009]. "The Post-Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women". In Tottne, Samuel (ed.). Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide. Transaction Publishers. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-4128-4759-9.
  42. ^ Mookherjee, Nayanika (2012). "Mass rape and the inscription of gendered and racial domination during the Bangladesh War of 1971". In Raphaëlle Branche; Fabrice Virgili (eds.). Rape in Wartime. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-230-36399-1.