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The Bangladesh Liberation War[a][b] was a revolutionary independence war that took place in South Asia in 1971; this event resulted in the establishment of the republic of Bangladesh.[3] The war pitted East Pakistan against West Pakistan and lasted over a duration of nine months. It witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the indiscriminate killing of 100,000 to 300,000 people from both sides.[4]

The war broke out on 26 March 1971 when the Pakistan Army launched a military operation called Operation Searchlight against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia and 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 allow separation between East and West Pakistan. Bengali politicians and army officers announced the declaration of Bangladesh's independence in response to Operation Searchlight. Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians formed the Mukti Bahini ("Liberation Army"), which engaged in guerrilla warfare against Pakistani forces. The Pakistan Army, in collusion with religious extremist[5][6] militias (the Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams), engaged in the systematic genocide and atrocities against Bengali civilians, particularly nationalists, intellectuals, youth and religious minorities.[7][8][9][10][11] Bangladesh government-in-exile was set up in the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the Indian state of West Bengal.

India entered the war on 3 December 1971 after Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on northern India. Overwhelmed by two war fronts, Pakistani defences soon collapsed. On 16 December, the Allied Forces of Bangladesh and India defeated Pakistan in the east. The subsequent surrender resulted in the largest number of prisoners of war since World War II.

  1. ^ Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh, Page 289
  2. ^ Moss, Peter (2005). Secondary Social Studies For Pakistan. Karachi: Oxford University Press. p. 93. ISBN 9780195977042. OCLC 651126824.
  3. ^ Library of Congress
  4. ^ en, Samuel; Paul Robert Bartrop, Steven L. Jacobs. Dictionary of Genocide: A-L. Volume 1: Greenwood. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-313-32967-8.
  5. ^ "Leading News Resource of Pakistan". Daily Times. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. ^ "New Year 2013". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  7. ^ Bangladesh Genocide Archive | Collaborators and War Criminals. Genocidebangladesh.org. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  8. ^ New York Times, 30 July 1971
  9. ^ The Wall Street Journal, 27 July 1971.
  10. ^ Daily Sangram, 15 September 1971
  11. ^ "Letters To The Editor | We are mere throwaways?". The Star. The Daily Star. Retrieved 5 October 2014.


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