The Emergence Of Bangladesh As A New Nation

The Pakistani Army began committing barbaric genocide against innocent civilians in East Pakistan in March 1971. Despite the fact that this was the world's largest genocide after WWII, it received no global sympathy or even recognition. It is important to note, however, the geopolitical climate that existed during the genocide and prior to the war. There were two distinct groups. The 1971 Indo-Pak war occurred after the Cuban missile crisis, and the West, particularly Nixon and Kissinger, were extremely wary of Russia. Russian military might was the source of the paranoia. Pakistan became a member of the South East Asia Treaty Organization after joining the military bloc opposing Russia (SEATO). Then there was the Islamic countries' organization, which was all pro-Pakistan.

 

•    The Pakistani rulers have denied the Bengalis' democratic aspirations and national rights since the country's inception. In 1956, the country declared itself an Islamic Republic, and military rule was instituted in 1958. 

•    The Pakistani ruling elite and military rulers attempted to subjugate the Bengalis politically, culturally, and economically, and the Bengalis' disillusionment with the new nation was understandable. From 1948 onwards, the struggle for a separate homeland took the form of a continuous, united, and popular struggle for democracy, autonomy, and the preservation of its secular cultural identity. 

 

•    The Bengalis were exploited by successive Pakistani governments, and despite the fact that East Pakistan generated the majority of the country's export revenues, the Bengalis received less than 20% of the country's budget allocation.

 

•    The Bengali nationalist forces led by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a landslide victory in the first-ever national Parliamentary elections held in 1970 based on a one-man-one-vote basis, and his party, the Awami League, became the majority party of Pakistan as a whole. 

 

•    The Pakistani military, on the other hand, refused to accept the election results, leading to a nonviolent non-cooperation movement in East Pakistan.

 

•    On the fateful night of March 25, 1971, the Pakistani Military Junta unleashed a systematic genocide against Bengali population in an attempt to crush the nationalist movement in East Pakistan. A small number of religious-based local parties and religious fundamentalists backed the junta. 

 

•    The Pakistani carnage resulted in the worst genocide since World War II, with an estimated 3 million people killed, 278,000 women raped, and 10 million people forced to flee to India. Moreover, 45 million people were internally displaced over the course of 9 months.

 

•    On the 10th of April, 1971, Bangladesh declared independence, and the elected East Pakistani representatives from the 1970 elections formed the Bangladesh Government in Exile. On April 17, 1971, the Cabinet was sworn in at Baiddyanathtala in Meherpur, which was later renamed Mujibnagar. 

 

•    The father of the nation (Sheikh Mujib) issued the Declaration of Independence on March 26, 1971, declaring, "...from this day Bangladesh is independent." He urged Bengalis to prepare for the liberation war as early as March 7th. This did not, however, establish Bangladesh's sovereignty at the time. The Proclamation of Independence itself declared Bangladesh sovereign. 

 

•    Bangabandhu's declaration of independence was crucial to the resistance and the formation of a provisional government because it provided direction at a critical time for the country. Young people from the villages and students received military training, and the Mukti Bahini (freedom fighters) fought back the occupation forces in 11 Sectors, employing guerilla tactics, keeping the Pakistani army on the defensive. Governments, public leaders, cultural figures, and the media all condemned Pakistan's atrocities on a global scale.

 

•    Unfortunately, the Nixon administration of the United States and China backed Pakistan's government, more for the sake of pursuing their common global strategic goals, while India and the Soviet Union backed the cause of Bangladesh. 

 

•    India provided humanitarian aid to the refugees, as well as training for freedom fighters and leading a diplomatic campaign for Bengali rights. By September, these half-trained young men had infiltrated deep into Bangladesh, effectively ruling over a large portion of the country.

 

•    After Pakistan bombed and attacked airfields in western India, the Joint Command of the Indian Army and the Muktibahini (Bangladesh Freedom Fighters) was formed, and the formal armed assault began on December 3. 

 

•    On December 15, the first men of the Joint Command marched from the northern border to the outskirts of Dhaka. On December 16, 1971, the Pakistani Armed Forces humiliatingly surrendered to this Allied Command, and Bangladesh was born as a democratic and secular state.

 

•    Pakistan launched air strikes on 11 Indian airbases to start the war. It was possibly the first time that India's three forces fought together. In response to the Pakistan Army's movements in the west, India moved quickly and captured approximately 15,010 kilometres of Pakistani territory. 

 

•    General Amir Abdullah Khan Niyazi, the Pakistani forces' commander, surrendered to the joint forces of the Indian Army and Bangladesh's Mukti Bahini, along with 93,000 troops. On December 16, 1971, General A A K Niyazi signed the Instrument of Surrender in Dhaka, establishing East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh. With the birth of Bangladesh, Pakistan also lost half of its territory. 

 

•    During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, PV, PB, MC, also known as Sam Manekshaw and Sam Bahadur, was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army and the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal. Prior to and during the war, he used brilliant military tactics.

 

•    Lieutenant General Niazi signs the Instrument of Surrender in the presence of Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora (GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command during the Indo-Pak war of 1971).

 

•    The war was one of the shortest in history, lasting only 13 days. The military conflict between India and Pakistan lasted from December 3, 1971, to December 16, 1971, when Dacca (Dhaka) fell. The Indian Army brought the Pakistani army to its knees, captured 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, and granted Bangladeshi independence to 75 million people. 

 

•    Over 3,800 Indian and Pakistani soldiers died in this war to put an end to Pakistan's genocide of East Pakistan's Bengali population. 

 

•    The conflict arose as a result of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) fighting for independence from (West) Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. 

 

•    In 1971, the Pakistani Army began committing barbaric genocide against the Bengali people, especially the Hindu minority in East Pakistan.

 

•    As Pakistan's atrocities became more common, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to intervene while also providing refuge to civilians on the other side of the border. She directed Army Chief General Sam Manekshaw to launch an offensive against Pakistan, prompting India to go to war with its neighbor. 

 

•    Between 300,000 and 3,000,000 civilians were killed in Bangladesh, according to estimates. Rape, torture, killings, and conflicts followed, leading to the exodus of eight to ten million people to India. Indira Gandhi was hesitant to launch a full-scale war against Pakistan because the country was already burdened by the constant flow of refugees from East Pakistan, and going to war would only add to the burden.

 

•    She also urged world leaders to intervene and put pressure on Pakistan to stop its atrocities, but India didn't have much time and had to act quickly. She announced in Parliament on December 6 that India had recognised the Bangladesh government. 

 

•    India and Pakistan signed the Shimla Agreement on August 2, 1972, under which the latter agreed to release all 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war.

 

Following a full-fledged war between India and Pakistan in 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto signed the Simla Agreement on July 2, 1972. India was left to deal with approximately 93,000 Pakistani soldiers captured during the war as ‘East Pakistan' gained independence to become Bangladesh.

 

1.    Respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty; 

 

2.    Non-interference in each other's internal affairs; 

 

3.    Respect for each other's unity, political independence; 

 

4.    Sovereign equality; 

 

5.    And avoidance of hostile propaganda are all emphasized in these principles. 

 

•    A shared commitment to resolving all issues peacefully through direct bilateral approaches. 

 

•    To lay the groundwork for a cooperative relationship, with a particular emphasis on people-to-people interactions. 

 

•    To maintain the inviolability of the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, which is a critical CBM between India and Pakistan and a prerequisite for long-term peace.

 

THE SIMLA CONTRACT (Agreement on Bilateral Relations between the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan)

 

The governments of India and Pakistan are committed to ending the conflict and confrontation that has plagued their relations in the past and working together to promote a friendly and harmonious relationship and the establishment of long-term peace in the subcontinent, so that both countries can focus their resources and energies on pressing issues. In order to achieve this goal, the governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to the following: 

 

•    That the two countries' relations will be governed by the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter; 

 

•    That the two countries are committed to resolving their differences through peaceful means, such as bilateral negotiations or any other peaceful means that they mutually agree on. Neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation pending the final resolution of any of the two countries’ problems, nor shall both prevent the organization, assistance, or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful and harmonious relations; 

 

•    That a commitment by both countries to peaceful coexistence, respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, is a precondition for reconciliation, good neighborliness, and long-term peace; That the fundamental issues and sources of conflict that have plagued the two countries' relations for the past 25 years be resolved through peaceful means; 

 

•    That they will always respect the national unity, territorial integrity, political independence, and sovereign equality of each other; 

 

•    That, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, they will refrain from threatening or using force against each other's territorial integrity or political independence. 

 

•    Both governments will do everything possible to prevent hostile propaganda directed at one another. Both countries will promote the dissemination of information that will aid in the development of friendly relations. 

 

•    It was agreed that, in order to gradually restore and normalise relations between the two countries, 

 

•    Steps must be taken to restore communications, including postal and telegraphic services, as well as sea, land, and air links, including overflights. 

 

•    Appropriate steps must be taken to promote travel opportunities for the other country's citizens. 

 

•    As much as possible, trade and cooperation in economic and other agreed-upon fields will be resumed. 

 

•    There will be more exchange in the fields of science and culture. 

 

•    In this regard, delegations from the two countries will meet on a regular basis to iron out the details.

 

Both governments agree that, in order to begin the process of establishing a lasting peace, they will:

 

•    Forces from India and Pakistan will be withdrawn to their respective sides of the international border.

 

•    In Jammu and Kashmir, both sides must respect the line of control (LOC) established by the cease-fire of December 17, 1971, regardless of their recognized positions. Regardless of mutual differences and legal interpretations, neither side will seek to unilaterally change it. Both sides also agree to refrain from threatening or using force in violation of the Line. 

 

•    Withdrawals will begin upon the Agreement's entry into force and must be completed within 30 days of that date.

 

•    This Agreement will be subject to ratification by both countries in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures, and will take effect on the date the Ratification Instruments are exchanged.

 

•    Both Governments agree that their respective Heads of State will meet again at a mutually convenient time in the future, and that in the meantime, representatives from both sides will meet to discuss further the modals and arrangements for the establishment of a durable peace and normalization of relations, including questions of repatriation of prisoners of war and civilian internees, and a final agreement.

 

•    The Simla Agreement was much more than a peace treaty intended to undo the effects of the war in 1971. 

 

•    On September 7, 1972, while touring the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave verbal approval to the scientists there to manufacture and test the nuclear device they had designed. Following this approval, the engineering work to put the paper design into practice began. 

 

•    Work on locating, surveying, and preparing a suitable test site began as well. During the development of this device, which is officially known as the "Peaceful Nuclear Explosive" or PNE but is more commonly known as Smiling Buddha, very few records of any kind were kept, either on the development process or the decision making involved in its development and testing. This was done on purpose to maintain secrecy, but it has resulted in the events being mostly documented through oral reports many years later.

 

•    In order to maintain the high level of secrecy surrounding India's efforts to develop and test its first nuclear explosive device, the project only employed 75 scientists and engineers from 1967 to 1974. Of course, this does not include the thousands of people who are needed to build and operate the BARC infrastructure, as well as the plutonium for the device. 

 

•    Only Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, her trusted adviser and former principal secretary P.N. Haksar, and her current principal secretary D.P. Dhar were aware of the project outside of those who were actually working on it. No government ministers were notified, including the Defense Minister.

 

•    During the 1950s and 1960s, nuclear explosive technology was popular, with superpowers using it for developmental and industrial purposes such as civil engineering projects, deep sea mining, and so on. 

 

•    However, during the mid-1960s negotiations for a nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) at the Eighteen Nation Disarmament Committee (ENDC), the Americans refused to accept PNE as an integral part of civilian nuclear energy applications or as a peaceful nuclear energy resource, arguing that the line between a PNE device and a nuclear weapon is thin. Instead, the Americans offered to sell PNE technology to India, which it turned down, calling the offer "atomic apartheid."

 

•    Along with disagreements over security guarantees and the unbalanced nature of the NPT text, India's decision to reject the NPT in 1968 was influenced by apparent discrimination against PNE rights. India conducted a nuclear test four years after the NPT went into effect in 1970, which the Indian government described as a PNE, though many Western nations saw it as a demonstration of India's capability to develop nuclear weapons. 

 

•    The plutonium used in the device was extracted from the spent fuel of the CIRUS reactor, which was built with Canadian assistance under an agreement that stipulated that the reactor be used only for peaceful purposes. The Canadians refused to believe this claim and withdrew their support for India's nuclear energy programmed.

 

•    The nuclear tests, codenamed "Operation Smiling Buddha," took place at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan and tested a thermonuclear device. Though the device's yield has been debated since then, it is thought that the actual yield was between 8 and 12 kilotons of TNT. 

 

•    The January 24, 1996 intelligence assessment also revealed that the Indian scientific community was pressuring then-Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to conduct another nuclear test.

 

•    Indira Gandhi's popularity began to dwindle by the beginning of 1973. The public's expectations were not met. There was little progress in reducing rural or urban poverty or economic inequality, nor was there any reduction in caste and class oppression in rural areas. The sharp deterioration in the economic situation was the immediate source of rising discontent. 

 

•    A serious crisis arose as a result of a combination of recession, rising unemployment, soaring inflation, and food scarcity. The cost of feeding and sheltering nearly 10 million Bangladeshi refugees during 1971 depleted grain reserves, resulting in a large budget deficit when combined with the cost of the Bangladesh war. 

 

•    Foreign exchange reserves had also been depleted as a result of the war. During 1972 and 1973, monsoon rains failed for two years in a row, causing a severe drought in most parts of the country, a massive shortage of food grains, and a spike in their prices. The drought also reduced power generation, which, when combined with a drop in agricultural production and, as a result, a drop in demand for manufactured goods, resulted in an industrial recession and an increase in unemployment. 

 

•    The notorious oil-shock of 1973 occurred when world crude oil prices increased fourfold, causing a massive increase in the prices of petroleum products and fertilizers. This depleted foreign reserves, widened the budget deficit, and exacerbated the economic downturn. Despite this, prices continued to rise, increasing by 22% in 1972-73 alone. The increase in prices, which impacted both the poor and the middle classes, was accompanied by a scarcity of basic consumer goods. Food riots erupted in various parts of the country.

 

•    Large-scale industrial unrest and a wave of strikes erupted in different parts of the country during 1972 and 1973, culminating in an all-India railway strike in May 1974, due to economic recession, unemployment, price rises, and scarcity of goods. The railway strike lasted 22 days but was eventually broken. Mrs. Gandhi's support among the workers was dwindling. Law and order deteriorated, especially between 1974 and 1975. Strikes, student protests, and public demonstrations frequently devolved into violence. 

 

•    As demonstrated during the Bangladesh crisis and in the handling of foreign affairs, firm and clear leadership was required to address the deteriorating economic, political, and law and order situation. That, however, was not forthcoming. Other factors contributed to the worsening of the political situation. Congress had been deteriorating as an institution, demonstrating its inability to deal with the political crisis at the state and grassroots levels. 

 

•    The government's ability to correct the situation was severely hampered by rising corruption in almost every facet of life, as well as widespread suspicions that higher levels of the ruling party and administrators were complicit. Even Indira Gandhi felt the stench of corruption when her inexperienced younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, was granted a licence to manufacture 50,000 Maruti cars per year. The growing detachment of three major social groups from Congress was a significant new development. 

 

•    While the poor continued to support it, albeit more passively, the middle classes, due to rising prices and the stench of corruption, the rich peasantry, due to the threat of land reform, and the capitalists, due to talk of socialism, bank nationalization, coal mining, and anti-monopoly measures, turned against Congress and Indira Gandhi. The opposition parties' desperation also contributed to the political system's demise. Anti-Congressism was the only thing that brought these ideologically and programmatically disparate parties together.

 

•    They were, however, in no position to pose a political challenge to Congress, either individually or in combination, having been soundly defeated or downsized in the general elections of 1971 and state assembly elections of 1972. Unwilling to wait until the next elections to see how popular they were, they decided to blindly support any group or movement that was opposed to the government at the federal or state level, regardless of the consequences.

 

•    Two popular movements in Gujarat and Bihar against the faction-ridden Congress governments, and the leadership provided to the Bihar movement by Jayaprakash Narayan, turned the various economic and political crises into one of the political system.

 

•    In Gujarat, a major upheaval occurred in January 1974, when public outrage over rising prices of food grains, cooking oil, and other essential commodities erupted in the form of a student movement, which was quickly joined by opposition parties. Strikes, looting, rioting, arson, and attempts to force MLAs to resign characterized the state for more than ten weeks. 

 

•    Excessive force, indiscriminate arrests, and frequent use of lathi-charges and firing were the police's response. By February, the state government had been forced to resign, the assembly had been suspended, and President's Rule had been imposed in the state. Faced with continued agitation and a fast unto death by Morarji Desai, Indira Gandhi dissolved the assembly in March 1975 and announced new elections in June.

 

•    A similar agitation was started by students in Bihar in March 1974, following the Gujarat agitation and inspired by its success. Beginning with the gherao of the assembly on March 18, students clashed with overzealous police, resulting in the deaths of 27 people in a week. Furthermore, as in Gujarat, opposition parties quickly allied with student protesters.

 

•    Total Revolution, according to Jaya Prakash, is a combination of seven revolutions: political, social, economic, cultural, ideological or intellectual, educational, and spiritual, with the main goal of bringing about a change in the existing society in line with the Sarvodaya ideals. JP had a very idealistic view of society, and it was in this pursuit that he moved from Marxism to Socialism, and then to Sarvodaya.

 

•    JP had completely withdrawn from party and power politics by the early 1970s, focusing instead on social regeneration through peaceful means. This did not imply that JP remained silent while social and political decay took root in political liberty. Despite his advanced age, he took on the task of bringing about a complete change in India's political and economic life in order to improve the situation.

 

•    He began by attempting to organise people and make them aware of the situation, after which he appealed to the leaders. But, after receiving no response, he began organizing youth to save democracy from degeneration, dubbed the Total Revolution. The movement gained traction after agitations in Gujarat, which were followed by agitations in Bihar.

 

•    The Bihar agitations turned into mass protests in 1974, with people demanding changes in the political, social, and educational systems. At this point, JP announced a four-part strategy aimed at paralyzing the government, introducing Gram Swarajya, and establishing a people's government. JP defined the term "people’s government" as a small unit of democracy at the village, panchayat, or block level, if possible at all three levels.

 

•    These organizations were viewed as sources of people's power in times of peace, as well as in times of injustice or tyranny, and were primarily responsible for the reconstruction of society on the basis of equality and the abolition of poverty, oppression, and exploitation. 

 

•    JP also urged the people of Bihar, as well as the rest of India, to unite by putting aside their personal and political differences. His motivation for energizing Bihar students was to bring about a complete transformation of India's governmental structure and political system. He called it a Total Revolution because of this. 

 

•    JP gave a thorough presentation on the concept of total revolution. The idea of total revolution reflected his commitment to socialist and humanistic ideas.

 

•    He wanted to eradicate corruption from India's political and social life. Aside from that, JP wished to create conditions in which people living in poverty could obtain the bare necessities of life. As a result, total revolution was a tool for achieving a Gandhian humanist vision of the ideal society. 

 

•    JP once stated in his prison diary that Total Revolution is a combination of seven revolutions, namely, political, social, economic, cultural, ideological or intellectual, educational, and spiritual, with the main goal of bringing about a change in the existing society that is in line with the Sarvodaya's ideals. JP had a very idealistic view of society, and it was in this pursuit that he moved from Marxism to Socialism, and then to Sarvodaya.

 

•    He, like Gandhi, experimented with his own beliefs, putting them to the test and changing his mind. JP's faith in Parliamentary democracy was shattered by the inherent contradictions within it. He claimed that democracy does not guarantee people a better life in the future if they are socially and economically marginalized. Only a peaceful revolution, he believed, could bring about change in society. 

 

•    According to JP, widespread corruption in all walks of life was one of the main reasons for India's lack of development. He believed that the multiparty system, as well as five-year general elections, had bred corruption. 

 

•    Furthermore, corruption is to blame for the failure of economic planning and public investments. JP aimed to change society as well as people's attitudes toward society through this revolution. He also urged workers in Bihar to prepare for a long struggle to achieve the total revolution's goals.

 

•    He outlined a strategy for the revolution, including propaganda for public education and constructive programmers aimed at raising awareness about various social ills such as the dowry system, caste conflicts, communalism, and untouchability. As a result, when JP took on the task of guiding the Indian masses toward concrete action, he had a clear understanding of social ideals and objectives. 

 

•    JP believed that a strong opposition, a powerful public opinion, a free and fearless press, ideological and moral pressure from academics, and trade unions were all necessary for democracy to be a vibrant and effective instrument. In fact, he urged people to reconsider their views and attitudes toward India's democratic functioning.

 

•    The Bihar movement, on the other hand, had two distinct characteristics. JP, or Jayaprakash Narayan, came out of political retirement to take over the party's leadership and call for a "Total Revolution," or "a struggle against the very system that has compelled almost everyone to become corrupt." He asked students and the people to put pressure on the existing legislators to resign, paralyse the government, gherao the state assembly and government offices, set up parallel people's governments all over the state, and pay no taxes, as he demanded the resignation of the Congress government in Bihar and the dissolution of the assembly. The second feature was Indira Gandhi's steadfast refusal to give in to the demand for the assembly's dissolution, fearing that it would spread to other parts of the country and the central government.

 

•    JP also decided to organise a national movement against widespread corruption and for the removal of Congress and Indira Gandhi, who was now viewed as a threat to democracy and portrayed as the fountainhead of corruption. JP began touring the country on a regular basis, attracting large crowds, particularly in Delhi and other parts of North India, which were Jan Sangh or Socialist strongholds. The JP Movement drew a large following, particularly among students, the middle class, traders, and a section of the intelligentsia. It also received support from nearly all non-left political parties, which had been defeated in 1971 and saw in JP a popular leader who could help them gain credibility as a viable alternative to Congress. JP, in turn, realised that he couldn't hope to defeat Indira Gandhi in the streets or at the polls without these parties' organisational structures.

 

•    The JP Movement's fervour, however, did not last long, and by the end of 1974, it had begun to fade. The majority of his student supporters returned to their classes. Furthermore, even in Gujarat and Bihar, the movement had failed to attract the rural and urban poor. Indira Gandhi challenged the JP Movement to put their respective popularity in Bihar and the country as a whole to the test in the upcoming general elections, which are scheduled for February-March 1976. JP accepted the challenge, and his backers decided to form a National Coordination Committee to carry it out.

 

•    JP revealed his thoughts on India and the ideals for which he had fought all these years near the end of his life. He explained, "The India of my dreams is a community in which every individual, every resource is dedicated to the service of the weak community, dedicated to the well-being of the poorest and weakest."

 

•    When the Janata Party came to power, however, JP hoped for a change in India's sociopolitical and economic situation. However, despite their pledge to work toward a just society, the party leaders pursued their political ambitions and were drawn to the corrupting influence of power. Naturally, the country reverted to its old political order of rivalry and infighting.