Problems of National Integration between East and West Pakistan Purpose of this section This section covers the problems of national integration between East and West Pakistan. It introduces candidates to the: ? Language Movement ?Emerging disparities between the two wings of Pakistan, in terms of economic development, deface and other sectors. Summary Between 1947 and 1956, the language issue created tension between the people of East and West Pakistan. But it was only one example of the many justices which the people of East Pakistan had to suffer at the time. 1947October: Formation of Rashtra Bhasha Sangram Parishad. 94821 and 24 March: Announcement by Jinnah- Urdu alone should be the state Language- leading to protest. 19499 March: Formation of the Purbo Bangla Bhasha Committee. 195221 February: Language Movement- protests and killings. 1956Bangla given the status of one of the state languages in the 1956 Constitution of Pakistan. Timeline showing the problems of integration between the two wings of Pakistan. 1. September 1947: Conference Supporting Bangla Perhaps the first significant event in the Language Movement was in September 1947 when youth workers in East Pakistan held a conference in Dhaka with Tasadduk Hossain as President.
This conference Passed a resolution calling for Bangla to be accepted as the language of the officces and the law courts and as the medium of instruction in East Pakistan. Shortly afterwards, a cultural organisation called Tamuddin Majlish called for Bangla to be made one of the state languages alongside Urdu. This call came in a booklet written by Professor Abul Kashem, who asked for all citizens of East Pakistan to join the Language Movement. 2. October 1947: An Organised Structure In October 1947, Tamuddin Majlish formed a Rashtrabhasha Sangram Parishad to ive the movement an organised structure. Nurul Haq Bhuyan was convener of this Sangram Parishad and a number of meetings held, such as that at the Fazlul Haq Hall, which was addressed by the poet Jasimuddin, Mr. Habibullah Bahar, Dr. Qazi Motahar Hossain, Professor Abul Kashem and others. 3. December 1947: Protest at Urdu being only state language Despite these moves, in December 1947, the Education Conference held in Karachi sponsored by the government of Pakistan, decided to make only Urdu the state language of Pakistan.
In protest on 6 December Students held a meeting at the Dhaka University campus under the chairmanship of Professor Abul Kashem and followed this meeting with a procession. The student also met with some of the provincial ministers, including Syed Afzal and obtained a promise on support for Bangla to be a state language. 4. January 1948: Demands Made In January 1948, the Rashtra Bhasha Parishad made the following demands to question of language: 1. Bangla should be the medium of instruction and language of the offices and law courts of East Bengal (East Pakistan) 2.
There should be two state language of Pakistan- Bangla and Urdu 5. February 1948: Protest at use of Urdu and English only Another important step came in February 1948. The first Constitute Assembly of Pakistan started to record its proceedings in Urdu side by side with English. Dhirendra Nath Dutta of Comilla, a member of the Constituent Assembly from East Pakistan, protested about this demanded that Bangla should be seen as one of the official languages and the proceeding recorded in that language.
The demand was rejected by the Constituent Assembly and in protest, students, teachers and intelligentsia of East Pakistan called a general strike in Dhaka on 26 February. 6. March 1948: Strikes A few days later, on 2 March 1948, supporters of the Bangla language met at the Fazlul Haq Hall of Dhaka University. They agreed to form an all-party Rashtrabhasha Sangram Parishad. The Sangram Parishad called a general meeting on 11 March 1948 to show its opposition to the government’s decision to impose Urdu as the official language. The police took firm measures.
Many of the protestor were arrested or injured at this meeting. In protest, a further strike was organised for 13 March. This strike was extended up to 15 March. A general strike was also observed in all districts of the Country. Such was the discontent that Chief Minister Khwaja Nazimuddin was forced to meet the Sangram Parishad on 15 March. He Agreed to free the arrested students, investigate police excesses, table a Bill in the Assembly for making Bangla a state language and to lift restrictions imposed on newspaper. 7. March 1948: Inflammatory Speech by Jinnah
But the difficulties involved in changing the government’s mind were clearly seen in March 1948, when Jinnah visited Dhaka on 21 March, he addressed a public meeting at the Race Course Ground and declared: “Urdu, and only Urdu, shall be the state language of Pakistan” One week later, he repeated this statement at Dhaka University Convocation on 24 March at the Curzon Hall. The students present protested strongly and on the same day the Rastrabhasha Parishad Submitted a memorandum to Jinnah demanding that Bangla be made a state language of Pakistan. . Formation of the Awami Muslim league: 1949 In June 1949, the Awami Muslim League was formed in Dhaka, It was formed partly 10 support Language Movement but also in protest against the undemocratic and seemingly biased attitude of the Pakistan Government. Moulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani was the first President and Shamsul Haq was appointed the General Secretary of the Awarni Muslim League. In 1955, this party dropped the word “Muslim” from its name and came to be known as, the “Awami league”. It adopted the path of secularism and non-communalism.
Formation of the United Front and its victory in the provincial election of 1954 Four opposition political parties of East Pakistan – The Awami League, Krishak Praja Party. Nezam-e-islam and the Leftist Ganatantri Dal (Democratic Party) – formed the Jukto Front (United Front) on 4 December 1953 in order to jointly take part in the forthcoming provincial elections. Its election manifesto was formulated on the basis of its 21 point demands. The United Front The Front campaigned on an election manifesto that incorporated a Twenty One Point Programme adopted by the Front in November 1953.
In addition to full regional autonomy, the manifesto demanded that the central government should delegate the eastern province all subjects except defence, foreign affairs and currency. It also called for: Emerging disparities between the two wings of Pakistan Introduction In chapter 4, we read about the Lahore Resolution of 1940, when Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Haq had explained the need for different autonomous political units in India for tile Muslim majority areas. He based his belief on the geographical incongruity, the economic problems and the linguistic and cultural differences among the people of different regions.
But in course of time, the Muslim leaders felt that politically isolated Muslim majority territories would be weak and insecure vis-a-vis India. Therefore, the original idea of autonomous statehood (as mentioned in the original draft of the Lahore Resolution) was replaced by an idea of a single “State”. The revised proposal was moved by Hossain Shahid Suhrawardy, seconded by Chowdhury Khalikuzzaman and supported by Malik Firouz Khan Noon and others. The subsequent history of Pakistan proved that the merger of two widely different regions could not exist for long.
East Bengal or East Pakistan and West Pakistan were separated by about one thousand miles by the . Indian territory. No unity could be developed between the distinctive languages, culture tradition and livelihood of the people of these two parts of Pakistan. As time went by, alongside the geographical, social and cultural differences, there also developed gradual disparity between the two wings in economic and other institutional levels such as military, educational and political representations. Disparity in economic development
The provincial government in the easy did not have any control over its own economy as everything was controlled by the centre. Trading bodies and foreign missions were established in West Pakistan. A greater proportion 6r foreign aid and the national development budget was allocated for the west wing. Whereas between 1947-48 and 1960-61, capital investment for development purposes amounted to 172 crore Rupees for East Pakistan, it was 430 crore Rupees for West Pakistan. At the same time the earning of East Pakistan from foreign trade, of jute for instance, was diverted to West Pakistan.
As a result, the economic gap which existed between the two wings in 1947•48 increased substantially over the years. Per capital income increased in West Pakistan from Rs. 330 in 1949-50 to Rs. 373 in 1959-60; whereas in East Pakistan in declined from Rs. 305 to Rs. 288. After coming to power in 1958, Ayub Khan promissed to address the disparity that existed between the two wings. At first there were some Improvements. In East Pakistan in 1948-49, private investment had been worth 547 million rupees, in 1963-64 it had almost doubled to 1038 million rupees.
But still it was only 22% of the total investment in entire Pakistan. At the same time, the per capita income of West Pakistan rose to 464 rupees in 1963-64, while in East Pakistan it rose to only Rs. 327. Disparities in defence The people of East Pakistan were not represented, proportionately in important posts like the defence and civil services according to the population ratio. While the security of East Pakistan was uncertain and the province was also subjected to discrimination in military matters, the headquarters of the three Defence services, i. e.
Army, Navy and Air Force, were established in West Pakistan. Ordnance factories were also established in West Pakistan. Of the total Commissioned Officers in the Army and Air Force, only 5% and 17% respectively were from East Pakistan. Similar was the case in the Navy in which the percentage of superior officers ranged from 5 to 17%. . Administrative and political disparity Pakistan had a severe shortage of trained administrative personnel. as mostmembers of the pre-Independent Indian Civil Service were Hindus or Sikhs who opted to belong to India at the time of partition.
Rarer still were Muslims who had any past administrative experience. As a result, high level posts in Dhaka, including that of Governor-General, were usually filled by West Pakistanis or by refugees from India who had adopted Pakistani citizenship. Although the representatives or East ; Bengal were in a majority in the first Constituent Assembly, both Governor-General and Prime Minister were appointed from West Pakistan. The capital of the new country was established in West Pakistan too. 9. 1949 to 1952: Pakistan Prime Ministers ignore demands
The pressure was kept up despite government opposition. Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan visited Dhaka towards the end of 1949. The students of Dhaka University again called for Bangla to be given official status. But Liaquat Ali Khan ignored their demands arid did not make any comment. Khwaja Nazimuddin succeeded Liaquat Ali Khan as a Prime Minister of Pakistan on 26 January, 1952. But he, too, did not support raising the status of Bangla. At a public meeting in Dhaka, he reiterated that Urdu would be the only state language of Pakistan. 0. The Language Movement As you read in Section A, when the new nation of Pakistan came into being, the question of language became one of the most important national issued for the new government. Bengalis believed that the West Pakistani leadership was showing an irrational bias in favour of Urdu at the expense of Bangla. This section looks in detail at how the people in East Pakistan became politically active to resist attempts to establish Urdu as the national language. a. February 1952: State Language Day
Once again, as a mark of protest, a call for hartal throughout the province was given and an All Party Rashtrabhasha Sangram Committee was formed under the presidency of Ataur Rahman Khan, with Qazi Gholam Mahboob as convener. This Sangram Committee resolved to carry on the movement until the demand for Bangla as a state language was accepted by the government. It called a further students’ strike on 4 February and decided to observe 21 February as the State Language Day on which there would be a country-wide hartal.
On 20 February the Government of Nurul Amin tried to stop the protests by banning processions and meetings. But on 21 February, students of Dhaka University defied the order and marched from Dhaka University campus to the Provincial Assembly which was in session, chanting the slogan, “Rushtrabhasha Bangia Chai. ” The police used tear gas to disperse the students who had assembled in the campus of the present-day Medical College and violence broke out. The police opened fire killing a number of people including Jabbar, Rafiq, Barkat and Salam. Many others were injured in the firing.
News of the violence spread quickly over Dhaka and reaction was quick. Two days later, on 22 February, a protest rally was held at which large numbers of protesters were present. Once again, the police opened fire and Shafiur Rahman was killed. On the same day, in a meeting or the students held at the Medical College hostel, it was decided to build a Shaheed Minar in memory of those who had died. A 12 feet high Shaheed Minar was erected by students in front or Dhaka Medical College. The next day, the police tore it down. But another Shaheed Minar was built on the same site. hich is the present Central Shaheed Minar. Shaheed Minar (source: Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh) 1956 constitution: Bangla made a state language Finally, the government of Nurul Amin passed a resolution Assembly that the proposal to make Bangla a state language should be raised at the Constituent Assembly. In the face of continuous students’, and people’s, movements, the Pakistan Government was compelled to give Bangla the status of one of the state languages in the 1956 Constitution of Pakistan. 21 February – international importance 21 February is now observed as Language Day.
In honour of the martyrs who gave their lives, the Central Shahid Minar has been constructed in front of the Dhaka Medical College. As proclaimed at UNESCO’s general conference in November 1999, 21 February has been recognised as International Mother Language Day. Since February 2000, it is being observed worldwide as International Mother Language Day to promote linguistic and cultural unity. The Language Movement was the first organised expression of the mass consciousness of the people of Bangladesh, who felt that their views were not being listened to.
The protest was to be an important stepping stone in inspiring the opposition to discrimination and bringing about independence. 11. Political development from 1956 to 1966 Between the fall of the United Front government in 1954 and the introduction of Martial Law in 1958, various parties, including the Awami League, formed short-lived governments. On 12 September 1956, the Awami League Republican Coalition Ministry was formed, headed by Shaheed Suhrawardy. This Ministry undertook measures for developing East Pakistan, which included the establishment of a permanent office of the Controller of Import and Export in East Pakistan.
The government established the DIT for the development of Dhaka city, the CDA for the development of Chittagong city, the Inland Water Transport Authority, the Jute Marketing Corporation and the Film Development Corporation. However, Maulana Bhasani differed with Suhrawardy on the question of foreign policy. As a result, Maulana Bhasani left the party and formed the National Awami Party on 27 July 1957. Finally, on 10 October 1957, Iskander Mirza brought an end to the Suhrawardy Ministry. On 18 October 1957, the Muslim League Republican Ministry was formed under the leadership of Ishmail Ibrahim Chundrigar.
After a few days, Firouz Khan Noon of the Republican Party became the Prime Minister. He declared that on the basis of the 1956 Constitution, the first general election or Pakistan would be held on 16 February 1959. Meanwhile, both at the Centre and in the Provinces, the politicians were mostly preoccupied with self-interest. It was a period of intrigues and uncertainties. In East Pakistan, a political crisis occurred on 31 March 1958 when Ataur Rahman Khan’s Ministry was dismissed by the then Governor A. K. Fazul Huq. Later that night President Iskander Mirza removed the Governor from his office.
On the dismissal of Ataur Rahman Khan’s Ministry, Abu Hossain Sarker again became, Chief Minister of the Province. He was soon dismissed and Ataur Rahman Khan again became the Prime Minister of East Pakistan and held this office for two months. In Augus11958, Ataur Rahman was appointed for the third time after the temporary stay of the Abu Hossain Ministry and he held the office till Martial Law was promulgated in the country. Meanwhile, in 1956, the first constitution of Pakistan was framed on the basis of this constitution. Pakistan assumed the name of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The provinces or the Western region was grouped under one unit and called “West Pakistan”, and East Bengal was renamed “East Pakistan”. At this time, Ghulam Mohammed resigned, and on 23 March 1956. Iskander Mirza became the first President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Introduction of martial law On 23 September 1958, an unfortunate incident occurred in the Provincial Assembly or East Pakistan. A serious altercation and scuffle took place inside the Assembly in which the Deputy Speaker Shahed Ali, was severely injured and later died.
This incident is regarded as a severe blow for the democratic rule in Pakistan. Chaos in the Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan and the death of the Deputy Speaker provided the Pakistani ruling clique an excuse for political interference in this region. After this incident, on 7 October, 1958, President Iskander Mirza introduced martial law by a declaration. He suspended the Constitution, Legislative Assembly, Central and Provincial Ministries. He also prohibited all political activities by banning all political parties.
Commander-in-Chief General Mohammed Ayub Khan was appointed Chief Martial Law Administrator and Pakistan was divided into a number of military zones. Major General Umrao Khan was appointed Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan. This was how military rule began in Pakistan. Basic democracy On 27 October 1958, General Ayub Khan removed Iskander Mirza and he himself assumed supreme power as the President of Pakistan. Ayub Khan remained Commander-in-Chief and the Chief Martial Law Administrator, this becoming immensely powerful, Ayub Khan took certain political steps as soon as he assumed power: An Elective 130dies Disqualification Ordinance (EBDO) was introduced and many politicians were ‘ebdoed’ for misuse of power. ?In different stages of the administration screening committees were set up with a view to removing corrupt and inefficient officials from Government services. These committees finished their task in March, 1959. Most of the corrupt and inefficient Government officers were moved from their posts and the rest of them were made to retire. ?One of the controversial measures of the Ayub Government was the introduction of Basic Democracy.
It was considered virtually a dictatorship under the disguise of democracy. He issued the Basic Democracies Order in October, 1959. It introduced a five-tier structure of representative bodies, but in 1962 the Provincial Development Advisory Council was abolished leaving four tiers: a. Union Council b. Thana Council c. District Council d. Divisional Council The first elections of the Basic Democrats were held in January 1960. Forty thousand Basic Democrats in each province were elected and they were given some training before entering their’ duties, Basic Democrats were basically embers of Union Councils who were given the right to elect members of Provincial and National Assemblies and the President, A Referendum was held in 1969, in which these Basic Democrats made Ayub Khan the first elected President of Pakistan by means of a confidence-vote. Martial law lifted In 1962 President Ayub Khan lifted martial law and introduced a new Constitution. In the same year, Abdul Monem Khan, a Central Minister or Health, was made the Governor of East Pakistan. During his governorship there, were many problems in East Pakistan, though some developmental measures were taken, including the building of: ?
Parliament Building ?Dhaka (later Zia) international Airport. ?Sadarghat Launch Terminal ?Kamalapur Railway Station ?Rampura TV Centre ?New High Court Building (now the Supreme Court of Bangladesh) ? Ashuganj Power Station ?Bangladesh Agriculture University ?Institute of Post Graduate Medicine and Research (IPGMR – now the Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital) ? Atomic Energy Centre ?Science Laboratory ?Chittagong University ?Jahangirnagar University Several Medical and Engineering Colleges as well as Polytechnic and Vocational Institutes were also established.
In 1964, Presidential elections and elections the Basic Democracies were held. Mohammed Ayub Khan contested the presidential election and in January 1965 won the election against Ms. Fatima Jinnah, daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the candidate of the combined opposition parties. Abdul Monem Khan, as the Governor or East Pakistan, remained steadfastly loyal to Ayub regime and this made him extremely unpopular. When Ayub Khan was forced to resign in 1969, Monem Khan’s rule also came to an end. 12. The Six Points Movements: 1966
Despite the many development efforts during the Ayub regime, the essential disparity between the two wings or Pakistan were not properly addressed. As a result, the feeling of discrimination continued to grow among the people of East Pakistan. The Six Points Movement, an anti-Ayub political movement gathered momentum and was a popular reflection of this discontent. After the death or H. S. Suhrawardy in 1963, the leadership of the Awami League was taken over by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Under his leadership, the Awami League soon became one of the most popular and strongest political parties in East Pakistan.
On 5 February 1966, at the Lahore conference, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announced his six-point political and economic programme for East Pakistan provincial autonomy. The Six Points Programme, in brief is as follows: i. A truer federal type of constitution should be framed for Pakistan on the basis of the Lahore Resolution. The constitution will be Parliamentary, with elections held on the basis of universal adult franchise. ii. Central government shall only deal with Defence and Foreign Affairs, all other power will rest with the provinces. ii. There will be two separate convertible currencies in the two regions of the country, or one single currency for the whole country with the provision of two reserve banks in two provinces under a Federal Reserve banks. iv. Control of taxation and revenue collection shall have to be invested in the federal units. The Federal Government would receive a share from the collection of the collection of the federal units to meet financial obligations. v. There should be separate accounts for the foreign exchange of the two regions.
If necessary, the requirement of the Centre will be met by the two regions on the basis of equal rate or as specified in the constitution. vi. The federal states should have the authority to form regional armed forces or militia or Para militia forces to protect the territories. The people or East Pakistan welcomed the Six Points Programme and it gained widespread support for a variety or reasons: ?It threatened the political and economic monopoly of West Pakistan. ?East Pakistan’s export earnings would no longer be manipulated for industrialisation of West Pakistan. ?Foreign assistance would no longer he monopolised for West Pakistan only . East Pakistan would no longer remain a captive market for West Pakistani products. ?I East Pakistan would no longer be exploited for maintaining the vast war machine of West Pakistan. ?Economic priorities would no longer be determined for the advantage of West Pakistan. ?It would end the dominance or West Pakistani bureaucrats. ?It became more popular following the Agartala Conspiracy Case (see below). Discussion/Reflection Question: Explaining history In February 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announced his six-point political and economic programme. Take each point individually and explain why it was popular with the peoples of East Pakistan. 13. The Agartala Conspiracy Case 1968 Ayub interpreted Sheikh Mujib’s demands as tantamount to a call for independence. After Sheikh Mujib’s supporters voted for a general strike in Dhaka, the government arrested Mujib in January 1968, along with other civil and military officials. They were accused of conspiring at Agartala in India to separate East Pakistan from Pakistan through an armed revolution with India’s help. A special tribunal was constituted to try the ease. But before the case could be heard, the people of East Pakistan rose in a mass uprising against Ayub Khan.
The movement was led by the All Party Student Action Committee and such was the strength of opposition that the government was forced to back down and withdraw the case. 14. The mass uprising of 1969 As the Pakistan Government and the leaders of West Pakistan did not accept Sheikh Mujibs Six point Programme, the attempt to remove the differences between the two wings was foiled. The government tried to bring the situation under control by massive repression. The students of East Pakistan were united against this repressive policy. They formed an All- Party Struggle council, that later came to be known as the Student’s Action Committee (SAC).
They started movements based on an Eleven-points Plan which called, among other things, regional autonomy, freedom of speech and the nationalisation of big mills and factories including banks and insurances companies. Mass discontent with Ayub Khan’s rule increased. Maulana Bhashani, meanwhile, was the first to lend his support to the 11 point demand of the students. He took recourse to the “Gherao” movement to realise the demands of the various interests, particularly workers and peasants. His call for a “Demand Day” on December 17 1968 was a tremendous success. In January 1969, there were numerous clashes between police and students.
During these clashes, Assuduzzaman, a student of the Law Department of the Dhaka University, was killed. The police shot dead 6 students from Nabakumur School. This led to a broader anti-government movement, and violent mob agitation gradually spread throughout East and West Pakistan. Meanwhile, two incidents added fuel to the lire. These were the unfortunate deaths of Sergeant Zuhirul Haq, an accused of the Agartala Case on 15 February 1969, and of Dr. Shamsuzzoha, a teacher at Rajshahi University, following a shooting incident on 17 February 1969. Rioting became so intense that a curfew was imposed in Dhaka.
With almost all sections of society – students, labourers, peasants, educationists, thinkers and artists opposing his rule, Ayub Khan was forced to make concessions: ? Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released on 22 February. ?On the same day the Agartala Conspiracy Case was dropped. ?On 10th March 1969 Ayub Khan invited all political leaders to a round table conference at Rawalpindi to discuss the constitutional and political problems. At the round table conference, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman demanded autonomy for East Pakistan, as set out in his 6 points (and the 11 points of the Students’ Action Committee).
Ayub Khan would not accept this demand and the talks ended in failure. After the failure of the talks, the situation in East Pakistan deteriorated to such an extent that law and order began to break down. Production dropped to dangerously low levels and the economy began to suffer. On 25 March 1969, Ayub Khan was forced to resign and hand over power to General Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan, Commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army. 15. Liberation War Main article: Bangladesh War timeline March to June Leaflets and pamphlets played an important role in driving public opinion during the war.
See also: Mukti Bahini At first resistance was spontaneous and disorganized, and not expected to be prolonged. But when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The Mukti Bihini became increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground “Bangladesh army”. These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India, Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganizing their forces.
They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Bards and Al-Shams (who were mostly members of Muslim League, the then government party and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time of partition. On April 17, 1971, a provisional government was formed in Meherpur district in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Acting President, and Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister.
As fighting grew between the army and the Bengali mukti bahini (“freedom fighters”), an estimated 10 million Bengalis, mainly Hindus, sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. June-September The eleven sectors See also: List of sectors in Bangladesh Liberation Ear. Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M A G Osmani as commander in chief, Lt. Col, Abdur Rab as chief of Army Staff and Group Captain A K Khandaker as Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Force.
Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors each with a commander chosen from defected officers of Pakistan army who joined the Mukti Bahini to conduct guerrilla operations and train fighters. Most of their training camps were situated the border area and were operated with assistance from India. The 10th Sector was directly placed under Commander in Chief (C-in-C) and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C’s special force. Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare, a large guerilla force (estimate l00,000) was trained. Guerilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August.
Economic and military targets in Dhaka were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong on 16 August 1971. Pakistani reprisals claimed lives of thousands of civilians. The Indian army took over supplying the Mukti Bahini from the BSF. They organised six sectors for supplying the Bangladesh forces. October – December Also See: Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan, Bangladesh 1971: Opposing Plans, Pakistan Army Order of Battle December 1971 and Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971
Bangladesh conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 BOPs fell to Bengali forces. Guerrilla attacks intensified, as did Pakistani and Razakar reprisals on civilian populations. Pakistani forces were reinforced by eight battalions from West Pakistan. The Bangladeshi independence fighters even managed to temporarily capture airstrips at Lalmonirhat and Shalutikar. Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent 5 battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.
Indian involvement Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared war on Pakistan and in aid of the Mukti Bahini, then ordered the immediate mobilisation of troops and launched the full-scale invasion: This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War. Three Indian corps were involved in the invasion of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more fighting irregularly. This was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions. Indian Army’s T:S5tanks on theirwaytoDhal
