16th December, Vijay Diwas - The Indian Victory in the Blitzkrieg Battle & the Liberation of Bangladesh

Vijay Diwas - The Indian Victory in the Blitzkrieg Battle & the Liberation of Bangladesh

Today, 16th December, 2021, marks an historic day for it commemorates the Golden jubilee of the Indian Victory against our arch adversary Pakistan and is marked as the Vijay Diwas. This day has therefore been eternally etched in golden letters in the annals of the Indian history, which heralds the crushing defeat that the Pakistanis received at the hands of the Indian Army who were ably supported by the highly motivated Mukhti Bahini soldiers of Bangladesh who were fighting their oppressors. The Indian victory, which was followed by the surrender of a massive 93000 plus Pakistani soldiers ensured the liberation of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from the barbarian acts of atrocities committed by the West Pakistan, against their own countrymen – East Pakistan. The vivisection of Pakistan into two parts and the resultant liberation of East Pakistan and formation of an independent Bangladesh, negated the two nation theory, which was advocated by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This war is fondly remembered in India as the nation’s finest battle victory in the post Independent India and this serves as a testament to our military prowess and superiority, and also it serves as some kind of a divine intervention against Pakistan and its founder Jinnah who had broken India in 1947. Today while celebrating the Vijay Diwas and the liberation of Bangladesh, the whole nation must stand united - setting aside all our differences – and must raise in attention and salute our war heroes, particularly those who made the supreme sacrifice - in the likes of the young officers and Param Vir Chakra winners, Second Lieutenant, Arun Khetrapal and Flying Officer, Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, who made their supreme sacrifice on way to the Indian victory.
The Indian victory in the 1971 war and so also the liberation of Bangladesh from their oppressors was made possible by the extraordinary political leadership of Smt. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, who was rightly and befittingly supported by all the political class and the nation, which is evidenced from the description of Indira Gandhi as Goddess Durga by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The whole nation had stood united in supporting the Indian army and the political leadership, who stood in solidarity with the Mukti Bahini and the people of Bangladesh, during this 13-day war to liberate Bangladesh by inflicting a crushing defeat on Pakistan. 
Ever since 16th December is commemorated as the Vijay Diwas, which heralds the surrender of Pakistan’s armed forces, who laid down their arms at a surrender ceremony in Dhaka before the joint command of the Indian armed forces and Bangladesh’s Mukti Bahini. It was the finest hour in both India and Bangladesh’s military histories. Today, while we herald the Golden Jubilee of that historic Indian Military victory against Pakistan and recall that immemorial scene of the surrender by Lieutenant General Abdullah Khan Nazi - the commander of the Pakistan Eastern Command - with his 93000 plus Pakistani armed forces and the signing of the instrument of surrender by Gen Nazi at that historic Ramna Race Course in Dacca, which was graciously and with humility accepted and signed by Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Arora, it is time for us to stand in attention and salute all the three forces of our armed forces – Army, Navy and Air Force - who under the leadership of General Sam Manekshaw (later Field Marshal Manekshaw) created history by crushing the enemy in an blitzkrieg battle, which has become a case study for war historians. What is even more pleasing for us (the Ajeets – students of Sainik School Bijapur) is that we had our very own Ajeets (Col BGV Kumar and Captain Gopinath) who were part of this historic battle.
The genesis for this war started with the struggle for Bengali rights by the people of East Pakistan who were being oppressed by the West Pakistan. The partition of India into India and Pakistan by the British, on the lines of religion based on the strong advocacy by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, resulted in the formation of Pakistan as a country with two incontiguous territories known as West Pakistan (today’s Pakistan) and East Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh). The East Pakistan had their own language Bengali and culture, which was more aligned to the Bengali culture and was distinct from West Pakistan. The refusal to accept Bengali as a state language of Pakistan in the early years after Partition and so also the economic disparity between the two parts of Pakistan and so also the hegemony of the West Pakistani ruling elite over Pakistan, martial laws, and a demeaning attitude towards Bengali culture and the Bengali population had soured relations between the East and West Pakistan to a breaking point. The tension reached a crescendo in December 1970 when the Awami League party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was based in East Pakistan, won the national elections. Unfortunately, notwithstanding the victory by Mujibur Rahman, which mandated a due democratic process for handing over of the power to Mujibur Rahman was not followed and the West Pakistan parties, primarily the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), refused to hand over power to Mujibur Rahman. This led to further tension between the native Bengalis and the Urdu speaking Bihari Muslims in East Pakistan. The Urdu-speaking Bihari Muslims had migrated to East Pakistan from different parts of India after Partition and all these men were seen as pro-West Pakistan. The refusal of the political establishment in West Pakistan to rightfully hand over the leadership charge to Mujibur Rahman, who had won the elections, resulted in the attack by his supporters in East Pakistan on some Bihari communities in different parts of East Pakistan. 
The unfortunate attack and violence by the supporters of Mujibur Rahman on the Bihari Muslims, was used as a major excuse by the West Pakistan Army, who came in full force in March 1971 to stem the growth of nationalist sentiments in the East Pakistan who were supporting their leader Mujibar Rahman. The West Pakistan military effectively created a bridge between the Bengalis and non-Bengalis and also recruited local pro-Pakistan Bengalis and non-Bengalis, including members of the Islamic organisation like the Jamaat-e-Islami for its operations against Bengali factions. With the violence against the local Bengalis increasing by the day and the atrocities, including rape, of the Bengali speaking local population by the West Pakistan soldiers and their supporters created an unprecedented situation, which led to the migration by large number of refugees into Indian territory. When millions of refuses crossed in to India, the Indian leadership in New Delhi– Prime Minister. Smt. Indira Gandhi – had no option but to use this refuse crisis, which was taking a major toll on India as a just cause to use military option to try and solve this crisis, when all other efforts went in wain.
The Prime Minister summoned Sam Manekshaw and sought the assistance and intervention of the Indian army to solve the refugee crisis. However, with the monsoon looming large and also given the riverine terrain of Bangladesh, Manekshaw was quick to inform the Prime Minister that it will not be possible for the Indian Army to enter into action until the end of the monsoon. It was also incumbent on Smt Indira Gandhi to ensure that she uses all her diplomatic skills and her charm to ensure that China would not intervene on behalf of Pakistan. Therefore, on the advice of Indian Army Chief, General Manekshaw, Indira Gandhi decided to use the intervening period, when the Indian army would prepare for an onslaught at the opportune moment just when it started snowing in the winter which would preclude Chinese movements through the mountain passes, to canvass with the international community for supporting India and the cause of the Bengali speaking East Pakistanis who were migrating in large numbers. The Indian army used this period to reposition forces from the west to the east and construct necessary infrastructure to support military operations while seeking diplomatic support from Russia and imploring the United States to counsel Pakistan to end what was clearly ethnic cleansing in East Pakistan.
Unfortunately, the US President, Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, were unmoved by India’s request. Moreover, Nixon had a personal, visceral, and deeply misogynistic hatred for India’s Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Besides, the Nixon administration was unconcerned about the mounting atrocities because it was contemplating commencing a diplomatic overture to China, and for this Nixon chose Yahya Khan to be its mediator. Lack of support from Nixon and his hatred for her did not deter Indira Gandhi. Rather it made her more determined to achieve her objective. Indira Gandhi travelled extensively and met world leaders in the west to seek their support for the rightful liberation of East Pakistan from their oppressors, who by then had already killed a million plus East Pakistanis and so also had raped women in thousands.  India began its military conflict against the Pakistanis on 3rd December, 1971, immediately when Pakistan’s Air Force conducted pre-emptive strikes on forward Indian airbases and radar installations. The primacy of Indian military and its extraordinary valour can best be appreciated from the fact that the war was won by the Indians in just 13 days (16 December 1971) with extraordinarily united fight by all three forces of the Indian Military – Army, Navy and Air Force. Pakistan learned the most dangerous lessons of the war. When the war ended on 16 December 1971, Pakistan was vivisected with East Pakistan emerging as an independent nation - Bangladesh. Some 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Indian Armed Forces and were taken to India as POWs. Pakistan lost more than half of its population and about 15 percent of its territory. The humiliating defeat ensured Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to ruthlessly rule Pakistan until General Zia-ul-Haq ousted him in a coup in July 1977. Unfortunately, it was during this period of the rule by Zulfikar Bhutto that India kind of a snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed the 1972 Shimla Agreement with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. On August 2, 1972 – eight months after the 13-day India-Pakistan war ended on December 16, 1971 – the two countries signed the Shimla Agreement under which India agreed to release all the 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war (POW) its army had taken during the course of the war. India treated the Pakistani POW with utmost dignity and had kept them in conditions of comfort that went over and above the provisions listed in the Geneva Convention.
The Shimla agreement formally concluded the war. Despite being the clear victor, India most unfortunately, acquiesced to most of Pakistan’s demands, including relinquishing 5,800 square miles (15,022 sq. km) of the territory it had captured in the west, the repatriation of the 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war, assurance that Bangladesh would not conduct war crimes trials against Pakistani military personnel. The Shimla agreement however, ensured the safe release of Mujibur Rahman from Pakistan and becoming the founding Prime Minister of the new nation Bangladesh for a brief period until his assassination.  
Shockingly, even after the humiliating defeat and the signing of the Shimla accord, Pakistan has never abided by this agreement. Rather Pakistan has emerged from the 1971 War and has strategically positioned itself to extract advantages by collaborating with the United States on occasion while actively furthering its own agenda at the same time. Unfettered by the humiliating defeat Pakistan was able to seek financial, diplomatic, and political support from the Gulf State Monarchies, which, in turn, helped Pakistan to strengthen their terror objectives, which are continuing to haunt not just India but globally.
Today when we are celebrating the golden jubilee of our victory it is time to recall the main architect of this conflict. General Sam Manekshaw. There is an interesting anecdotal reference that Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw had told the Pakistani general explicitly "You surrender or we wipe you out" on December 13. And in just three days the Pakistan Army crumbled due to India's sustained ground and air assault in the western and eastern front and finally surrendered on 16th December. Manekshaw who was the Army chief during the 1971 operation was the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. Manekshaw was also involved in the Kashmir affairs during those precious moments of 1947, when the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession. He was appointed as the eighth chief of Army staff on 8 June, 1969. "Sam Bahadur" as he was known in the Army, especially among his troops, will ever be remembered for the stellar victory that he achieved for India.
Jai Hind
Jai Hind Ki Sena