War and Social Upheval: Third Indo-Pakistani War (1971-72)


Figure 1.-- The Third Indo-Pakistani War led to the separation of East and West Pakistan and the creation of a new state--Bangladesh. Even after the fighting ceased, however, there were major problems. The war created large numbers of refugees. In addition, there were problems with the POW exchanges. And the problems did not stop there. The wives of Pakistani POWs encountered major problems. The press caption here read, "Rawalpindi, Pakistan: Mrs. Freda Shah and her children. Like other activist wives of prisoners of war, Mrs. Shah is the object of scorn and dismay in the rigid social atmpspherte of her Moslem country." The photograph was dated July 7, 1973. Notice that the woman and her daughters are not wearing head scarves. Today they would risk attack on the street dressed like that. Click on the images for details.

Pakistan at the time of independence was created as a two-part state. East and West Pakistan shared Islam, but had different ethnic and historical backgrounds. The first two wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir were largely fought in the west as this was where Khasmir was located. India did not attack East Pakistan which had been created in Bengal. And Pakistan did not launch major attacks from East Pakistan. The Begalis in East Pakistan did not share the hostility toward India that was prominent in West Pakistan. The one factor that had held East and West Pakistan together was fear of Indian expansion. After the fitst two Indo-Pakistan wars, it became clear to most Bengalis that India did not harbor territorial ambitions in Bengal. Thus after 1965, Bengalis claiming West Pakistani economic exploitation began agitating for greater autonomy. (Pakistan complained with both justification and hypocracy that India did not allow elections in Kashmir, but itself refused to allow elections in East Pakistan.) Popular unrest forced Pakistan to hold general elections, the first such elections since independence (1970). The elections were won by the Awami League which had led the agitation for greater autonomy. The Pakistani Government refused to turn power over to a civilian government headed by the Awami League. West Pakistan invaded East Pakistan to maintain control (March 1971). This led to a protracted and brutal civil war between East and West Pakistan. The Pakistani Army proved nothing short of savage in its treatment of civilians who they saw as trechrous because of their support for the Awami League. The Army commited horendous attrocities. Millions of Bengalis fled into India. India itself did not intervene, but provided military equipment and supplies to the Bengali resistance. Pakistan decided to force a conclusion and launched a preemtive air strike on India launching the Third Indo-Pakistani War (December 3, 1971). The Soviet Union used its veto in the U.N. Security Council to ensure rthat there would be no ceasfire until India achieved its military objectives. The war led to the separation of East and West Pakistan and the creation of a new state--Bangladesh. Even after the fighting ceased, there were major problems. The war created large numbers of refugees. In addition, there were problems with the POW exchanges.

Independence Conflict

Aftr a decades-long national struggle, Britain granted India independence (1947). Surprisingly there were no real issues at the time with Britain. After centuries of relative comunal peace between Hindus and Muslims, the religious divide emerged as the major issue as the departure of the British became a real possibility. Muslims were prepared to live under British rule, but became increasingly apprehensice about living in a Hindu majority independent India. Muslim leaders like Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded partition and a separate Muslim state. Drawing the border was aifficult undertaking creating disagteements, but the major issue was Muslim majority Khasmir which Indiaeized. The result was three costly wars and sectarian emnity which continues to this day.

Pakistan: Divided Country

Pakistan at the time of independence was created as a two-part state. East and West Pakistan shared Islam, but had little more in common. There were ethnic, cultural, and historical backgrounds. From the beginning, the country was dominated by the West Palistani authorities. The Begalis in East Pakistan did not share the hostility toward India that was prominent in West Pakistan. The one factor that had held East and West Pakistan together was fear of Indian expansion.

First Two Wars

The first two wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir were largely fought in the west as this was where Khasmir was located. India did not attack East Pakistan which had been created in Bengal. And Pakistan did not launch major attacks from East Pakistan.

Elections in East Pakistan

After the fitst two Indo-Pakistan wars, it became clear to most Bengalis that India did not harbor territorial ambitions in Bengal. Thus after 1965, Bengalis claiming West Pakistani economic exploitation began agitating for greater autonomy. (Pakistan complained with both justification and hypocracy that India did not allow elections in Kashmir, but itself refused to allow elections in East Pakistan.) Popular unrest forced Pakistani officials (mostly West Pakistanis) to allow general elections (1970). This was the first such elections since independence. The elections were won by the Awami League which had led the agitation for greater autonomy. The Pakistani Government refused to turn power over to a civilian government headed by the Awami League.

West Pakistani Invasion (March 1971)

West Pakistan invaded East Pakistan to maintain control (March 1971). This led to a protracted and brutal civil war between East and West Pakistan. Pakistan's Army launched a brutal campaign to suppress Awami League and the resistance movement that emerged. It proved more difficult than anticipated because of popular resistance and the mass defections among East Pakistani soldiers and police. There was a wave of Indian-supported Bangladeshi nationalism. The situation became violent and the Pakistani Army systematic targeted unarmed multi-ethic Pakistanis, killing large numbers of people. [Hanhimäki and Blumenau] The resistance did not have heavy weapons. The well-armed Pakistani Army s gradually reasserted their authority over most of East Pakistan (May).

Bengal Genocide

The Pakistani Army proved nothing short of savage in its treatment of civilians. Many West Pakistanis saw the Bengalis as trechrous because of their support for the Awami League and India. The Army commited horendous attrocities as part of its security operations. The Pakistani sought out Bebhali intelectuals as they were known to favor autonomy. This was much the same as the NAZI AK killing operations and similar Soviet killing operations in Poland during World War II. Hindus were also special targets because India was aiding the resistance. The exact death total will never be known, but is believd tens of thousands of victims died at the hands of the Pakistani Army. The Pakistani actions is classified by many academic sources as the Banladesh Genocide, but some sources object to the use of the term. . It began with the Pakistani Army launching Operation Searchlight (March 26). [Spencer, p. 63.] This began with the Pakistani Army's crackdown in East Pakistan. During the ebsuing 9-month-long Bangladesh independence struggle, members the Pakistani Army and allied Islamist militias (Jamaat-e-Islami, Bihari and Bengali Razakar, and al-Badr militias) killed in unbelieveable numbers. Bengali sources claim that some 3 million Bengalis were killed. [Alston, p. 40.]. There is no precise accounting and independent sources estimate the killing as more like 0.3-0.5 million people. [Dummett and Hiro, p. 216.] We have not definitive information, but find it difficult to believe that without a NAZI-like industril killing infrastructure and a supportive population that 3 million people could have been killed in 9 months. The Benghalis have attempted to collect information. ["Bangladesh sets up ..."] Army personnel and the Islanic militants are believed to have raped 0.2-0.3 million women. [Roychowdhury] This was not an uncontrolled rampage, but a systematic campaign described as 'genocidal rape'. [Sharlach, pp. 92–93.] As strange as it may seem, the raping of Bengali women was justified by Islamic clerics who declared them to be 'gonimoter maal' (public property). [D'Costa, p. 108.] In addition to the Pakistani killing and raping, there was also other ethnic-religious violence. The most serious was between Bengalis and Urdu-speaking Biharis.[Saikia, p. 3.] The Biharis were attacked by Muslim Bengali mobs and militias. [17] The resulting deaths are poorly documented and estimates range cfrom small numbers to a many as 0.5 million Biharis.

Refugees

Millions of Bengalis fled into India seeking refuge from the Palistani Army's brutality. As a result of the conflict, espcially after the Pakidtni army began killing operations some 8-10 million people, mostly Hindus, fled the country at the time to seek refuge in India. As many as 30 million Bengalis became internally displaced. [Alston, p. 40.] As a result of the fighting and Pakistini attacks on civilians, resistance fighters and nearly 10 million refugees sought refuge by crossing the border to the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal, the adjacent Indian state. India set up refugee camps. This was a expensive undertaking for 10 million people and had an impact on Indian policy in addition to sympathy for the Benghali people.

Indian Response

The Indian Government saw that there no political sollution possible. The Pakistanis would not not tolerate Bengahali autonomy and the Benghalis no longer were satisfied with autonomy, they wanted independence. As a result the Indians decided to support the establishment of an independent Benghali nation--Bangladesh. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi expressed the support of her government for the independence struggle (March 27). Her Goverment concluded that rather than support millions of refugees in camps, the only sollution was anotherc war with Pakistan. The cabinent decided to go to war against Pakistan. The Cabinet ordered the Chief of the Army Staff General Sam Manekshaw to prpare to "Go into East Pakistan" (April 28). [Pravel, p. 415.] The Indians thus did more than offer refuge. They organized, trained, and armed the Mukti Bahini (Liberation Force), the East Pakistani armed resistance organization. The rrefugee camps proved to be fruitful recruiting locations for the Mukti Bahini

Cold War

The Soviet Union was at the time an Indian ally providing both economic and military assistance. As part of this strategy, India proceeded to make the East Pakistan question a Cold War issue. India signed a 21 year Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation with the Soviet Union (August 1971). A clauses in the Treaty implied that each nation was to come to the assistance of the other in the event of a threat to national security such as that occurring in the 1965 war with Pakistan. As the United States had treaty relations with Pakistan, this created the possibility of another East-West coinflict. When the fighting broke out and India quickly estblished military superiority, the Soviets used their veto in the U.N. Security Council to ensure that there would be no ceasfire until India had achieved its military objectives.

The War (December 1971)

India itself did not intervene directly, but provided military equipment and supplies to the Bengali resistance and began training and supplying the Mukti Bahini. Eventially this included active artillery support along the border. With India support, Pakestan was unable to destoy East Palistani resisance. Pakistan decided to force a conclusion and launched a preemtive air strike on India launching the Third Indo-Pakistani War (December 3, 1971). Unable to deter India's activities in East Pakistan, Pakistan launched an air attack in the western sector on a number of Indian airfields, including Ambala in Haryana, Amritsar in Punjab, and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir (December 3, 1971). Pakistani pilots, however, did not have the training to actually hit Indin aircraft. They dropped bombs on air bases, did not succeed in inflicting real damage. The Indian Air Force retaliated the next day and quickly achieved air superiority. This begun the actual war which unlike the two previous wars included a component in both Wast and West.

Result: National Split

The war led to the separation of East and West Pakistan and the creation of a new state--Bangladesh. Even after the fighting ceased, there were major problems. The war created large numbers of refugees. In addition, there were problems with the POW exchanges.

Sources

Alston, Margaret (2015). Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh (Routledge: 2015).

D'Costa, Bina (2010). Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia (Routledge: 2010).

Dummett, Mark. "Bangladesh war: The article that changed history," BBC News (December 16, 2011).

Hanhimäki, Jussi M. and Bernhard Blumenau. An International History of Terrorism: Western and Non-Western Experiences (Routledge: 2013).

Hiro, Dilip (2015). The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan (Nation Books: 2015).

Pravel, K. C. (2009) Indian Army After Independence (Atlanta: Lancer Publishers, 2009).

Roychowdhury, Adrija. "Birth of Bangladesh: When raped women and war babies paid the price of a new nation, Indian Express ( New Delhi) (December 19, 2016).

Saikia, Yasmin (2011). Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh: Remembering 1971 (Duke University Press: 2011).

Sharlach, Lisa (2000). "Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda". New Political Science Vol. I, No. 22, pp. 89-102.

Spencer, Philip. Genocide Since 1945. (Routledge: 2012).

"Bangladesh sets up war crimes court – Central & South Asia" Al Jazeera (March 25, 2010).







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Created: 12:23 PM 10/4/2013
Last updated: 12:44 PM 11/18/2017