Liberating Bangladesh: India’s Finest Moment – Commemorating 50 years of India’s victory in 1971

Event Brief:

The Peninsula Foundation and the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, Madras University co-hosted a seminar on ‘Liberating Bangladesh: India’s Finest Moment’ on 22nd December to commemorate 50 years of India’s victory in the 1971 war. Hon’ble Chief Guest, Lt. Gen A Arun YSM SM VSM, GOC – Dakshin Bharat Area, presided over the seminar followed by a panel discussion among Lt Gen P R Shankar PVSM AVSM VSM (Retd), Cmde R S Vasan (Retd) and Ambassador M Ganapathi IFS (Retd). The session was moderated by Air Marshal Matheswaran AVSM VM PhD (Retd). 

Historical Background:

Lasting just thirteen days, the India-Pakistan war of 1971 was one of the short but intense and bitter wars in history. The war ended years of oppression by West Pakistan on East Pakistan (erstwhile Bangladesh). 

Operation Searchlight, which was carried out by the Pakistan army was aimed at curbing the Bengali Nationalist movement. Nearly 3 lakh people were killed by Pakistani soldiers. The brutal operation saw rape, murder, and pillage forcing about 10 million refugees to flee to India. 

Months of bloodshed, oppression, and barbarity by Pakistan forced India to intervene militarily in support of the Bangladesh freedom fighters against Pakistan. On December 3rd, 1971, Pakistan Air Force launched strikes on airfields in western India. At this point, India retaliated and declared war on Pakistan. The speed and scale by which India defeated Pakistan and helped liberate East Pakistan to formally become Bangladesh stunned the world. 

India created the nation-state of Bangladesh and simply walked out of it. No annexation or occupation of territories took place. It was a successful intervention without much destruction. It was a great example of strong political resolve. Despite having been burdened with many problems such as a poor economy, poverty, etc, India invested in Bangladesh militarily, economically and financially to fight the war against Pakistan. This victory was India’s finest moment which served as an example of a just war to the world.

How it started:

East Pakistan, proud of its Bengali language and traditions was undermined by the Punjabi dominance from West Pakistan since the partition of India in 1947. There were disparities in the economic status of both regions. The attempt made by East Pakistan to increase their status and earn respect for their language was met with severe oppression. Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League won a majority victory in the 1970 elections which entitled him to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, Bhutto, the political leader in West Pakistan and Yahya Khan, the military dictator, were unwilling to acknowledge Mujibur Rehman’s victory and claim.  Yahya Khan, advised by Bhutto, launched military oppression in East Pakistan.

Operation Searchlight began on the night of 25th March 1971, to crush the Bengali resistance. It resulted in uprisings among the people and to suppress them, the military became even more brutal. Students, intellectuals, and civilians were killed. Thousands of Bengali women were raped by the Pakistani army. This led to a mass exodus of people into India. Millions of refugees entered India making it a large humanitarian crisis. This made India’s involvement in the war inevitable. 

The rebels inside Bangladesh who took up arms commonly referred to as Mukti Bahini were trained by India to conduct guerrilla war inside Bangladesh. The provisional Government of Bangladesh (PGB) was formed. Pakistan increased its troops which led to an increase in the number of refugees. The final straw was when Pakistan launched pre-emptive airstrikes on India on December 3rd, 1971. India responded and declared war on Pakistan.

India’s achievements:

There were several achievements by India in the course of the war:

  • Synergy (Politico-military)
  • Policy formulation (before/during/after the war)
  • Formulation of a national strategy
  • Military strategy
  • Diplomatic ties (especially with Russia)
  • Modification of Objectives in the course of the war.
  • Covert intelligence activities

India was able to fight on different fronts and was able to organise and reorganise its troops in different positions, both offensive and defensive. The military capability was remarkable. India defended the Siliguri corridor and conducted one of the best and most successful blitzkriegs. 

The Indo-Soviet Treaty of ‘Peace, Friendship and Cooperation’ played an important role in the liberation war. In addition, the 3 Soviet vetoes in the UNSC, were critical in neutralising China and USA’s strong support to Pakistan and enabled India to conduct its operations smoothly. 

In the Post-war period, the Indian army before releasing the prisoners of war, took care of 93000 Pakistan army prisoners of war, including nearly 15000 Pakistani civilians, women and children until the Shimla accord was signed. 

The Mukti Bahini:

Some of the refugees were recruited and trained to form the Mukti Bahini and they played a stellar role in support of the Indian military. The Mukti Bahini were used for intelligence, sabotage, observation, pathfinding, etc. The terror let loose by the Pakistan army motivated many young people to join the Mukti Bahini. Even the deserters volunteered.

In only 13 days, the Indian military and the Mukti Bahini liberated Bangladesh in a Blitzkrieg operation. On 16th December 1971, the cease-fire was declared. 

The role of the Indian Navy:

On December 4th, when the Indian Air Force and Indian Army were mounting an offensive on the ground and in the air, a master plan was devised and carried out by the Indian Navy that became its first full-scale engagement after independence. The successful attack on Karachi port on December 4 is celebrated as Navy Day.

When hostilities on the eastern front began, the Indian Navy engaged in the battle against the Pakistan Navy on the western front. The plan, code-named Operation Trident, was to blockade Pakistani ports. India ended up causing significant damage to Pakistani ships in the Karachi port.

Five days later, INS Khukri became the only Indian ship to sink on the sea off the coast of Diu after being torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine. Captain Mahendra Nath Mullah stayed behind with his men who were trapped inside. Giving his life jacket to someone else, he preferred to stand by his 18 officers and 176 sailors who went down with the Khukri. 

Vijay Diwas:

Golden Jubilee of Vijay Diwas was celebrated at the national level on December 16th by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate 50 years of India’s victory on Pakistan and to pay respect to the brave soldiers, sailors, and air warriors who died in the war. It was held at the National War Memorial (NWM) in New Delhi. PM Modi, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and the Tri-Service Chiefs laid a wreath and paid respect to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. 

The Prime Minister also lit the ‘Swarnim Vijay Mashaal’ from the internal flame of the memorial. Four torches were lit and carried to the cities and villages of the 1971 war heroes who had received the gallantry awards – Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra. Soil from the villages of these awardees and from areas where major battles were fought in 1971 was brought to the NWM.

About the Chief Guest:
Lt Gen A Arun YSM SM VSM

General Officer Commanding (GOC), Dakshin Bharat Area  

Lt. Gen A Arun is currently the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Dakshin Bharat Area. He earlier served as the Director-General of Strategic Planning at the Indian Army Headquarters. The General joined the National Defence Academy in 1982 and was commissioned into 8 Grenadiers in 1985. He is also a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington, Center for Defence and Strategic Studies, Canberra and National Defence College, New Delhi.

His roles include commanding a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Pulwama (Jammu & Kashmir), commanding of Rashtriya Rifles Sector in Handwara and a mountain division in North East India. The General is a recipient of the Sena Medal for gallantry, Yudh Seva Medal for outstanding leadership in conflict, the Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished leadership and outstanding service. He has also received the Chief of Army Staff’s commendation four times. He has served abroad in Cambodia, Sierra Leone and has attended the senior mission leaders course conducted by United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

About the Vice-Chancellor:

Prof Dr S Gowri

Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras

Dr. S. Gowri was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Madras on 20, August 2020. Dr. S. Gowri graduated BE degree in Mechanical Engineering from Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai in 1980 and earned his M. Tech degree and PhD from IIT Madras. He was also a post-doctoral fellow at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. His areas of interest include Technical Education System Development, Precision Machining, Rapid prototyping, FEA, Biomedical Engineering, Medical Image Analysis and Shape Memory Alloys. Dr. S. Gowri has a rich teaching experience of 37 years and has served as the director of the Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC), an inter-university centre of UGC at Anna University. He was also an honorary professor in the Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Anna University, and was working as a visiting professor at NTU and other universities.

About the Panelists:

Lt Gen P R Shankar PVSM AVSM VSM (Retd)

Professor – IIT Madras, Former Director-General of Artillery

Retired as Director-General of Artillery, Indian Army, Lt. Gen. Shankar has vast operational experience and has held many important command, staff and instructional appointments in the Army. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College Wellington, Army War College Mhow, Naval Post Graduate School Monterrey and National Defence College Delhi, he gave great impetus to the modernization of Artillery through indigenization. He has a deep understanding and experience of successful defence planning and acquisition spanning over a decade. Major Gun projects like the 155mm Dhanush, M777 ULH and k9 Vajra, Rocket and Missile projects related to Pinaka, Brahmos and, Grad BM21, surveillance projects like Swati WLR and some ammunition projects came to fructification due to his efforts.

Cmde R S Vasan (Retd)

Secretary and Director- C3S India, Former Regional Commander – CG Region (East)

An Alumnus of the DSSC, the Naval War College and the International Visitor Leadership Programme, Commodore Vasan has a distinguished service of over 34 years in the Navy and the Coast Guard. His appointments include command of warships, two major air stations and a maritime air squadron. He has participated both in the 1971 war and IPKF operations. He was an instructor at the Naval War College, India. Prior to retirement, he was the Regional Commander of the ICG Region East overseeing EEZ Patrol, SAR, Anti-Piracy, Fisheries protection, Maritime Border Control, Marine Pollution prevention and other maritime tasks in the Bay of Bengal.

He is presently the DG of the C3S India, the Regional Director of the NMF, Tamil Nadu and the President of the Navy Foundation Chennai Chapter. He is also a visiting faculty at the IMU, Academy of Maritime Education and Training, Great Lakes Institute of Management and Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology. He is also on the Board of Advisors at the Madras University, the Stella Maris College and the Puducherry University. He has many publications to his credit and is available at https://centerforasiastudies.academia.edu/SeshadriVasan.

Ambassador M Ganapathi IFS (Retd)

Former Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, GOI

Ambassador M Ganapathi joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1975. In the course of his diplomatic career, he has held a wide range of overseas assignments. He has served in Indian Diplomatic Missions in Moscow (USSR; 1977-78); Sofia (1978-82); Singapore (1982-82); London (1988-91 as Counsellor); Belgrade (1991-93 as Counsellor/Charge D’Affaires); Moscow (Russian Federation; 1994-98 as Counsellor/Minister/Deputy Chief of Mission); Sydney (2001-2005; as Consul General of India) and Kuwait (2005-2008; as Ambassador).

He has also served in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi from 1985-88 [as Deputy Secretary (ASEAN and Pacific)/Private Secretary to Minister of State for External Affairs/ Private Secretary to Minister of State for Finance)]; and from 1998-2001 [as Joint Secretary, Foreign Service Institute (1998) and Joint Secretary (Europe East (1999-2001)]. High Commissioner Ganapathi took up his assignment as High Commissioner of India in Mauritius on September 9, 2008 and retired as Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs. He is currently a Member of the Chennai Centre for China Studies.

Moderator:

Air Marshal M Matheswaran AVSM VM PhD (Retd)

President, The Peninsula Foundation

Air Marshal M Matheswaran is an Indian Air Force veteran with 39 years of active service. He is the founder- President of The Peninsula Foundation. He is the former Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff responsible for Policy, Plans, and Force Development. The Air Marshal is a recipient of Presidential Awards – AVSM (Ati Vishisht Seva Medal) and VM (Vayu Sena Medal) and a Commendation by the Chief of Air Staff.

Hourly Schedule

Program Schedule

10:30 AM - 10:38 AM IST
Welcome Address
Prof Utham Jamadgini, Head Of Department - DODASS, University of Madras
10:40 AM - - 10:50 AM IST
President’s Address
Air Marshal M Matheswaran AVSM VM PhD (Retd), President - The Peninsula Foundation
10:50 AM - 11:00 AM IST
Special Address
Professor Dr S Gowri, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras
11:05 AM - - 11:25 AM IST
Keynote Address by Chief Guest
Lt Gen A Arun YSM SM VSM, GOC, Dakshin Bharat Area
11:25 AM - - 11:35 AM IST
Felicitations
11:35 AM - - 11:40 AM IST
Vote of Thanks
Dr M Venkataraman, Assistant Professor - DODASS, University of Madras
11:40 AM - 11:55 AM IST
Coffee Break
11:55 AM - 12:55 PM IST
Panel Discussion
India’s Just War: Looking at Achievements and Lesson
12:55 PM - 01:00 PM IST
Vote of Thanks

Date

Dec 22 2021
Expired!

Time

10:30 am - 1:00 pm

More Info

Seminar Brochure

Organizer

The Peninsula Foundation and University of Madras

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