Team Members: Bishwojit Das Bijoy, Kazi Masrur Rahman Sakib, Ramira Haque, Nusrat Jahan Mahek, Fatema Zahir, Adnan Bin Hannan
Abstract
The liberation war of Bangladesh is known as the war of independence and it is the most sensitive issue in the history of Bangladesh. Bangladesh became independent in 1971 after a long 9-month bloody war. This freedom was gained at the cost of the supreme sacrifice of 3 Million martyrs and 2 lakhs suppressed Women and the people of all walks of Bangladesh took part in this Liberation war. The role of the mass people of this country in the field of Liberation was exceptional. Moreover, the role of different countries in the world in our liberation war was remarkable. Our liberation war had a great impact on South Asia's politics and the whole world. Such as the former Soviet Union and India worked in favor of Bangladesh directly during the liberation war of 1971. On the other hand, the two superpowers of the world USA and China positioned themselves in the favor of Pakistan and helped Pakistan directly in different ways. In one stage of the war, the USA sent its Seventh Fleet in support of Pakistan and called for a ceasefire in Bangladesh at the UN Security Council. The former Soviet Union sent their Fleet and cast a veto against the ceasefire proposal in protest of it. Besides, India took a direct part in the liberation war of Bangladesh and Opened refugee camps in their country for the people of Bangladesh. And also The Arab world, Bhutan, The UK played their role for and against Bangladesh.
Keywords: Bangladesh, Liberation War, Pakistan, India, Soviet Union, United States, China, United Kingdom, Bhutan, Arab World, Arms.
The Role of Different Countries in the Liberation War of Bangladesh
Introduction
The
Liberation war of 1971 is the most important chapter in the history of
Bangladesh. In 1947, two states, India and Pakistan,
were born based on the Two-Nations Theory. Despite the differences in almost
everything, including the geographical distance of thousands of miles, language, and
culture, East Bengal was made a province of Pakistan called East Pakistan only
because of religious similarities. Actually, after becoming independent from
colonial rule we fell into a new colonial rule again. After that Bangladesh was
established in 1971 in exchange for many movements, struggles, and blood.
There is a lot of history behind the
independence of Bangladesh. The language movement of 1952, the election
of 1954, the six-point movement of 1966, the Agartala conspiracy case of 1968,
the mass uprising of 1969, the election of 1970, finally the independence was
achieved in 1971 through a bloody 9-month war. From the beginning of
March 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for independence in his
non-cooperation movement and in his historic speech on March 7. Bengalis
began to prepare for independence. On the other hand, the Pakistani
military started the most barbaric massacre in the history of the world on the
night of March 25 in East Pakistan. In the early hours of March 26, Bangabandhu
declared independence and was arrested by Pakistani forces. The war of
resistance and liberation of Bengalis started with the proclamation of
independence by Bangabandhu. At that time, neighboring India, the then Soviet
Union, and several other countries extended a helping hand to Bangladesh.
On the other hand, the two world powers USA and China came forward to help
Pakistan. In addition, many other countries of the world played a
significant role in the liberation war with and against Bangladesh.
The Role of India
India played the biggest role in the liberation war of Bangladesh. Their role was like a friend. India was on the side of Bangladesh from the beginning of the war of liberation. After beginning the war about 10 million people of Bangladesh entered India as refugees from May to the end of June (Iqram, 2018). At this time, people from all walks of life, including the Indian government, spontaneously stood by the people of Bangladesh. To meet the expenses of the refugees, the Government of India introduced a new tax in India called the "Refugee Tax" (Patwari et al., 2011). India also provided armed training to the Bengali youth on their soil from April to November. India also assisted the freedom fighters with arms. (Sarker, 2013). When the Mujibnagar government was formed, India assisted in the formation and operation of the Bangladesh Expatriate Government at Theater Road No. 8, Kolkata, and the establishment of the "Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra"(Patwari et al., 2011). Which helps to highlight the current situation in Bangladesh all over the world. In addition, the Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, and various ministers-leaders-officials visited abroad and played a significant role in shaping world opinion for Bangladesh (Sarker, 2013). In September 1971, India deployed a contingent of its troops to Bangladesh. Two of the three troops sent by India were the Seventh Infantry, one was the Ninth Infantry deployed by India in the border areas of East Bengal (Amin, 2018).
The role of Indian Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi was incomparable in the liberation war of Bangladesh.
She addressed the Lok Sabha of India on 26 March after the genocide in Dhaka on
25 March and when she proposed in the Lok Sabha on 31 March to extend full
cooperation to Bangladesh in the war of liberation, it was passed unanimously
(Ahmed, 2016). In a message sent on behalf of the Government of India to all
heads of state and government on 6 August, she called for pressure on Yahya
Khan to save Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's life and demand his release, and she was
vocal in support of the liberation war worldwide (Ahmed, 2016). On 21 November,
the Bangladesh Liberation Army and the Indian Army merged to form a joint force
(Patwari et al., 2011). Then on 3 December
Pakistan launched an airstrike on the Indian airbase, India became directly
involved in the war with Pakistan and Pak-India war broke out on the Indo-Pakistan
border (Patwari et al., 2011). From 3 December to 16 December, India directly
participated in the war of liberation and played a significant role in the
victory of Bangladesh (Iqram, 2018). Besides, on December 6, 1971, India
recognized Bangladesh. Which played a significant role in achieving the
ultimate victory. (Iqram, 2018). In the war of liberation about 4,000 officers
and soldiers of India and many civilians were martyred (Patwari et al., 2011). In
addition, Indian artists, writers, doctors, and intellectuals have collected
public opinion and money by drawing pictures, giving concerts, visiting people's homes, and providing medical services by opening medical centers in
refugee camps. Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Pandit Ravi Shankar,
Maqbool Fida, Bandhan Das, Dilip Chakraborty, Ramen Mitra, and many others have
played significant roles (Sarker, 2013). Besides, Bangladesh-India Auxiliary
Artists-Literary-Intellectuals Association was formed on 6 April with
Tarashankar Bandopadhyay as its president (Sarker, 2013).
India also called on the
Soviet Union to stand by Bangladesh. Responding to India's call, the Soviet
Union sided with Bangladesh and played a significant role in the war of
liberation.
The Role of United State
The United States' role was against us in our
great liberation war in 1971. What will be the role of the USA in the
liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 was a controversial issue between the US
Congress and the US state department. Because If the US was involved in the war then
the USSR might be involved in the war. As a result, the USA played a silent role
from 25th March to 10th July in the liberation war of Bangladesh (Elias, 2016).
However, the President of the USA Richard Nixon and the USA advisor of the
National Security Council Henry Kissinger visited China intending to help Pakistan secretly (Elias, 2016). And the USA gave support to Pakistan with arms
in the war. Not only delivering arms to Pakistan but also the US conducted
diplomatic attempts to extend their impacts on the international community so
that no nation came forward to help Bangladesh. But some of the US politicians
and civil society positioned themselves for Bangladesh. As a result, they
provided financial support to Bangladeshi refugees officially (Sarker, 2013). On December 3, 1971, when India and Pakistan were involved
in the war the USA accepted Anti-India policy extremely, and naturally, their
role goes against Bangladesh. At one stage of the war, the USA sent their
seventh fleet in support of Pakistan (Sarker, 2013). However, they stepped down
from that by observing international movements finally. In the phase of
Pakistan’s defeat, the US proposed a ceasefire at the United Nations (Elias,
2016). However, various newspapers, artists, writers, intellectuals, and people
from all walks of life including members of the US legislature played a vital
role in the liberation war of Bangladesh. A renowned singer George Harrison
organized a “Concert for Bangladesh” at Madison Square in New York and handed
over the proceeds to the MujibNagar Government (Sarker, 2013).
The Soviet
Union was the first great power to deplore publicly the Pakistani military
crackdown on Bengalis (Ferdous, 2016). It was also the first major power to
officially recognize the State of Bangladesh, which it did within thirty-eight
days of its de facto liberation from the Pakistani forces (Rony, 2018).
Regarding the role of the Soviet Union in the war of liberation. The Indian government couldn't take a big risk without the assurance of
the cooperation of the Soviet Union (Rony, 2018). The response of the Soviet
Union to the 1971 crisis in East Pakistan was conditioned by the general Soviet
policy about Asia in the 1960s (Rony, 2018). It was a policy of
growing involvement but increasingly directed at stemming the diplomatic and
military as well as ideological advance of China which at that time was
emerging as the Soviet Union's principal rival in the Third World. A campaign
for a system of collective security in Asia (Rony, 2018). This campaign became
the mainstay of the Soviet Union's diplomacy in Asia as events and developments
in the South Asian subcontinent were setting the stage for the conflict in East
Pakistan (Ferdous, 2016). Not only in the bloody war, but also in the
rehabilitation of Bangladesh, the Soviet Union stand for Bangladesh. On April 3, 1971, eight days after the start
of Bangladesh's war for independence, Soviet President Nikolai Padgorni wrote a
letter to Pakistan's President Yahya Khan (Rony, 2018). In that letter, the
news of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's arrest was a matter of concern, a suggestion to
address the crisis politically without using force, and a universal
declaration of human rights. Experts described Padgorni's letter to Yahya as a
unique example of direct support for Bangladesh (Rony, 2018). The Soviet Union has
made extraordinary assistance and cooperation in the reconstruction of newly
born independent Bangladesh after the war of liberation (Ferdous, 2016) Bangladesh
faces an energy deficit and is keen to develop energy cooperation with Soviet
Union (Rony, 2018). Hence, the energy sector is a focal point of bilateral
cooperation between our two countries (Rony, 2018). The Soviet Union and Bangladesh
have been cooperating in the energy sector since 1971 (Rony, 2018). On
December 21, Yaquf Malik got up to give his last speech on the Bangladesh
question. The victory of India and Bangladesh in this war was a victory of his
own, he did not forget to remind his American and Chinese friends (Ferdous, 2016).
Welcoming the independence of Bangladesh, he said, with the end of this war,
the people of this country will have the necessary opportunity to move forward
on the path of national development and progress (Ferdous, 2016).
The Role of China
The Republic of China’s role was against us in our
liberation war in 1971. China did not oppose our fight openly against Pakistan,
but secretly they were providing arms as well as sent 200 military experts in
October to train the Pakistani army for the Guerilla war (Rahman, 2019).
Pakistan’s main diplomatic allies were China and the United States. China
assured their support by sending a letter from Chou En-Lai to Yahya khan. In
that letter, they said that the Chinese government and people will, as always,
firmly support the Pakistan government and its people in their struggle to
safeguard sovereignty and independence (Chou En-Lai's Letters to Yahya Khan and Mrs. Bandaranaike, 2008).
But in the end, their diplomatic activities were of no use. Because Pakistan
has not been able to build world opinion widely (Prince, 2017). Their
diplomatic engagements with the United Nations and China have not been as
fruitful as expected. A long-standing ally of Pakistan, China was encouraged by the USA to mobilize its
armed forces along its border with India. However, China demanded an immediate ceasefire due to the lack of dominant
positions on the Sino-Indian border (Pandit, 2017). China criticized India and the Soviet Union for the
independence of a country named Bangladesh. It naturally shows that their role
was against Bangladesh.
The Role of United Kingdom
The role of the United Kingdom in the war of independence of Bangladesh in 1971 is undeniable. The United Kingdom played the role of a friend of Bangladesh in the war of liberation. Apart from the British government, the British people were sympathetic to the liberation war of Bangladesh. The British people took to the streets to protest against the brutal attacks and brutality of the Pakistani forces. Some British MPs visited refugee camps in West Bengal and Bangladesh-controlled areas in East Pakistan on their own initiative to report on the massacre and tragic situation in East Pakistan and strongly condemned the Pakistani forces (Rasel, 2014). The British media has widely reported the barbaric attacks, killings, and torture of women by Pakistani forces in the war. Which played a significant role in creating world opinion in favor of the liberation war. Besides, the members of the British Parliament strongly supported the freedom struggle of the Bengalis. The issue of genocide in East Pakistan on the night of March 25 was discussed at a meeting of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom.
At a meeting of the House of Commons on 29 March, British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Sir Alice Douglas Hume expressed regret over the massacre of Bengalis in East Bengal and called on Pakistan to stop its military intervention (Rasel, 2014). The British government helped the helpless Bengalis in the refugee camps during the war of liberation. Until 16 October 1971, the British government provided 1 core 47 lakhs and 50 thousand pounds for the refugees in Bangladesh (Rasel, 2014).
The Role of Bhutan
Bhutan is a small country on the world map. However, the contribution of neighboring country Bhutan in the liberation war of Bangladesh was very big. After India, Bhutan recognized Bangladesh's independence (Amin, 2018). Which inspires Bangladesh on the path to victory. Apart from the government of Bhutan, the people of Bhutan also expressed their moral support for the liberation war of Bangladesh. In addition to supporting Bangladesh in the war of liberation, social worker Ugien Tesaring also played an important role (Amin, 2018). And also, many other Bhutanese social workers and the media morally supported Bangladesh.
The Role of Arab World
When the war of liberation of Bangladesh started in 1971, sympathy from different parts of the world, even promises of help were received, but nothing like that was received directly from the Arab world (Qureshi, 2017).
Instead, they opposed us because we were tearing apart a Muslim state (Qureshi, 2017). The Arab world failed to understand the cause of Bangladesh’s independence movement. Although many countries supported Bangladesh, the Arab world did not do that but supported Pakistan. In their view our war of liberation was an anti-Islamic attempt or threat to Islamic unity, so the 22 countries including the 1971 Conference of Islamic Organizations, came to the conclusion that the national unity was like West Pakistan is maintaining territorial integrity the consistent position must be supported (মুক্তিযুদ্ধে মুসলিম বিশ্বের ভূমিকা, 2019). The irrational religious frenzy affected the Muslim world so much that Iran announced its direct involvement in the war and other countries pledged their support to West Pakistan. Several Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Iran aided Pakistan with fighter jets, helicopters, and military equipment (মুক্তিযুদ্ধে মুসলিম বিশ্বের ভূমিকা, 2019). Although Israel offered to help Bangladesh in the diplomatic interest, the position of the whole Arab world in the independence movement was in the favor of Pakistan.
Conclusion
Many countries of the world were divided in case of the Liberation war of Bangladesh. India and the Soviet Union were alongside Bangladesh to help Bangladesh to achieve the final victory. Meanwhile, India contributed directly to the military war. The USA, China was in support of Pakistan. Moreover, the UK, Arab World, Bhutan were also with and against the liberation war of Bangladesh. In the Liberation War of Bangladesh, the impact of these countries is undeniable.
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