Mukti Bahini, The Indian Armed Forces & 1971 Conflict
Mukti Bahini was a rebel armed group that fought against the Pakistan Army during the 1971 conflict. It consisted of two groups. The first group named “Niyomito Bahini” consisted of those who were experienced in police, military or paramilitary and some soldiers from the Bengal regiment of the Pakistan Army whereas the second group was “Gonobahini” consisted of volunteers who were not from a military background.
During the 1971 war, India played a deceptive role in the formation of Bangladesh by arming, training, and encouraging the “Mukti Bahini” factor. The Indian quest for hegemony and dominance compelled it to deploy them as a proxy group to intervene in Pakistan’s internal affairs and split the country in two. The strong desire to avenge their 1965 defeat drove them to devise a proper conspiracy. The Indian government trained these insurgents, fostered disruptive actions, and instilled hatred and terror in the people of East Pakistan to the point where they began demanding independence from West Pakistan.
The process of gaining independence has never been an easy task. The Indian Subcontinent has faced numerous diverse problems in the state-making process. Religion has been the basis for the formation of the state in this region. In 1947, the subcontinent was divided into India and Pakistan, with Pakistan consisting of two non-contagious states on opposing sides of the subcontinent, separated by a malicious and terrible opponent “India,” but bound together by nothing but God. This great faith in GOD was sorely tested in 1971 when India played a devious part in the disintegration of Pakistan’s Eastern Wing. Although half-century has gone by, the agony of that tragic experience in 1971 has not subsided. What happened in 1971 sent shockwaves well beyond the region.
India was involved at several levels in this tragic “fall of Dhaka” episode. India, the most powerful adversary meticulously organized this plot to destabilize Pakistan. It adopted a four-prong strategy towards East Pakistan; to exploit feelings of deprivation among East Pakistani masses, to create a situation for refugees and manipulate it, to provide arms to the rebels, and to invade East Pakistan by violating the international border. India also took advantage of the internal democratic issue regarding the transfer of power during the 1971 general elections and convinced East Pakistan that they are being deprived of their rights. The sense of deprivation ultimately stirred feelings of hatred for West Pakistan fueling country-wide protests. Sheikh Mujeeb-Ur Rehman declared March 23, 1971, as “Black day” and people were dictated to hoist black flags instead of Pakistani flags. Those who opposed this idea of government were declared traitors and had to bear the heavy brunt. Those innocent people were raped, murdered, tortured, and looted without mercy. The perpetrators of this grim violence were none other than Indian puppets i.e., Mukti Bahini forces, and the members of the Awami League.
The Pakistani Armed forces managed to send Mukti Bahini back to India through its efforts in “Operation Searchlight” launched on March 26, 1971, but the Indian army through “operation Jackpot” reorganized the rebel Mukti Bahini by providing Italian Howitzers, Dakota DC-3 aircraft, Otter DHC-3 fighter plans, and Allouette helicopter. Apart from financial support, India also provided safe havens to Mukti Bahini. In Nagaland, India provided a jungle airstrip while in Chittagong, Chandpur, and Narayangang Indian Eastern command trained more than 400 naval commandos. Due to the unimpeded support from India the violence spurred, insurgency operations grew in intensity and Multi Bahini got bolder over time. They strengthen their hold in the region with Indian backing and demoralized the Pakistan army in East Pakistan. They targeted power plants, railways, industries, bridges, and fuel depots, looted banks, raided warehouses, and mining ships, and killed Biharis. The Mukti Bahini ruthlessly killed more than 150,000 innocent Biharis. The details of the genocide waged by the rebels revealed that Mukti Bahini slammed the children, raped innocent women, and forced wives to witness the murder of their husbands. According to the 1951 census, there were 671,000 Biharis in East Pakistan and nearly 20 percent of them were ruthlessly massacred by bloodthirsty Mukti Bahini.
In addition to these atrocities, Indian forces and the Awami League accused Pakistan of killing three million civilians in East Pakistan. The erroneous and exaggerated charges were made to smear Pakistan’s reputation. The claim was openly challenged by independent researcher Sharmila Bose in her book “Dead Reckoning: Memories of 1971 Bangladesh war“ in which she stated that there were reports of only 2,000 killings due to military actions whereas Mukti Bahini ruthlessly slaughtered thousands of Pakistani troops and Biharis. Another exaggerated claim afterward alleged that 93,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken as a prisoner of war. There is no doubt that India has always remained central to the separation of East Pakistan. Initially, India hid its intentions of unleashing the conspiracy and exploiting the war but some of the leaders have openly confessed their involvement. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi confessed that “We have taken the revenge of a thousand years; we have drowned the two-nation theory in the Bay of Bengal”. Last year on March 26, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at the 50th National Day of Bangladesh openly admitted India’s role to turn East Pakistan into Bangladesh. This is the “Confession of the Century” because the fact that was previously denied is now being admitted publicly from the horse’s mouth. Furthermore, he also revealed his participation in the “Satyagraha Movement” launched by Jana Sangh to support Mukti Bahini rebels.
The whole timeline of events from the secret deployment of Mukti Bahini to openly confessing the involvement made it clear that the two-nation theory was never drowned in the Bay of Bengal. It merely revealed India’s heinous and naked aggression to destabilize Pakistan. The statements made by leaders revived and solidified the spirit of the Two-nation theory and clarified in front of the whole world how a Hindu-dominated state out of its desire to take revenge planned a conspiracy to break the Islamic state and fulfill the dream of Akhand Bharat. These Mukti Bahini terrorists might have been forgotten by the world but the atrocities they unleashed on innocent people to disintegrate East Pakistan could not be erased from history.
The writer is currently studying at National Defense University, Islamabad while working as Research Associate at IPCA.