From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a mil-

itary conflict between India and Pakistan.
Part of the Indo-Pakistani Wars The war is closely associated with the
and Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War (sometimes also
referred to as the Pakistani Civil War). Al-
though there is some disagreement about the
exact dates of the war, hostilities between In-
dia and Pakistan commenced officially on the
evening of December 3, 1971. The armed
conflict on India’s western front during the
period between 3 December 1971 and 16
December 1971 is called the "Indo-Pakistani
War" by both the Bangladeshi and Indian
armies. The war ended in the surrender of
the Pakistani military after armed hostilities
on two fronts.
Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi of Pakistan signs the
instrument of surrender on December 16,
surrendering his forces to Lt. Gen Jagjit Singh
Background
Aurora of Indian army. The Indo-Pakistani conflict was sparked by
the Bangladesh Liberation war, a conflict
Date December 3-December 16, 1971
between the traditionally dominant West
Location Current day Bangladesh and Indian- Pakistanis and the majority East
Pakistani western border
Pakistanis.[3] The Bangladesh Liberation war
Result Indian victory, dissolution of East ignited after the 1970 Pakistani election, in
Pakistan resulting in creation of
Bangladesh
which the East Pakistani Awami League won
167 of 169 seats in East Pakistan and se-
Territorial Bangladesh becomes an
cured a simple majority in the 313-seat lower
changes independent state.
house of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament of
Pakistan). Awami League leader Sheikh
Belligerents Mujibur Rahman presented the Six Points to
the President of Pakistan and claimed the
right to form the government. After the lead-
er of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Zulfikar Ali
India Pakistan Bhutto, refused to yield the premiership of
Pakistan to Mujibur, President Yahya Khan
Commanders
called the military, dominated by West
Sam Manekshaw Gul Hassan Khan Pakistanis to suppress dissent.
J.S. Aurora Abdul Hamid Mass arrests of dissidents began, and at-
Khan tempts were made to disarm East Pakistani
G.G Bewoor
Tikka Khan soldiers and police. After several days of
K. P. Candeth
A. A. K. Niazi
# strikes and non-cooperation movements, the
Pakistani military cracked down on Dhaka on
Strength the night of March 25, 1971. The Awami
500,000+ troops 400,000+ troops League was banished, and many members
fled into exile in India. Mujib was arrested
Casualties and losses and taken to West Pakistan.
3,843 killed[1] 7,982 killed On 27 March 1971, Ziaur Rahman, a re-
9,851 wounded[1] 4,350 wounded bellious major in the Pakistani army, de-
97,368 captured[2] clared the independence of Bangladesh on

1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
behalf of Mujibur. In April, exiled Awami
League leaders formed a government-in-exile
in Baidyanathtala of Meherpur. The East
Pakistan Rifles, a paramilitary force, defected
to the rebellion. A guerrilla troop of civilians,
the Mukti Bahini, was formed to help the
Bangladesh Army.
The Pakistan army conducted widespread
atrocities against the civilian population of
East Pakistan.[4][5]
India’s involvement in
Bangladesh Liberation
War
Illustration showing military units and troop
movements during operations in the Eastern
sector of the war.
On 27 March 1971, the Prime Minister of In-
dia, Indira Gandhi, expressed full support of
her government to the struggle for independ-
ence by the people of East Pakistan. The East
Pakistan-India border was opened to allow
refugees safe shelter in India. The govern-
ments of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam,
Meghalaya and Tripura established refugee
camps along the border. Exiled East Pakistan
army officers and members of the Indian In-
telligence immediately started using these
camps for recruitment and training of Mukti
Bahini guerrillas[6].
2
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
India’s official engage-
ment with Pakistan
Objective
By November, war seemed inevitable; a
massive buildup of Indian forces on the bor-
der with East Pakistan had begun. The Indian
military waited for winter, when the drier
ground would make for easier operations and
Himalayan passes would be closed by snow,
preventing any Chinese intervention. On 23
November, Yahya Khan declared a state of
emergency in all of Pakistan and told his
people to prepare for war.
On the evening of Sunday, 3 December,
the Pakistani air force launched sorties on
eight airfields in north-western India, includ-
ing Agra which was 300 miles (480 km) from
the border.. This attack, called Operation
Chengiz Khan, was inspired by the
Arab-Israeli Six Day War and the success of
the Israeli preemptive strike. Unlike the Is-
raeli attack on Arab airbases in 1967, which
involved a large number of Israeli planes,
Pakistan flew no more than 50 planes to In-
dia. Indian runways were non-functional for
several hours after the attack.
Pakistan had two primary objectives dur-
ing the war:
1 - Hold Indian forces from entering East
Pakistan . It was not easy for Indian
troops to go deep into Bangladesh as
Bangladesh had many rivers and
subrivers separating the land.
Transporting the entire army and
artillery across these rivers was not
easy.
2 - Occupy as much territory as possible
on the western side of India. Pakistan
expected that all India could achieve was
a stalemate. In the end, they expected
that a cease fire would be ordered and
the territory procured prior to the
stalemate would be theirs.
India reacted by declaring war on Pakistan.
Indian forces responded with a massive co-
ordinated air, sea, and land assault. Indian
Air Force started flying sorties against
Pakistan from midnight and quickly achieved
air superiority. The main Indian Objective on
the Western front was to prevent Pakistan
from entering Indian soil. There was no
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Indian intention of conducting an offensive
into West Pakistan.
An Indian newspaper cover (1971)
Sea operations
In the western theatre of the war, the Indian
Navy, under the command of Vice Admiral
Kohli, achieved success by attacking Kara-
chi’s port in the code-named Operation
Trident on the night of 4-5 December, which
resulted in the sinking of the Pakistani des-
troyer PNS Khyber as well as the PNS Shaje-
han, and a minesweeper (PNS Muhafiz). This
resulted in tactical Indian sucess with
Pakistan lost 720 sailors apart from losing re-
serve fuel and many commercial ships, thus
crippling Pakistan Navy’s further involvment
in the conflict. Operation Python followed
Operation Trident which was on the night of
8-9 December, in which Indian rocket-armed
motor torpedo boats attacked the Karachi
Roads that resulted in further destruction of
reserve fuel tanks, as well as the sinking of
three Pakistani commercial ships in Karachi
Harbour. In the eastern theatre of the war,
the Indian Eastern Naval Command, under
Vice Admiral Krishnan, completely isolated
East Pakistan by establishing a naval block-
ade in the Bay of Bengal, trapping the
Eastern Pakistani Navy as well as eight for-
eign merchant ships in their ports. From 4
December onwards, the aircraft carrier INS
Vikrant was deployed in which its Sea Hawk
fighter-bombers attacked many coastal towns
in East Pakistan including Chittagong and
Cox’s Bazaar. Pakistan responded by sending
the PNS Ghazi to negate the threat.
However, the Ghazi sank off Vishakapatnam’s
coast under unclear circumstances thus redu-
cing Pakistan’s control of Bangladeshi
3
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
coastline. But on 9 December, the Indian
Navy suffered its biggest wartime loss when
the Pakistani submarine PNS Hangor sank
the frigate INS Khukri in the Arabian Sea
resulting in a loss of 18 officers and 176
sailors.
Air operations
The Indian Air Force flew 4,000 sorties while
its counterpart, the PAF offered little in re-
taliation, partly because of the paucity of
non-Bengali technical personnel. This lack of
retaliation has also been attributed to the de-
liberate decision of the PAF High Command
to cut its losses as it had already incurred
huge losses in the conflict. [2] In the east, the
small air contingent of Pakistan Air Force No.
14 Sqn was destroyed, resulting in Indian air
superiority.
Ground operations
Pakistan attacked at several places along In-
dia’s western border with Pakistan, but the
Indian army successfully held their positions.
The Indian Army quickly responded to the
Pakistan Army’s movements in the west and
made some initial gains, including capturing
around 5,500 square miles (14,000 km2) of
Pakistan territory (land gained by India in
Pakistani Kashmir, Pakistani Punjab and
Sindh sectors was later ceded in the Simla
Agreement of 1972, as a gesture of goodwill).
On the Eastern front, the Indian Army
joined forces with the Mukti Bahini to form
the Mitro Bahini ("Allied Forces"); Unlike the
1965 war which had emphasized set-piece
battles and slow advances, this time the
strategy adopted was a swift, three-pronged
assault of nine infantry divisions with at-
tached armored units and close air support
that rapidly converged on Dhaka, the capital
of East Pakistan.
Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora,
who commanded the eighth, twenty-third,
and fifty-seventh divisions, led the Indian
thrust into East Pakistan. As these forces at-
tacked Pakistani formations, the Indian air
force rapidly destroyed the small air contin-
gent in East Pakistan and put the Dhaka air-
field out of commission. In the meantime, the
Indian navy effectively blockaded East
Pakistan.
The Indian campaign employed
"blitzkrieg" techniques, exploiting weakness
in the enemy’s positions and bypassing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
opposition, and resulted in a swift victory.[7]
Faced with insurmountable losses, the
Pakistani military capitulated in less than a
fortnight. On December 16, the Pakistani
forces in East Pakistan surrendered. The next
day Pakistan surrendered.
Instrument of Surrender
The instrument of surrender
The Instrument of Surrender was signed at
Ramna Race Course in Dhaka at 16.31 IST on
December 16, 1971, by Lieutenant General
Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer
Commanding-in-chief of Eastern Command of
the Indian Army and Lieutenant General A. A.
K. Niazi, Commander of Pakistani forces in
Bangladesh.
American and Soviet
involvement
The United States supported Pakistan both
politically and materially. Nixon, backed by
Henry Kissinger, feared Soviet expansion into
South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a
close ally of the People’s Republic of China,
with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rap-
prochement and where he intended to visit in
4
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian
invasion of West Pakistan would mean total
Soviet domination of the region, and that it
would seriously undermine the global posi-
tion of the United States and the regional po-
sition of America’s new tacit ally, China. In
order to demonstrate to China the bona fides
of the United States as an ally, and in direct
violation of the US Congress-imposed sanc-
tions on Pakistan, Nixon sent military sup-
plies to Pakistan, routing them through
Jordan and Iran,[8] while also encouraging
China to increase its arms supplies to
Pakistan.
The Nixon administration also ignored re-
ports it received of the ’genocidal’ activities
of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most
notably the Blood telegram. When Pakistan’s
defeat in the eastern sector seemed certain,
Nixon sent the USS Enterprise to the Bay of
Bengal, a move which was a nuclear threat.
The Enterprise arrived on station on Decem-
ber 11, 1971. On 6 December and 13 Decem-
ber, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups
of ships, armed with nuclear missiles, from
Vladivostok; they trailed U.S. Task Force 74
into the Indian Ocean from 18 December
1971 until 7 January 1972. The Soviets also
sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the
threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian
Ocean.[9]
According to a book written by an Indian
Colonel, when the USS Enterprise reached
the Indian Ocean, Soviet nuclear submarines
surfaced without any kind of verbal warning
or threat. There was no formal or informal
dialogue between the USSR and the United
States. As the United States were not ready
to risk open nuclear warfare with the Soviets
the Enterprise simply turned around and
sailed back to the US.
American policy towards the end of the
war was dictated primarily by a need to re-
strict the escalation of war on the western
sector to prevent the ’dismemberment’ of
West Pakistan.[10] Years after the war, many
American writers criticized the White House
policies during the war as being badly flawed
and ill-serving the interests of the United
States.[11]
The Soviet Union sympathized with the
Bangladeshis, and supported the Indian Army
and Mukti Bahini during the war, recognizing
that the independence of Bangladesh would
weaken the position of its rivals - the United
States and China. The USSR gave assurances
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Branch Number of captured Pakistani POWs

Army 54,154
Navy 1,381
Air Force 833
Paramilitary including police 22,000
Civilian personnel 12,000
Total: 90,368

to India that if a confrontation with the Un-

ited States or China developed, it would take
counter-measures. This assurance was en-
shrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty
signed in August 1971.

Effects
The war ended with the surrender of the
Pakistani military to the allied forces of India
and Bangladesh, jointly known as the Mitro
Bahini. Bangladesh became an independent
nation, the world’s third most populous
Muslim state. The loss of East Pakistan de-
moralized the Pakistani military. President
Yahya Khan resigned, to be replaced by
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Mujibur Rahman was re-
leased from a West Pakistani prison, return-
ing to Dhaka on January 10, 1972.
The extent of casualties in East Pakistan is
not known. R.J. Rummel cites estimates ran-
ging from one to three million people
killed.[12] Other estimates place the death
toll lower, at 300,000. On the brink of defeat
around December 14, the Pakistani Army,
and its local collaborators, systematically
killed a large number of Bengali doctors,
teachers and intellectuals,[13][14] part of a
pogrom against the Hindu minorities who
constituted the majority of urban educated
intellectuals.[15][16] Young men, especially
students, who were seen as possible rebels
were also targeted.
The cost of the war for Pakistan in monet-
ary and human resources was high. In the
book Can Pakistan Survive? Pakistan based
author Tariq Ali writes, "Pakistan lost half its
navy, a quarter of its airforce and a third of
its army." India took approximately 90,000
prisoners of war, including Pakistani soldiers
and their East Pakistani civilian supporters.
79,676 prisoners were uniformed personnel,
of which 55,692 were Army, 16,354 Paramil-
itary, 5,296 Police, 1000 Navy and 800
PAF.[17] The remaining prisoners were
A Pakistan stamp depicting the 90,000 PoWs
in Indian camps. This stamp was issued with
the political aim of raising global awareness
of the POW issue to help secure their release.
The POWs were released by India after the
Simla Agreement.
civilians - either family members of the milit-
ary personnel or collaborators (razakars).
The Hameedur Rahman Committee Report
instituted by Pakistan lists the Pakistani
POWs as follows:
The war resulted in one of the largest sur-
renders of forces since World War II. Al-
though India originally wished to try some
200 prisoners for war crimes for the brutality
in East Pakistan, the government eventually
acceded to releasing all prisoners as a ges-
ture of reconciliation. The Simla Agreement
signed the following year, also resulted in
control of Pakistani territory (more than
15,000 km²) that had been captured during
the war being given back to Pakistan, in or-
der to create a "lasting peace" between the
two nations and to affirm that India had no
territorial ambitions.
Important dates
• March 7, 1971: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
declares that, "The current struggle is a
struggle for independence", in a public

5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
meeting attended by almost a million
people in Dhaka.
• March 25, 1971: Pakistani forces start
Operation Searchlight, a systematic plan
to eliminate any resistance. Thousands of
people are killed in student dormitories
and police barracks in Dhaka.
• March 26, 1971: Major Ziaur Rahman
declares independence from Kalurghat
Radio Station, Chittagong. The message is
relayed to the world by Indian radio
stations.
• April 17, 1971: Exiled leaders of Awami
League form a provisional government.
• December 3, 1971: War between India and
Pakistan officially begins when West
Pakistan launches a series of preemptive
airstrikes on Indian airfields.
• December 6, 1971: East Pakistan is
recognized as Bangla-Desh by India.
• December 14, 1971: Systematic
elimination of Bengali intellectuals is
started by Pakistani Army and local
collaborators.[15]
• December 16, 1971: Lieutenant-General A.
A. K. Niazi, supreme commander of
Pakistani Army in East Pakistan,
surrenders to the Allied Forces (Mitro
Bahini) represented by Lieutenant General
Aurora of Indian Army at the surrender.
Bangladesh gains victory
• January 12,1972: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
comes to power
Military awards
For bravery, a number of soldiers and of-
ficers on both sides were awarded the
highest military award of respective coun-
tries. Following is a list of the recipients of
the Indian award Param Vir Chakra,
Bangladesh award Bir Sreshtho and the
Pakistani award Nishan-E-Haider:
India
Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra:
• Lance Naik Albert Ekka (Posthumously)
• Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon
(Posthumously)
• Major Hoshiar Singh
• Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal
(Posthumously)
Bangladesh
Recipients of the Bir Sreshtho
6
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
• Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir
(Posthumously)
• Lance Naik Munshi Abdur Rouf
(Posthumously)
• Sepoy Hamidur Rahman (Posthumously)
• Sepoy Mostafa Kamal (Posthumously)
• ERA Mohammad Ruhul Amin
(Posthumously)
• Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman
(Posthumously)
• Lance Naik Nur Mohammad Sheikh
(Posthumously)
Pakistan
Recipients of the Nishan-E-Haider:
• Major Muhammad Akram (Posthumously)
• Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas
(Posthumously)
• Major Shabbir Sharif (Posthumously)
• Sowar Muhammad Hussain
(Posthumously)
• Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz
(Posthumously)
References
[1] ^ Official Government of India
Statement giving numbers of KIA -
Parliament of India Website
[2] Quantification of Losses Suffered
[3] http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/
world/war/indo-pak_1971.htm
[4] U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep:
Army Terror Campaign Continues in
Dacca; Evidence Military Faces Some
Difficulties Elsewhere, March 31, 1971,
Confidential, 3 pp
[5] East Pakistan: Even the Skies Weep,
Time Magazine, October 25, 1971.
[6] Rediff news: I had to find troops for
Dhaka, December 14, 2006/
[7] Makers of Modern Strategy: From
Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age By Peter
Paret, 1986, Oxford University Press,
ISBN 0198200978 pp802
[8] Shalom, Stephen R., The Men Behind
Yahya in the Indo-Pak War of 1971
[9] Cold war games
[10] U.S. State Department, [1]
[11] The Flawed Architect: Henry Kissenger
and American Foreign Policy by Jussi M.
Hanhimeaki Page 156, Published by
Oxford University Press US
[12] Rummel, Rudolph J., "Statistics of
Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Since 1900", ISBN 3-8258-4010-7,
Chapter 8, table 8.1
[13] "125 Slain in Dacca Area, Believed Elite • Border, a 1997 Bollywood war film
of Bengal". New York Times (New York,
NY, USA): p. 1. December 19, 1971.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/
abstract.html?res=F50C13F83C5E127A93CBA81789D95F458785F9.
Retrieved on 2008-01-04. "At least 125
persons, believed to be physicians,
professors, writers and teachers, were
found murdered today in a field outside
Dacca. All the victims’ hands were tied
behind their backs and they had been
bayoneted, garroted or shot. These
victims were among an estimated 300
Bengali intellectuals who had been
seized by West Pakistani soldiers and
locally recruited supporters."
[14] Murshid, Tazeen M. (December 2, 1997).
"State, nation, identity: The quest for • 1971 - Prisoners of War, a 2007 Bollywood
legitimacy in Bangladesh". South Asia:
Journal of South Asian Studies,
(Routledge) 20 (2): 1–34. doi:10.1080/
00856409708723294. ISSN 14790270.
[15] ^ Khan, Muazzam Hussain (2003),
"Killing of Intellectuals", Banglapedia,
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
[16] Shaiduzzaman (December 14, 2005),
"Martyred intellectuals: martyred
history", The Daily New Age, Bangladesh • A complete coverage of the war from the
[17] Huge bag of prisoners in our hands The
Liberation Times
• General Niazi (1998). Betrayal of East
Pakistan. Oxford University Press. ISBN
0195777271.
• "The Rediff Interview/Lt Gen A A Khan
Niazi". Rediff. February 2, 2004.
http://www.rediff.com/../news/2004/feb/
02inter1.htm.
Further reading
• An Army Its Role and Rule (A History of
the Pakistan Army from Independence to
Kargil 1947-1999). Muhammad Ayub ISBN
0-8059-9594-3
• D K Palit The Lightning Campaign: The
Indo-Pakistan War 1971 Compton Press
Ltd (1972), ISBN 0-900193-10-7
• J R Saigal Pakistan Splits: The Birth of
Bangladesh Manas Publications (2004),
ISBN 81-7049-124-X
• J Hanhimaki The Flawed Architect: Henry
Kissinger and American Foreign Policy
Oxford University Press (2004)
7
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Dramatization
directed by J.P.Dutta. This movie is an
adaptation from real life events that
happened at the Battle of Longewala
fought in Rajasthan (Western Theatre)
during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Border at
the Internet Movie Database
• Hindustan Ki Kasam, a 1973 Bollywood
war film directed by Chetan Anand. The
aircraft in the film are all authentic
aircraft used in the 1971 war against
Pakistan. These include MiG-21s, Gnats,
Hunters and Su-7s. Some of these aircraft
were also flown by war veterans such as
Samar Bikram Shah (2 kills) and Manbir
Singh. Hindustan Ki Kasam at the Internet
Movie Database
war film directed by Sagar Brothers. Set
against the backdrop of a prisoners camp
in Pakistan, follows six Indian prisoners
awaiting release after their capture in the
1971 India-Pakistan war.
External links
• Video of General Niazi Surrendering
Indian perspective
• An Atlas of the 1971 India - Pakistan War:
The Creation of Bangladesh by John H.
Gill
• Actual conversation from the then US
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger
during the 1971 War - US Department of
State’s Official archive.
• Indian Army: Major Operations
• Pakistan: Partition and Military
Succession USA Archives
• Pakistan intensifies air raid on India BBC
• A day by day account of the war as seen in
a virtual newspaper.
• The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian
Crisis of 1971.
• December 16, 1971: any lessons learned?
By Ayaz Amir - Pakistan’s Dawn
(newspaper)
• India-Pakistan 1971 War as covered by
TIME
• Indian Air Force Combat Kills in the 1971
war (unofficial), Centre for Indian Military
History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

• Op Cactus Lilly: 19 Infantry Division in
1971, a personal recall by Lt Col Balwant
Singh Sahore
• All for a bottle of Scotch, a personal recall
of Major (later Major General) C K
Karumbaya, SM, the battle for Magura
• TIME Magazine article from December 20,
1971 describing the War
• TIME Magazine article from December 20,
1971 critical of the US policy during this
war

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Categories: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Indo-Pakistan Wars, History of Bangladesh,

Surrenders

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