I admire and My deepest honor and appreciation to the family of nation father for the secrifize they are doing for the country.
Currently, we are fully enjoying our freedom. May almighty give the nation father's family, the courage to open the truth of the war and punish the criminals.
I am still looking for revenge for the rape Pakistani army is commented to our Bengali girls and women.
It still echoes to my ear as the pain of cry like heart literally is coming off from the body. I never can forgive Pakistanis in my life.
War of Liberation, The began on 26 March 1971 and ended with the liberation
of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971. The armed struggle was the culmination of a
series of events, situations and issues contributing to the progressively
deteriorating relations between East and West Pakistan. The questions of land
reforms, state language, inter-wing economic and administrative disparities,
provincial autonomy, the defense of East Pakistan and many other consequential
questions had been straining the relations between the two wings of Pakistan
ever since independence of the country from Britain in 1947.
The general elections of 1970 had made sheikh mujibur rahman, the leader of the
awami league which bagged 167 seats out of 169 allotted for East Pakistan, the
sole spokesman of the people of East Pakistan and majority leader in the
Pakistan National Assembly. But the Pakistan civil and military ruling clique
had refused to transfer power to the majority leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and
his party. Sheikh Mujib also refused to yield to the pressure put on him for
undue accommodation. Sheikh's historic address on 7 March 1971 made this point
quite clear to the Pakistani military junta. Then began the civil disobedience
movement. Meanwhile talks started between Mujib and Yahya to resolve the
outstanding issues. While holding talks, the Pakistani military junta was
bringing more troops to Bangladesh and at the same time wantonly killing
innocent civilians all over the country. This clearly showed that they were
totally insincere about handing over power to the elected representatives of
Bangladesh. No sooner the talks failed, the genocide began, with the Pakistan
army's crackdown on the people of East Pakistan on the midnight of 25 March
1971. The Bengali soldiers serving in the then Pakistan Armed Forces and para
militia forces declared instantly their solidarity with the people's liberation
war.
The Pakistan Army was ordered to launch operation on Bengali people at midnight
of 25 March. According to the plan for operation Search Light two headquarters
were established. Major General Rao Farman Ali with 57 Brigade under Brigedier
Arbab was responsible for operation in Dhaka city and its suburbs while Major
General Khadim Raja was given the responsibility of the rest of the province.
Lieutenant General Tikka Khan assumed the overall charge of the operation.
The students and the nationalist political activists put up resistance outside
the cantonment. Road blocks were raised to obstruct the march of the Pakistani
column to the city areas. The wireless set fitted jeeps and trucks loaded with
troops groaned on the streets of Dhaka City at midnight of 25 March.
The first column of the Pakistan army faced obstruction at Farmgate about one
kilometre from the cantonment due to a huge road block created by placing big
tree trunks across the road. The hulks of old cars and unserviceable steam
roller, were also used. Several hundred people chanted the slogan Joi Bangla
which lasted for about 15 minutes. But soon guns silenced them. The army moved
into the city before scheduled time and started the genocide.
The military forces killed everybody in sight on the footpath and destroyed
everything on their way. The tanks roared through the streets of Dhaka blasting
indiscriminately at the people and official and residential buildings. They
gunned down clusters of settlements and set fire on them. Scores of artillery
bursts were pounded, while the tanks rumbled into the city roaring the main
streets. The student halls of residence at Dhaka University were raided and
numerous students residing there were brutally killed and maimed. They also
killed many teachers of Dhaka University. The Hindu concentrated areas of old
Dhaka were particularly targeted. They started killing the people, burnt their
houses, looted their valuables and raped their women. The genocide that was
perpetrated on the unarmed people was flashed in the world press.
On 26 March Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was taken prisoner by the Pakistan army. At
about the same time, Major ziaur rahman announced Bangladesh's independence on
behalf of Sheikh Mujib from Kalurghat radio station at Chittagong.
There were spontaneous uprisings throughout Bangladesh following the call of
independence. These uprisings were participated by government officials,
political activists, students, workers, peasants, professionals and members of
the public. After initial resistance, many freedom fighters crossed over into
Indian territory to have safe sanctuary, due mainly to the enemy's overwhelming
superiority of trained soldiers and modern weapons. The scattered and
temporarily retreating rudimentary liberation forces were soon brought under a
unified command.
On 4 April, the senior officers of the liberation army assembled at the
headquarters of 2nd East Bengal at Teliapara, a semi hilly area covered by tea
gardens where Colonel MAG Osmany, Lieutenant Colonel Abdur Rob, Lieutenant
Colonel Salahuddin Mohammad Reja, Major Kazi Nuruzzaman, Major khaled mosharraf,
Major Nurul Islam, Major Shafat Jamil, Major Mainul Hossain Chowdhury and others
were present. In this meeting four senior commanders were entrusted with the
responsibility of operational areas. Sylhet-Brahmanbaria area was placed under
the command of Major Shafiullah. Comilla-Noakhali area was given to Major Khaled
Mosharraf while Chittagong-Chittagong Hill Tracts was given to Major Ziaur
Rahman. Kushtia-Jessore area was placed under command of Major Abu Osman
Chowdhury. In the meeting the organisational concept of the freedom fighter
forces and the command structure were chalked out. Colonel MAG Osmany was to
command the liberation forces, later named as mukti bahini.
An exile government called the People's Republic of Bangladesh alias mujibnagar
government headed by tajuddin ahmed was formed on 10 April. On the next day
Tajuddin Ahmed announced the names of three more regional commanders. Captain
Newazish for Rangpur region, Major Najmul Haque for Dinajpur-Rajshahi-Pabna and
Major Jalil for Barisal-Patuakhali region. All these regions were later named as
sectors. All of Bangladesh was divided into eleven such sectors and different
sub-sectors for operational purposes during the Sector Commander's conference
held from 10 to 17 July 1971.
On 27 March, Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi expressed full support
of her government to the freedom struggle of the Bengalis. Indian Border
Security Force (BSF) opened Bangladesh-India border to allow the tortured and
panick stricken Bengalis to have safe shelter in India. The governments of West
Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura established refugee camps along the
border. These camps became ready ground for recruitment of the freedom fighters.
The students, peasants, workers and political activists joined the Mukti Bahini
with high spirit to liberate Bangladesh from the Pakistan army. They were given
training on tactics and the use of arms and explosives. On completion of
training, they were posted to different sectors to fight the enemy. The
headquarters of the Bangladesh Forces was established at 8 Theatre Road,
Calcutta which started functioning from 12 April 1971. Lieutenant Colonel M A
Rab and Group Captain A K Khandaker were appointed as Chief of Staff and Deputy
Chief of Staff respectively.
Besides Mukti Bahini, many other bahinis were organised inside Bangladesh at
different places to fight Pakistan Army. These Bahinis included Kader Bahini of
Tangail, Latif Mirza Bahini of Sirajganj, Akbar Hossain Bahini of Jhinaidah,
Hemayet Bahini of Faridpur, Quddus Molla and Gafur Bahini of Barisal, Afsar
Bahini of Mymensingh and Aftab Bahini of Mymensingh. A crack platoon consisting
of daring youths operated most valiantly in Dhaka city as well. These bahinis
were established as a local force based on their own strength taking part in a
number of battles with the occupation army. Siraj Sikdar, leader of Sorbohara
Party, also organised his force in Barisal. Another Bahini named as Mujib Bahini
was organised in India with the active assistance of Major General Oban of the
Indian army an expert on guerilla warfare. Mujib Bahini was trained at Dehradun.
Student League leaders sheikh fazlul haq mani, Tofael Ahmed, Abdur Razzak and
Sirajul Alam Khan were organisers of this Bahini.
Mukti Bahini consisted of the regular and the irregular forces. The regulars
were later called 'Niomita Bahini' (regular force) and the irregulars were
called 'Gono Bahini' (people's Force). The regulars included East Bengal
Regiment and EPR troops. The irregular forces, which after initial training
joined different sectors, consisted of the students, peasants, workers and
political activists.
Irregular forces were inducted inside Bangladesh territory to adopt guerilla
warfare against the enemy. The regular forces were engaged in fighting in
conventional way. The first conventional brigade named as 'Z' Force was created
in July. Major Ziaur Rahman was appointed commander of this brigade and the
brigade was named as 'Z' Force after the first letter of his name. This brigade
consisted of 1, 3 and 8 East Bengal. Second regular brigade 'S' Force was
created in October and consisted of 2 and 11 East Bengal. 'S' Force was named
after the initial letter of the name of its commander Shafiullah. Similarly the
'K' Force created with 4, 9 and 10 East Bengal which was commanded by Khaled
Mosharraf.
Bangladesh Air Force, which was organised by Air Commodore A K Khondaker, was
created in Dimapur of Nagaland on 28 September. Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud,
Flight Lieutenant Badrul Alam, Captain Khaleq, Sattar, Shahabuddin, Mukit, Akram
and Sharfuddin and 67 airmen initially joined the Bangladesh Air Force, which
had only few Dakota, Auter type air plane and Aluvet helicopters.
Similarly, Bangladesh Navy was also established with the Naval troops deserted
from the Pakistan Navy. On 9 November 1971, the first naval fleet 'Bangabandhu
Naubohar' consisting of six small ships was inaugurated. The command structure
of the Bangladesh Forces was fully organised with the regular brigades, sector
troops and guerilla forces, the Bangladesh Airforce and the Navy. The Mukti
Bahini had fought many successful battles in putting up initial resistance. But
within a short time, they were temporarily contained by the Pakistan army and
were compelled to withdraw to the safe sanctuary in the Indian territory. The
Mukti Bahini was, however, re-equipped, reorganised and retrained. As a result,
it got into fighting with fresh zeal after April-May 1971.
At the international level, the United States and the People's Republic of China
considered the crisis as an internal affair of Pakistan. On the other hand,
India, Soviet Union and her allies and general masses in Japan, and Western
countries stood solidly behind Bangladesh. In order to gain strategic advantage
vis-a-vis Sino-US-Pakistan axis, Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty was signed on 9
August 1971. It provided a new dimension to the War of Liberation.
Having realised that the Pakistan army could not be defeated by conventional
warfare method, it was decided to create large guerilla forces all over the
country. All Sector commanders were accordingly ordered to recruit, train and
induct guerillas inside the country.
The joint command of the Mukti Bahini and the Indian army was underway from
November 1971. Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Commander, Eastern
Command of Indian Army, became the commander of the joint forces. The joint
command of the Mukti Bahini and the Indian Army, however, started operation from
the evening of 3 December, when the Pakistan Air Force bombed Amritsar, Sree
Nagar and the Kashmir valley. Immediately, the Indian armed forces were ordered
to hit back the Pakistan army and thus the Indo-Pak war broke out. The Mukti
Bahini and the Indian army continued advancing inside Bangladesh and the defeat
and surrender of the Pakistan army became a matter of time. International
efforts for a cease-fire before Bangladesh is fully liberated failed due to
Soviet veto in the United Nations Security Council.
The Indian troops and the freedom fighters of No 11 Sector reached Tongi on 14
December and Savar in the morning of 16 December. Major General Jamshed,
commander 36 Division of the Pakistan Army received Major General Nagra at
Mirpur Bridge near Dhaka City. The Mukti Bahini and the Indian forces entered
Dhaka city at 10.10 a. m. Major General Jacob, the Chief of Staff of the Indian
Eastern command landed at Dhaka airport at 1 p.m. with the draft instrument of
surrender. A fleet of helicopters landed on the tarmac of Dhaka airport at about
4 p.m. with Lieutenant General Aurora and his staff. Group Captain AK Khandaker,
Deputy Chief of Staff, Bangladesh Forces represented the Mukti Bahini.
Lieutenant General AAK Niazi received Lieutenant General Aurora. The instrument
of surrender was signed by Lieutenant Jagit Sing Aurora and Lieutenant General
Niazi at the ramna racecourse (now Suhrawardy Uddyan) at one minute past 5 p.m.
on 16 December 1971. [Rafiqul Islam]
Sectors of the War of Liberation In the War of Liberation in 1971 the whole
geographical area of the then East Pakistan was strategically divided into
eleven sectors with a sector commander for each of them. For better efficiency
in military operations each of the sectors were divided into a number of
sub-sectors under a commander.
Sector 1 comprised the districts of Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts, and
the entire eastern area of the Noakhali district on the banks of the river
Muhuri. The headquarters of the sector was at Harina. The sector commander was
Major Ziaur Rahman, later replaced by Major Rafiqul Islam. The five sub-sectors
of this sector (and their commanders) were: Rishimukh (Captain Shamsul Islam);
Sreenagar (Captain Matiur Rahman, later replaced by Captain Mahfuzur Rahman);
Manughat (Captain Mahfuzur Rahman); Tabalchhari (Subedar Ali Hossain); and
Dimagiri (a Subedar, whose name is not known).
A contingent of nearly ten thousand freedom fighters fought in this sector. They
included about two thousand members of the EPR, police, army, nave and air
forces and about eight thousand paramilitary troops. The guerilla fighters of
this sector were deputed to operate inside the country in 137 groups.
Sector 2 comprised the districts of Dhaka, Comilla, and Faridpur, and part of
Noakhali district. The sector commander was Major Khaled Mosharraf, later
replaced by Major ATM Haider. About thirty five thousand guerilla fighters
fought in this sector. Nearly six thousand of them were members of regular armed
forces. The six sub-sectors of this sector (and their commanders) were:
Gaugasagar, Akhaura and Kasba (Mahbub, later replaced by Lieutenant Farooq, and
Lieutenant Humayun Kabir); Mandabhav (Captain Gaffar); Shalda-nadi (Abdus Saleq
Chowdhury); Matinagar (Lieutenant Didarul Alam); Nirbhoypur (Captain Akbar,
later replaced by Lieutant Mahbub); and Rajnagar (Captain Jafar Imam, later
replaced by Captain Shahid, and Lieutenant Imamuzzaman).
Sector 3 comprised the area between Churaman Kathi (near Sreemangal) and Sylhet
in the north and Singerbil of Brahmanbaria in the south. The sector commander
was Major KM Shafiullah, later replaced by Major ANM Nuruzzaman. Nineteen
guerilla bases operated in this sector. By November 1971, the number of the
guerilla fighters in the sector stood at nearly thirty thousand. The ten
sub-sectors of this sector (and their commanders) were: Asrambari (Captain Aziz,
later replaced by Captain Ejaz); Baghaibari (Captain Aziz, later replaced by
Captain Ejaz); Hatkata (Captain Matiur Rahman); Simla (Captain Matin);
Panchabati (Captain Nasim); Mantala (Captain MSA Bhuyan); Vijoynagar (Captain
MSA Bhuyan); Kalachhora (Lieutenant Majumdar); Kalkalia (Lieutenant Golam Helal
Morshed); and Bamutia (Lieutenant Sayeed).
Sector 4 comprised the area from Habiganj sub-division of Sylhet district on the
north to Kanaighat Police Station on the south along the 100 mile long border
with India. The sector commander was Major Chittarajan Datta, later replaced by
Captain A Rab. The headquarters of the sector was initially at Karimganj and
later at Masimpur. The freedom fighters in this sector included about nine
thousand guerilla fighters and about four thousand regular members of the armed
forces. The six sub-sectors of this sector (and their commanders) were: Jalalpur
(Masudur Rab Sadi); Barapunji (Captain A Rab); Amlasid (Lieutenant Zahir);
Kukital (Flight Lieutenant Kader, later replaced by Captain Shariful Haq);
Kailas Shahar (Lieutenant Wakiuzzaman); and Kamalpur (Captain Enam).
Sector 5 comprised the area from Durgapur to Danki (Tamabil) of Sylhet district
and the entire area upto the eastern borders of the district. Sector commander
was Major Mir Shawkat Ali. The headquarters of the sector was at Banshtala. The
six sub-sectors of this sector (and their commanders) were: Muktapur (Subedar
Nazir Hossain, freedom fighter Faruq was second in command); Dauki (Subedar
Major BR Chowdhury); Shela (Captain Helal, who had two assistant commanders,
Lieutenant Mahbubar Rahman and Lieutenant Abdur Rauf); Bholajanj (Lieutenant
Taheruddin Akhunji who had Lieutenant SM Khaled as assistant commander); Balat (Subedar
Ghani, later replaced by Captain Salahuddin and freedom fighter Enanmul Haq
Chowdhury); and Barachhara (Captain Muslim Uddin).
Sector 6 comprised Rangpur district and part of Dinajpur district. Wing
Commander M Khdemul Bashar was the sector commander. The headquarters of the
sector was at Burimari near Patgram. The number of soldiers in this sector was
700, which rose to about eleven thousand in December. The five sub-sectors of
the sector (and their commanders were: Bhajanpur (Captain Nazrul, later replaced
by Squadron leader Sadruddin and Captain Shahriyar); Patgram (initially, some
junior commissioned officers of the EPR and later, Captain Matiur Rahman);
Sahebganj (Captain Nawazesh Uddin); Mogalhat (Captain Delwar); and Chilahati
(Flight Lieutenant Iqbal).
Sector 7 comprised the districts of Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra and part of Dinajpur
district. The sector commander was Major Nazrul Haq, later replaced by Subedar
Major A Rab and Kazi Nuruzzaman. The headquarters of the sector was at
Taranngapur. About fifteen thousand freedom fighters fought in this sector. The
eight sub-sectors of the sector (and their commanders were): Malan (initially
some junior commanding officers and later, Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir); Tapan
(Major Nazmul Haq, later replaced by some junior commanding officers of the EPR);
Mehdipur (Subedar Iliyas, later replaced by Captain Mahiuddin Jahangir);
Hamzapur (Captain Idris); Anginabad (a freedom fighter); Sheikhpara (Captain
Rashid); Thokrabari (Subedar Muazzam); and Lalgola (Captain Gheyasuddin
Chowdhury).
Sector 8 In April 1971, the operational area of the sector comprised the
districts of Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, Faridpur and Patuakhali. At the
end of May the sector was reconstituted and comprised the districts of Kusthia,
Jessore and Khulna districts, Satkhira sub-division, and the northern part of
Faridpur district. The sector commander was Major Abu Osman Chowdhury, later
replaced by Major MA Manzur. The headquarters of the sector was at Benapole.
About ten thousand freedom fighters fought in this sector. The seven sub-sectors
of the sector (and their commanders) were: Boyra (Captain Khondakar Nazmul Huda);
Hakimpur (Captain Shafiq Ullah); Bhomra (Captain Salahuddin later replaced by
Captain Shahabuddin); Lalbazar (Captain AR Azam Chowdhury); Banpur (Captain
Mostafizur Rahman); Benapole (Captain Abdul Halim, later replaced by Captain
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury); and Shikarpur (Captain Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury,
later replaced by Lieutenant Jahangir).
Sector 9 comprised the districts of Barisal and Patuakhali, and parts of the
district of Khulna and Faridpur. The sector commander was Major ma jalil, later
replaced by Major MA Manzur and Major Joynal Abedin. The three sub-sectors of
the sector were: Taki, Hingalganj, and Shamshernagar.
Sector 10 This sector was constituted with the naval commandos. Eight Bengali
officers of Pakistan Navy trained in France were the pioneers in forming this
force. These officers were Ghazi Mohammad Rahmatullah (Chief Petty Officer),
Syed Mosharraf Hossain (Petty Officer), Amin Ullah Sheikh (Petty Officer); Ahsan
Ullah (M E-1), AW Chowdhury (RO-1), Badiul Alam (ME-1), AR Miah (EN-1), Abedur
Rahman (Steward-1). These eight officers were given special training on the
river Jamuna near Delhi under the auspices of the Indian Navy. The force was
later commanded by Indian commander MN Sumanta.
Sector 11 comprised the districts of Mymensingh and Tangail, Major M Abu Taher
was the sector commander. After Major Taher was seriously wounded in a battle,
he was replaced by Squadron Leader Hamidullah. The headquarters of the sector
was at Mahendraganj. About twenty five thousand freedom fighters fought in this
sector. The eight sub-sectors of the sector (and their commanders) were:
Mankarchar (Squadron Leader Hamidullah); Mahendraganj (Lieutenant Mannan);
Purakhasia (Lieutenant Hashem); Dhalu (Lieutenant Taher, later replaced by
Lieutenant Kamal); Rangra (Matiur Rahman); Shivabari (some junior commanding
officers of the EPR); Bagmara (some junior commanding officers of the EPR); and
Maheshkhola (a member of the EPR).