Pakistan situation report from UK Govt and Bangladesh liberation

West Pakistan did not accept the 1970 election results (in which the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won), leading to escalating protests in East Pakistan. On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur held a speech.

Pakistan situation report from the British government – up to 0930 hours on 8 March 1971. Catalogue ref: PREM 15/567

Transcript

PAKISTAN

SITUATION REPORT

(8 March 1971)

We now have a fuller account of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s speech in Dacca on 7 March. We still do not have a text. But it is clear that Mujib has set 5 conditions for his participation in the Assembly Meeting proposed by President Yahya Khan for 25 March.

The conditions are:

1. Withdrawal of all troops to barracks
2. No further firing on civilians’
3. No further military reinforcement from West Pakistan;
4. No military interference in the working of the Bangla Desh Government;
5. Maintenance of law and order is to be left exclusively to the Police and Bengali Rifles (East Pakistanis) (A press report mentions also assistance by Awami League Volunteers).
6. Mujib also named an enquiry into “murders” committed in the past week by the military forces. He said his immediate goal was the termination of marshall law [military rule] and the transfer of power to elected representatives. Meanwhile, the non-violent, non-cooperation movement must continue. In the coming week, this would entail:
7. No payment of taxes
8. Government offices and Courts to remain closed
9. Rail and port workers to cease work if they are used for mobilising forces of repression
10. Bengali “radio television, and newspapers” not to co-operate in suppressing news of People’s Movement
11. Telephone to work only for calls within East Pakistan
12. Banks to make no remittances within West Pakistan
13. All buildings to hoist black flags daily and
14. Further Hartal is to be declared at any moment depending on the situation
15. Liberation Committees are to be formed in every village under local Awami League leaders.

We can start the story of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War with the poorly planned and tragic ‘Partition’ of British India in 1947, based on religion. The separate north-eastern and north-western areas of the country, which were mostly Muslim, became a ‘united’ Pakistan. The rest of the country, mostly non-Muslim, became known as India. (See source 1: MFQ 1/1145.)

West and East Pakistan shared a religion, but not much else. For decades after Partition, the East Pakistanis (present-day Bangladeshis) were treated unfairly by the West Pakistani government over 1,000 miles away. East Pakistan had more people than West Pakistan but got less money and resources from the government. From the early 1950s, the amount of money earned per person in West Pakistan grew three times as much each year compared to East Pakistan.

In 1948, Urdu became the only state language of both West and East Pakistan (see source 2: DO 142/423). It was imposed on millions of Bengali-speaking people. This led to the rise of the Bengali Language Movement, resulting in mass protests and deaths in Dhaka in 1952.

Bengalis have a rich and proud history and culture focused around language, art, food, fashion, community, family and religion. The 1971 Liberation War can be seen as a struggle to preserve and protect this heritage.

A few key events leading up to 1971 sped up the start of the war:

Cyclone Bhola in November 1970 devastated East Pakistan. Around 3-500,000 people were killed and many more made destitute. Relief efforts from West Pakistan were minimal (see source 3: FCO 37/719).
Many East Pakistanis were feeling unhappy and resentful. This led to civil disobedience [refusal to obey the government] and the imposition of martial law [temporary rule by the military]. For many, these were uncertain and scary times.
There was prejudice and violence between Bengalis and Urdu-speaking minorities (Biharis) in early March 1971.
Maybe the most important event leading up to the war was the 1970 election. The winning Awami League Party was led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who wanted more freedom and independence for East Pakistan. He won the national elections by a clear majority, as East Pakistan had a much larger population than West Pakistan. However, the centralised government in West Pakistan did not accept Rahman as leader. They declared the election results void. This led to the famous and emotional ‘Joy Bangla’ (‘victory to Bengal’) speech by Rahman on 7 March 1971 at a rally attended by thousands, in which he declared an ‘independent’ Bangladesh (see source 4: PREM 15/567). He was later arrested. There were more and more protests by his supporters.

On 25 March 1971, the West Pakistani army invaded East Pakistan, trying to stop these protests. It launched Operation Searchlight, killing many Bengali civilians, intellectuals, students, politicians, and armed forces.

The brutal war that followed lasted for nine months. Estimates for the total number of civilian and military deaths range from 500,000 to over 3 million. Millions of refugees fled to neighbouring India. Groups of Bengali guerrilla fighters (‘mukti bahini’) and regular soldiers – helped by the Indian military – fought back against the West Pakistani army. West Pakistan eventually surrendered on the 16th of December 1971 before the Indian military (known as ‘Victory Day’), leading to the creation of Bangladesh.

You can see how complex the 1971 war was by looking at the many terms used to describe it: Bangladesh War of Independence, Liberation War, genocide, Civil War, or, by many Bangladeshis, ‘mukti juddho’/‘shongram’ (battle and resistance). The war has been immortalised in the symbolism of the national flag of Bangladesh – a dark green background with a red (bloody) circle in the middle.

Britain played an important role in bringing global attention to the war. During 1971, as members of the Commonwealth, many thousands of Bengalis were living and working in Britain. It was a harrowing time for many, as they were living far away and were worried about family and kin in East Pakistan. Foreign journalists were expelled from the region before the suppression started, so there was little international coverage of the events of 1971 (see Pakistani journalist Anthony Mascarenhas’ article ‘Genocide’ for a rare example). However, Bengalis in the UK raised funds to help the resistance. They organised peaceful campaigns and demonstrations to bring international attention to the war, such as the ‘Recognise Bangla-Desh Rally’ in Trafalgar Square on 8 August 1971, which drew thousands of people (see source 5a). The British government formally recognised Bangladesh as an independent nation on 4 February in 1972.

Britain recognised Bangladesh as an independent country on 4 February 1972. There was a lot of internal discussion before this date on the advantages and disadvantages that might come with recognition. Britain wanted to maintain good relationships with both Bangladesh and Pakistan.

By

Dr Aminul Hoque MBE (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Note: Victory Day is celebrated on 16 December, commemorating the ultimate victory in our Liberation War in 1971. On this significant day in 1971, the Pakistani Army surrendered (93,000 Pakistani troops) in Dhaka, marking the end of nine months of atrocities that devastated the population of Bangladesh. This surrender was not just a military defeat; it signified the triumph of the Bangladeshi people’s relentless struggle for freedom and justice. Pakistani General AAK Niazi officially surrendered to the Allied Forces Commander, General Jagjit Singh Aurora ( India), in a historic moment that would forever be etched in our national memory. With that pivotal act of surrender, Bangladesh gained independence after enduring a long and harrowing nine months of genocide, bloodbath, and unspeakable suffering. The sacrifices made by countless individuals during this dark period in history were instrumental in paving the way for a sovereign nation, inspiring generations to cherish and protect our hard-won freedom and to honor the memory of those who fought valiantly for it.