The surrender of Pakistani troops on December 16, 1971, bringing to an end the Liberation War, has been documented in glorious terms in India’s history. East Pakistan gave birth to a joyful Bangladesh. The unconditional surrender by Lt. General AAK Niazi, GOC-in-C of the Pakistan Army, with 93,5000 ranks and civilians, has been splendidly described by Brig R. P. Singh VSM (Retd) and Hitesh Singh in their racy account titled From East Pakistan to Bangladesh, Recollections of 1971 Liberation War.
The authors have spotlighted the sorry plight of the locals at the hands of the merciless Pakistan army men. Brig Singh saw action in the Bangladesh Liberation War through one of the most torrid phases for the sub-continent. He wore different hats – from commanding a rifle company on the international border, to being an instructor in the Officers’ Training Wing of the Mukti Bahini.
“If blood was the price of independence, then the Bangladeshis had to pay the price twice – once during the Pakistan Movement and the second time for liberation from Pakistani colonial masters who were more brutal than the British. More than 100 war criminals still survive and lead luxurious lives on the loot from Bangladesh,” writes Brig Singh and recommends a trial to bring them to book.
The chapter ‘Eyewitness Accounts of Genocide’ leaves you disturbed as Brig Singh digs into the archives from various sources, especially the telegrams to the US State Department by the US Counsel General in Dhaka, Archer Kent Blood, who followed and consistently communicated about the genocide in Bangladesh. “Here in Dhaka, we are mute and horrified witnesses to a reign of terror by the Pakistani military. Our Government has failed to denounce the suppression of democracy,” read one of Archer Blood’s report. He was subsequently removed from the post, says Brig Singh.
The research by Brig Singh and his personal experience lends a lot of credibility to the narrative. “The Pakistan Army’s atrocities were not only reported by Western and Indian media and that of the USSR, but also by most of the Muslim world,” writes Brig Singh, giving heart-breaking tales of girls being raped and forced into sex slavery by the Pakistani military. The author claims the rapes and military prostitution had the sanction of the military top brass.
In a gripping chapter – Geopolitical Upheavals – Brig Singh gives us details of the secret meeting in July 1971 between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, when he visited India, Pakistan and China (secretly). Mrs Gandhi made it a point to invite General Sam Manekshaw for the breakfast with Kissinger. Mrs Gandhi insisted Gen Manekshaw come in uniform. When Kissinger asked her what she intended to do, Indira Gandhi reportedly got up from her chair and said loudly, ‘If the US Government and the US President cannot control the situation, then I am going to ask him (pointing to Gen Manekshaw, all decked up in military attire) to do the same’. A few months later the Indian Prime Minister kept her word.
The authors are at their best when writing about the war, which began on December 3, 1971 when Pakistan attacked eight Indian Air Force airports. The next day, the Indian Prime Minister “informed the Parliament that the Government of India has decided to grant recognition to the Gana Prajatantrik (People’s Republic of) Bangladesh. Dhaka had become the free capital of a free country.”
The book is a celebration of India’s brave initiative to help East Pakistan become Bangladesh with the surrender by Lt Gen Niazi the icing on the cake. Brig Singh and Hitesh Singh do a commendable job of reliving a great phase from India’s military history.
(Vijay Lokapally is a senior journalist and author)
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Title: From East Pakistan To Bangladesh: Recollections of 1971 Liberation War
Authors: Brig R P Singh and Hitesh Singh
Publisher: Vitasta
Pages: 545
Price: Rs 995 (Hardcover)