INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND
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 Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman, chief of awami
league which bagged 167 seats out of 169, 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 Mujib'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
Sheikh Mujib and President Yahya Khan 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 East
Pakistan. 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 Bangali 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 Bangali 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 in creating
the blockade. 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 the night of 25 March Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was taken prisoner by the Pakistan
army.
There were spontaneous uprisings throughout Bangladesh following the declaration of
independence on 26 March 1971. 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 Government alias mujibnagar government was formed on 10 April with
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman as President of the Republic, Syed Nazrul Islam as Vice
President and Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister. On the day following 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 Bangalis. Indian Border Security Force (BSF) opened
Bangladesh-India border to allow the tortured and panic stricken Bangalis 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 Sarbahara 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 who was an expert in 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
'Niamita Bahini' (regular force) and the irregulars were called 'Gana 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
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 Naubahar' 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 Air Force
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.
Sector 2
Comprised of the districts of Dhaka, Comilla, and Faridpur, and part of Noakhali district. This
sector was raised from the nucleus of 4 East Bengal and the EPR troops of Comilla and
Noakhali. The sector was located at Melaghar about 20 miles south of Agartala. 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:
Gangasagar, 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). Due to the operations of this sector the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in between
Comilla and Feni was denied to the Pakistanis throughout the nine months of war of liberation.
One of the most successful operations of this sector was the defence of the Belonia Bulge. The
entries Belonia Bulge was kept liberated by the combined forces of 1 and 2 sectors till 21 June.
In this sector, a number of regular companies operated deep inside Bangladesh. These were the
Noakhali Company under subeder Lutfar Rahman operating around Begumganj, the Chandpur
Company under subeder Zahirul Alam Khan operating in Chandpur Matlab area, a large force
under Captain Abdul Halim Chowdhury operating in Manikganj-Munshiganj area in Dhaka and
a force under Captain Shawkat at Faridpur. The urban guerrillas carried out a number of
successful operations in Dhaka city itself.
K Force
K Force was a military brigade of Bangladesh Forces in 1971 headed by Major Khaled
Mosharraf as per the direction of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh in exile. The
brigade was a part of regular army under the Bangladesh Armed Forces formed with the 4th, 9th
and 10th Battalion of East Bengal Regiment. Major Khaled Mosharraf, an officer of the 4th East
Bengal Regiment who was sent off by the military officials of Pakistan Army from Comilla
Cantonment to Sylhet on March 24, revolted against Pakistan Army on March 26 with his unit.
Major Khaled Mosharraf was later selected as the Sector Commander of Sector-2 during
Bangladesh Liberation War as a showed tremendous courage. He was later asked to form a
brigade as a regular force in order to establish effective control over the liberated zones that were
liberated by the freedom fighters of Sector-02 and to operate large scale operations in Sector-2
against the Pakistan Army establishments.
The formation of K force was actually a reorganization of the freedom fighters of 4th East
Bengal Regiment and the others who were trained for Bangladesh Liberation War under Sector-
2. The C Company of 4th East Bengal Regiment along with the freedom fighters under the
Sector-2 headquarters were gathered at Konabon under the 4th East Bengal Regiment and were
reorganized under the captaincy of Captain M.A. Gaffar Haldar. The 9th East Bengal Regiment
was formed under the leadership of Captain Ainuddin, composed of all the freedom fighters of
the D Company and a number of soldiers from B Company of 4th East Bengal Regiment. The
newly formed regiment was gathered at Kosba for further reorganization. All the freedom
fighters from A Company and the rest of B Company soldiers were reorganized under the 10th
East Bengal Regiment led by Major Abdus Saleq Chowdhury at Belunia. In addition, an artillery
battery was added led by Captain Abdul Aziz Pasha. The headquarter of K Force was situated at
Agartala.
Crack Platoon
June, 1971, three months after our declaration of independence from Pakistan,
thousands of Bangladeshi youth had been receiving training in India to fight against the
Pakistani occupation army. Among them, a group of 17 valiant freedom fighters were
handpicked by Khaled Mosharraf, sector commander of Bangladesh forces Sector 2, for
audacious commando raids right inside the Pakistani strong points in Dhaka. They
were the famed and much feared Crack Platoon, a commando wing of the Mukti Bahini.
Crack Platoon launched successfully as many as 82 such operations at Pakistani key
point installations in Dhaka. In retaliation, the Pakistan army carried out mass murders
and martyred many of its members.
Their first attack was launched at the Hotel Intercontinental, the hub of West Pakistani
military officials, political leaders and foreign delegates during the war. In June, West
Pakistani officials managed to convince a World Bank delegation that 'normalcy' had
been restored in the then East Pakistan which would bring them foreign donation. So,
the first mission of the platoon was to attack the hotel conveying the message that the
war of Bangladesh's independence was in full swing. Seven volunteers of the platoon
armed with grenades and pistols reached Dhaka and arranged a car to carry out the
operation. The freedom fighters tactfully bypassed Pakistani guards and reached the
hotel. Then three grenades were flung just inside the hotel compound giving a mortal
blow to the Pakistani morale and displaying the courage of the Mukti Bahini.
Habibul Alam, Bir Pratik, was a member of this valiant commando team. In his words,
“The operations were extremely dangerous. We had to reconnoiter the place several
times before each raid. Sometimes we had to attack from running vehicles which was
almost suicidal. One day, Badi (Badiul Alam, Bir Bikram) and I acquired a Mazda car
for the operation. We had only a few LMGs (machine guns). I drove the car to
Dhanmondi, road number 18. We saw eight Pakistani soldiers and policemen gossiping
and smoking in front of Justice Jabbar Khan's place. I drove up beside them and Kazi
(Kazi Kamaluddin, Bir Bikram) and Badi fired the LMGs at them while Rumi (Martyr
Shafi Imam Rumi, Bir Bikram) and Swapan (Kamrul Huq Swapan, Bir Bikram) were
covering us. All the eight soldiers and police were gunned down. It took only two or
three seconds to accomplish the operation.” The raid took place on August 25, 1971.
The Crack Platoon was a real terror for Pakistani soldiers. Before surrendering to the
allied army, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the commander in chief of the
Pakistan occupation army said, “It (Mukti Bahini) made us deaf and blind.” But they
could not suppress the struggle for liberation. We owe our victory to these valiant
soldiers and remember them with respect and pride.
Important battles in Sector 2
Jun 7, Feni: While the Pak army was advancing towards Belunia, they confronted the K force,
led by Brigadier Khaled Musharraf – after a day of fierce battle; the Muktibahini killed almost
60% people of an entire battalion. 300 bodies were found, many others washed off by the
Chilonia river Dec 15, Siege of Mynamoti cantonment: 9th Bengal regiment. 150 Pak soldiers
surrendered and many fled. The ultimate surrender happened on Dec 16 .
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, 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 Kalyani. The sector had
3000 regulars and 25,000 guerillas. The regular forces held a number of liberated areas while the
guerillas established several bases deep inside Bangladesh. In this sector a new tactics was
followed. Regular troops were made to infiltrate 7 of 8 miles inside Bangladesh and take up all-
round defence around a tactical feature, thereby inviting the Pakistan army to attack on them. By
doing so, they inflicted heavy casualties to the attacking enemy. 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).
Z Force
Z Force, also known as Tura Brigade, was the first military brigade of Bangladesh Forces
formed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 under Major Ziaur Rahman along with
the consent of the revolutionary government of Bangladesh in exile. The brigade was formed
with the 1st, 3rd and 8th Battalion of East Bengal Regiment on 7 July 1971. It is the first ever
complete brigade formed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. After the sector
commanders' meeting held at 8, Theater Road of Kolkata, the first brigade of Bangladesh Forces
was formed. Major Ziaur Rahman, who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel during the
Liberation War of Bangladesh was the senior most officer amongst the officers present there and
he was given the command of the force. The headquarters of the brigade was at Teldhala of Tura
in India.
The 'Z Force' established their camp in the remote Tura area of Meghalaya. But with massive
spirit and interest for the freedom, people of various ages and occupations gathered under the
brigade. 'Z Force' had to organize themselves properly. It was formed with 1st, 3rd and 8th
battalion of East Bengal Regiment. Of them the 1st Battalion of East Bengal Regiment, who
revolted in Jessore Cantonment under Major Hafiz was unable to escape safely and after fighting
a crucial battle only fifty of the Bengali officers and soldiers were able to reach the border. The
8th Battalion of East Bengal Regiment was a newly formed battalion with limited power. The
3rd Battalion of East Bengal Regiment also faced casualties.
In this situation, the military headquarters of Bangladesh Forces ordered Major Hafizuddin
Ahmed and Major Sahriful Haq Dalim to recruit 600 youths in 1st Battalion of East Bengal
Regiment and another collect 500 youths and join 'Z Force' in Tura. Major Hafizuddin Ahmed
recruited 600 youths from the youth camps from Khulna-Kushtia border area. The total number
of the members in 1st Battalion of East Bengal Regiment was 800 [8] while joining the 'Z Force'.
Another 500 members collected by Major Shariful Haq Dalim amplified the strength of 3rd
Battalion of East Bengal Regiment. Major Moinul Hossain Chowdhury, who acted as the
commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of East Bengal Regiment was asked to format the
battalion. The command and the charge to organize the 3rd Battalion of East Bengal Regiment
was given to Major Shafayet Zamil and the responsibility of 8th Battalion of East Bengal
Regiment was given to AZM Aminul Haq. After a training session of six weeks, "Z Force"
turned into a valiant brigade of Bangladesh Forces.
Important battles in Sector 8
Nov 24, Gharibpur: Major Alik Kumar Gupta led Joint forces engaged 14 Pakistani tanks. All
Pak tanks were destroyed. The Joint forces lost 5 tanks.
Dec 7: Jessore and Narail were liberated on Dec 7.
Sector 11
Comprised of the districts of Tangail and Mymensingh excluding Kishoreganj sub-division.
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: Mainkarchar (Squadron Leader Hamidullah);
Mahendraganj (Lieutenant Mizan); Purakhasia (Lieutenant Hashim); Dhalu (Lieutenant Taher
Ahmed, 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). Guerilla activities were predominant in this sector, and
regular forces held librated areas near the border. subedar Aftab held a huge chunk of liberated
territory at Rahumani throughout the nine months of the war. In this sector, even women took up
arms to fight the Pakistanis. Besides, Quader Siddiqi, a renowned free lance freedom fighter
from Tangail, organized 16,000 guerillas in his district and carried out a number of successful
operations against the Pakistan army quite independently.
On December 11, 1971, Tangail district was freed from the Pakistani occupation forces. The
same day, the occupation forces also retreated from Hakimpur upazila in Dinajpur after a fierce
fight. The valiant freedom fighters of Tangail hoisted the flag of independent Bangladesh after
freeing the district from the Pakistani army on this day during the 1971 Liberation War, reports
our correspondent. On April 3, the occupation forces entered Tangail town after breaking the
blockade by the freedom fighters at Goran-Satiachara in Mirzapur. Within a few days, the
Kaderia Bahini, led by the then Chhatra League leader Abdul Kader Siddique, got organised and
started fighting with the Pakistani army at different places in Tangail. Another group of the
freedom fighters led by Khandakar Abdul Baten got together and started defending the
occupational forces at different places. On December 10, the Pakistani army lost their
confidence as around 2,000 paratroopers of Indian allied forces landed at Poulee near the town.
Later, the Pakistani troops started retreating to Dhaka. The freedom fighters entered the town on
December 11 while the general people came down to the streets and started celebrations.
Important battles in Sector 11
Sep10-11, Kamalpur base, Mahendraganj: The ambush was long, hard and ultimately futile.
Taher’s troops systematically drew the enemy to a swamp and the siege turned into an ambush,
according to the man himself, the LMG fire “killed” them like sitting ducks
December 10-16, Jamalpur to Dhaka, with love: Freedom fighter Johurul Haque Munshee was
sent to the commander of the 31st Baloch regiment, asking the enemy to surrender. The
commander sent a bullet wrapped in paper as an answer.
By the time the surrender happened at 5am next morning, 212 Pak soldiers had died and 200
further were injured.
Other Liberation War Forces
Bangladesh Liberation Force
Many young able-bodied men were required to fight the mighty Pakistan Army and its
supporters. The Bengali youth leaders informed the Mujibnagar Shorkar that they could recruit
such men from inside Bangladesh and the youth camps. This proposal was approved on 18 April
1971 and the Mujibnagar Shorkar entrusted this task to four youth leaders including Sheikh
Fazlul Huq Moni (Sheikh Mujib’s baghna, or nephew from sister’s side) and Tofael Ahmed.
Since nobody within the cabinet or outside had any reservations about this decision,
Commander-in-Chief Colonel Osmani is alleged to have given his written consent by issuing a
letter to Tofael Ahmed giving him full authority to recruit.
Kader Bahini
During liberation war ‘Quader Bahini’ lead by Abdul Quader Siddiqui played significant role in
Tangail area. In the final days of liberation war, this armed force entered Dhaka with the allied
[Link] Bahini was a guerrilla independence militia during the Bangladesh Liberation War
of 1971. It was named after its leader, Kader Siddique. The militia operated against the Pakistan
Army in Tangail zone. It comprise an estimated 50,000 civilians. Siddique was wounded at the
Makrar battle near Balla village. Kader Bahini is notable for the capture of a Pakistani ship with
large quantities of arms and ammunition at Bhuapur. They also captured several armored cars
along with bulletproof carriers.
Jahazmara battle
On August 10, 1971, Kader Bahini in Tangail attacked two ships of the Pakistan army containing
arms, ammunition and fuel. The two ships were named ST Razan and SU Engineers LC-3. They
were attacked on the convergence point of Jamuna and Dhaleswari rivers at Sirajkandi. After a
brief battle, Kader Bahini emerged as the winning side. They destroyed the supplies harming the
logistics of Pakistan army in the region. The Battle came to be known as Jahazmare(Ship
Killing) The Public Works Department built a monument near the site of the battle.
Liberation of Tangail
On 10 December 1971, 2 thousand Indian paratroops landed in Tangail. They joined up with
Kader Bahini. Together they liberated Tangail from Pakistan army. Captain Peter, a Bengali
Indian army officer had arrived on 3 December to plan the landing of the Indian troops. New
Tangail town was the last stronghold of Pakistan to fall in Tangail. Tangail was freed on 11
December 1971.
Dissolution
After the surrender of Pakistan army on 16 December 1971, Sheikh Mujib was still in Pakistan.
He was sentenced to death by a military tribunal. Kader Siddique declared that he and his 50
thousand men would not surrender until Mujib returned. In 1972 after Mujib had returned from
Pakistan Kader and his men surrendered his arms to Mujib on Bindubasini Boys High School in
Tangail in Tangail Town.
Hemayet Bahini
Hemayet Bahini was a guerrilla militia force of Bangladesh in the Bangladesh Liberation War of
1971. This small force was known by the name of its leader and organizer Mohammad Hemayet
Uddin Bir Bikrom. The area of operation of Hemayet Bahini was the Faridpur zone. Although
Hemayet Uddin was a Havildar of the East Bengal Regiment of Pakistan army, his force was
composed mostly of local youth. This guerrilla force used the riverine terrain to its advantage
and disrupted the movement of Pakistan armed forces in the region. Hemayet Bahini was very
popular among the Bengalis and stories about their work reached mythic proportions. Hemayet
Uddin, the leader, was affectionately addressed by the Mukti bahini headquarters as Himu. After
the war, he was decorated by the gallantry award Bir Bikrom and was awarded the military rank
of Subedar.
Liberating Dhaka & the Ultimate Victory
Around July the freedom fighters began to fight back in an organized manner, and by October
they bad become strong and confident. They began to systematically attack and take over the
Pakistan army border outposts. The guerrilla battles also began to be more and more daring. The
Pakistan army’s response to these battles was to go into villages with the rajakars to bum down
houses and kill the people. By that time the Pakistan army’s morale was beginning to weaken
and they no longer wanted to go outside of their camps.
The Pakistan army’s situation in Bangladesh started to get so bad that, not being able to find any
other solution, they attacked India on the 3rd of December. The intent was to attack suddenly and
destroy the Indian air force, but this did not work at all. India immediately announced war
against Pakistan, joined the Bangladeshi forces, and entered Bangladesh with their army.
Pakistan then had five infantry divisions in Bangladesh. According to conventional rules of war,
the Indian army should have taken in three times as many, that is, fifteen divisions, but because
the freedom fighters were with them they took in only eight. The freedom fighters themselves
bad managed to stop the movement of the Pakistani army. It wasn’t only the freedom fighters; all
the general people of the country were also in the war with the joint forces.
The fighting lasted only thirteen days. At the very beginning and after bombing all the airports,
the Pakistani pilots fled to Pakistan. After the few ships left in the ocean bad been sunk, only
their ground forces remained. The Pakistani army was very skilled at killing innocent people –
the freedom fighters and Indian army were eager to see if they were equally skilled when it came
to actual fighting. After the fight started the Pakistani camps fell apart rapidly – they somehow
managed to desperately hold on to a small area of land. The Indian army and the freedom
fighters passed them by and rapidly approached Dhaka. The Meghna river didn’t have a bridge,
so the common people used their boats to take the armies and their
weaponry across the river.
In Dhaka, General Niazi and his generals were relying on two very strange things to keep them
going in the war. Firstly, they thought that in West Pakistan, they would defeat India so bad! y
that India would have no choice but to retreat from Bangladesh. And secondly, they thought that
China would help from the north and America would help from the south. Both these ideas were
entirely wrong. The Pakistanis themselves were completely defeated in West Pakistan, and no
Chinese or American soldiers provided any assistance at all.
The freedom fighters and Indian soldiers surrounded Dhaka and demanded that the Pakistani
army surrender. Because the Governor House bad been bombed, Governor Malik and his
ministers took refuge at Hotel Intercontinental (today’s Sheraton). The Indian air force dropped
thousands of leaflets: “Surrender to us before the freedom fighters get you.” Pakistan army then
decided to surrender. When he saw that the surrender documents had something about
surrendering to the joint leadership of ‘Bangladesh’ and India, a Pakistani general weakly tried to
suggest that the name ‘Bangladesh’ be removed from the document, but nobody paid attention to
him. On the 16th of December in front of thousands and thousands of
people at the Racecourse Maidan, General Niazi signed the surrender document that forced him
to bow his head and leave a free Bangladesh. The victory that the 70 million people of the
country had been awaiting for nine long months was finally came to them who lost their loved
ones during the war. It was the 22nd of December by the time the rest of the Pakistani soldiers
had surrendered all over Bangladesh.
Conclusion
The earth that we stand on today, the sky we see when we look up, and the air in our lungs when
we take a breath; we owe it all to our freedom fighters. This is a debt we will never be able to
repay, but the Bengalis have been given the opportunity to express their
gratitude through the honors of valiance. Of the people who have received these awards, the
highest honor of Bir Shreshtho has been given posthumously to seven freedom fighters. They are
Mohiuddin Jahangir, Hamidur Rahman, Mostafa Kamal, Ruhul Amin, Matiur Rahman, Munshi
Abdur Rouf, and Nur Mohammad Sheikh. Until recently, Birsreshtho Matiur Rahman’s body
was in Pakistan and Birshreshtho Hamidur Rahman’s body was in India. They have both now
been brought back to Bangladesh. They are now kept with a deep love in our country with the
other Birshreshthos and countless martyrs of the war. Of those given these honors on the 15th of
December, 1973, female freedom fighters were also included. These women not only provided
shelter and assistance to the freedom fighters, but fought by their side too.