SOC211501: THE EMERGENCE OF BANGLADESH
(ONLINE)
Instructor: Lipon Mondal
Classes: Sundays and Thursday, 2:45-4:15
Virtual Office Hours: 12:00-2:00, Sundays and Thursdays
And by appointment: lipon@[Link]
Lectures 31, 32, 33, 34
Chapter 8: The Emergence of Bangladesh
a. Breaking out of the war: Operation Search Light,
genocide, rape, looting, burning, and destruction
b. Fighting the war: The Seven Most Valiant Heroes,
Commanders of Bangladesh Forces, and the masses
c. Winning the war: The emergence of Bangladesh as an
independent nation
d. Four Fundamental Philosophies of Bangabandhu:
liberty, equality, justice, and nationhood
a. Breaking out of the war: Operation Search Light,
genocide, rape, looting, burning, and destruction
Before the war
1 March: General Yahya Khan calls off the session of National
Council to be held on 3 March in a radio address.
7 March: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – leader of Awami League
party that had won a landslide victory in East Pakistan in the
Federal Elections in 1970, but never been granted authority –
announces to a jubilant crowd at the Dhaka Race Course
ground.
"The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation!
The struggle this time is the struggle for independence!".
9 March: Workers of Chittagong port refuse to unload weapons
from the ship 'Swat'.
Before the war
10 March: Expatriate Bengali students demonstrate in front of
the United Nations Headquarters and calls for UN intervention
to put an end to violence on Bengali people.
16 March: Yahya Khan starts negotiation with Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.
19 March: Nearly 200 people are injured at Jaydevpur during
clashes between demonstrators and the Pakistan Army. Nearly
50 die.
24 March: Pakistan Army opens fire on Bengali demonstrators
in Syedpur, Rangpur and Chittagong. More than a thousand
people are killed.
during the War
March
25 March:
Pakistan Army starts genocide in the form of
Operation Searchlight in Dhaka and rest of the
country, attacking general civilians, political
activists, students, and Bengali members of armed
forces and police.
26 March:
At 1.15 am, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is arrested by the
Pakistani 3 commando unit. Independence of Bangladesh is
declared by Sheikh Mujibiur Rahman few minutes before he
was arrested by Pakistani army. At 2.30 pm Independence of
Bangladesh was declared by Awami league leader of
Chittagong M. A. Hannan on behalf of Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman from Kalurghat. This is Bangladesh's official
Independence Day.
27 March:
Independence of Bangladesh is again declared by Maj.
Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
31 March:
Kushtia resistance begins.
April
2 April: Jinjira massacre.
6 April: The Blood Telegram
11 April: Radio address by Tajuddin Ahmad, the Prime
Minister.
10 April: A provisional Bangladesh government-in-exile is
formed.
12 April: M. A. G. Osmani takes up the command of
Bangladesh Armed Forces.
April
17 April: A provisional government-in-exile took oath in
Baidyanathtala (now called Mujibnagar) in Meherpur District
18 April: Battle of Daruin, Comilla and
Battle of Rangamati-Mahalchari waterway,
Chittagong Hill Tracts.
24 April: Formation of Bangladesh Action Committee at
Coventry, UK by non-resident Bangladeshis.
25 April to 15 August: Operation Jackpot by Mukti Bahini
28 April: Tajuddin pleas for arms aid to neighbors.
May
5 May: Gopalpur massacre.
15 May: Indian army starts aiding Mukti Bahini.
20 May: The Chuknagar massacre takes place at
Khulna where the Pakistan army kills nearly 10
thousand people
24 May: Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra finds home in
Kolkata.
July
11–17 July:
Sector Commanders Conference 1971
August
1 August: The Concert for Bangladesh in Madison
Square Garden, New York by Ravi Shankar,
George Harrison and friends.
16 August: Operation Jackpot, Bangladesh naval
commando operation.
20 August: Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman's
attempt to defect by hijacking a fighter.
30 August: Pakistan Army crackdown on Dhaka
guerrillas.
September
5 September: Battle of Goahati, Jessore.
28 September: Bangladesh Air Force starts functioning.
October
13 October: Dhaka guerrillas kill Abdul Monem Khan, governor
of East Pakistan.
28 October to 3 November: Battle of Dhalai in which 3
companies (215 soldiers) of the Jat Regiment (2 JAT) of Indian
Army defeated a battalion (800 soldiers) of 30th Frontier
Force Rifles (30 FFR) of Pakistan Army. Hamidur Rahman of
Mukti Bahini was posthumously awarded the Bir Sreshtho, the
highest recognition of bravery in Bangladesh.
31 October to 3 November: Battle of Dhalai: Allied attack
from Tripura into East Pakistan to stop Pakistani cross-border
shelling.
November
9 November: Six small ships constitute the first fleet of
Bangladesh Navy.
16 November: Battle of Ajmiriganj, an 18-hour encounter
between Mukti Bahini and Pakistan army. A famous freedom
fighter, Jagatyoti Das, is martyred.
14 November to 4 December: Battle of Kamalpur resulted in
surrender by Pakistani Army to the Indian Army on 4
December much before the end of war which ended later on
the 16 December.
20 to 21 November: Battle of Garibpur: India attacked
Pakistani forced and captured Boyra salient in East Pakistan
21 November: Bangladesh Armed Forces is formed.
22 November to 13 December, and sporadic fighting to 16
December: Battle of Hilli: Indian attack on Bogra in East
Pakistan.
December
3 December: Bangladesh Air Force destroys Pakistani oil
depots. Pakistani air attacks on India result in India declaring
war on Pakistan.
4 December : Battle of Longewala; Indians stop a Pakistani
invasion directed at Jaisalmer.
4 to 5 December : Battle of Gazipur in which Indian Army and
Mukti Bahini captured Gazipur
5 December : Battle of Basantar; Indians attack and take over
Pakistani territory opposite Jammu.
6 December:1st independent district in [Link]
district named Jashore (Jessore) was 1st district in Bangladesh
got independent. Bhutan becomes the first country to
recognise Bangladesh after India.
Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra becomes Bangladesh Betar.
7 to 16 December: Battle of Sylhet, liberation of Jessore,
Sylhet and Moulovi Bazar.
8 December: Operation Python: Indian naval attack on Karachi
, West Pakistan.
9 December: Battle of Kushtia: Indian attack from
West Bengal into East Pakistan. Chandpur and Daudkandi
liberated from Pakistan.
9 December: Meghna Heli Bridge liberated from Pakistan
10 December: Liberation of Laksham. Two Bangladeshi ships
sunk mistakenly by Indian air attack.
11 December: Tangail Airdrop, which liberated Poongli Bridge
on Jamuna river
11 December: Liberation of Hilli, Mymenshingh, Kushtia and
Noakhali. USS Enterprise is deployed by the US in the
Bay of Bengal to intimidate the Indian Navy.
13 December: Soviet Navy deploys a group of warships to
counter USS Enterprise. The U.S. moves in the direction of
Southeast Asia, averting a confrontation.
14 December: Selective genocide of
Bengali nationalist intellectuals. Liberation of Bogra.
16 December: End of the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Mitro Bahini takes Dhaka. Pakistan Army surrenders to Mitro
Bahini represented by Jagjit Singh Aurora of the Indian Army
faction of the military coalition.
22 December: The provisional government of Bangladesh
arrives in Dhaka from exile.
Chapter 8: The Emergence of Bangladesh
d. Four Fundamental Philosophies of Bangabandhu:
a. liberty
b. equality
c. justice and (protest is the most vital mode of
securing justice)
d. nationhood
Thank you all!