SHEIKH HASINA, Honorable Prime Minister of People’s Republic of Bangladesh (2nd term), was born on 28 September, 1947 at Tungipara under Gopalganj district. She is the eldest of five children of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of independent Bangladesh.
She graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973. She was elected Vice President of the Students Union of Government Intermediate Girl’s College. She was a member of the students League Unit of Dhaka University and Secretary of the Students League Unit of Rokeya Hall. She actively participated in all the mass movements since her student life.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with the members of his family was martyred on the fateful night of 15 August 1975. Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were the only survivors as they were in West Germany at that time. Later she went to the United Kingdom from where she started her movement against the autocratic rule in 1980. Sheikh Hasina was unanimously elected President of Bangladesh Awami League in 1981 in her absence, while she was forced to live in exile in New Delhi. Ending six years in exile, she returned home finally on 17 May 1981.In the parliamentary election held in 1986, she won three seats. She was elected Leader of the Opposition. She led the historic mass movement in 1990 and announced the constitutional formula for peaceful transfer o
f power through Articles 51 and 56 of the Constitution.
Following the election of 1991 Sheikh Hasina became Leader of the Opposition in the country’s Fifth Parliament, She steered all the political parties in the parliament towards changing the Presidential system into the Parliamentary one.
Sheikh Hasina created awareness among the people and waged a struggle for Non-party Caretaker Government to ensure free and fair polls. Her movement reached the peak after a non-cooperation movement in March 1996 and the provision for Non-party Caretaker Government was incorporated in the Constitution.
At the call of Sheikh Hasina a large number of people of all walks of life expressed solidarity with the movement at the ‘Janatar Mancha’. In the Parliamentary election held on 12 June 1996, Bangladesh Awami League emerged as the majority party and she assumed the office of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 23 June 1996.
After becoming the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina adopted a number of pragmatic policies for overall development of the nation including poverty alleviation.
During the last four years her government achieved laudable success including signing of the historic 30 year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with India, signing of historic peace Accord on Chittagong Hill Tracts and inauguration of the Bangabandhu Bridge on the river Jamuna.
Sheikh Hasina was conferred Degree of Doctor of Law by the Boston University of the US
A on 6 February 1997 and Honorary Doctor of Law by the Waseda
University of Japan on 4 July 1997. She was also conferred the Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Liberal Arts by University of Abertay Dundee of the United Kingdom on 25 October, 1997. She was conferred Honorary Degree of Desikottama (Doctor of Literature, honoris causa) by Visva-Bharati University of West Be
ngal, India on 28 January 1999. She was also conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on the ground of her distinguished creative contributions in the service of society by the Australian National University on 20 October 1999. Dhaka University conferred Honorary ‘Doctor of Laws’ degree to Sheikh Hasina on 18 December, 1999 for her outstanding contribution towards peace and democracy. The World famous Catholic University of Brussels, Belgium conferred Honorary Doctorate degree (Doctor Honoris Causa) on Sheikh Hasina on 04 February, 2000 for her decisive role in establishing democracy, protecting human rights and peace. Sheikh Hasina has been conferred Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the Bridgeport University, USA on 5 September, 2000.
Sheikh Hasina has been awarded UNESCO’s Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for 1998 for her remarkable contribution to bringing peace through ending the 25 years of conflict in Chittagong Hill Tracts with political courage and statesmanship.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received prestigious Pearl S. Buck Award ’99 on 9 April 2000 in recognition of her vision, courage, achievements in political, economic and humanitarian fields by Randolph Macon Women’s College of USA. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been awarded the prestigious CERES’ medal to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in recognition to her fight against hunger on 02 August, 1999. The All India Peace Council awarded her ‘Mother Teresa Award’ in 1998. The Mahatma M K Gandhi Foundation of Oslo, Norway awarded Sheikh Hasina ‘M K Gandhi Award’ for 1998 for her contribution towards promotion of communal understanding, non violent religions harmony and growth of democracy at the level of grassroots in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina was named Paul Haris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. She was also given Medal of Distinction in 1996-97 and 1998-99 and Head of State Medal in 1996-97 by the International Association of Lions Clubs.
She has authored several books including “Why Are They Street Children”, “The Origin of Autocracy”, ‘Miles to Go”, “Elimination of Poverty and Some Thoughts”, “People and Democracy”, “My Dream My Struggle” and “Development for the Masses.” She performed holy Hajj and Umrah several times.
Sheikh Hasina is the Chairperson of “The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust”. She has been helping a lot of poor boys and girls for their education.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, throughout her life has been a strong proponent of peace, freedom and democracy. From an early age, inspired by the lofty ideals and love for the people of her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the liberator of Bangladesh, she developed a strong sense of identity for the common people. She always spoke out against oppression and violation of human rights. This commitment has hardened over the years, particularly when her parents, brothers and scores of relatives were brutally assassinated by the misguided members of the military in 1975 soon after the independence of Bangladesh.
Since that time her resolve for democracy and development for the teeming millions of Bangladesh has become firmly entrenched. She struggled for the return of democracy in Bangladesh and fought valiantly for its establishment in the country in every possible manner. She was committed to making Parliament the centre of all national activities.
In 1996, the people of Bangladesh gave her a strong mandate as the Prime Minister of the country. Despite serious resource and constraints and recurrent natural calamity as well as widespread poverty, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during the first two years of her government, has lived up to her unswerving commitment to the cause of peace, democracy, development and human rights.
Her first act of peace within months of her assumption of office was the initiative for resolution of the long-standing water-sharing dispute with India through a 30-years treaty. This put an end to a very complex regional dispute.
Her visionary idea of a business summit among the political and private sector leaders of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan has added a new chapter in the history of South Asia.
Her dedicated leadership also made possible a peace agreement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, thereby solving the 23-year old insurgency in the Hill districts of Bangla
desh. This peace accord brought an area inhabited by nearly 5 million people out of violence and into a time of peace and development. Though the international media has not given much prominence to this accord, it is uniquely remarkable because the peace accord benefited such a large number of people and the whole area has been brought under development programs following the complete surrender of arms by the insurgents.
Her quest for peace has taken her to India and Pakistan to talk to the leaders of these two countries soon after the nuclear test urging reduction of tension in the region.
Prime Minister Hasina has been a strong advocate for the Culture of Peace at global, regional and national levels. In many major conferences, she espoused the concept of the Culture of Peace, most recently in South Africa at the 12th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which has a membership of 114 countries. Her initiative has resulted in the first-ever resolution by the Plenary of the United Nations General Assembly on the Culture of Peace. She also provided leadership for the declaration by the UN of the period 2001 to 2010 as the International Decade for Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.
Prime Minister Hasina’s determination for the eradication of poverty, in particular through wide-ranging microcredit programmes, has been recognized world-wide. Her co-chairpersonship of the Microcredit Summit in February 1997 which resolved to bring 100 million families of the world out of poverty by 2005 focused world attention to her strong commitment to the eradication of poverty and enlistment of the poorest of the poor. She has been a champion of microcredit by spreading the message in major international forums. Her leadership led to the adoption for the first time by UN General Assembly a far-reaching resolution on the role of microcredit in the eradication of poverty.
Along with poverty eradication, she has focused on the empowerment of women and has successfully completed legislation to ensure adequate representation of women in the local government bodies, leading to the election of more than 14,000 women to these bodies in 1997. She has taken major initiatives to stop violence against women and children.
She has also provided leadership in the field of education, particularly for the education of girls in her own country as well as advocating it for global support. Her government has greatly enhanced budgetary allocation for primary education focusing on girls’ education.
To improve the quality of life of the people of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has particularly focused on human development, paying special attention to healthcare, family planning, nutrition, women’s rights and survival and development of children. At the UN and other forums, she has been a major voice in support of the cause of children and their rights.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has, all along her life, defended human rights in every possible way. Her active promotion of the rights of women and children has drawn appreciation by both of government and NGOs as well as international organizations. She has promoted the right to development as having centrality in the human rights regime. At the NAM Summit in South Africa in 1998, her proposal for a Convention on the Right to Development received welcoming endorsement of the Heads of State and Government. She initiated the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission and the office of Ombudsperson as well as Bangladesh’s recent accession to six major human rights instruments including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Her keen interest resulted in the signature by Bangladesh of the Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ratification of the Landmines Treaty, being the first country in South Asia to do so.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s initiative resulted in the hosting of the first-ever conference of the Asian parliamentarians devoted to peace and cooperation in Dhaka in September 1999 which elected her as the first President of the Association of Asian Parliaments for peace established at the conference.
At present, as someone who has lost so much personally and has been a victim of oppression and denial of freedom, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stands out as a messenger of peace, democracy, development and human rights. Her leadership of the eighth largest country of the world manifests her concern for the people, seen again during the worst-ever floods in Bangladesh in 1998.
§ Sheikh Hasina is the recipient of the UNESCO Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for 1998 for her role in bringing peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh.
§ Sheikh Hasina has been awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Award for 1998 (Oslo, Norway) for her contribution towards promotion of communal understanding, non-violence, religio
us harmony and growth of grassroots democracy in Bangladesh.
§ She has been awarded 1999 CERES Medal for contribution to the agriculture development by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
§ She is the winner of the 1999 Pearl S. Buck Award for “your vision, your courage and your achievements in political, economic and humanitarian spheres capture the spirit of the award and of the woman who inspired it.”
§ She has been awarded honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts by the University of Alberta Dundee in the United Kingdom in October 1997.
§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Boston University in th
e United States and the Waseda University of Japan.
§ She has been conferred the degree of Desikottama (Doctor of Literature) by the Visva-Bharati University, India founded by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Australian National University in October 1999.
§ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by Dhaka University in December 1999.
§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Catholic University of Brussels in February 2000.
§ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred by the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her contribution to world peace and development by the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut in the United States on 5 September 2000.
Under her leadership her party Bangladesh Awami League led grand alliance to win a landslide victory in the 9th Parliament Election on December 29, 2008 with 262 seats out of 299 in the National Parliament.
Sheikh Hasina took oath as Prime Minister of Bangladesh (2nd term) at a ceremony held at Banghabhaban on January 06, 2009.
Published by Freedom Fighter Moktel Hossain Mukthi
http://shomoy71.blogspot.com/
http://august75tragedy.blogspot.com/
http://extremistinbangladesh.blogspot.com/
http://theunfinishedmemoirs.blogspot.com/
http://bdslumdogmillionaire.blogspot.com/
http://daughterofdemocracy.blogspot.com/
http://mujibnagar71.blogspot.com/
http://shomoyekattur.blogspot.com/
http://myhomemyglory.blogspot.com/
http://mukthiibangalee.blogspot.com/
http://godfathertareqzia.blogspot.com/
http://burningbengalination.blogspot.com/
http://joydigitalbangla.blogspot.com/
http://thetrueteller.blogspot.com/
http://bangabandhuporisadmv.blogspot.com/
http://notesofmukthi.blogspot.com/
http://lifeandliability.blogspot.com/
http://maldivesawamijuboleague.blogspot.com/
http://muktimadaripuri.blogspot.com/
http://moktelhossainmukthi.blogspot.com/
http://moktelhossainmukthi.weebly.com/
http://narrowpolitics.blogspot.com/
http://bdawamileague.wordpress.com/
http://creationofmukthi.blogspot.com/
http://misrulesofbnpjamat.wordpress.com/
http://en.netlog.com/Muktishena71/
http://masterminds75.webs.com/
http://sheikhhasina.blog.com/
http://skhasinawajed.blogspot.com/
http://deshratna.weebly.com/
http://sheikhhasina.webs.com/
http://bangladeshstudentleague.blog.com/
http://advskhatun.webnode.com/
http://daughterofthedemocracy.blogspot.com/
http://bangabandhuporisadmv.blogspot.com/
http://thegreatestbangalee.blogspot.com/
http://theburningnation.weebly.com/
http://jathirpitha.wordpress.com/
http://skmujiburrahman.blogspot.com/
http://bangabandhu.weebly.com/
http://swadhinbangla.webs.com/
http://amibangalee.webs.com/
http://bangabandhuporisad.webs.com/
http://bangabandhu.webs.com/
http://august75tragedy.blogspot.com/
http://thefatherofnation.blogspot.com/
http://mujibshena.blogspot.com/
http://charterofchange.blogspot.com/
http://bangladeshawamileague.blog.com/
http://bangladeshawamileague.webs.com/
http://worldawamileague.blogspot.com/
http://charterofchange.blogspot.com/
http://charterofchange2021.blogspot.com/
http://digitalbangladesh.blog.com/
http://thepatriotism.blog.com/
http://bdpolitics.blog.com/
http://mukthi.tumblr.com/archive
http://mukthi.tumblr.com/muktimusician
http://thegenerationnext.webs.com/
http://thefutureleaderjoy.wordpress.com/
http://thefutureleader.webnode.com/
http://jajaborpakhi.blog.com/
http://muktimusician.livejournal.com/
http://moktelhossainmukthi.blog.com/
http://mukthi.xanga.com/
http://muktimusician.blog.co.in/
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/moktel-hossain-mukthi
http://muktirpata.blogspot.com/
http://muthirpachali.blogspot.com/
http://mukthimadaripuri.blog.co.in/
http://amarmonmanena.webs.com/
http://mukthi.webnode.com/
http://muktirpata.weebly.com/
http://khasherhat.blogspot.com/
http://soundcloud.com/muktimusician
http://muktimusician.multiply.com/
http://muktimusician.xanga.com/
http://muktimusician.dinstudio.com/
http://muktishena71.typepad.com/
http://muktishena71.webnode.com/
http://muktimusician.typepad.com/
http://muktimusician.posterous.com/
http://amramujibshena.blog.com/
http://muktimusician.blog.com/
http://muktimusician.stumbleupon.com/
http://muktimadaripuri.blogspot.com/
http://muktimusician.blogspot.com/
http://mukthircollection.blogspot.com/
http://muktimusician.photobucket.com/
http://bentio.com/muktimusician
http://muktimusician.wordpress.com/
http://muktishena71.bloggy.se/
http://bd.linkedin.com/in/muktimusician
http://mukthirpachali.blog.com/
http://muktimusician.myblogsite.com/
http://friendfeed.com/muktimusician
http://muktimusicina.twitpic.com/
http://muktimusician.mediashare.com/
http://freedomfighters71.blogspot.com/
http://muktimusician.imgur.com/
http://muktimusician.picturepush.com/
http://community.webshots.com/user/muktimusician
http://hawabhaban.blog.com/
http://misrulesofbnpjamat.webnode.com/
http://misrulesofbnpjamat.blogspot.com/
http://warcrime1971.webs.com/
http://warcrime1971.blogspot.com/
http://warcrime1971.weebly.com/
http://khaledaziaandrazakars.wordpress.com/
http://warcriminalsinbangladesh.wordpress.com/
http://warcriminalsinbangladesh.blogspot.com/
http://warcriminalnizami.blogspot.com/
http://warcriminalsakachoudhury.blogspot.com/
http://godfathertareqzia.blogspot.com/
http://nospaceforwarcriminal.blogspot.com/
http://razakarnizami.blogspot.com/
http://barristertaposhfanclub.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muktimusician
http://blogtown.co.nz/muktimusician/
http://priyo.com/muktimusician
http://en.netlog.com/Muktishena71
www.thoughts.com/muktimusician
www.myspace.com/muktimusician
www.orkut.com/warcriminalsinbangladesh
www.warcriminalsinbangladesh.hi5.com
www.netlog.com/muktimusician
www.blogigo.co.uk/muktimusician
www.picasaweb.com/muktimusician
www.orkut.com/muktimusician
www.muktimusician.hi5.com
www.tagged.com/mukthimadaripuri
www.tagged.com/amibangali
www.tagged.com/muktimusician
www.tagged.com/deshratna
www.tagged.com/muktithegreat
www.tagged.com/amibangali
www.squidoo.com/muktimusician
www.youtube.com/muktimusician
www.shtyle.fm/muktimusician
www.myspace.com/muktimusician
www.orkut.com/muktimusician/
http://vodpod.com/muktimusician
www.quepasa.com/muktimusician
www.caringbridge.org/muktimusician
www.bebo.com/muktimusician
www.hibuu.com/muktimusician
www.twitter.com/muktimusician
www.zimbio.com/member/muktimusician
www.blogigo.co.uk/muktimusician
www.playlist.com/muktimusician
www.youtube.com/muktisena71
www.youtube.com/nizami71
www.youtube.com/muktimusician
www.dailymotion.com/muktimusician
www.facebook.com/deshratna2009
www.facebook.com/jatirjanokbangabandhu
www.facebook.com/thebrokenbackbone
www.facebook.com/proggasrijanikhelaghor
www.facebook.com/bangabandhu.parisod
www.facebook.com/durnithi.rajnithi
www.facebook.com/shadhinatha
www.facebook.com/deshratna2009
www.facebook.com/sheikhrussellrahman
www.facebook.com/bnpjamat20012006
www.facebook.com/mukthijajabor
www.facebook.com/pakifannydogs
Email ID:
muktimusician@gmail.com
muktimusician@usa.com
muktimusician@europe.com
muktibhai@hotmail.com
mukthimadaripuri@gmail.com
muktimadaripuri1953@yahoo.com
muktishena71@gmail.com
mujibshena@yahoo.com
deshratna2009@gmail.com
muktisena71@yahoo.com
m.ukthi@live.com
sheikhrussell@live.com
Mukti Bahini (Ekatturer beer shenanee) "Liberation Army"), also termed as the "Freedom Fighters" or FFs, was a guerrilla force which fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
Mukti Bahini (Bengali: মুক্তি বাহিনী "Liberation Army"), also termed as the "Freedom Fighters" or FFs, collectively refers to the armed organizations who fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was dynamically formed by (mostly) Bengali regulars and civilians after the proclamation of Bangladesh's independence on March 26, 1971. Subsequently by mid-April 1971 the Bengali officers and soldiers of East Bengal Regiments formed the "Bangladesh Armed Forces" and M. A. G. Osmani assumed its command. The civilian groups continued to assist the armed forces during the war. After the war "Mukti Bahini" became the general term to refer to all forces (military and civilian) of former East Pakistani origin fighting against the Pakistani armed forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Often Mukti Bahini operated as an effective guerrilla force to keep their enemies on the run. Inspired in part by revolutionary Che Guevara,[1] they have been compared to the French Maquis, Viet Cong, and the guerrillas of Josip Broz Tito in their tactics and effectiveness.[2]
Contents [hide]
1 Origins
2 Organization during war
3 Regular and irregular forces
3.1 Bangladesh Navy
3.2 Bangladesh Air Force
3.3 Independent forces
3.4 Leftist factions
4 Broadcast warriors
5 Sectors of Liberation War
6 Mukti Bahini in the final phase
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
[edit]Origins
Although Mukti Bahini was formed to fight off the military crackdown by the Pakistan army on March 25, 1971 during the climax of Bangladesh freedom movement, The crisis had already started taking shape with anti-Ayub uprising in 1969 and precipitated into a political crisis at the height of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Six-point movement beginning in the 1970s. In March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in what was then East Pakistan (later, Bangladesh) was met by harshsuppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.
The massive crackdown by West Pakistan forces became an important factor in precipitating the civil war as a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) came flooding to the eastern provinces of India.Facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, India started actively aiding and re-organising what was by this time already the nucleus of the Mukti Bahini.
The immediate precursor of the Mukti Bahini was Mukti Fauj ("Fauj" is the Urdu originally from Persian borrowed from Arabic for "Brigade" exported into several languages in South Asia including Bengali), which was preceded denominationally by the sangram parishads formed in the cities and villages by the student and youth leaderships in early March 1971. When and how the Mukti Fauj was created is not clear nor is the later adoption of the name Mukti Bahini. It is, however, certain that the names originated generically refer to the people who fought in the Bangladesh liberation war.
Since the anti-Ayub uprising in 1969 and during the height of Mujib's six points movement, there was a growing movement among the Bengalis in East Pakistan to become independent driven by the nationalists, radicals and leftists. After the election of 1970, the subsequent crisis strengthened that feeling within the people. Sheikh Mujib himself was facing immense pressure from most prominent political quarters, especially the ultra-nationalist young student leaders, to declare independence without delay. Armed preparations were going on by some leftist and nationalist groups, and the Bengali army officers and soldiers were prepared to defect. At the call of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the people of East Pakistan joined in a peaceful movement for non-cooperation from 3 March 1971, and 7th march and onward, which lasted up to midnight of 25 March 1971. On this date the Pakistani Army cracked down upon unarmed civilians to take control of the administration. During the army crackdown on the night of March 25, 1971, there were reports of small scale resistance notably at Iqbal Hall, Dhaka University and at the Rajarbagh Police Headquarter. The latter initially put a strong fight against the Pakistan Army. As political events gathered momentum, the stage was set for a clash between the Pakistan Army and the Bengali people vowing for independence. Bengali members of the Army were also defecting and gathering in various pockets of the country.
All these early fights were disorganized and futile because of the greater military strength of the Pakistani Army. Outside of Dhaka, resistance was more successful. The earliest move towards forming a liberation army officially came from the declaration of independence made by Major Ziaur Rahman of East Bengal Regiment on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the declaration made from Kalurghat Betar Kendra (Chittagong) on March 27, 1971, Zia assumed the title of "provisional commander in chief of the Bangladesh Liberation Army", though his area of operation remained confined to Chittagong and Noakhali areas. Major Ziaur Rahman's declaration on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marked a break with Pakistan by the Bengali units of the army.
[edit]Organization during war
See Also: Mujibnagar Government
Though prolonged Bengali resistance was not anticipated by Pakistani planners of Operation Searchlight,[9], when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, the Mukti Bahini were becoming increasingly visible. Headed by Colonel (later, General) M. A. G. Osmani, a retired Pakistani Army officer, this band was raised as Mujib's action arm and security force before assuming the character of a conventional guerrilla force. After the declaration of independence, the Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry.
On April 12, 1971 Colonel (later General) M. A. G. Osmani assumed the command of armed forces at Teliapara (Sylhet) headquarters. Osmani was made the commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces on April 17, 1971. Serious initiative for organising the Bangladesh liberation army was taken between 11-17 July. In a meeting of the sector commanders in Kolkata, four important resolutions were taken in consideration of strategic aspects of the war, existing problems and future course of resistance. These were:
Composition and tactics of the combatants would be as follows:
Guerrilla teams comprising 5 to 10 trained members would be sent to specific areas of Bangladesh with specific assignments
Combat soldiers would carry out frontal attacks against the enemy. Between 50 and 100 per cent would carry arms. Intelligence volunteers would be engaged to collect information about the enemy. 30 percent of these people would be equipped with weapons;
The regular forces would be organised into battalions and sectors.
The following strategies would be adopted while carrying out military operations against the enemy
A large number of guerrillas would be sent out inside Bangladesh to carry out raids and ambushes;
Industries would be brought to a standstill and electricity supply would be disrupted;
Pakistanis would be obstructed in exporting manufactured goods and raw materials;
Communication network would be destroyed in order to obstruct enemy movements;
Enemy forces would be forced to disperse and scatter for strategic gains;
The whole area of Bangladesh would be divided into 11 sectors.
Other than the organizations of Mukti Bahini who were generally trained and armed by the Indian Army, there were independent guerrilla groups led by individual leaders, either nationalists or leftists, who were successfully controlling some areas.
Regular and irregular forces
Leaflets and pamphlets played an important role in driving public opinion during the war.
The regular forces later called Niomita Bahini (regular force) consisted of the members of the East Bengal Regiments (EBR), East Pakistan Rifles (EPR, later BDR), police, other paramilitary forces and the general people who were commanded by the army commanders in the 11 sectors all over Bangladesh. Three major forces: Z-Force under the command of Major (later, Major General) Ziaur Rahman, K-Force under Major (later Brigadier ) Khaled Mosharraf and S-Force under Major (later Major General) K M Shafiullah were raised afterwards to fight battles in efficient manners. The irregular forces, generally called Gono Bahini (people's army), were those who were trained more in guerrilla warfare than the conventional one.
The irregular forces, which after initial training joined different sectors, consisted of the students, peasants, workers and political activists. Irregular forces were initiated inside Bangladesh province to adopt guerrilla warfare against the enemy. The regular forces were engaged in fighting the usual way.
The Mukti Bahini obtained strength from the two main streams of fighting elements: members of armed forces of erstwhile East Pakistan and members of the urban and rural youths many of whome were volunteers. Other groups included members of sangram parishads, youth and student wings of Awami League, NAP, Leftist-Communist Parties and radical groups. The Mukti Bahini had several factions. The foremost one was organized by the members of the regular armed force, who were generally known as Freedom Fighters (FF). Then there was Bangladesh Liberation Forces (BLF) led by four youth leaders of the political wing of Sheikh Mujib's Awami League and the third one generally known as Special Guerrilla Forces (SGF) led by the Communist Party of Bangladesh, National Awami Party, and Bangladesh Students Union. They then jointly launched guerrilla operations against the Pakistani Army causing heavy damages and casualties. This setback prompted the Pakistani Army to induct Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (mostly members of Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Biharis who had settled during the time of partition. This helped Pakistan stem the tide somewhat as the monsoon approached in the months of June and July.
[edit]Bangladesh Navy
Bangladesh Navy was constituted in August 1971. Initially, there were two ships and 45 navy personnel. These ships carried out many successful raids on the Pakistani fleet. But both of these ships were mistakenly hit and destroyed by Indian fighter planes on 10 December 1971, when they were about to launch a major attack on Mongla seaport.
[edit]Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Air Force started functioning on 28 September at Dimapur in Nagaland, under the command of Air Commodore AK Khondakar. Initially, it consisted of 17 officers, 50 technicians, 2 planes and 1 helicopter. The Air Force carried out more than twelve sorties against Pakistani targets and was quite successful during the initial stages of the Indian attack in early December.
[edit]Independent forces
In addition, there were also some independent forces that fought in various regions of Bangladesh and liberated many areas. These included Mujib Bahini which was organized in India. Major General Oban of the Indian Army and Student League leaders Serajul Alam Khan, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, Kazi Arif Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Tofael Ahmed, A. S. M. Abdur Rab, Shahjahan Siraj, Nur E Alam Siddiqi, and Abdul Quddus Makhon were organisers of this Bahini. There was the Kaderia Bahini under Kader Siddique of Tangail, Afsar Bahini and Aftab Bahini of Mymensingh, Latif Mirza Bahini of Sirajganj, Akbar Hossain Bahini of Jhinaidah, Quddus Molla and Gafur Bahini of Barisal, Hemayet Bahini under Hemayet Uddin of Faridpur. There were also several communist/leftist groups who clashed with the Pakistan Army, and controlled some areas independently.
[edit]Leftist factions
In addition,there were some other groups of freedom fighters which were controlled by the Leftist parties and groups including the NAP and Communist Parties. Among others, Siraj Sikder raised a strong guerrilla force which fought several battles with the Pakistani soldiers in Payarabagan, Barisal. Although there were ideological conflicts among the communist parties (most notably, split into pro-soviet and pro-Chinese factions and widespread split within the pro-Chinese faction) on deciding a common action in the context of Bangladesh Liberation, many of the individuals and leaders of Mukti Bahini were deeply influenced by the leftist ideology in general. There were strong concerns among the Indian authority and members of the Awami League led provisional government not to lose the control of the liberation war to the leftists. Nevertheless many leftists overcame these internal and external difficulties and actively participated in the Liberation war with the main nucleus of the Mukti Bahini.
Broadcast warriors
Performers at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra like M. R. Akhtar Mukul, Apel Mahmud Gopal C. Talukder (Singer), Abdul Jabbar (Singer), Mohammad Shah were great inspirations for the freedom-fighters in 1971, and were considered to be Broadcast Warriors.
Sectors of Liberation War
The eleven sectors
Main article: List of Sectors in Bangladesh Liberation War
Immediately after formation, the new government of Bangladesh shifted its focus on organizing the war against Pakistan Army. A Cabinet meeting of Bangladesh government on July 11, 1971 appointed Col. M. A. Gopal. Osmani as Commander in Chief, Lt. Col. Abdur Rab as Chief of Army Staff and Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Force.
In this meeting Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors and each Sector was assigned a Sector Commander. The 10th Sector was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C’s special force.
The Sector Commanders were chosen from defected officers of Pakistan army who joined the Mukti Bahini. These trained officers directed the guerrilla warfare as well as trained the independence militia who lacked formal training on military operations. Most of these training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with direct assistance from India.
For better efficiency in combat operations, each of the sectors were divided into a number of sub-sectors. The table below provides a list of the sectors along with the name of the sector commanders.
Sectors of Bangladesh Liberation War
Sector Area Sector Commander
1 Chittagong District, Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the entire eastern area of the Noakhali District on the banks of the river Muhuri. Major Ziaur Rahman, later replaced by Major Rafiqul Islam
2 Districts of Dhaka, Comilla, Faridpur, and part of Noakhali District. Major Khaled Mosharraf, later replaced by Major ATM Haider
3 Area between Churaman Kathi (near Sreemangal) and Sylhet in the north and Singerbil of Brahmanbaria in the south. Major KM Shafiullah, later replaced by Major ANM Nuruzzaman.
4 Area from Habiganj District on the north to Kanaighat Police Station on the south along the 100 mile long border with India. Major Chittarajan Datta, later replaced by Captain A Rab.
5 Area from Durgapur to Danki (Tamabil) of Sylhet District and the entire area up to the eastern borders of the district. Major Mir Shawkat Ali
6 Rangpur District and part of Dinajpur District. Wing Commander M Khademul Bashar
7 Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra and part of Dinajpur District. Major Nazmul Huq, later replaced by Subedar Major A Rab and Kazi Nuruzzaman.
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 Kuhstia, Jessore, Khulna, Satkhira and the northern part of Faridpur district. Major Abu Osman Chowdhury, later replaced by Major MA Manzur.
9 Barisal, Patuakhali, and parts of the district of Khulna and Faridpur. Major M A Jalil later replaced by Major MA Manzur and Major Joynal Abedin.
10 This sector was constituted with the naval commandos. Indian commander MN Sumanta.
11 Mymensingh and Tangail. Major M Abu Taher, later replaced by Squadron Leader Hamidullah.
Source: Sectors of the War of Liberation; Shirin, S. M.; Banglapedia.
[edit]Mukti Bahini in the final phase
The liberation forces started carrying out massive raids into enemy fronts from October 1971. After the signing of the Indo-Soviet Treaty in August 1971, India began to demonstrate more interest in the Bangladesh war. Eventually India legally entered the war on 3 December 1971 (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971) after Pakistan's preemptive air raids on some Indian cities in the western border. In fact, the Indian soldiers were already participating in the war in different guises since November when the independence fighters had launched the Belonia battle. When the Indian Army planned to avoid battles and seize the capital Dhaka in the shortest campaign possible, the Mukti Bahini made the task much easier by confining the Pakistani army and holding them back from moving towards to capital.
Despite the difficult terrain of Bangladesh, the war was won rapidly. Dhaka was liberated in a matter of two weeks. The Mukti Bahini were a major contributing factor in the Indian Victory fighting both as irregulars, and as conventional forces alongside the Indians. Several actions in the heart of the capital and the killing of Monaem Khan, a loyalist, anti-Bengali and ex-governor of East Pakistan, proved the effectiveness and capability of the guerrillas.
On 16 December 1971, commander of the 14 division of Pakistan army Major General Jamshed surrendered to Indian General Nagra near Mirpur bridge in Dhaka. At 10.40 am, the Indian allied force and Kader Siddique entered Dhaka city. That signaled the end of the 9-month long War of Liberation of Bangladesh. Scattered battles were still waged at various places of the country.
The Commander of Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army, Lt. General A. A. K. Niazi surrendered to the commander of the joint Indo-Bangladesh force and the chief of Indian eastern command Lt. General Jagjit Singh Arora. The Bangladesh Forces were represented at the ceremony by Group Captain A. K. Khandker.
[edit]See also
Mitro Bahini
^ Dangerous Liaison by Raza Naeem, Frontline, Volume 26 - Issue 15, July 18–31 2009
^ Why the Movement for Bangladesh Succeeded: A military appreciation by Mumtaz Iqbal
^ Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971. Gendercide Watch.
^ Emerging Discontent, 1966-70. Country Studies Bangladesh
^ Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971: Military Action: Operation Searchlight Bose S Economic and Political Weekly Special Articles, October 8, 2005
^ The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored , Syndicated Column by Sydney Schanberg, New York Times, May 3, 1994
^ a b Crisis in South Asia - A report by Senator Edward Kennedy to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, November 1, 1971, U.S. Govt. Press.pp6-7
^ India and Pakistan: Over the Edge. TIME Dec 13, 1971 Vol. 98 No. 24
^ Pakistan Defence Journal, 1977, Vol 2, p2-3
^ Bangladesh Liberation Armed Force, Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh.
Jagjit singh Arora
Edit
Other Names
একাত্তুরের মুক্তিসেনা
Options
Nickname · Shown at top of profile
সময় একাত্তুর
Options
Nickname
muktimusician
Options
Nickname
তবু মনে রেখো
Options
Other
Add a nickname, a birth name...
Favorite Quotes
Ami Fashir Monce DaRie Bolbo " aMi BangaLi, BangLa aMar VaSha, AmaR DeSh, BangLaDesh" Sheikh Mujibur Rahman"
আমি ফাঁসির মঞ্চে দারীয়ে বলবো " আমি বাঙালি, বাংলা আমার ভাষা, আমার দেশ- বাংলাদেশঃ শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান
"রাজাকার হওয়া সহজ
মুক্তিযোদ্ধা থাকাই বড় কঠিন"
View more posts