Agartala Conspiracy: Fact or Fiction?
In early 1968, Home
Department of Pakistan revealed that a conspiracy had been unearthed in
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that sought to destabilize Pakistan and
break the Eastern wing through an armed revolt.
This was a result
of an investigation done in mid-1966 by Colonel Muhammad Amir Khan of
Pakistan’s ISI after the plot was discovered by Lieutenant Colonel
Shamsul Alam (also of ISI). [1] While initially the East Pakistani press
was very vocal against the conspiracy, when Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman’s
name was included in the published list of conspirators that the press
started demanding an open trail for
him. Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, the father of modern Bangladesh who would gain independence from Pakistan three years later, was once a student worker in Pakistan’s own independence movement from British India. Before one delves into the details of the plot, it is important to understand the historical context of Bengali separatism so that one can observe the political atmosphere of the time.
Bengali vs Pakistani Nationalism
Bangladesh and Pakistan have a distance of nearly 2000 km between them.
While Bengali language enjoyed dominance in Bengal, there was no
dominant language in the area that later became Pakistan. The Muslim
League, which fought and won Pakistan from the British, had powerful
support from Bengal. It was the ‘Lion of Bengal’, A.K. Fazl ul Haq who
gave the historic Pakistan Resolution on 23rd March 1940. Yet it became
clear by 1946, that a significant portion of Bengalis would prefer two
separate Muslim homelands, instead of just one single Pakistan. [2]
However, the Muslim League was pushed into a corner by the Congress who
demanded Partition of Bengal so as to take the main port city of
Calcutta. [3] With the British accepting the Congress demand, for Muslim
League it was either this or losing Pakistan altogether. The Muslim
League countered by having a single Pakistan demand, despite Pakistan’s
founder M.A. Jinnah and first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan having no
objections to a separate Bengali Muslim country, to put more power in
their combined voice. [2] Therefore Pakistan was created with two
non-contiguous wings.
Immediately, a controversy rose when Jinnah
announced Urdu to be state language of both wings. Urdu, spoken by a
very small population, was seen as a symbol of distinction from Hindi.
It was also a symbol of unity of Pakistan during the pre-independence
era. However, the Bengalis wanted Bengali to be state language given
that they were a majority in population. Protests ensued in the Eastern
wing and in 1956, Bengali and Urdu were both declared state languages.
This was continued in the martial law of Ayub Khan and subsequent
dictatorship. [4]
Soon after independence in 1947, Pakistan and
India locked horns in a war over Kashmir. This, combined with an
over-strengthed unelected bureaucracy, the lack of political leadership
of Muslim League to unite center and provinces, non-payment of Rs. 55
crore of Pakistan’s share of post-partition finances by India [5],
unjust distribution of resources by British between Pakistan and India,
led to an inflated defence budget of Pakistan which was collected by the
center through squeezing the provinces. [6] This, and other unpopular
policies like One Unit, resulted in a perpetual imbalance of power
between Eastern and Western wings.
The Conspiracy
Up until
1962, Bengali grievances had not yet turned into separatism. Sheikh
Mujib-ur-Rahman, who had actively taken part in the Language Movement,
became one of East Pakistan’s top leaders after the deaths of two
political giants A.K. Fazlul Haq (in 1962) and Hussein Shaheed
Suhrawardy (in 1963). In 1966 it was unearthed that Sheikh
Mujib-ur-Rahman was one of the top conspirators in a plot to separate
the Eastern wing from Pakistan via armed revolt with the help of Indian
government. It is well-established in history that the meetings did take
place in Agartala, a city in Eastern India, in 1962 and continued till
1967. Professor Ian Talbot has confirmed this in his book “Pakistan: A
Modern History”
Subir Bhaumik in his book “The Agartala Doctrine” and Mujib himself and Indian authorities after creation of Bangladesh.
The Ayub government arrested Mujib along with 1500 other Bengalis. But
Mujib and only 35 others were charged with the conspiracy.
State vs. Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman and others
The Pakistani state had very strong witnesses against Mujib in the open trial.
However, they testified in court that that they had been coerced to
give those testimonies. Some even broke down in tears in the court
alleging torture. Bhashani, another prominent Bengali leader, had been
leading the agitation against the case which the Bengali public now
perceived as a conspiracy against Mujib to label him an Indian agent.
The reason for these opposing perceptions among the East and West
Pakistanis can be traced to Ayub Khan government’s (under pressure since
1965 due to civil unrest) succumbing to the demand to give Mujib an
open trial. This gave him a platform to amplify his political agenda
increasing his supporters exponentially. The retraction of testimonies
by the other co-conspirators, sympathy generated by their tears, the
lethargy of state institutions and Ayub Khan’s wish to get re-elected in
upcoming elections led the state to throw out the case and release
Mujib. He was given a hero’s reception and named ‘Bangabandhu’ (“Friend
of the Bengal”). Abdul Hafeez Kardar of the Pakistan People’s Party
stated: ‘Ayub made a martyr of Mujib by insinuating the Agartala
conspiracy
Confession
For decades, Agartala Conspiracy was
deemed as an elaborate plot by Ayub’s regime to demonize Mujib and East
Pakistani politics. This was taught even in Bangladeshi schools.
Professor Talbot stated in his 1998 book:
“The Agartala contacts
however did not provide solid evidence of a Mujib-India secessionist
conspiracy in East Pakistan, and in its absence the accusations were to
prove extremely counterproductive given the prevailing political
atmosphere.”
It was in 2010 when surviving conspirator and
Deputy Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament, Shawkat Ali, confessed that
the Agartala Conspiracy was true. He stated that part of the plan,
called as “the Agartala Plot”, had navy steward Mujibur Rahman and
educationist Mohammad Ali Reza going to Agartala to seek the Indian
support for Bangladesh’s independence. He repeated the statement again
in 2011 when he stated: “The charges against us read out on the first
day of hearing in the case were absolutely right. We formed a Sangram
Parishad led by Bangabandhu to free East Pakistan through armed
protest.” Senior Awami League leader Tufail Ahmed stated on the same
day that the country would not be independent if the case had not been
filed.
Conclusion
Finding the truth from the past is a complex matter. However, when one looks at who is stating the truth rather than judge the truth on its merits, then cases like Agartala Conspiracy occur where the State’s version of events is dismissed only because it is produced by the State. Secessionist movements that employ armed revolt by enlisting help of foreign powers, may get independence but it is always at a great loss of human life. The establishment always protects its interests and destroys the land before handing it over, if it hands over at all. It is only political secessionist movements like Pakistan Movement that win freedom without massive loss of life.
References:
[1] Lt. Gen (r) Kamal Matinuddin, “The Tragedy of Great Errors: East Pakistan Crisis”, pp. 276-277.
[2] Stanley Wolpert, “Jinnah of Pakistan”, p. 323. [3] Ibid. p. 318
[4] Richard D. Lambert, “Factors in Bengali Regionalism in Pakistan”, Far Eastern Survey, Institute of Pacific Relations. pp. 49–58. [5] Stanley Wolpert, “Jinnah of Pakistan”, p. 344.
[6] Ayesha Jalal, “Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia”, pp. 22-23. [7] Ian Talbot, “Pakistan: A Modern History”, p. 190.
[8] Subir Bhaumik, “The Agartala Doctrine”, p.13.
[9] Richard Sisson, Leo E. Rose, “War and Secession: Pakistan, India and the creation of Bangladesh”, p.42.
[10] Rana Rehman Zafar, “Mashriqi Pakistani ke alehdagee ke Dardnaak kahani”, p. 50.
[11] Shahida Begum, “Agartala Conspiracy Case”, in Sirajul Islam; Ahmed
A. Jamal (editors), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
(2nd edition), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
Abdul Hafeez Kardar, “Pakistan’s Soldiers of Fortune”, p. 133.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-142345
https://web.archive.org/…/ht…//www.bdnews24.com/details.php…web.archive.org‘Agartala conspiracy case was not false’An accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case, deputy speaker Shawkat Ali, has told parliament that the charges brought against the accused were not false.
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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.
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