The atrocities in the 1971 civil war

[saleen_s7]

Operation Searchlight was because of the great bengali movement which the Bengali people has been deprived of. Mujib won the most of the seats in the parliament and rightfully, Bengalis have protested. The discrimination and the injustices we faced during that time are no "propaganda" or "made up" Indian stories, those were facts and the reasons were legitimate. Even Uncle Sam has been accused of knowing fully about the genocide and remaining quiet, and many credible historians wrote about it.

 

[LaBong]

Nice to see Pakistani member raising the same straw-man again and again and beating through it using their cliched non-sequiturs, a common tactics of all genocide deniers. It's impossible to quantify the exact number of causalities nor is it needed to gauge the depth of systematic state sponsored injustice that had been meted out to minorities in East Pakistan.

Following is the definition of Genocide as ratified by International Criminal Court.

Genocide is foremost an international crime for which individuals, no matter how high in authority, may be indicted, tried, and punished by the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to Article 6 of the ICC Statute, This crime involves, "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. ​

Genocide:Meaning and Definition



Following is an extract from the report by ICJ about the events of 1971.

(1) During the civil war from 25 March to 3 December and during the international war from 4 to 18 December, massive violations of human rights occurred in East Pakistan. These were committed (a) by the Pakistani army and auxiliary forces against Bengalis, and in particular against members of the Awami League, students, and Hindus, and (b) by Bengali insurgent forces and mobs against Biharis and other non-Bengalis (Part II (b)).

(2) These violations involved the indiscriminate killing of civilians, including women and children; the attempt to exterminate or drive out of the country a large part of the Hindu population of approximately 10 million people; the arrest, torture and killing without trial of suspects; the raping of women; the destruction of villages and towns; and the looting of property. The scale of these crimes was massive, but it is impossible to quantify them. Figures given by both sides tend to be greatly exaggerated (Part II (b)).

(3) In addition to criminal offences under domestic law, there is a strong prima facie case that criminal offences were committed in international law, namely war crimes and crimes against humanity under the law relating to armed conflict, breaches of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions 1949, and acts of genocide under the Genocide Convention 1949 (Part IV).

(4) Persons who have committed or were responsible for such crimes are liable to be tried under international law by an international court. If, as has been reported, the Bangladesh government are to put on trial senior Pakistani officers and civilians, they should set up an international court for the purpose with a majority of judges from neutral countries (Part IV).

(5) The martial law regime of General Yahya Khan was unconstitutional and illegal under domestic Pakistan law, but owing to its recognition by other states its validity cannot be challenged under international law (Part III).

(6) The Awami League leaders were not entitled in international law to proclaim the independence of Bangladesh in March 1971 under the principle of the right of self-determination of peoples (Part V).

(7) They were, however, justified under domestic law in using force to resist the attempt by the self-appointed and illegal military regime to impose a different form of constitution upon the country to that approved by the majority of the people in a fair and free election (Part V).

(8) The United Nations failed to use its available machinery to deal with the situation either with a view to terminating the gross violations of human rights which were occurring or to deal with the threat to international peace which they constituted (Part VI).

(9) India's supply of arms and training facilities to the insurgent forces was in breach of her duty of neutrality under international law (Part VII).

(10) India's claim that her invasion of Pakistan was justified in international law under the doctrine of self-defence and on the grounds that she was acting in support of her Bangladesh ally cannot be accepted (Part VII).

(11) India could, however, have justified the invasion on the grounds of humanitarian intervention, in view of the failure of the United Nations to deal with the massive violations of human rights in East Pakistan which were causing a continuing and intolerable refugee burden to India (Part. VII). ​

[Genocide/1971] The Events in East Pakistan: Conclusion

Please take note of the fact that, the report doesn't quote any exact number of causalities as a basis of calling it genocide, debunking the straw-man Pakistani members love to use to deny the heinous crime.

 

[Gandhi G in da house]

Nice to see Pakistani member raising the same straw-man again and again and beating through it using their cliched non-sequiturs, a common tactics of all genocide deniers. It's impossible to quantify the exact number of causalities nor is it needed to gauge the depth of systematic state sponsored injustice that had been meted out to minorities in East Pakistan.

Following is the definition of Genocide as ratified by International Criminal Court.

Genocide is foremost an international crime for which individuals, no matter how high in authority, may be indicted, tried, and punished by the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to Article 6 of the ICC Statute, This crime involves, "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. ​

Genocide:Meaning and Definition



Following is an extract from the report by ICJ about the events of 1971.

(1) During the civil war from 25 March to 3 December and during the international war from 4 to 18 December, massive violations of human rights occurred in East Pakistan. These were committed (a) by the Pakistani army and auxiliary forces against Bengalis, and in particular against members of the Awami League, students, and Hindus, and (b) by Bengali insurgent forces and mobs against Biharis and other non-Bengalis (Part II (b)).

(2) These violations involved the indiscriminate killing of civilians, including women and children; the attempt to exterminate or drive out of the country a large part of the Hindu population of approximately 10 million people; the arrest, torture and killing without trial of suspects; the raping of women; the destruction of villages and towns; and the looting of property. The scale of these crimes was massive, but it is impossible to quantify them. Figures given by both sides tend to be greatly exaggerated (Part II (b)).

(3) In addition to criminal offences under domestic law, there is a strong prima facie case that criminal offences were committed in international law, namely war crimes and crimes against humanity under the law relating to armed conflict, breaches of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions 1949, and acts of genocide under the Genocide Convention 1949 (Part IV).

(4) Persons who have committed or were responsible for such crimes are liable to be tried under international law by an international court. If, as has been reported, the Bangladesh government are to put on trial senior Pakistani officers and civilians, they should set up an international court for the purpose with a majority of judges from neutral countries (Part IV).

(5) The martial law regime of General Yahya Khan was unconstitutional and illegal under domestic Pakistan law, but owing to its recognition by other states its validity cannot be challenged under international law (Part III).

(6) The Awami League leaders were not entitled in international law to proclaim the independence of Bangladesh in March 1971 under the principle of the right of self-determination of peoples (Part V).

(7) They were, however, justified under domestic law in using force to resist the attempt by the self-appointed and illegal military regime to impose a different form of constitution upon the country to that approved by the majority of the people in a fair and free election (Part V).

(8) The United Nations failed to use its available machinery to deal with the situation either with a view to terminating the gross violations of human rights which were occurring or to deal with the threat to international peace which they constituted (Part VI).

(9) India's supply of arms and training facilities to the insurgent forces was in breach of her duty of neutrality under international law (Part VII).

(10) India's claim that her invasion of Pakistan was justified in international law under the doctrine of self-defence and on the grounds that she was acting in support of her Bangladesh ally cannot be accepted (Part VII).

(11) India could, however, have justified the invasion on the grounds of humanitarian intervention, in view of the failure of the United Nations to deal with the massive violations of human rights in East Pakistan which were causing a continuing and intolerable refugee burden to India (Part. VII). ​

[Genocide/1971] The Events in East Pakistan: Conclusion

Please take note of the fact that, the report doesn't quote any exact number of causalities as a basis of calling it genocide, debunking the straw-man Pakistani members love to use to deny the heinous crime.

bookmark this one buddy .

 

[Xeric]

This is the usual response from the likes of pu$$is when confronted (with facts). They will leave aside the topic and start giving smartmouth (mistaking them for wisecracks) rather smartazz comments and ruin the discussion.

See, there was nothing much required to be proven when i posted at # 323 except that an indian involvement BEFORE Op Searchlight had became a norm to the indians even before when there were any refugee 'problem'. My post imply proved that. Anybody having problems with that should take it up with Gen Lachhman, Krishna and Matinuddin. And it was no surprised that when the indians were cornered they went inside their Baniyan cocoons and accepted the fact, though not many were ready to touch upon the indian involvement which started around Jan -Mar 1971. That's the true worth and 'high' morals of such members.

Anywaz, since my post had become such a pain in the azz for so many indians (not Bengalis, not Pakistanis), i think it's time that i should clarify, as the post was quite subtle for some. The post hinged upon my stance whereby when 'your friend starts collaborating with the enemy, he is no more your friend, rather he should be treated as an enemy', hence my post # 327 was concluded with:

BTW, the aim was not to present the obvious facts, but to show the other side of the story and to establish that a friend of your enemy is your enemy!

That's to say, when the indian footprint increased over time well BEFORE 3rd of December 1971 and the Bengalis started challenging the govt's writ at the behest of indian support, matters had to be taken into one's own hands.

But then you are a fellow with the inventiveness of Albert Einstien, but with the attention span of Daffy Duck, and you couldn't pay attention, you went into convulsions and brought out something out of your rear (as usual) and subjected me to the rhetorics as if i was trying to prove something new.

So therefore from now onwards, pay attention! Stop thinking from your behind and concentrate on what is being said; It's surprising that you expect others to believe what you yap and can carry on with your 'insignificance of numbers amounting to a genocide' but fails to grasp the essentials out of a text (a text that was collated by myself after reading the books/reports as mentioned in the source of post # 323).

But as you are the kind of man that is a blueprint for building an idiot, i will take some time out and explain what i really meant; i was kinda 'justifying' and making a base for my further discussion and at the same time debunking the indian claim of PA killing 3 millions Bengalis (though you guys have shamelessly also retracted the same when Agno gave you guys the taste of your own medicine), and therefore i tried to post the excerpts from those books basing on which one can conclude that an indian involvement into the internal affairs of Pakistan was there long before Op Searchlight was conceived as throughly proved by the following accounts:

- The ‘illegal immigrants’ (10 million of them who formed the so called basis for an (armed) indian intervention in East Pakistan) were sorted out into different categories like Intelligence operators and Guerrilla fighters etc.

- The Indian armed forces were given the full responsibility to turn the Mukti Bahini into some shape whereby they could assist the Indian Army during their invasion of East Pakistan. A control headquarters was established under the overall supervision of Indian Eastern Command and three sector headquarters were also formed, one each at Agartala, Cooch Behar and Balurghat

- Brigadier Shah Beg and Brigadier Sant Singh, both of the Indian Army, were directed to organize the Mukti Bahini. The former operated from Agartala while the latter established contact with ‘Tiger’ Siddiqui a Bengali rebel officer at Tura, Mymensingh

- Six training centres were established in India, each commanded by an Indian brigadier.

- Belonia salient in the East was attacked on 8/ 9 November, Bhurigram in the north on night 13/ 14 November. These were preliminary operations carried out at the battalion level, even before the all out attack by the Indian armed forces on East Pakistan which began on November 21.

Basing on the above facts my stance was that a military option was viable notwithstanding the fact that it was WRONG and counterproductive and therefore i made the mention of the complete excerpt in my post # 328 which included the following para:

...........He accepted that it was an overreaction and over kill by the troops under his command.

Tikka Khan drove around Dacca on March 26 to check the results of the military action. On the way he saw that all Bangladesh flags had disappeared and Pakistan flags had taken their place. He was visibly relieved as the open defiance against the government had at least temporarily subsided. After three days of military action in Dacca and its surrounding areas all was quiet, it did not strike him that the result achieved was through fear and that no Bengali had changed his support to the Awami League. In fact the hatred had increased.[/I]

So in short my input on this thread was to show;

- the indian involvement into Pakistani internal affairs long before daggers were drawn in Dec 1971 (this interference was indeed the causes beli for the War),

- to 'justify' use of force against ONLY those Bengalis who were no more your friends as 'they became friends of your enemy' and at the same time highlight the mistakes and errors by the GoP in general and PA in particular that lead to alienation of Bengalis and resulted in killings of armed and unarmed Bengalis (see my next post in this regards).

- and to debunk the exaggerated, unconfirmed and lame claims that 3 million Bengalis perished (

Here's the other side of the story: (again, the killings did happen, but the scale was exaggerated by many to their advantage)

Dacca University

The Dacca University was made the first target of the military action on the night between 25/ 26 March. Dacca University had several hostels called halls: Jinnah Hall was the residence of junior lecturers and all in-house-teachers, Jagannath Hall accommodated the Hindu students; lqbal Hall was the centre piece of all political activity, Roqaya Hall was meant for all girl students. Jagannath Hall was barricaded. It was surrounded by barbed wire and within its perimeter ‘Mukti Jogda’ (freedom fighters) received their training using dummy and service rifles. The university area harboured most of the armed dissidents and had become a stronghold of the rebellious students, professors and other intellectuals........

.......The official casualty in the military action in the university area that night was 66 Bengali rebels dead, 31 injured (as opposed to more than 400 dead as claimed by many here), 4 army jawans lost their lives defending the territorial integrity of Pakistan against its own citizens.

)

But then, whilst everybody has the right to be dumb, and as you seem to have abused that privilege!!!! i can only say that next time stop making use of your rear and concentrate on what is being said, may be then you can grasp where the discussion is leading you to!

 

[Xeric]

^^ It is funny to see how the indians have retracted, first their '3 million bengalis killed' claim and have now accepted that india had indeed in the past (since Jan '71 in East Pakistan) and still continue to meddels in other country's affairs as a (baniyan) habit.

The Pakistani members must have use Ariel to whitewash the indians, and the indians on seeing thier pants down should have said:

'Madam wo kal sack-race haina, uski practice karahy thay'

 

[Windjammer]

Indra Gandhi's statement that......."India has entered East Pakistan in........Self defence" is still tops The Banyan Bloomers.

 

[LaBong]

But as you are the kind of man that is a blueprint for building an idiot, i will take some time out and explain what i really meant; i was kinda 'justifying' and making a base for my further discussion and at the same time debunking the indian claim of PA killing 3 millions Bengalis (though you guys have shamelessly also retracted the same when Agno gave you guys the taste of your own medicine), and therefore i tried to post the excerpts from those books basing on which one can conclude that an indian involvement into the internal affairs of Pakistan was there long before Op Searchlight was conceived as throughly proved by the following accounts:

- The ‘illegal immigrants’ (10 million of them who formed the so called basis for an (armed) indian intervention in East Pakistan) were sorted out into different categories like Intelligence operators and Guerrilla fighters etc.

- The Indian armed forces were given the full responsibility to turn the Mukti Bahini into some shape whereby they could assist the Indian Army during their invasion of East Pakistan. A control headquarters was established under the overall supervision of Indian Eastern Command and three sector headquarters were also formed, one each at Agartala, Cooch Behar and Balurghat

- Brigadier Shah Beg and Brigadier Sant Singh, both of the Indian Army, were directed to organize the Mukti Bahini. The former operated from Agartala while the latter established contact with ‘Tiger’ Siddiqui a Bengali rebel officer at Tura, Mymensingh

- Six training centres were established in India, each commanded by an Indian brigadier.

- Belonia salient in the East was attacked on 8/ 9 November, Bhurigram in the north on night 13/ 14 November. These were preliminary operations carried out at the battalion level, even before the all out attack by the Indian armed forces on East Pakistan which began on November 21.

Yes those 10 lakhs went to India to stay in refugee camp leaving all their possessions and took arms against poor Pakistani army equipped with latest US hardware, despite all the love that had been delved out to them by orgy loving racist Pakistani Generals! Thus Op Searchlight is justified.

Is opium found in abundance in Pakistan as well?

 

[Xeric]

Indra Gandhi's statement that......."India has entered East Pakistan in........Self defence" is still tops The Banyan Bloomers.

i have amply explianed the indian involvment in erstwhile E.Pakistan long before Op Searchlight (by virtue if which the indians claim the genocide in Bangladesh), it also exposes the indian hand in declaration of independence by Bangladesh. The smuggling Mr Tajuddin Ahmed (a prominent Bengali ledear who was serving as its General Secretary before seperation) to a border village in india and his installation as the head of provisional Bangladesh Govt in Mujibnagar, a house in Calcutta rented by RAW, all tells us about the 'self-defence' by Mrs Gandhi.

Mrs Gandhi's soul in her grave,oops sorry she doesnt have one, sorry again, dont mean any insult, rather her ashes must b mulling upon the betrayl by her countrymen today when they all are accepting that india was not acting in self defence, nor was it bleeding for the 'illegal immigrants' and that india had poked its nose in E.Pakistan around Mar '71 well before Pakistan did what it did on 3 Dec.

i wish she knew what her countrymen would bring her, 42 years after she 'sized the oppurtunity' to drown 2 Nation Theory in the Bay of Bengal!!

 

[Windjammer]

i have amply explianed the indian involvment in erstwhile E.Pakistan long before Op Searchlight (by virtue if which the indians claim the genocide in Bangladesh), it also exposes the indian hand in declaration of independence by Bangladesh. The smuggling Mr Tajuddin Ahmed (a prominent Bengali ledear who was serving as its General Secretary before seperation) to a border village in india and his installation as the head of provisional Bangladesh Govt in Mujibnagar, a house in Calcutta rented by RAW, all tells us about the 'self-defence' by Mrs Gandhi.

Mrs Gandhi's soul in her grave,oops sorry she doesnt have one, sorry again, dont mean any insult, rather her ashes must b mulling upon the betrayl by her countrymen today when they all are accepting that india was not acting in self defence, nor was it bleeding for the 'illegal immigrants' and that india had poked its nose in E.Pakistan around Mar '71 well before Pakistan did what it did on 3 Dec.

i wish she knew what her countrymen would bring her, 42 years after she 'sized the oppurtunity' to drown 2 Nation Theory in the Bay of Bengal!!

Now isn't it ironic, both her and her partner in crime met their makers with compliments of the people they most trusted, lied to and liberated.!!......... Lord works in mysterious ways.

 

[Xeric]

Yes those 10 lakhs went to India to stay in refugee camp leaving all their possessions and took arms against poor Pakistani army equipped with latest US hardware, despite all the love that had been delved out to them by orgy loving racist Pakistani Generals! Thus Op Searchlight is justified.

Is opium found in abundance in Pakistan as well?

i retierate; keep pace with the discussion!

It has been already proven and accepted by your likes that an indian invlovment in E.Pakistan (note the missing Bengladesh) is no more a qoute 'secret' unquote. So, once it has been established that your nationals are working with the enemy, all options are open to counter that, notwithstanding the fact that PA did go overboard with use of excess force, which in turn was connected to the 'moral' and 'seld defencive' support the Bengali rebels were receiving from the indians months before 3 Dec '71.

Dont you guys work on the same principles in Kashmir against the PA supported 'rebels'? Or may be you guys would also retract your stance there - another rehersal for another 'sack race'??

 

[toxic_pus]

^^ It is funny to see how the indians have retracted, first their '3 million bengalis killed' claim and have now accepted that india had indeed in the past (since Jan '71 in East Pakistan) and still continue to meddels in other country's affairs as a (baniyan) habit.

The Pakistani members must have use Ariel to whitewash the indians, and the indians on seeing thier pants down should have said:

'Madam wo kal sack-race haina, uski practice karahy thay'

Firstly, none of us has 'retracted' any claim on numbers for the simple reason that none of us (i.e. Abir and I) made that claim in the first place. We are pointing out that numbers don't matter to the question of genocide, to which PA stands accused.

Secondly, none of us has 'accepted' that India was involved in East Pakistani affairs since 'January' of 1971, or continues to meddle in Pakistani affairs.

Raising strawman, then beating it down to pulp and then celebrating such amazing victory by patting each other's back, all come naturally to certain Pakistanis, just like breathing. It's time you came out of that cave.

 

[toxic_pus]

i have amply explianed the indian involvment in erstwhile E.Pakistan long before Op Searchlight (by virtue if which the indians claim the genocide in Bangladesh), it also exposes the indian hand in declaration of independence by Bangladesh. The smuggling Mr Tajuddin Ahmed (a prominent Bengali ledear who was serving as its General Secretary before seperation) to a border village in india and his installation as the head of provisional Bangladesh Govt in Mujibnagar, a house in Calcutta rented by RAW, all tells us about the 'self-defence' by Mrs Gandhi.

I doubt if you understand what Operation Searchlight is. It refers to the brutal crackdown on AL by PA that started in the middle of the night of 25th March, 1971 and soon turned into a campaign for extermination of Hindus through out the period till December. Pre-25th March, India was nowhere involved in any Pakistani affair for the simple fact that Indian leaders ware pretty busy with general elections. The elections were held during March 1-10 and Mrs Gandhi's govt. came into existence soon afterwards. As Sisson and Rose noted (in their book War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh):

'...from mid January to early March, the entire political leadership in India was heavily involved in its own election campaign, with both the government and the opposition party leaders on almost constant tours of their own constituencies and the country. They had neither the time nor the inclination to follow events in Pakistan in any depth. Even the External Affairs and Defence ministries and Mrs. Gandhi's private secretariat were rather perfunctory in their analysis of developments before 25 March. No top-level in-depth discussions of Indian polity toward Pakistan took place from February to early March, the critical period, except indirectly in some consideration of developments in West Bengal. Although the Government of India held strong views on how its interests were affected by the political negotiations in Pakistan, the available evidence suggests that New Delhi preferred to await the course of developments there before defining its own policy. '​

India got involved after 25th March, 1971 when refugees started pouring into West Bengal, thanks to PA. On 10th April, Bangladesh Govt-in-Exile was declared in Mujibnagar, and formally created on 17th. That was the beginning of India's involvement and that is no secret.

.... they all are accepting that india was not acting in self defence, nor was it bleeding for the 'illegal immigrants' and that india had poked its nose in E.Pakistan around Mar '71 well before Pakistan did what it did on 3 Dec.

You seriously need to read some history book. ASAP. 3rd Dec, 1971 is not the threshold. 25/26th March, 1971 is. Guess which day is celebrated as Independence day in Bangladesh and why.

i wish she knew what her countrymen would bring her, 42 years after she 'sized the oppurtunity' to drown 2 Nation Theory in the Bay of Bengal!!

Don't worry. Her legacy is in good hands. And no, she didn't throw the TNT to the bottom of Bay of Bengal. Your Muslim brethren in East Paksitan did it. She merely helped them get there.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Indra Gandhi's statement that......."India has entered East Pakistan in........Self defence" is still tops The Banyan Bloomers.

Self defence means defence when attacked.

Attack need not be war or physical.

It could be economic, moral, social etc.

Pakistan had burdened India economically with the refugees.

 

[Xeric]

Firstly, none of us has 'retracted' any claim on numbers for the simple reason that none of us (i.e. Abir and I) made that claim in the first place. We are pointing out that numbers don't matter to the question of genocide, to which PA stands accused.

Secondly, none of us has 'accepted' that India was involved in East Pakistani affairs since 'January' of 1971, or continues to meddle in Pakistani affairs.

Raising strawman, then beating it down to pulp and then celebrating such amazing victory by patting each other's back, all come naturally to certain Pakistanis, just like breathing. It's time you came out of that cave.

AAaaa.. that's it?

I doubt if you understand what Operation Searchlight is. It refers to the brutal crackdown on AL by PA that started in the middle of the night of 25th March, 1971 and soon turned into a campaign for extermination of Hindus through out the period till December.

Ahan..so you want to tell me that you know about the Operation more than the ones who planned it? FYKI, Lt Gen Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, commander of the Eastern Theatre had, in February 1971, prepared plans for dealing with an insurgency situation in East Pakistan. The plan was code-named Operation BLITZ. He was, however aware that a military action alone was not the solution to the political impasse. “I need hardly mention that Operation BLITZ will not and should not be an end in itself but must be followed immediately by the projection of political and economic progress at the national level. Such a course would be an essential sequel to this fire brigade action for the wheel would only then be turned full circle”, wrote Yaqub to Yahya.

But then the situation in East Pakistan after the postponement of the National Assembly session was fast deteriorating. Sheikh Mujibur Rehman had given the call for a virtual takeover of the administration of the province by his supporters which, by now, included almost all politicians, the majority of bureaucrats and a large number of the members of the Bengali elements in the armed forces besides the entire Bengali civil population. Although, all the personalities interviewed at Dacca categorically denied that the militants of the Awami League massacred the non-Bengalis even before the military crackdown by the Pakistan Army, however, there was ample evidence to prove that they went on a rampage as soon as the announcement of postponing the National Assembly session was made on March 1. The scene immediately prior to the proposed military action was of complete disorder and total disregard of governmental authority.

Gen Yahya wanted that if a firm action had been taken earlier things would not have gone out of hand. Yahya’s insistence for a military action forced Lt Gen Yaqub Khan to resign. He was replaced by Lt General Tikka. There were only two alternatives at that stage. Order the army to restore the authority of the government or hand over powers to the majority party. The military junta was split on the question of suppressing the insurgency by a military action. Those in East Pakistan were not in favour of it as they had been witnessing the growing popularity of the Awami League in that province. They knew that even after eliminating the die-hard secessionists, the movement in favour of the Six Points Formula would not die down. They were concerned about the mass killings on both sides which were bound to follow once the army was given a free hand to deal with all those elements which had bottled them up and were humiliating them at every corner. Those in West Pakistan were advocating a strong military action.

Unfortunately, the military authorities in East Pakistan were completely ignored during the political negotiations which had begun in Dacca on March 15. The decision for suppressing the insurgency in East Pakistan by military force, if it becomes necessary, was made on March 22, 1971 at a meeting between the president, the governor and the martial law administrator at Dacca. No party leader opposed the use of force to re-instate the government’s authority. On the afternoon of March 23, when Dacca had given its unanimous vote against a United Pakistan the armed forces chiefs also conveyed their recommendation of a military action; Yahya declared the emergency plan to restore law and order on that very day.

However, it was not till March 24, that the final decision to crush the Awami League and its supporters was taken. All avenues for seeking a political solution, short of making Pakistan into a confederation, had been explored with no effect. No amount of persuasion, reasoning or discussion had made Mujib or Bhutto change their rigid stand. The fault of postponing the National Assembly session was to be followed by another one, the military action. The point of no return had arrived. Yahya called Gen Tikka Khan and Maj Gen Rao Farman and asked them to finalize the operation orders for Operation SEARCHLIGHT. The plan prepared earlier by Farman was given the final touches. And the opration began on night 25/26 Mar '71, now what's the fuss about?

Pre-25th March, India was nowhere involved in any Pakistani affair for the simple fact that Indian leaders ware pretty busy with general elections. The elections were held during March 1-10 and Mrs Gandhi's govt. came into existence soon afterwards. As Sisson and Rose noted (in their book War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh):

Yeah right.

i think you have forgotten Agartala Conspiracy:

He added that as part of the plan called as "the Agartala Plot" navy steward Mujibur Rahman and educationist Mohammad Ali Reza went to Agartala to seek the Indian support for Bangladesh's independence.
Textbook 'incorrectly' describes Agartala Case: Shawkat​

And also:

The Bangla Desh Operation possibly began a year before the actual operation was underway. Even when the world did get a whiff of it in the shape of the Mukti Bahani, many remained unaware of RAW’s involvement. By then Phase I of the operation was already completed. Phase II saw the Indian Armed Forces poised for the liberation of Bangla Desh. RAW, along with the Mukti Bahani, when they developed into a formidable force, provided information to the Indian forces.
​

The Indian Express : Op-Ed


Mind it, before you try to open your beak and rubbish this as pro-Pakistani news, i must tell you that this Op-Ed infact hinges around depicting india as the 'savior' of Bangladesh and Pakistan as the 'bad boy'.

'...from mid January to early March, the entire political leadership in India was heavily involved in its own election campaign, with both the government and the opposition party leaders on almost constant tours of their own constituencies and the country. They had neither the time nor the inclination to follow events in Pakistan in any depth. Even the External Affairs and Defence ministries and Mrs. Gandhi's private secretariat were rather perfunctory in their analysis of developments before 25 March. No top-level in-depth discussions of Indian polity toward Pakistan took place from February to early March, the critical period, except indirectly in some consideration of developments in West Bengal. Although the Government of India held strong views on how its interests were affected by the political negotiations in Pakistan, the available evidence suggests that New Delhi preferred to await the course of developments there before defining its own policy. '​

WTF is this?

"By 1968 Indian operatives had already been in contact with the ‘‘pro-Mujib’’ faction." - Inside RAW: the story of India’s secret service by Asoka Raina, 1981
​

^^ Also, by this definition (the poor, unable to multi-task and busy indian govt couldnt spare time to plan for Bangladesh and 'follow events in Pakistan in any depth' , WTF?), Pakistan could not have planned Mumbai (Nov 2008) as it was busy with many internal issues, namely (a few of them from Oct-Nov 2008):

3 Sep - Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani survives an assassination attempt.

6 Sep - The Electoral College of Pakistan elects Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party as the next President of Pakistan.

11 Sep - President George W. Bush is reported to have authorized United States special forces to conduct operations against insurgents inside Pakistan without seeking approval from the Government of Pakistan.

22 Oct - Pakistan sought help from the IMF on Wednesday to avoid defaulting on billions of dollars in loans and skirt a financial crisis brought on by high fuel prices, dwindling foreign investment and soaring militant violence.

And important of all,
29 Oct - At least 100 people die after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan near the city of Quetta in the Province of Balochistan.

etc
etc.

India got involved after 25th March, 1971 when refugees started pouring into West Bengal, thanks to PA. On 10th April, Bangladesh Govt-in-Exile was declared in Mujibnagar, and formally created on 17th. That was the beginning of India's involvement and that is no secret.

Sure.

You have been adequately face-palmed one more time, see above.

Though i would like to leave you with one thought...unfortunately i ain't sure you have anywhere to put it, so i'll pass!

You seriously need to read some history book. ASAP. 3rd Dec, 1971 is not the threshold. 25/26th March, 1971 is. Guess which day is celebrated as Independence day in Bangladesh and why.

Well, for me 3 Dec is the threshold, because every text book that you guys have been reading quotes this date to portray Pakistan as the aggressor during the 1971 War. Fortunately, thanks to PDF, you guys wont do it any more!!

 

[Tameem]

The West Pakistani (mainly Punjabi and Pathan) discrimination and ridicule and persecution of Bengalis didn't start in 1971. It started soon after the partition.

West Pakistanis are not on the streets of their capital cities for the coinage to be in their native language i.e. Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto...as far back as july 1948, Its Bengalis!!!Does the persecuation narrated by you started before it???

In 1965, the refrain was "The East will be defended in the West". East Pakistan was left open as a bait for India in exchange for Kashmir.

Eventually hat policy is paid off in the end!! and India accepted the ceasfier as soon as it offered by the UN.

The genocide or whatever one calls it has been well documented. No amount of rewriting history will change it.

Its not We Pakistanis who are today debunking your propaganda in recent pages...again its Bengalis and rightfully so as they are the only ones who should do it in the first place. So good luck to them.

I am glad India helped in ending the persecution of Bangladeshis as the hands of such people.

Personally in my capacity i'm glad too!! as administratively its a nightmare!! i hav no example in the history of mankind for any nation being torn apart so widely by an enemy territory of thousands of miles and survive not only 1 or 2.....but 24 years!!