Liberation war of Bangladesh-1971

Abstract

This research is designed to study the Armed Struggle of Bangladesh Liberation War focusing on the growth and strategies of Bangladesh Forces, its impact on the overall outcome of war including conclusions drawn therefrom. Though the Muslims of both the wings of Pakistan had been the strong proponents of Two Nation theory, the prospect of united Pakistan remained under serious qualm. The postulation that Islam had been a stronger binding force than cultural heritage was proved otherwise. The cumulative impact of economic and political discriminations between the two Wings resulted in the rise of a powerful Bengali Nationalism. In a sheer disregard to the political process, military action was rather resorted to. The Bengali military personnel spontaneously resisted taking risks of their lives. After initial setback, they managed to organize themselves and fought back. As the Pakistani Forces marched towards the countryside, innocent Bengalis fled their homesteads in fear and crossed over to India for safety. The youths voluntarily opted to fight and made significant contributions gradually being organized by those defected soldiers. Local knowledge and popular support coupled with broken terrain, water bodies and poor communication system provided perfect breeding ground for the guerrilla warfare. With gradual raising of conventional outfits, strategies were formulated blending conventional and unconventional warfare to compensate for the technological inferiority and training lag. The Freedom Fighters collectively dissipated the Pakistani Forces and ultimately assisted the victory of the Allied Forces. Owing to the paucity of reliable documentation of events, the subject could not be studied objectively. This research brought out an authentic account on the Armed Struggle of our Liberation War based on literature review. Available primary and secondary sources including interviews of renowned Freedom Fighters, politicians and documents of Mujibnagar Government have been exhaustively studied. After the introductory Chapter, Liberation War has been historically contextualized and geographical conditions have been examined to derive their impact on military operations. Subsequent Chapters described the initial resistance phase, the evolution and organization of various forces including their modus operandi. Finally, the effectiveness of our Freedom Fighters have been highlighted. This research is likely to bring forth a coherent understanding on the growth, roles and effectiveness of the Freedom Fighters based on objective analysis of our Liberation War. The conclusions from the research likely to uphold the axiom of political prowess while dealing with political issues. Other issues may benefit the Military in formulating their operational strategies, gaining pragmatic knowhow on employment of forces and acquire leadership and management skills.