“History of BANGLADESH” Victory Day (বিজ붼 বিিস - Bijoy Dibos), 16Th December 1971 Declaration of Independence, March 26, 1971
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Research Paper “History of BANGLADESH” Victory Day (বিজ붼 বিিস - Bijoy Dibos), 16th December 1971 Declaration of Independence, March 26, 1971 Submitted by: Radwan Chowdhury www.RadwanChowdhury.info | [email protected] Phone: +1-904-759-6644 | +88-0183-149-3878 | +971-50-296-1628 Social Media: FB.com/RadwanChowdhury | Twitter.com/RadwanChowdhury Submitted To: Our Youth Supporting Organization (s): UDiON Foundation Web: www.udionfoundation.org | E-mail: [email protected] Social Media: FB.com/UdionFoundation | US Phone: 1-347-70-UDiON Submission Date: November, 5, 2013 Tags: Developing Countries | Government-NGO Relations | Non-Governmental | Policy Advocacy Groups | Public Health | Activists | Gender InEquality | Women’s Empowerment | Education | Poverty | Children’s | Diversity | Organizations | Press and Media. Read it Forward * Out Innovate * Out Educate * Out Build © Copy Right | RADWAN CHOWDHURY | All Rights Reserved Page 1 of 10 Victory Day (বিজ붼 বিিস - Bijoy Dibos): is a national holiday in Bangladesh celebrated on December 16 to commemorate the victory of the Allied forces High Command over the Pakistani forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The Commanding officer of the Pakistani Forces General AAK Niazi surrendered his forces to the Allied forces commander Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, which marked ending the 9 month-long[1] Bangladesh Liberation War and 1971 Bangladesh genocide and officially secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh. History: The Bangladesh Liberation War (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ Muktijuddho) was a South Asian war of independence in 1971 which established the sovereign nation of Bangladesh. The war pitted East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan, and lasted over a duration of nine months. It witnessed large- scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the displacement of 30 million people. The war broke out on 26 March 1971, when the Pakistan Army launched a military operation called Operation Searchlight against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia and armed personnel, who were demanding that the Pakistani military junta accept the results of the 1970 first democratic elections of Pakistan, which were won by an eastern party, or to allow separation between East and West Pakistan. Bengali politicians and army officers announced the declaration of Bangladesh's independence in response to Operation Searchlight. Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians formed the Mukti Bahini (Bengali: মুক্তি বাক্তিনী "Liberation Army"), which engaged in guerrilla warfare against Pakistani forces. The Pakistan Army, in collusion with religious extremist militias (the Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams), engaged in the systematic genocide and atrocities of Bengali civilians, particularly nationalists, intellectuals, youth and religious minorities Neighbouring India provided economic, military and diplomatic support to Bengali nationalists, and the Bangladesh government-in-exile was set up in Calcutta. India entered the war on 3 December 1971, after Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on northern India. Overwhelmed by two war fronts, Pakistani defences soon collapsed. On 16 December, the Allied Forces of Bangladesh and India defeated Pakistan in the east. The subsequent surrender resulted in the largest number of prisoners-of-war since World War II. Recognition of Bangladesh: The Surrender of Pakistan Armed Forces marked the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War and the creation of Bangla Desh (later reduced to a single word). Most United Nations member nations were quick to recognize Bangladesh within months of its independence. Celebration: The celebration of Victory Day has taken place since 1972. The Bangladesh Liberation War became a topic of great importance in cinema, literature, history lessons at school, the mass media, and the arts in Bangladesh. The ritual of the celebration gradually obtained a distinctive character with a number of similar elements: Military Parade by Bangladesh Armed Forces at the National Parade Ground, ceremonial meetings, speeches, lectures, receptions and fireworks. Victory Day in Bangladesh is a joyous celebration in which popular culture plays a great role. TV and radio stations broadcast special programs and patriotic songs. The main streets are decorated with national flags. Different political parties and socioeconomic organizations undertake programs to mark the day in a befitting manner, including the paying of respects at Jatiyo Smriti Soudho, the national memorial at Savar near Dhaka. Tags: Developing Countries | Government-NGO Relations | Non-Governmental | Policy Advocacy Groups | Public Health | Activists | Gender InEquality | Women’s Empowerment | Education | Poverty | Children’s | Diversity | Organizations | Press and Media. Read it Forward * Out Innovate * Out Educate * Out Build © Copy Right | RADWAN CHOWDHURY | All Rights Reserved Page 2 of 10 Background: In August 1947, the Partition of British India gave birth to two new states; a secular state named India and an Islamic state named Pakistan. But Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west of India. The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight. The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces led to East Pakistan declaring its independence as the state of Bangladesh and to the start of civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) flooding into the eastern provinces of India. Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organizing the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini. Political Differences: Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population, political power remained firmly in the hands of West Pakistanis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the "One Unit" scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes. After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to be devolved to the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President. East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, he were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings. The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a Sindhi), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Tags: Developing Countries | Government-NGO Relations | Non-Governmental | Policy Advocacy Groups | Public Health | Activists | Gender InEquality | Women’s Empowerment | Education | Poverty | Children’s | Diversity | Organizations | Press and Media. Read it Forward * Out Innovate * Out Educate * Out Build © Copy Right | RADWAN CHOWDHURY | All Rights Reserved Page 3 of 10 refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for each wing. The proposal elicited outrage in the east wing, already chafing under the other constitutional innovation, the "one unit scheme". Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike. On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be the prime minister) delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March: The immediate lifting of martial law. Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks. An inquiry into the loss of life. Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March. He urged "his people" to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, "Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our independence." This speech is considered the main