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Keesing's Record of World Events (formerly Keesing's Contemporary Archives), Volume 17, December, 1971 , , Pakistan, Pakistani, Indian, India, , Page 24989 © 1931-2006 Keesing's Worldwide, LLC - All Rights Reserved.

Relations between Pakistan and India became increasingly strained between August and November, as the civil war in intensified and the number of refugees fleeing into India rose to over 9,000,000. The Bangladesh guerrillas launched a general offensive on Nov. 21 in which the Pakistan Government alleged that Indian troops were taking part, and serious clashes between Indian and Pakistani forces occurred on the border. Details of the development of the crisis during this period and its international repercussions are given below.

Guerrilla activities in East Pakistan by the (Liberation Army), previously known as the Mukti Fouj, were greatly intensified from August onwards. The nucleus of the guerrilla forces consisted of soldiers of the Regiment and the East Pakistan Rifles, which had reportedly rallied to the separatist case in March virtually in a body, and all sector commanders and most of their subordinates were reported to be former officers of the . Volunteers were also enrolled, especially for sabotage operations, from students and high school pupils, including boys in their early teens, who received two months' training in the border sanctuaries controlled by the Mukti Bahini, whilst guerrilla groups organized by the left-wing National Awami Party and the Communist Party of Bangladesh operated in the interior of East Pakistan independently of the Mukti Bahini.

Estimates of the strength of the guerrillas varied widely. The Guardian reported on Nov. 3: "Impartial analysts credit the guerrilla organization with having expanded within seven months from zero to a force of 80,000 to 100,000, a figure roughly equal to the number of regular Pakistani soldiers deployed against them." Another estimate quoted by The Daily Telegraph on Nov. 24 gave their strength as 50,000 men and 150,000 active supporters, whilst -General (military adviser to the Governor of East Pakistan) said on Dec. 2 that the guerrillas had between 30,000 and 40,000 men under arms.

Pakistan Government statements (which consistently referred to the guerrillas as "Indian agents" or "miscreants") and reports from Western journalists in East Pakistan confirmed that the guerrillas were active in all sections of the province. The coastal forest area of the Sundarbans, the Modhupur forest (north of Dacca) and the Chittagong hill tracts were largely under guerrilla control. Reports of guerrilla activities were also received between August and November from the Barisal district in the south of the province, where 6,000 guerrillas were said to be operating; from the Khulna, Jessore, Kushtia and Rajshahi districts, on the western border; from the Rangpur district, in the north-west; from the Sunamganj and Sylhet districts, in the north-east; and from the Comilla district, on the eastern border. The Daces correspondent of The Daily Telegraph reported on Nov. 11: "Seven major regions of East Pakistan have been declared 'liberated zones' by Bangladesh guerrillas since an autumn offensive got under way two weeks ago…. Apart from the main towns and the land routes between them, the whole of East Pakistan, excluding the north-west, becomes guerrilla-held territory at night time."

The guerrillas' activities were directed particularly against communications. It was reported on Sept. 12 that 90 per cent of the culverts and small bridges on the roads linking Dacca with Comilla, Jessore and Kushtia had been destroyed, and that road and rail deliveries were estimated to have been reduced to 10 per cent of capacity. Economic activity in the province fell drastically in consequence; factory production was estimated

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at 35 per cent of capacity, tea plantations on the border had halted production, and others farther away limited themselves to 25 per cent of normal output. At the beginning of November 60 per cent of the working population of Dacca was reported to be unemployed.

The Mukti Bahini also directed their attacks against cargo ships and river craft. Three ships were sunk in Chittagong harbour during the night of Aug. 15–16 and an oil tanker on Nov. 3, whilst Pakistan Radio claimed on Sept. 28 that the Navy had killed 10 frogmen who had been trained to mine ships in Chittagong and Chalna harbours. A British cargo ship was shelled by two small ships several miles off the coast on Nov. 11 while on its way to pick up a cargo of jute at Chalna, and although no one was injured was obliged to turn back to Calcutta. As a result of such attacks some foreign companies stopped their ships from calling at Chittagong.

Guerrilla groups operating inside Dacca, which were reported to consist largely of students, bombed the Intercontinental Hotel early in September and became increasingly active in October, when they made an unsuccessful attempt to shell the airport. Guerrillas disguised as Pakistani soldiers entered the city's main power station on Nov. 3 and destroyed three of the four main generators, bringing industry to a standstill within a 30-mile radius, whilst other guerrilla activities in Dacca during this period included the bombing of educational institutions, which were under the Army's control, and a series of armed bank robberies. A curfew was imposed on the city on Nov. 17 while the Army carried out a house-to-house search for arms; Pakistan Radio subsequently reported that 138 people had been arrested and four killed while resisting arrest. Two West German diplomats had previously been killed 15 miles from Daces on Nov. 14 when their vehicle drove over a land mine.

The guerrillas also pursued a policy of assassinating persons collaborating with the Pakistan Government and the Army. Mr. , a prominent Moslem League politician, was shot dead at his home in Daces on Oct. 14; when Governor of East Pakistan he had been accused of being responsible for the shooting of civilians during popular demonstrations against President 's regime in 1968–69 [see page 23219-20]. A candidate who had recently been returned unopposed to the Provincial Assembly was shot dead near Dacca on Nov. 7, and another in the Rajshahi district on Nov. 12.

Reports by refugees entering India alleging that the Army and the Razakars (the civilian militia) had let loose a virtual reign of terror as a reprisal for the guerrillas' activities appeared to be confirmed by Western correspondents in East Pakistan.

The Times reported on Sept. 12: "Military terror is continuing in East Pakistan…. Political suspects are still 'lifted', although care is taken to make their arrests unobstrusive. Army reprisals continue to be savage. In the last week of August 70 suspects were taken from seven villages, lined up and shot. Their homes were destroyed…."

A New York Times correspondent, Mr. Sydney H. Schanberg, reported from the Indian border on Sept. 21: "The dozens of refugees interviewed by this correspondent today, all of whom fled into India from East Pakistan in the past week, describe the killing of civilians, rape and ether acts of repression by the soldiers….

Nearly all the latest arrivals are Hindus, who said that the military regime was still making the Hindu minority its particular target. They said the guerrillas were active in their areas, and that the Army carried out massive reprisals against civilians after every guerrilla raid…. According to the refugees, the Army leaves much of the 'dirty work' to its civilian collaborators–the Razakars, or Home Guards–it has armed and to the supporters of right-wing religions political parties such as the Moslem League and Jamaat-i-."

A Reuter correspondent, Mr. Fred Bridgland, who watched about 400 refugees cross into India in about three hours, reported on Nov. 12 that before they crossed the border they had told him similar stories. "An elderly Hindu cultivator whose family was in the group," he stated, "said the Razakars and Pakistan Army were 'taking away our women and looting and burning the villages'. He said the attacks usually followed night

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operations by the Mukti Bahini. Refugees from other districts also spoke of villages being burnt, women abducted and young men killed…."

A Consultative Committee consisting of four representatives of the and one representative each of the two factions of the National Awami Party, the Communist Party of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh National Congress was formed in Calcutta on Sept. 8 to "direct the freedom struggle". The National Awami Party was represented by Maulana Abdul Humid Bhashani and Professor Muzaffar Ahmed, the respective leaders of its pro-Chinese and pro-Soviet factions.

The Provisional Government of Bangladesh opened its first overseas mission in London on Aug. 27 to co-ordinate the activities of Bengalis throughout Europe and America. The mission was headed by Mr. Justice , senior judge of the Dacca High Court and Vice-Chancellor of Daces University. On Aug. 30 a Bangladesh mission was opened in ; although this was not officially recognized by India, the Pakistan Government strongly protested on Sept. 5, accusing the Indian Government of "open collusion with secessionist elements". The mission was originally headed by Mr. K. M. Shahabuddin, the former Second Secretary of the Pakistan High Commission; he was succeeded on Oct. 25 by Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury, the former Minister-Counsellor and Head of Chancery in the Pakistan High Commission, who had announced his defection on Oct. 4.

A number of Pakistani diplomats declared their support for the Provisional Government of Bangladesh in the summer and autumn, including Mr. Abdul Fateh, Ambassador to Iraq, who gave up his post in August, and Mr. Khurrum Khan Panni, Ambassador to the Philippines, who announced his resignation on Sept. 14, accusing the Pakistan Army of "history's greatest genocide". Among other defectors were Mr. Mohiuddin Ahmed Jagirdar, Political Counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission in Lagos; Mr. Rhezaul Karim, Political Counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission in London; Mr. Wali-ur-Rahman, deputy head of the Pakistan Embassy in Switzerland; and the Press Attache and Third Secretary of the Pakistan Embassy in Tokyo.

The civil war, following the cyclone disaster of November 1970, created the danger of a major famine in East Pakistan. The situation was rendered worse by floods which, it was reported on Sept. 9, had affected nine of the 19 districts of the province and caused 110 deaths and damage to houses, crops and cattle estimated at £41,100,000.

Caritas Internationalis, the international conference of Roman Catholic charitable organizations, appealed to the U.N. in a statement issued on Sept. 22 to save the people of East Pakistan from "what threatens to be one of the most deadly famines of our times", and gave warning that "it may be necessary to face the emigration of an entire people, sapped by hunger and disease".

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization allocated 34,600 tons of wheat and 2,550 tons of vegetable oil, worth $4,300,000, to East Pakistan on Aug. 3. FAO officials estimated that at least 500,000 tons of food needed to be distributed, and stated that the breakdown of transport facilities was causing a serious distribution problem.

Under an agreement signed on Sept. 10, the United States undertook to provide about 500,000 tons of wheat and 25,000 tons of vegetable oil, valued at $40,300,000, supplementing over 400,000 tons of food already supplied by the United States for relief in East Pakistan. The commodities would be sold for rupees instead of dollars, and over 90 per cent of the rupee counterpart of the cost would be returned to the Pakistan Government as an aid grant for relief projects in East Pakistan. Details of a new agreement were worked out on Sept. 17 between M. Paul-Marc Henry (head of the U.N. relief operation in East Pakistan) and U.S. officials, whereby the United States would supply an additional 210,000 tons of grain and food blends, 200 lorries and two helicopters.

Pakistani official sources stated on Oct. 1 that Belgium, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United States

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and UNICEF had so far promised goods and material to the value of about $20,000,000, against $28,000,000 estimated to be needed for immediate relief work. Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the U.K. and Commonwealth Foreign Secretary, stated in the House of Commons on Oct. 18 that the British Government would contribute £1,000,000 for relief in East Pakistan.

As explained in, an informal meeting of the members of the Pakistan Aid Consortium under the chairmanship of the had on June 21 deferred the making of any further commitment of fresh economic or development aid, although all the Governments concerned had emphasized their willingness to participate in a programme of humanitarian relief in East Pakistan under the surveillance of the United Nations. As regards Britain, Sir Alec had stated on June 23 that the resumption of aid to Pakistan by the U.K. could not be considered until "we have firm evidence that real progress is being made towards a political solution".

The number of refugees who had entered India from East Pakistan was given by the Indian Government on Aug. 22 as 7,900,000; on Sept. 6 as 8,300,000; on Sept. 20 as 8,900,000; on Oct. 6 as 9,146,500; on Oct. 15 as 9,350,866; and on Nov. 19 as 9,700,000. The average daily influx, which had fallen from 68,000 in June to 26,000 in July, rose to 34,000 in August and 40,000 in October.

Although these figures were accepted as accurate by U.N. experts and the many foreign charitable organizations working in India, the Pakistan Government asserted on Sept. 1 that only 2,002,623 Pakistanis had crossed into India. President declared in a statement issued on Oct. 30 that "refugee camps have been filled with the permanently wandering population and the perennially unemployed of Calcutta and other parts of West Bengal. Besides, the Indian figures also include those who had migrated from East Pakistan in 1947 and have remained unsettled for one reason or another."

Senator Edward Kennedy, in his capacity as chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Refugees, paid a two-day visit to the refugee camps on Aug. 10–11, and watched streams of refugees crossing the frontier into India. He personally questioned many of the refugees, all of whom told him that they had fled in fear for their lives because they were Hindus. The Pakistan Government had previously cancelled on Aug. 10 a scheduled visit to East Pakistan by Senator Kennedy, on the ground that resentment against his alleged pro-Indian prejudice might cause demonstrations.

At a press conference in New Delhi Senator Kennedy said on Aug. 16 that he was now convinced that the Pakistan Army had committed genocide in East Pakistan, and that the secret trial of [see page 24955], whose only crime was winning an election, was "an outrage and travesty of every concept of international law". The refugees would return, he added, only in the context of a political settlement under which Sheikh Mujib was released, and those with whom he had talked were without exception in favour of freeing themselves from Pakistani rule.

The gravity of the refugee problem was greatly increased in August by floods, said to be the worst for over a century, caused by heavy monsoon rains. Many of the refugee camps in West Bengal were flooded, and the breakdown in communications virtually stopped food and other supplies from reacting them.

A Times correspondent reported on Sept. 12: "An estimated 1,500,000 of the 8,500,000 Bengali refugees are living in knee-deep water or in mud. As a result, sanitation in the flooded camps is non-existent and cholera has broken out again, although in a milder form…. Almost the entire district of Bangaon, which has accommodated 250,000 refugees, is under water, and for miles no land can be seen except for the thin 20 ft. wide strip of the raised highway to Bangaon and the slightly higher embankment supporting the railway line…. Dr. B. Battacharyya, West Bengal's director for refugees and rehabilitation, has attempted to move some of the flooded refugee camps on to dry sites, but there is just not enough high ground in the camps' immediate vicinity." The same report quoted Dr. Battacharyya as saying: "In many areas the reads have been breached by flood waters, and we just cannot get sufficient food to the camps. I have therefore been forced to cut down on rations in many areas. When you consider that at least 1,300,000 evacuees have been affected

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by the floods you can understand the problem."

An especially grave aspect of the refugee problem was that of malnutrition among children aged eight and under, who were estimated at the beginning of September to number between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000. Mr. Raymond Cournoyer, Oxfam's field director for India and Pakistan, stated on Aug. 16 that the food which the refugees were receiving did not contain the vitamins and proteins which young children needed, and that the death rate among them had suddenly increased because of the cumulative effect of the lack of proper food. After the floods had caused a breakdown of sanitation in the camps their undernourished state made them particularly liable to infection; a team of Indian doctors reported on Sept. 14 after visiting the camp that half the children under five showed "moderately severe and advanced stages of protein calorie malnutrition", and that over 100,000 of them might die if emergency steps were not taken in the next few months.

The refugee influx caused serious social tensions in the border areas of West Bengal. A Times correspondent reported on Nov. 18: "A registered refugee who gets food rations from Government stocks is better fed than most landless labourers in the neighbourhood. Others living outside camps are being employed by landowners as farm labourers on wages much lower than those that must be paid to labourers from the locality. Since the refugees are assured of free food rations they do not mind working on a daily wage of one rupee (6p) against the standard rate of three rupees. This is causing resentment among the local working force."

The cost of maintaining the refugees imposed an extremely heavy burden on India's economy. It was reported on Oct. 14 that the Finance Ministry estimated the cost as likely to react £350,000,000 by the end of the financial year in March 1972; that defence expenditure was expected to rise steeply because of the tension in relations with Pakistan; and that defence and the burden of the refugees would account for about half the national revenue for the year.

Three ordinances promulgated on Oct. 22 imposed a 5 per cent surcharge on railway and air fares, increased postal charges, and imposed an additional duty on financial documents and an excise duty on newspapers and periodicals; although these measures were strongly criticized by the Opposition parties, the Rs. 700,000,000 (£39,000,000) which they were expected to yield was stated to be only sufficient to cover the cost of refugee relief for about three weeks. The movement of supplies to the refugee camps placed a great strain on the railway and road systems, disrupting the supply of raw materials to key industries in many areas.

Mr. R. K. Khadilkar (Minister of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation) said on Oct. 6 that the refugee influx could be expected to increase because of food shortages and the absence of food distribution machinery in East Pakistan, and if it continued at the present rate the number of refugees would pass the 12,000,000 mark within the next few months. Foreign aid had so far proved to be "rather insignificant", and India had had to curtail her development programmes to support the refugees. "The international community should realize its responsibility," he said, "and should come forward with more generous aid."

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, issued on Oct. 11 a world-wide appeal for funds to assist the refugees, and gave warning that if these were not forthcoming "there could be a terrible human drama triggering off an already explosive situation". The appeal issued in May by the U.N. Secretary-General, U Thant, had brought in $114,000,000 (£48,000,000), all of which had already been spent or committed, and in recent weeks donations had been "slowly drying up". The largest contributions in response to the earlier appeal had come from the United States ($70,500,000), the ($7,200,000) and Japan ($5,000,000); in addition, about $100,000,000 had been donated under bilateral arrangements or through voluntary agency channels.

Sir Alec Douglas-Home announced on Oct. 18 that in response to the new appeal the British Government would contribute another £7,500,000 ($18,000,000). Together with the additional £1,000,000 pledged for Pakistan [see above] and aid granted earlier, Britain's total contributions were, Sir Alec said, brought to over £14,750,000 for relief among the refugees and £2,000,000 for relief in East Pakistan.

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Both India and Pakistan made repeated allegations in September and October that their territory had been shelled from the other side of the East Pakistan border.

A Pakistani Note of Oct. 19 alleged that Indian troops had shelled targets in the Khulna, Jessore, Kushtia, Bogra, Dinajpur, Sylhet and Comilla districts on 16 occasions between Sept. 25 and Oct. 5, killing 20 people, and a second Note of Oct. 23 listed 21 "acts of aggression" alleged to have been committed by the Indian forces between Oct. 6–12. Indian official statements, on the other hand, alleged that Pakistani firing from across the border had killed 45 people in September, and from Oct. 20 to the end of the month repeatedly reported that the towns of Kamalpur and Agartala (in Tripura) had been shelled.

Four clashes between Indian and Pakistani troops were reported during Nov. 1–15 to have occurred on the East Pakistan border.

An Indian Defence Ministry spokesman stated on Nov. 1 that Indian troops had silenced Pakistani guns which had shelled Kamalpur uninterruptedly for 11 days, and described the action as "the first of its kind". He refused to confirm that the Indian troops had crossed the border, but admitted that both sides had suffered casualties. A Reuter correspondent reported on Nov. 19 that according to high-ranking Indian border officials 75 Indian soldiers and at least 450 Pakistani troops had been killed in the action.

Pakistani official sources alleged that Indian troops and "their agents" had lost 148 killed when they attacked a border post in the district on Nov. 4, the Pakistani forces losing only two wounded, and that three Indian battalions, supported by tanks and artillery, had lost 74 killed on Nov. 11 when they were repulsed by Pakistani forces in the vicinity of Belonia, on the Noakhali- Tripura border. Neither report was confirmed by Indian sources. An Indian Government spokesman alleged on Nov. 15 that four Pakistani battalions had been driven out after advancing a mile or two into the Shikarpur area of West Bengal on Nov. 12, losing 135 killed. This report was not confirmed by Pakistani sources, but a Pakistani news agency alleged that Indian troops had crossed the border on Nov. 12 into the Kushtia district, which lies opposite the Shikarpur area.

Indian sources frequently alleged that Pakistani agents were entering India, pretending to be refugees, in order to carry out acts of sabotage. 11 alleged Pakistani agents were arrested on Nov. 15 after mines had exploded on a railway line near the East Pakistan border, damaging the engine of a passenger train.

The Press Trust of India reported on Oct. 22 that reservists and certain categories of Navy and Air Force reservists had been called up. In view of the tense situation in the area, the Union Territory of Tripura was placed under President's rule for four months on Nov. 1.

The Pakistan Government proposed in a letter handed to the President of the U.N. security Council on Aug. 11 that a good offices committee consisting of members of the Council should visit Pakistan and India.

"Pakistan is not only mindful of problems caused by the exodus of a large number of persons from East Pakistan," the letter said, "but is anxious for their repatriation…. It has shown its readiness to co-operate to the maximum extent possible in any measures which would serve to prevent the present situation from escalating to an armed conflict between India and Pakistan. It is, however, clear that no such measures will succeed without the full co-operation of the Government of India. Regrettably this co-operation had not been forthcoming so far….

"The Foreign Minister of India stated in the Indian Parliament on July 20 that 'India is doing everything possible to support the Liberation Army'. The Defence Minister, Mr. Jagjivan Ram, stated in the Lok Sabha on July 12 that 'the freedom fighters of Bangladesh have all our sympathy and support in their determination to establish the democratic order in their country'… The publicly acknowledged support consists of training, organizing, arming, financing and directing operations of forces which are attempting to bring about the

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dismemberment of Pakistan and to inflict irreparable damage on the economy of East Pakistan. In addition, there is unimpeachable evidence of direct participation of Indian military personnel in raids across the border in East Pakistan.

"As long as the border between India and East Pakistan remains disturbed it is evident that refugees cannot cross it to return to their homes…. Therefore, in the interests of maintaining peace, the would propose that a good offices committee of members of the security Council visit both countries. especially the areas of present tension, with view to defusing the threatening situation."

President Yahya Khan visited Iran on Sept. 15 for talks with Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. It was suggested in the Press that the object of his visit might be to propose that the Shah should act as an intermediary in bringing about a meeting between himself and the Indian Prime Minister, Mrs. Gandhi.

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