- Awami League, linked to Bangladesh's 1971 liberation, is barred from 2024 polls
- Bangladesh's independence declared in 1971 after Pakistani military's surrender
- March 26 and December 16 are celebrated as Bangladesh's Independence and Victory Days
As Bangladesh heads towards the February 12 general election, the spotlight falls on the Awami League, the party that first came to power after the country was liberated in 1971. This year, Awami League is barred from contesting, but its origins are inseparable from the bloodshed and struggle that gave birth to the nation.
On the night of March 25, 1971, the Pakistan Army launched Operation Searchlight in Dhaka. Students, professors, and civilians were executed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, erstwhile East Pakistan's elected leader, was arrested. Many Awami League leaders went into hiding. The army declared, “Big bird in cage. Little birds have flown.” The crackdown was the start of a long conflict.
The crisis had been building for years. East Pakistan had a large population but limited representation in Pakistan's government. When the Awami League won the 1970 elections, then West Pakistani leadership refused to transfer power. Protests spread and civil disobedience increased and the army moved in to suppress the movement.
At the same time, journalist Anthony Mascarenhas, working in Karachi, witnessed the army's operations. He was given a guided tour of East Pakistan, expected to report that the army had restored order.
Instead, he saw civilians being killed in large numbers. Soldiers described the executions as a “final solution.” Entire villages were destroyed. Civilians were tied, shot or burned in their homes. Mascarenhas fled to London with his family to publish what he witmessed. On June 13, 1971, the Sunday Times published his story, exposing the systematic killings as “genocide”.
His report partly led to India's intervention. In Bangladesh today, his article is preserved in the Liberation War Museum.
The army moved into the countryside, fighting mutinous local troops while killing civilians suspected of supporting the independence movement.
Towns were bombed. Bridges and roads were destroyed. Families were killed in their homes. Between three to five lakh people were killed, as per the BBC. Lakhs of women were raped. Intellectuals, including teachers, doctors, and journalists, were executed systematically.
Bengali resistance formed quickly. Leaders such as Tajuddin Ahmad and Syed Nazrul Islam established the provisional government of Bangladesh at Mujibnagar in April. The Mukti Bahini, made up of defected soldiers and volunteers, launched guerrilla operations. Radio broadcasts and newspapers spread messages of independence. By August, nearly one crore refugees had crossed into India.
The war escalated when Pakistan launched pre‑emptive air strikes on Indian air bases, that later turned into a full‑fledged India‑Pakistan war. Indian forces entered East Pakistan, supporting the Mukti Bahini.
Fighting across both eastern and western fronts lasted just 13 days. This ended in the largest military surrender since World War II when over 93,000 Pakistani troops laid down their arms in Dhaka on December 16, 1971.
Bangladesh then became an independent nation.
International responses were mixed. India and the Soviet Union supported Bangladesh. The United States and China maintained ties with Pakistan.
In Pakistan, the events of 1971 remain contested. The Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report, investigating the military's failures, was suppressed. The story of East Pakistan's separation is largely absent from public narratives in West Pakistan.
For Bangladesh, March 26 is celebrated as Independence Day, the first declaration of freedom. December 16 is Victory Day, the day sovereignty was achieved.
