Liberation War commemoration poster

Mukti Bahini (Bangla: মুক্তি বাহিনী) (Liberation Army), was a guerrilla force which fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. Liberation War commemoration poster, Bangladesh File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Liberation War commemoration poster, Bangladesh File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article is about the Bengali language. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Mukti Bahini India Pakistan Commanders • General M A G Osmani • General Jagjit Singh Aurora General A. A. K. Niazi Strength India: 500,000+ Mukti Bahini: 100,000[1][2] Pakistan Army: 365,000 Paramilitary: 280,000[1] Casualties India: 1,426 KIA 3,611 Wounded (Official) Mukti Bahini: NA... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

Origins

The immediate precursor of the Mukti Bahini was Mukti Fauj (Fauj means army in the subcontinent), which was preceded denominationally by the sangram parishads formed in the cities and villages by the student and youth leaderships in early March 1971. When and how the Mukti Fauj was created is not clear nor is the later adoption of the name Mukti Bahini. It is, however, certain that the names originated from the people who joined the liberation struggle. The Mukti Bahini obtained strength from the two main streams of fighting elements: members of armed forces of erstwhile East Pakistan and members of the urban and rural sangram parishads. Satellite image of the Indian subcontinent Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... East Pakistan was a former province of Pakistan which existed between 1955 and 1971. ...

Organization during war

The earliest move towards forming the liberation army came from the declaration of independence made by Major Ziaur Rahman of East Bengal Regiment on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the declaration made from Kalurghat Betar Kendra (Chittagong) on March 27, 1971, Zia assumed the title of "provisional commander in chief of the Bangladesh Liberation Army", though his area of operation remained confined to Chittagong and Noakhali areas. Major Ziaur Rahman's declaration on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marked a break with Pakistan by the army. Ziaur Rahman (Bangla: জিয়াউর রহমান) (January 19, 1936 – May 30, 1981) was Bangladeshs President. ... The East Bengal Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Bangladesh Army. ... Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম, Chôţţogram) is the major seaport and second largest city of Bangladesh. ... March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম, Chôţţogram) is the major seaport and second largest city of Bangladesh. ... Noakhali is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. ... Ziaur Rahman (Bangla: জিয়াউর রহমান) (January 19, 1936 – May 30, 1981) was Bangladeshs President. ...

On April 12, 1971 Colonel (later General) M A G Osmani assumed the command of armed forces at Teliapara (Sylhet) headquarters. Osmany was made the commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces on April 17,1971. Serious initiative for organising the Bangladesh liberation army was taken between 11-17 July. In a meeting of the sector commanders in Kolkata, four important resolutions were taken in consideration of strategic aspects of the war, existing problems and future course of resistance. These were: April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, better known by General M.A.G. Osmani (1918-16 February 1984)was the supreme commander of Mukti Bahini and Bangladesh Armed Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War. ... Shah Jalal Mazar (Tomb) Sylhet (Sylheti: Silôţ; Bengali: সিলেট, SileÅ£, formerly Srihôţţo) is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. ... April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ...   (IPA: [] Bengali: কলকাতা) (formerly  ) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. ...

• Composition and tactics of the combatants would be as follows:
  • Guerrilla teams comprising 5 to 10 trained members would be sent to specific areas of Bangladesh with specific assignments
  • Combat soldiers would carry out frontal attacks against the enemy. Between 50 and 100 per cent would carry arms. Intelligence volunteers would be engaged to collect information about the enemy among whom 30 percent would be equipped with weapons;

• The regular forces would be organised into battalions and sectors.

• The following strategies would be adopted while carrying out military operations against the enemy
  • A large number of guerrillas would be sent out inside Bangladesh to carry out raids and ambushes;
  • Industries would be brought to a standstill and electricity supply would be disrupted;
  • Pakistanis would be obstructed in exporting manufactured goods and raw materials;
  • Communication network would be destroyed in order to obstruct enemy movements;
  • Enemy forces would be forced to disperse and scatter for strategic gains;
  • Attacks would be launched on scattered enemy soldiers in order to annihilate them.

• The whole area of Bangladesh would be divided into 11 sectors.

Components

After formal organization, Mukti Bahini was composed of the following components:

Regular and irregular forces

The regular forces consisted of the three forces: Z-Force under the command of Major Ziaur Rahman, K-Force under Khaled Mosharraf and S-Force under KM Shafiullah. Most of the soldiers came from East Pakistan Rifles and East Bengal Regiment. Those members of the EPR, Police and Army who could not be accommodated in these battalions were divided into units and sub-units to fight in different sectors. The irregular forces were those who were trained for guerrilla warfare. In addition, there were also some independent forces that fought in various regions of Bangladesh and liberated many areas. These included Mujib Bahini, Kaderia Bahini, Afsar Battalion and Hemayet Bahini. Ziaur Rahman (Bangla: জিয়াউর রহমান) (January 19, 1936 – May 30, 1981) was Bangladeshs President. ... Khaled Mosharraf Bir Uttom, was a Bangladeshi army officer and war hero. ... Bangladesh Rifles is a paramilitary force in Bangladesh. ... The East Bengal Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Bangladesh Army. ... Irregular soldiers in Beauharnois, Quebec, 19th century Irregular military refers to any non-standard military. ... Kader Siddique is one of the most famous fighters and organizers of the Bangladesh Liberation War. ... Hemayet Uddin (Bangla: হেমায়েত উদ্দীন) more widely known by his first name Hemayet, was one of the most fierce freedom fighters in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. ...

Bangladesh Navy

Bangladesh Navy was constituted in August 1971. Initially, there were two ships, BNS Palash and BNS Padma, and 45 navy personnel. These ships carried out many successful raids on the Pakistani fleet. But both of these ships were hit and destroyed in a friendly fire by Indian fighter planes on 10 December 1971, when they were about to launch a major attack on Mongla seaport. The Bangladesh Navy has a strength of 14,950 personnel including 1,081 officers[1] (2005 estimate). ... Friendly fire (fratricide or non-hostile fire) is a term originally adopted by the United States military in reference to an attack on friendly forces by other friendly forces, which may be deliberate (e. ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Mongla is a sea port in the Bagerhat District of south-western Bangladesh. ...

Bangladesh Air Force

Bangladesh Air Force started functioning on 28 September at Dimapur in Nagaland, under the command of Air Commodore AK Khondakar. Initially, it consisted of 17 officers, 50 technicians, 2 planes and 1 helicopter. The Air Force carried out more than twelve sorties against Pakistani targets and was quite successful during the initial stages of the Indian attack in early December. Official emblem of Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী Bangladesh Biman Bahini in Bangla), is the tactical and strategic air branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. ... Nagaland (Hindi: नागालैंड)   is the farthest-lying state in northeast India. ... An Air Commodoress sleeve/shoulder insignia Air Commodore is the fourth most senior rank active in the Royal Air Force today, after the deactivation of Marshal of the Royal Air Force as a substantive rank in peacetime during defence cuts of the 1990s. ...

Mukti Bahini in the final phase

The liberation forces started carrying out massive raids into enemy fronts from October 1971. After the signing of the Indo-Soviet Treaty in August 1971, India began to demonstrate more interest in the Bangladesh war. And finally, India entered the war on 3 December 1971 (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971). In fact, the Indian soldiers were already participating in the war in different guises since November when the freedom fighters had launched the Belonia battle. December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants India Pakistan Commanders Sam Manekshaw J.S. Aurora A. A. K. Niazi Strength 500,000+ troops[citation needed] 400,000+ troops[citation needed] Casualties 1,426 killed 3,611 wounded 2,149 missing c. ...

Because of the geo-morphology of Bangladesh, the war could not be won too swiftly. Even then, Dhaka was liberated in a matter of two weeks, the previous successes of the freedom fighters during the preceding few months having been a major contributing factor.

On 16 December 1971, commander of the 14 division of Pakistan army Major General Jamshed surrendered to Indian General Nagra near Mirpur bridge in Dhaka. At 10.40 am, the Indian allied force and Kader Siddiqui entered Dhaka city. That signaled the end of 9-month long War of Liberation of Bangladesh. Scattered battles were still waged at various places of the country. December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The Commander of Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army Lt. General A. A. K. Niazi surrendered to the commander of the joint Indo-Bangladesh force and the chief of Indian eastern command Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora. The Bangladesh Forces were represented at the ceremony by Group Captain AK Khondakar. Lt. ... Lt-Gen Jagjit Singh Arora (February 13, 1916 - May 3, 2005) was the Indian commander whose comprehensive defeat of Pakistan in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh. ... A Group Captains sleeve/shoulder insignia A Group Captains command flag Group Captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. ...

See also

• Mitro Bahini

Indira Priyadarśinī Gāndhī (Devanāgarī: इन्दिरा प्रियदर्शिनी गान्धी, IPA: ) (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was Prime Minister of India from January 19, 1966 to March 24, 1977, and again from January 14, 1980 until her assassination on October 31, 1984. ... Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (born April 3, 1914) was the Indian Army Chief of Staff who led the Indian forces during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. ... K.P. Candeth (October 23, 1916 – May 19, 2003) was a senior Indian army officer who led operations to liberate Goa from Portugese control and served briefly as the military governor of the place. ... Lt-Gen Jagjit Singh Arora (February 13, 1916 - May 3, 2005) was the Indian commander whose comprehensive defeat of Pakistan in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh. ... Lieutenant General JFR Jacob (Jacob-Farj-Rafael Jacob) is a former governor of the Indian states of Punjab and Goa and Lieutenant General (Retired) of the Indian Army. ... Sartaj Singh (born 26 May 1940) is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. ... Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی بھٹو, Sindhi: ذوالفقار علي ڀُٽو) (January 5, 1928 – April 4, 1979) was a Pakistani politician who served as the President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as the Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. ... Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (February 4, 1917 – August 10, 1980) was the President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan. ... Lt. ... Major General Abu Bakr Osman Mitha (1923–December 1999) was the pioneer of the stay behind concept and founder of Pakistans Special Services Group (SSG), an independent Commando Brigade of the Pakistan Army. ... General Gul Hassan Khan was the Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan. ... Major General (R) Rao Farman Ali Maj Gen Rao Farman Ali Khan (1923 - January 21, 2004). ... Sahabzada Yaqub Ali Khan Sahabzada Yaqub Khan (born 1920) was the International Face of Pakistan for many years. ... Tikka Khan (1915–2002) was Pakistans Chief of Army Staff from March 1972–March 1976). ... Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; known as Bangabandhu (Friend of Bangladesh) to his people in Bangladesh. ... Tajuddin Ahmed was the first prime minister of Bangladesh from 11 April 1971 until 13 January 1972. ... Muhammad Mansur Ali (b. ... Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman was a Bangladeshi politician, a senior leader of the Awami League and a close confidante of the countrys founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. ... Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, better known by General M.A.G. Osmani (1 September 1918-16 February 1984)was the supreme commander of Mukti Bahini and Bangladesh Armed Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War. ... Ziaur Rahman (Bangla: জিয়াউর রহমান) (January 19, 1936 – May 30, 1981) was Bangladeshs President. ... Khaled Mosharraf Bir Uttom, was a Bangladeshi army officer and war hero. ...

External links

• Banglapedia article on Mukti Bahini