Term Paper

Course: Bangladesh Studies

Course Code: GED1102
Topic: Operation searchlight and role of other countries in war
against Pakistan

Submitted To :
Pinke Saha
Associate Professor
Department of History
Jahangirnagar University

Submitted By:
Abdullah Al Imran
Id:2222151089
Group 11
Section: A
Department of Business Administration in Finance and Banking
Bangladesh University of Professionals
Batch-2022
Submitted on: 31/10/2022
 Role of other countries in war against Pakistan
Involvement of foreign countries in the issues and events of our country isn’t a new thing and
they happened a lot of times before our liberation war had begun and also after that. During the
liberation war of Bangladesh, there were some countries that were our allies and there were some
countries who were against us.The allies or foreign friends contributed a lot to the Liberation
War of Bangladesh. They extended help and hands of cooperation in different ways.Their
cooperation was the outcome of their personal perception and their urge from heart calling it a
just war against the Pakistani occupation forces. In some cases their support was against the
position of their governments.On the other hand, the countries against us tried to politically and
internationally deny our voice for freedom.They tried to cut off any international help and
support we got.Even threatening some of our allies at that time.They tried to emphasize on the
global stage that this liberation war was an internal issue of Pakistan and Pakistan should handle
this situation alone.Both the allies and the countries against us played significant roles in our
road to independence.

The countries whose roles were most notable are:

1. India
2. USSR
3. USA
4. China
5. Britain

The types of Individuals who played important and notable roles are:
1. The heads of states and governments
2. Politicians and members of parliament
3. Poets and novelists
4. Intellectuals and educationists
5. Painters, singers or cultural personalities
 Allies

Role of India:
India from the very beginning started helping the liberating Bangladeshis.India’s role in
Liberation war of Bangladesh were multifarious and took different directions and shapes.From
raising awareness on the international stage to directly participating in the war, they left no stone
unturned to help us.They were our closest ally at the time.When the Pakistani military attacked
East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh), India didn’t waste any time to open up its borders and
give initial shelter and security to the fleeing Bengalis.Although most of the people and
politicians of India were against it , Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to help Bangladesh
and therefore took the burden of 1crore refugees and even took the risk to involve India in the
war later down the line.India helped to form the Mujibnagar Government and gave this new
government all political, economic,diplomatic and logistic support.India also maintained its
support for us at United nations as they tried to prove the actions of Pakistan as a inhumane act
and genocide.India gave training to the freedom fighters at the border areas and provided them
with arms and ammunitions.India helped form Bangladesh’s first Air force and Naval
Force.They provided the specialized military boats that were used by the naval forces of
Bangladesh at that time.Sadly, they accidently damaged the boats during an air strike.Finally
during the final month of the war, the joint Indo-Bangladesh command was created to engage
Pakistan in a war to liberate Bangladesh along with the Mukti Bahini.

Role of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi:

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi played an extraordinary role in all these efforts of India.She
supported Bangladesh fully in the opposition of Pakistan and two great powers USA and
China.Prime Minister Indira Gandhi toured many countries to seek support for the Liberation
War and tried hard to create public opinion worldwide in favor of Bangladesh.She met with
many world leaders such as British Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home,Soviet President
Brezhnev,German Chancellor Willy Brandt and US President Nixon.Lastly,she took the risk of
involving India in a risky war with Pakistan without knowing for sure how long it would
continue.She herself conducted the military actions of India to make sure the war came to a
successful end.She visited the refugee camps frequently and made sure no injustice was made
towards the refugees and they were given proper rations and commodities.

Role of the Soviet Union:

The Soviet Union from the very beginning supported the Liberation War of Bangladesh.Just like
India they provided us with political,military and international support.
The roles of Soviet Union included:
1. Publicly criticized the Pakistani military crackdown on Bengalis
2. Put pressure on Pakistani leaders to solve the problems politically
3. Up to July 1971 Russia supported to solve the issue peacefully and maintain the united
Pakistan framework.
4. Russia signed a 20 years long Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty in August 1971 which
ensured countermeasures in case of a confrontation with the United States or China.

The Soviet Union played a great role in the United Nations for our liberation war.Soviets vetoed
twice in the UN Security Council on 7 December 1971 after the US resolution for "immediate
cease-fire and withdrawal of troops".The Soviet Union tried to present Abu Sayeed Chowdhury
as representative of Bangladesh before the Security Council though it failed because of the veto
of US.During this debate in UNO Soviet Union for the first time recognised the movement of
Bangladesh as a National Liberation Movement and gave full support to the determination of the
Bengalis.Soviet representative at the UN Yakov Malik played a very active role during this
time.Soviet Naval ships with nuclear missiles from Vladivostok were deployed to counter US
nuclear Task Force 74 USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal on 11 December 1971.They stayed
in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until 7 January 1972.Soviet veto gave the joint Indo-
Bangladesh force necessary time to reach Dhaka and led to the surrender of the Pakistan army.
Statesmen who supported the Bengalis conviction for liberation:
There were some statesmen who supported us regardless of their governments position towards
us. Some example of them are:
1. Piere Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada and father of Justin Trudeau (current
Prime Minister of Bangladesh)
2. Pronob Mukherjee, ex-President of India
3. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, former President of India
4. Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba
5. Joseph Broz Tito, former President of Yugoslavia
6. Girija Prasad Koirala, former Prime Minister of Nepal
7. Leonid Breznev, former Soviet President
8. Sir Edwad Heath and Harold Wilson, former British Prime Minister

There were also political figures of other countries who supported our cause such as :
US Senator Edward Kennedy:
● He was a democrat and a real friend of Bangladesh
● He was a hard critic of the pro-Pakistan foreign policy of
● Nixon-Kissinger(United States Secretary of State) in 1971
● He also visited the refugee camps in India
US Senator Edmund Musky:
● He supported the cause of our Liberation War
● He was a democrat and a real friend of Bangladesh
● He talked on Bangladesh issue several times in US Senate
Peter Shore, MP:
● He was a member of the House of Commons of British Parliament and he had a strong
voice in favor of Bangladesh in British Parliament and outside.

Journalists and News Papers:

Journalists were the most important part of displaying in front of the world and making them
aware of the atrocities the Pakistani Army was conducting on the Bengalis.At that time ,
newspapers and writings of journalists were the fastest way of getting news and information to
common people.Some journalists and newspapers played an outstanding role in spreading the
news of our war.Some notable are:
British journalist Mark Tulley:
He was the BBC correspondent in South Asia and he had a very crucial role in our War of
Liberation. His reports and analysis from Dhaka and the liberated regions of Bangladesh gave
immense inspiration to the freedom fighters.
British journalist Anthony Mascarenhas:
He wrote a series of reports in the Sunday Times about the genocide done in East Bengal by the
Pakistani Military forces.
Other journalists of mention are Simon Dring of The Daily Telegraph of London and Sydney
Schanberg, US journalist and the Delhi correspondent of The New York Times in 1971.

Poets and Prominent Figures:

● Andre Malraux was a French philosopher and intellectual. He raised his strong voice in
favor of the Liberation War and also expressed his desire to participate in the freedom
struggle.
● Allen Ginsberg is a famous American poet and most of us Bangladeshis remember him
for his legendary 152-line poem September on Jessore Road. He called attention to the
sufferings of victims during the War.He visited refugee camps and witnessed the plight of
millions fleeing the violence of Pakistani Military and this inspired him to write this
famous poem.
 Oppositions

Role of the United States:

The United States sided with West Pakistan at the time of our liberation war.They viewed this as
an internal crisis and affair of Pakistan.United States looked for its own interest in Bangladesh
crisis.They also looked at this issue from the Cold War point of view and took strategic measures
in favor of Pakistan in order to deepen its relation with China.With China on her side US
would gain greater advantage against the Soviet Union. So as part of US interest US choose the
tilt policy to Pakistan.From the start they paid no heed to the inhuman acts carried out by the
Pakistan army.US authority did not express dissatisfaction in the mass killing of Operation
Searchlight on 25 March 1971.Archer K Blood,the US Consul-General in Dhaka even sent
telegrams about the tragedies and genocides happening here but the US choose to ignore
them.He was later relieved of his duty.America showed no moral and humanitarian concern
despite the genocide and kept on providing Pakistan with military and economic aid.They did
send some aid for the 1 crore refugees in India but it was insufficient.

Later, it was revealed by ‘Anderson Papers’ leaked by US journalist Anderson that the US policy
was completely in favor of Pakistan.US took steps secretly to solve the crisis as per the election
of 1970 and thereby to keep Pakistan undivided.But leaders of the Mujibnagar government were
not willing to sit with US representative in absent of Sheikh Mujib.USA always threatened India
because it was taking the side of Bangladesh constantly and it was also an opposition of
China.US role in the United Nations in December also went in favor of Pakistan but US
administration tried to say Nixon was always motivated by neutrality.Kissinger wrote in his book
White House Years that there was no question of “saving” East Pakistan.
Ultimately US policy did not make Pakistan or India happy.US decision to send nuclear powered
7th Fleet USS Enterprise for helping Pakistan also proved wrong and created a huge discontent.It
was a loss on all ends for the USA.
The public support in the USA for the cause of Bangladesh was overwhelming as people from
various walks of life took a firm stand in favor of Bangladesh. They looked at the whole issue
from the humanitarian ground and as a just cause of the people of Bangladesh.They took part in
various protest meetings, processions, rallies,sending letters to the Congress members, letters to
newspapers, etc.US lawmakers in their independent capacity spoke out loudly in favor.They
included the very outspoken Senator Ted Kennedy who even visited the refugee camps in
India.George Harrison played a huge role in creating public opinion in USA in favor of the
Liberation War of Bangladesh through his concert for Bangladesh.The money raised from that
concert was donated for the refugees of the 1971 war.Their pressure to a great extent forced the
Nixon-Kissinger duo from taking a more pro Pakistan stand.

Role of the China:

China had the same agendas as the USA and paid no heed to the atrocities of West Pakistan.They
occasionally urged the Pakistan government to solve it politically but the ultimate goal was to
keep Pakistan undivided and deny the Bengali people their rights and justice.In the background
they were trying to start a new relationship with USA through Pakistan.During the long nine
months China continued to send Pakistan huge supplies of small arms.In the United Nations
Security Council China along with USA also took a pro-Pakistan stand.

Conclusion
During the darkest hours of our country in 1971 there were countries and people who were our
allies and supported our cause of independence. They helped us in any way possible and helped
spread awareness and the news of our great struggle to all corners of the world. Then there were
countries and individuals who were strongly against us and our allies for their own selfish needs
but at the end they failed . No matter which position the countries and individuals took, their
actions greatly influenced the course of our freedom fight and to this day their contributions are
recognized and influence our countries foreign policy.