Friday | 18 April 2025 | Reg No- 06
Bangla
   
Bangla | Friday | 18 April 2025 | Epaper
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Independence and liberation war: The legacy of Bangladesh Army

Published : Tuesday, 25 March, 2025 at 12:00 AM  Count : 432
Lt Col Md Alamgir Hasan, psc
Bangladesh achieved independence through a historical liberation war. It was not just a war, but the struggle for the existence of the Bengali peoples. The fearless soldiers of Bangladesh Army resorted stiff armed resistance against the Pakistan forces instantly on the face of military crackdown. Gradually, Bengali armed personnel of other forces and die hard freedom fighters of the country joined the struggle. The Mukti Bahini fought ferociously by perfect blending of conventional and guerrilla warfare. After nine months of bloody conflict and war, Bangladesh achieved victory on 16th December 1971. The victory also helped to confirm the independence of Bangladesh and therefore has created national identity and social solidarity together with international diplomacy. The resistance, sacrifice and legacy of liberation war reflects the spirits of Bangladesh in the journey of socio-economic development and national unity.

The seed for the independence of Bangladesh was laid in 1947, when the Indian Subcontinent was divided into two parts, namely India and Pakistan. Pakistan was consisting of two regions. East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and west Pakistan (now Pakistan), which were geographically separated with a large distance. The peoples of East Pakistan always faced discrimination and injustice in every aspect like economic, education, political, cultural and overall development works. The sentiments of the East Pakistan people further aggravated in 1952, when Bengalis sacrificed their lives for the establishment of mother tongue Bangla as the state language. This sacrifice for language is unique in history and well recognised by the United Nations.

The urge for independence was gaining momentum day by day. The situation reached to the peak on 25th March 1971, when the barbarous Pakistan military launched an armed offensive 'Operation Searchlight' for the ultimate crackdown of the Bengali population.In the night, Pakistan army resorted mass homicide on the sleeping unarmed civilians, set fire on the houses, committed looting and raping disgraceful in human history.They killed thousands of innocent civilians, uniformed personnel, students, political activists and intellectuals. They attacked military barracks and para-military units located in Dhaka and other parts of the country to kill and eliminate the Bengali armed personnel. On 26th March 1971, the independence of Bangladesh was declared. This declaration landmarks the journey of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation.

Bangladesh Army formed the nucleus of the Mukti Bahini. Initially, the armed resistance began by Bengali military personnel of East Bengal Regiment (EBR). Major Ziaur Rahman, second in command of 8 EBR located at Halishahor, Chottogram, declared an open rebellion against the Pakistan Army. Bengali forces of EBR and East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) in that area joined the struggle. Most of the Bengali officers and men of the Armed Forces and other para-military units were quite aware of the overall political situations. The Bengali forces reacted spontaneously in different parts of the country and the resistance gradually grew up.Thus, the Mukti Bahini comprising the Bengali soldiers of EBR, EPR, retired armed personnel, and diehard freedom fighters resisted and armed struggle for independence had begun.

The Provisional Government of sovereign Bangladesh was formed on 17th April 1971, at Mujibnagar, a liberated area in Meherpur. Colonel M A G Osmani was appointed as CommanderinChief and vested upon the responsibility of organising and coordinating the activities of Mukti Bahini.The whole country was divided into eleven operational sectors for integratedresistance against the Pakistan military. Training of guerrilla fighters was given the top priority in every sector.Mukti Bahini of each sector were divided into two categories. The regular forces belong to Army, EPR etcetera were initially known as Mukti Fouz, later they were called Niyomito Bahini (regular force). The students, peasants, workers and other volunteers were called Freedom Fighters. Later they termed as Gono Bahini (Guerrilla Force). The regular forces fought conventional battles to liberate the lands and hold defensive positions. The guerrilla fighters conducted series of guerrilla operations in small groups in the form of sabotage, ambush and hitandrun tactics. Thus, the synthesized endeavours of Mukti Bahini caused severe losses and casualties to the superior Pakistan forces making them demoralised and hopeless all over the country.

The Bangladesh Army trained and enabled the guerrillafighters about the use of arms, how to fight guerrilla war and how to survive. The Guerrillas mostly relied on local population for food, shelter and intelligence. They continued surprise attacks on military vehicles and isolated posts, damages of roads and bridges, disruption of logistic supply and lines of communication. The guerrillas carried out these operations by using grenades, light weapons and some improvised explosives. After successfully organising the Mukti Bahini, the Bangladesh Force Headquarters felt the necessity of raising three regular infantry brigades from the regular troops of the sectors. These brigades fought conventional battles and hold the grounds against the Pakistan military complimenting the guerrilla operations of the Mukti Bahini.

Z Forcewas the first conventional military brigade of the Mukti Bahini. This brigade was raised under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ziaur Rahman in the Tura Hills opposite to Mymensingh. The aggressiveness, mobility and extraordinary skills of the force threatened and put the Pakistan Army in challenging condition to operate in Mymensigh and Sylhet areas. The significant battles fought by this brigade are battle of Kamalpur, batlle of Nakshi, Bahadurbad Ghat Operation and battle of Dhalai. Battle of Kamalpur is of special significance, since it was one of the first conventional attacks in the early days of liberation war. The series of attacks launched on Kamalpur Border Out Post (BOP) tremendously demoralised the Pakistani forces. The officers and men fought gallantly with highest level of dedication and patriotism.The organization of Z force in leadership and effective coordination also set precedent for other guerrilla operations.

K Forcewas the second regular infantry brigade, raised at Melaghar near Agartala and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Khaled Mosharraf. It played an important role intheeasternpartofthebattlefield. One of the most successful operations of K Force was the capture of Saldanadi, which was very important to Pakistan Army both strategically and tactically. Thus, Mukti Bahini took control of Dhaka-Saldanadi-Chattogram railway axis and disrupted their logistic line of communication. Another significant achievement of K Force was the battle of Belunia Bulge. This success incurred heavy casualties and losses to the Pakistani forces and raised the moral and passion of the muktibahini for subsequent operations.

S Forcewas formed under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel K M Shafiullah at Hejamara opposite to Sylhet border. Battle of Akhaura, was one of the toughest battles fought by this brigade during the liberation war. S Force contributed to break down of Pakistani morale by surprise attacks and getting the best out of guerrilla techniques. The achievements once again raised the moral and confidence of Mukti Bahini.

On 21st November 1971, the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Airforce were fully operational and launched coordinated joint offensive against the Pakistani forces. Since then, the nation observes this historical day as 'Armed Forces Day'. The Armed forces carried out massive destructions of the enemy and liberated larger areas along the border sides every day. Within few days, the enemy's lines of communications were fully disrupted making them incapable of fighting and psychologically demoralised. The joint efforts gradually culminated the atrocities and accelerated the pathway towards victory. Finally, the Pakistani forces surrendered on 16th December 1971, and thus the liberation of Bangladesh.

The liberation war of Bangladesh is the unique paradigm of national unity. The stiff resistance by the patriotic members of Bangladesh Army and spontaneous participation of the freedom loving peoples from all walks of life accelerated the paths of victory. The spirits of unity can strengthen and reinforce our national development, social bondage and future progress. The members of the Armed Forcesand paramilitary forces had displayed highest level of sacrifice and devotion for the country. Seven members were awarded with the highest gallantry award Bir Sreshtho. They are the iconic heroes at all times. Besides, from the Bangladesh Army, 39 members were awarded Bir Uttom, 90 members were awarded Bir Bikrom and 167 members were awarded Bir Protik title.

The legacy of liberation war promotes the members of Bangladesh Army to attain remarkable achievements in national and global scenario. Army contributed significantly in country's infrastructure developments, nation building activities, disaster response and socio-economic progress.The contributions in Padma bridge, marine drive road, implementing national identity card (NID), ensuring peace in Chittagong Hill Tracts, protecting key point installations (KPI) etcetera reflects national inspiration. The rescue operations in Rana Plaza Tragedy, raising public awareness during COVID-19 pandemic and humanitarian works in recent floods (2024) are of some examples of relentless and bravery initiatives by its members. The contributions and success of Bangladesh Army in the United Nations peace keeping operations escalated the global image of the country.

Bangladesh Army is the symbol of confidence and trust. The professionalism and candid role of its members while assisting the civil administration is praiseworthy and earned public trust. Army is manifested as a sign of confidence for national interests and national integration. The members of Bangladesh Army are well prepared and devoted to meet any traditional and non-traditional future challenges of 21st century.

The contributions and sacrifice of the members of Bangladesh Army in liberation war is identical and reflects their bravery, courage and patriotism. The supreme sacrifices of liberation war reveal our source of inspirations and motivations. Since Independence, Bangladesh Army is serving to the nation with utmost dedication and sincerity. Bangladesh Army playing a legendary role as the defender of the country's sovereignty and builder of the nation's development and prosperity.

The writer is an army officer


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