1971 India-Pakistan War: The Surrender of Pakistanis...
Surrender and Liberation
Dhaka's fall was imminent. Everybody concerned including the Pakistani generals holed up in that city knew it was only a matter of time before the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini would get in. General Tikka Khan after killing a few million East Pakistanis had fled to Rawalpindi, leaving a professional soldier Lt. General A.A.K. Niazi in charge. He wanted to avoid a carnage but could not disobey the orders from Rawalpindi asking him to hold on. For the Indians, it was simply a question of how to speed up the surrender process.
The Indians got just the break they were looking for thanks to the Mukti Bahini intelligence. “Early on 14 December, the IAF got a message through the Mukti Bahini that an important meeting was scheduled in the Governor House (now 'Banga Bhaban') that morning. Four MiG-21s of No. 28 Sqn from Gauhati were tasked to attack the Governor House. As Dr. Malek, the puppet Governor of the then East Pakistan, along with his cabinet and high officials were in session, the MiGs came screaming down and accurately fired salvos of rockets into the Darbar Hall. The Governor was so traumatised that he resigned then and there, and rushed to the Hotel Intercontinental (now Sheraton), to seek shelter under the UN Flag. The Pakistani civil administration in the East ceased to exist. Of and on, between 12-14 December, the IAF transport planes came over Dhaka and dropped leaflets urging the Pak forces to surrender...By 15 December, at the request of the Pakistani Commander in the East, all air operations ceased and the negotiation for the surrender of the Pak forces started. On 16 December morning, the IAF helicopter carrying the Indian negotiating team landed in Tejgaon”, wrote Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury (Retd).
On the morning of 16th December, Major General Jacob flew into Dhaka to persuade the East Pakistani Army commander, Lt. General A.A.K.Niazi, to accept an unconditional surrender. The Pakistanis still had about 24,000 troops to defend Dhaka. He could have held on and some military eperts in Pakistan have criticsed him severely for accepting what is considered a “shameful surrender”. But Niazi needs to be applauded for saving the lives of thousands more and effectively rescuing thousands of Pakistani soldiers and civilians trapped in East Pakistan.
It is estamated that over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, paramilitary personnel and civilians became POW and later returned unharmed to Pakistan. (Pakistan's Hamoodur Commission report puts the number of PoWs at a little above 90,000). Had the Pakistanis decided to fight on, they would have been massacred to the man by the vengeful Mukti Bahini. For, General Niazi had been offered, and had accepted, fair treatment from the Indians. The Indians had promised to protect him and his soldiers. The Mukti Bahini wanted the Indians to hand over the Pakistanis to them for trial and reprisals. If left to the Mukti Bahini and the general populace, the Pakistanis would have been butchered. Not surprisingly, General Niazi accepted the surrender terms and signed the unconditional surrender document at a public ceremony at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka on 16 December 1971.
It is estamated that over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, paramilitary personnel and civilians became POW and later returned unharmed to Pakistan. (Pakistan's Hamoodur Commission report puts the number of PoWs at a little above 90,000). Had the Pakistanis decided to fight on, they would have been massacred to the man by the vengeful Mukti Bahini. For, General Niazi had been offered, and had accepted, fair treatment from the Indians. The Indians had promised to protect him and his soldiers. The Mukti Bahini wanted the Indians to hand over the Pakistanis to them for trial and reprisals. If left to the Mukti Bahini and the general populace, the Pakistanis would have been butchered. Not surprisingly, General Niazi accepted the surrender terms and signed the unconditional surrender document at a public ceremony at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka on 16 December 1971.
The act of surrender marked the birth of a new nation: Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was released and returned triumphant to Dhaka after a brief stop-over at New Delhi where he was warmly embraced by Indian leaders. In Dhaka, a grand ceremony was held with the Indian Eastern Army commander, Lt. General J.S.Aurora, in attendance with Sheikh Mujib. This was the Indian armed forces' finest hour. From a rag-tag, left over colonial remnaint, the three services had evolved into a new and formidable fighting force.
The East Pakistan campaign would always be remembered as a model in innovation and would serve to inspire generations of soldiers of the future. The country's hero was Chief of Army Staff, General Sam Maneckshaw, who later went on to become the country's first Field Marshall. Indian had also won a great moral victory, for it had fought what was basically a liberation war. And as the Bangladeshi crowds and guerilla fighters rejoiced in the streets of Dhaka, it was clear that yet another round in the battle for liberty and justice had just been won.
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