WAR 1971

ppgj

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Killing squads

Posted by Guest in Featured Articles, World on 12 16th, 2009 | 37 responses



In 1971, a number of Bengalis allied with the Pakistani Army to form what was then known as the ‘killing squad,’ massacring civilians indiscriminately.

An unnerving thing happened the other day. I was invited to a friend’s house for a cup of tea. There I met two people: one, who currently works at the US embassy, had fought with the Al Badrs, a religious killing squad that allied with Pakistan during the Liberation War in 1971. The other is the head of English in one of Dhaka’s universities, and his brother narrowly escaped being executed by the very man who now sat across the table from him.

The men did not recognise each other at first, not until they both introduced themselves to me. I was the penny, and when it dropped, the atmosphere became, for lack of a better word, ‘unfriendly.’ The ex-Al Badr made a dash for the door. The professor, blood curdled, partly with shock but mostly with rage, summoned up the courage to explain why.

During the Liberation, the professor’s brother had been working as an artist, a trade which the Al-Badrs considered to be anti-Islam and hence anti-Pakistan. In the dying stages of the war, just days before liberation, the professor’s brother found himself at the mercy of the ‘killing squad.’ Many others around the country – including intellectuals, Hindus, artists – considered to be progressive and pro-liberation had already been hunted down and executed by these pro-Pakistan squads. However, after independence, only a handful of these killers were caught and most escaped, never to face trial.

‘There has been no closure for the many millions that lost loved ones and their unharnessed feelings of hostility and bitterness are not the right ingredients for a harmonious Bangladesh.’

I suspected that the professor’s story must be commonplace in Bangladesh and it must contribute in some way to explaining why the country has found it so difficult to unite post-independence. What affected the people most were not only the savage acts of 1971 that remained so fresh in their minds, but also the unforgivable inaction of the government (even with overwhelming evidence) for not bringing these men to justice.
Over the last four decades, Bangladeshi human rights activist Shariar Kabir and others, both nationally and internationally, have been campaigning for those Bangladeshis who participated in 1971 violence to be brought to justice. Still, there has been no closure for the many millions that lost loved ones at the time, and their unharnessed feelings of hostility and bitterness cannot be the right ingredients for a harmonious Bangladesh.

‘Revenge is obviously not the answer, but then what are the alternatives?’

It disturbs me a great deal listening to these stories of atrocities and I can empathise with the desire for revenge. It’s obviously not the answer, but then, what are the alternatives? And what would they achieve?

‘Even after everything, they’re still Bengalis, and it’s always difficult for a mother to renounce her own son.’

Some say the Bangladeshi killers should be labelled, and locals should be told who they are and what they did. But this could lead to lynching. Others argue that they should be prevented from getting jobs within national institutions, but then we run the risk of sacrificing democracy. As a last resort, the men could simply be booted out of the country. But even after everything, they are still Bengalis, and it’s difficult for a mother to renounce her own son.

‘Largely it will have to come down to time, and yes, eventually we will forget.’

I fear that such a sensationalist title may have detracted from the impact of this story, but there’s no other way of presenting such an uncompromising truth. These criminals committed horrific atrocities, but bringing them to justice and punishing them, despite the ongoing work of rights groups, doesn’t seem to be a likely outcome if the present strength of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-Jamaat alliance and the Saudi-influenced, right-wing military is anything to go by.

At the same time, it would be difficult to find a Bengali that could forgive them for the rape and pillage of the country. So largely it will have to come down to time, and yes, eventually we will forget. Just like America has forgotten its War of Independence and Europe has all but forgotten World War II, we too will forget.

Misha Hussain is a British journalist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

Killing squads — The Dawn Blog Blog Archive
 

Sridhar

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1971 War: 'I will give you 30 minutes'


Ramananda Sengupta | 2009-12-16 11:57:31



Thirty-eight years ago today, on a blustery late afternoon in Dhaka, the commander of the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi publicly surrendered to the Indian Army, represented by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora.
In that now famous picture of the surrender of December 16, 1971 at the Ramna Race Course, there is a man standing on the right, behind Niazi, with his head proudly up, gazing at something over the horizon.

Click here to watch the video of the war

He was the man who had masterminded the public surrender.
I first met General Jacob-Farj-Rafael Jacob (Jake to his friends) in November 2006, at his tiny apartment in Som Vihar, New Delhi. I was trying to put together a series on the 13-day war.
The first thing that stuck me was the vitality of the man. Age (he was on the wrong side of 80 then) had failed to dim the twinkle in his eyes, or dampen his zest for life. His grip was like a vise, and his voice used to command. In an incisive, crisp style, he put the war into perspective for me very quickly.

I soon discovered that we had both studied in Darjeeling (in different schools, in different eras), and that among other things, he was a very keen student of military history. Which perhaps explains why he did what he did in 1971.
The son of a Baghdadi Jew who ran a reasonably prosperous business in Kolkata, young Jake went against his father’s wishes to join the British Indian Army when he was just 18.
It was 1941, and World War II was in full swing. His first posting was to Iraq, and then North Africa, where his unit arrived too late for any real action. He was then shifted to Burma to fight against the Japanese, and then to Malaysia. When the war ended, he went on to take an advanced artillery course in the UK, before returning to an Independent India.
His experience came in handy during the India-Pakistan wars. He was promoted to Brigadier in 1963, and fought against the Pakistanis in the deserts of Rajasthan during the 1965 war. By 1967, he was a brigadier, and two years later he was promoted to Major General.
In 1969, another World War II veteran, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, was appointed chief of the Indian army, and one of the first things he did was to name Jacob as Chief of Staff, Eastern Army Command.
War clouds were looming once again, with India struggling to cope with the huge influx of Bengali refugees from East Pakistan fleeing persecution by migrants and the military from the western wing, bent on imposing Muslim law and Urdu as the national language.
India under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had not only planned and prepared for this war, it also armed and trained the Mukti Bahini (or Liberation Army) --which wanted freedom from West Pakistan - for quite a while.
War was officially declared on December 3, 1971, after Pakistani aircraft strafed some 11 Indian Air bases in the west in an attempted pre-emptive strike. As India engaged with the Pakistanis in the east and the west, The Soviet Union and the United States took sides. The US , under President Richard Nixon, chose Pakistan.
But before the two nuclear powers and Cold War rivals could get really get actively involved, Pakistan's eastern wing surrendered to the Indian forces. The war was over. Bangladesh was born.
Weeks later, Pakistan's Chief Justice Hamidur Rahman was asked to head a War Inquiry Commission, to examine the reasons for the debacle. On being asked by the commission why he had accepted such a shameful unconditional public surrender ,when he had 26,400 troops in Dacca and the Indians only a few thousand outside, General Niazi replied: " I was compelled to do so , as I was blackmailed by Jacob into surrendering." He repeats this in his book "Betrayal of East Pakistan."
In Crossed Swords, his authoritative book on the Pakistani military, Pakistani American writer Shuja Nawaz notes that "....in the words of a later Pakistan National Defence College study of the war, the Indians planned and executed their offensive against East Pakistan in a text book manner. It was a classic example of thorough planning, minute coordination, and bold execution. The credit clearly goes to General Jacob's meticulous preparations in the Indian eastern command."
It was Jacob who insisted that he could not strike Bangladesh until the rains ended, which also gave him time to make preparations for the war. And when the war did begin, one of things General Jacob did was to blatantly ignore orders to take Khulna and Chittagong and consolidate. Instead, he made a beeline for Dacca.
When he reached the outskirts of the capital, he had 3,000 men. Niazi had nearly 30,000. But Niazi also knew that the Bengali people were against him and his men, sought a ceasefire under UN auspices.
On December 16, armed with nothing but a surrender document drafted by him but yet to be cleared by the Indian high command, Jacob entered Dacca, and headed for Niazi's headquarters. Fighting was going on in the streets of the capital between the Mukti Bahini and the Pakistani army.
Niazi tried to bluster, but Jacob was firm.
"General, I assure you if you surrender in public, accept these terms, we will look after you and your men. The Government of India has given its word and will ensure your safety and that of your civilians. If you do not, then we can take no responsibility," Jacob recalls telling Niazi. "He (Niazi) kept talking until I said, General, I cannot give you any better terms. I will give you 30 minutes. If you don’t comply I would have no option but to order resumption of hostilities."
He walked out, and paced up and down outside Niazi's office.
On his return, Niazi kept quiet. "I walked up to him. The document was on the table and I asked him: General, do you accept this document? I asked him three times but he didn't answer. So I picked it up. I said, I take it as accepted."
Thus was the first and perhaps only public surrender in modern military history won. The rest, as they say, is history.
Sadly, we do not learn from our history. Today, as the nation celebrates 'Vijay Diwas', it is worth pondering that General Jacob is not on any official invitation list.
Is this how we treat our heroes?

1971 War: 'I will give you 30 minutes'
 

F-14

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the Instrument Of Surrender as Drafted by General Jacob-Farj-Rafael Jacob COS Eastern Command 1971



text of the Instrument Of Surrender

"The PAKISTAN Eastern Command agree to surrender all PAKISTAN Armed Forces in BANGLA DESH to Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA, General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Indian and BANGLA DESH forces in the Eastern Theatre. This surrender includes all PAKISTAN land, air and naval forces as also all para-military forces and civil armed forces. These forces will lay down their arms and surrender at the places where they are currently located to the nearest regular troops under the command of Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA.

The PAKISTAN Eastern Command shall come under the orders of Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA as soon as the instrument has been signed. Disobedience of orders will be regarded as a breach of the surrender terms and will be dealt with in accordance with the accepted laws and usages of war. The decision of Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA will be final, should any doubt arise as to the meaning or interpretation of the surrender terms.

Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA gives a solemn assurance that personnel who surrender shall be treated with dignity and respect that soldiers are entitled to in accordance with provisions of the GENEVA Convention and guarantees the safety and well-being of all PAKISTAN military and para-military forces who surrender. Protection will be provided to foreign nationals, ethnic minorities and personnel of WEST PAKISTAN origin by the forces under the command of Lieutenant- General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA."

Signed by J.S. Aurora and A.A.K. Niazi on 16 December 1971.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrument_of_Surrender_(1971)
 

hit&run

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Best wishes to Bangladesh and Bangladeshi friends. A light of freedom came through the dark, evil & oppressive curtains of rule of injustice.
Even superpowers were not able to stop their freedom and autonomy. After merciless killing and brutal acts of genocide by previous ruler, a self reliance new nation emerged on the fertile soils extracted by great rivers called as Bangladesh.

I am proud & honoured that my nation helped the unanimous efforts of Bangladeshi people to get liberation from Pakistan.

May God Bless Bangladesh.
 

Ray

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I met some of them at the Eastern Command Vijay Diwas celebrations.
 

Dark_Prince

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Pakistan Army Surrenders in 1971

Lt. Gen Niazi Surrendering (coloured):

 
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Dark_Prince

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Some Great Unseen Video Coverage of POWs (have a look at majestic Sir Manekshaw)

Sir Manekshaw at 0:27


 
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Dark_Prince

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Treatment given out to Razakars and POWs and Formal laying Down of Arms by Pakistan

Treatment given out to Razakars and POWs (Pakistan Army formally Laying down arms formally)


Bengoli Backlash

 
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Dark_Prince

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First Recognition of Bangladesh By India

First Recognition of Bangladesh By India (Protest in front of US consulate)

 
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Dark_Prince

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Bangladesh Holocaust!!

Rape Victims:


Khulna Massacre:


Dhaka University Massacre:

 
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Dark_Prince

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More Genocide

Attack on Dhaka:


Massacre at a Village:

 
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Dark_Prince

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Indian reconstruction Work after Pakistani Surrender

Indian reconstruction Work in Bangladesh after Pakistani Surrender:


Presentation:

 
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Vinod2070

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Great to see these videos. Never seen anything like this.

Wonder why our media doesn't show them.
 

johnee

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Great to see these videos. Never seen anything like this.

Wonder why our media doesn't show them.
The more important question is whether BD media shows them; if not, GOI must make sure that BDs see it regularly so that they know whom to thank for...
 

Vinod2070

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Well, Our media is also watched there. They will pick up the cue.
 

johnee

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^^sure. Also our Govt can sponsor some friendship ad similar to 'incredible india' one which glorifies India's help towards Bengalis and Bangladesh before, during and after the independence from the Pakistanis.
 

Vinod2070

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This needs to be publicised widely on forums. Many Pakistanis still are in denial of this genocide and they even think they can get away as there is not much publicity of this genocide.
 

johnee

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^^Yep, it needs to be given wide publicity on the net from where it can seep into the mainstream news...
 

leonblack08

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BD media shows all these things.In fact they bring up survivor and broadcasts the interviews.1971 is a subject which is well covered in BD,at least in recent time.
 

Vinod2070

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^^ At least I had never seen such videos of the POWs and the IA protecting them and even the razakaars from the Bengalis for the first time.

I am proud of all that. Even though the people that IA saved don't seem so grateful. ;)
 

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