Remembering How Mukti Bahini Martyred Over 76,557 Pakistani Civilians 50 Years Ago

In the South Asian subcontinent, India laid the foundation of cross-border terrorism by establishing RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) on 21st September 1968, previously named as Intelligence Bureau. IB had already started sowing cross-border seeds which later on became Mukti Bahini.

Mukti Bahini guerillas along with RAW operatives and regulars from the Indian Army operated training camps in different Indian states like West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Taripura etc. By late 1970, Mukti trained by India had started targeting power plants, railways, industries, fuel deposits, besides looting banks and killing non-Bengalis.

On 26th March 1971, the Pakistan Army started an operation named “Searchlight” with only 12,000 regulars, with a small number of weapons to safeguard the properties and lives of East Pakistan. By the end of April, the operation was successful, sending Mukti across the border into India.

In May 1971, India started “Operation Jackpot” to reorganize Mukti Bahini. The Indians equipped the Mukti Bahini with Italian howitzers, Dakota DC-3 aircraft, Otter DHC-3 fighter planes and Allouette helicopters (Italian howitzers used by the Mukti are now preserved at the Bangladesh Military Museum in Dhaka). Upto 5,000 trained guerrilla fighters along with RAW operatives entered East Pakistan through bases in Tripura and West Bengal.

According to Archer Blood, an American career diplomat who served as the last American Consul General to Dhaka, “Indian soil was made available for training camps, hospitals and supply depots for the Mukti Bahini and the Muktis had a safe haven to which it could retire for rest, food, medical supplies and weapons.”

In Dehradun, Major-General Oban“selected the best personnel from the Mukti Bahini and gave them political and military training to use it against Pakistan.

For the record, according to the census in 1951, there were 617,000 Biharis in East Pakistan and almost 20% of them were massacred by Mukti Bahini. Thousands of women were tortured and raped.

The old saying is that “No one has been able to strike terror into others and at the same time enjoy peace of mind”. The Mukti Bahini terrorists may have been forgotten, but the terror that they unleashed on innocent Biharis and other non-Bengalis cannot be wiped off the history books.