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The Fall of East Pakistan and Liberation of Bangladesh
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui — 2020-07-03 08:44:03
After the promulgation of East Pakistan Razakar Ordinance of June 1, 1971, some Bengalis either volunteered or were recruited to work as a paramilitary force or collaborators for the Pakistan’s military regime. They were called the Razakars. Some of the political parties that did not like the division of Pakistan actively sought out recruits for the Razakar (and other militia groups like the al-Shams and al-Badr) to fight and weaken the Mukti Bahini (the freedom fighters for Bangladesh) so that the emergence of Bangladesh as a separate state could be halted. More zealous of those party leaders even allowed their homes to be used as torture chambers for anyone suspected of belonging to the Mukti Bahini.
In Chittagong, I was told by Rafiq bhai’s friends how the Goods Hill residence of Mr. Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, ex-Speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly, was used as a torture house for many students and adults who were suspected of being members of the Mukti Bahini. Some members of the Razakar came also from the Urdu-speaking Bihari community. One day, my first cousin Munna bhai was picked up in Khulna City by some Razakars; he never returned. Apparently, he was killed.
The pro-Pakistani paramilitary groups terrorized the rural areas of East Pakistan trying to find Mukti Bahini, suspecting anyone young in age who had not joined their forces. Since an overwhelming majority of the East Pakistanis supported the freedom struggle, they would often pass on tactical information on the Razakars to the Mukti Bahini, and hide information on the latter when pressed by the Razakars. Thus, the Mukti Bahini had comparatively much more success in ambushing and killing the members of the Razakar. Consequently, by the last quarter of 1971, the recruits to Razakar fell drastically, and they hardly dared to go out of their camps without superior firepower coverage provided by the Pakistan military.
In his insightful book, Witness to Surrender, Brigadier General Siddique Salik (of Pakistan) estimated that Pakistan needed at least 250,000 to 300,000 troops, but even after organizing the Razakars (estimated strength 40,000), Pakistan could field only 150,000 (45,000 regular army, the rest paramilitary units) soldiers in East Pakistan.
By the last quarter of 1971, India had started not only providing material support to the Mukti Bahini but had also been training a select group of freedom fighters, who were called the Bangladesh Liberation Front (BLF), who would later come to be known as the Mujib Bahini. The force was mainly composed of young activists drawn from the Awami League and its student front, the Chhatra League (Student League). At its height, it had reportedly 13,000 members (however, the actual figure, per Banglapedia, was probably much lower at 5,000). It was organized with the active assistance of Major General Sujan Singh Uban of the Indian Army. Former Student League leaders Serajul Alam Khan and Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, Tofael Ahmed, and Abdur Razzaq (MP) were the organizers of this special force.
It is postulated by some that Mujib Bahini was formed to meet the emergence of any alternative leadership in the event the liberation war was prolonged. Others think that the leaders of Mujib Bahini created this force because they were not satisfied with the working of Mujibnagar government in-exile [that was actually operating from a house (on 7 Theatre Road) in Kolkata] and were suspicious about the activities of the rightist faction of the Awami League. In the battlefield, the Mujib Bahini fought in cohesion with other freedom fighters. It carried out daring raids into the Pakistani occupation army’s positions in the south, the south-west zone and in some areas around Dhaka. It was especially trained in guerrilla warfare and was equipped with comparatively better weapons. [Banglapedia]
