Revisiting the Battle of Garibpur, a Precursor to the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

Introduction

• On November 21, 1971, a major battle ensued on India’s eastern front and it happened before the official declaration of war on December 3, 1971.
• The Battle of Garibpur was fought between Pakistan and Mukti Bahini.
• The first major confrontation took place in a land battle and an air encounter that defined the first victories in the eastern sector in the war, which was later known as the war for the Liberation of Bangladesh.
• The Battle of Garibpur, fought between the two countries on 21 November 1971 in Bangladesh near the International Border, and was won decisively by India.
• It was a strategic battle in which the troops of 14 Punjab exhibited rare courage, grit and determination.
• It was the first main battle of the 1971 War, which was a significant military victory that blunted the enemy’s counter-attack capability.
• The extensive damage and heavy losses suffered in the first encounter left a significant impact on the Pakistan Army’s ensuing operations and adversely affected their morale.

History of the war

• The ‘Lightning Campaign’ to liberate Bangladesh during the Indo-Pak War 1971 was one of the finest moments in Indian history.
• One of the main factors leading to the fall of erstwhile East Pakistan was the low morale of Pakistan Armed Forces.
• While various factors are attributable to this lowering of morale, one major factor was the famous ‘Battle of Garibpur’ fought in India’s favour in the initial stages of the war.
• This key battle fought on 21-22 November 1971 before the Indo-Pak War was officially declared on 03 December 1971, was the first major battle in East Pakistan where a single infantry battalion 14 Punjab (Nabha Akal) supported by a squadron of armour successfully fought a Pakistani brigade.
• The situation on the Indo-Pak border was worsening due to genocide by the Pakistan Army in early 1971.
• In view of the military actions by the Mukti Bahini, Pakistani forays and provocations inside Indian Territory increased, leading to Indian casualties.
• 14 Punjab was concentrated near the International Border (IB), where it was tasked to train the Mukti Fauj volunteers, as also neutralize an enemy Border Out Post, so as to successfully dominate the border and ‘No man’s land’ across the Kobadak River.
• By end November 1971, the enemy actions had reached a level where it became necessary to protect Indian interests by occupying selected enclaves in East Pakistan.

National and international repercussions

The Battle of Garibpur had many national and international repercussions and led to interesting results on both sides.

• Gen Yahya Khan declared a National Emergency in Pakistan and complained to the UN Secretary General, U Thant, about India violating the UN Charter.
• On the Indian side, Mrs Indira Gandhi announced India’s determination to match the Pakistani response.
• On the tactical level, the battle forced the Pakistanis to vacate Chaugacha without a fight.
• The Battle of Garibpur brought many well deserved gallantry awards to the Battalion.
  • A small memorial with an epitaph commemorating the Battle of Garibpur is located astride the road leading to Garibpur, a tiny and predominantly agricultural hamlet.
  • A high school has been constructed at Garibpur village, and another monument erected near a mango tree in an open patch in the school premises to commemorate the martyrs – both MuktiBahini and Indian soldiers of the Liberation War.
• The people of Garibpur and surrounding areas are ever grateful for the contribution and sacrifice of the Indian soldiers.
• This eventually paved the way for the Indian victory over Pakistan 43 years ago.

About the war

• After months of internal tensions in East Pakistan (current day Bangladesh) and a clampdown on Bengali nationalists, many independence fighters had organised themselves into a guerilla army.
• Called the Mukti Bahini, these rebels were aided by India in their struggle.
• After initial success over Pakistani troops there had been some relative calm in the region and further Indian assistance was sought to turn the tide.
• India thus started to involve itself deeper into the conflict brewing in the east and stationed its troops near the border.
• The Boyra salient located inside the North West part of East Pakistan consisting of Garibpur village was at an important crossroads for both nations. Its control was thus vital as it included a highway to Jessore from India.

Bangladesh Liberation War

• The struggle for Bengali rights started shortly after Pakistan gained independence as a country with two incontiguous territories known as West Pakistan (today’s Pakistan) and East Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh).
• The refusal to accept Bengali as a state language of Pakistan in the early years after Partition, economic disparity between the two parts, the hegemony of the West Pakistani ruling elite over Pakistan, martial laws, and a demeaning attitude towards Bengali culture and the Bengali population soured relations between the two parts.
• Tensions between Bengalis and Biharis – the Urdu-speaking communities that had moved to East Pakistan from different parts of India after Partition and who were seen as pro-West Pakistan – rose, which led to attacks on some Bihari communities.
• On December 14, 1971, Pakistani forces with the help of their Bangladeshi collaborators killed more than 200 intellectuals in East Pakistan, as the territory was then known.
• On December 16, Pakistani forces surrendered at Dhaka’s Ramna Racecourse.
• It is particularly significant because that was the decisive day on which Pakistani forces had to make a decision about surrendering to the joint forces of the Indian Army and Bangladesh’s liberation force.

 Dhaka’s defence plan

• Dhaka was to have a double line of defences: an outer line and an inner line. These defences were to be manned by formations falling back from various sectors.
• When none of them managed to do so, all available men in uniform were mustered for the task.
• Only about 1,500 regular Pakistani soldiers could be got together. In addition, on December 15, about 3,500 police and paramilitary personnel were available.
• Surplus staff officers and others pulled out from offices and depots were sent to command the groups and detachments into which these men were divided.
• To support this last-ditch stand were a few mortars and recoilless guns, a squadron of tanks, two six-pounder anti-tank guns and some light machine guns.

India: The finest victory

• In India and Pakistan, 1971 may not be as actively remembered but it remains central to how both nations view themselves and each other. In India, the war is fondly recalled as the nation’s finest win, a testament to its military prowess and superiority, and as revenge for Pakistan having “broken” India in 1947.
• Having lost the Indo-Sino war in 1962 and having only achieved a ceasefire in the first two wars with Pakistan, the victory in 1971 became symbolic for India, signalling that it was on its way to becoming a regional superpower. Today, politicians, as well as the armed forces, continue to make references to the war, to indicate India’s strength vis-a-vis Pakistan.
• However, 1971 also holds other meanings for contemporary India. The large number of refugees which poured into Indian territories approximately 10 million by the estimate of the Indian government later became a major internal issue.
• Tensions between refugees and host populations ensued, with fears that the refugees from opar Bangla (the other side of Bengal) may permanently settle, putting a burden on already stretched resources and changing the demographics of the host states. This unwelcoming feeling towards the refugees did not dissipate with the war.
• In the Indian state of Assam, where many Bengalis have settled over the years, their presence has remained contentious. Recently, the final list of the National Register for Citizens was issued, with March 24, 1971, set as the cut-off date for inclusion in the register.
• It is the day before Pakistan launched its military operation in East Pakistan, which pushed many Bengalis across the border.

 Pakistan: The forgotten conflict

• In Pakistan, the state has resorted to selective forgetting of what happened in 1971. Perceived as a humiliating defeat, the war is brushed over in textbooks and there is little acknowledgement of the military oppression and the resulting atrocities in East Pakistan.
• What is hailed as liberation in Bangladesh is awkwardly recalled by Pakistanis as the Fall of Dhaka or dismemberment of Pakistan every December 16.
• When 1971 is addressed it is often to stress upon the killings of non-Bengalis before the war, presented as a justification for military action.
• The loss of East Pakistan created a “never again” mentality in the country. Resolving to never let a similar situation arise again, Pakistan increased its defence spending and launched a nuclear programme aimed at developing a nuclear weapon as early as January 1972.
• Furthermore, as new independence struggles erupted in the region, in the form of the Khalistan movement for a separate Sikh state and in the movement in Kashmir.
• Pakistan resorted to using similar strategies to those India had in East Pakistan to support these movements.
• Today, just as India accuses Pakistan of fuelling terrorism in Kashmir and dismisses genuine Kashmiri grievances as Pakistan-sponsored, in the Army Museum in Lahore, Pakistan has put up a plaque which labels the Bengali movement for independence as Indian-sponsored terrorism.
• In both cases, people’s struggles are appropriated and hijacked, narratives carefully crafted to turn popular sentiment against movements for self-determination 

Conclusion

Close to 50 years after the war, 1971 remains poignant both at the people’s level and the state level in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It continues to shape the lives of those who suffered and witnessed the war while also remaining central to each state’s national project. 1971 reinforces distinct narratives, emphasising liberation in Bangladesh, victory in India, and loss in Pakistan.

All three countries hold on tightly to their war story and frame their images of themselves and the other through the lens of that fateful year. 1971 has left a lasting legacy across all three children of Partition.