Vijay Diwas 2018: This man has informed the former PM Indira Gandhi about the victory of 1971 war
16th December is celebrated as the victory of India over the war against Pakistan which was held in 1971. After this great victory of India, Bangladesh was formed, which was previously a part of East Pakistan.
This day is celebrated as the ‘Vijay Diwas’ across the country. In this war, 3900 Indian soldiers were martyred and 9851 soldiers were wounded. Besides this massive loss, Indian soldiers didn’t lose their hope and also their bravery which made 93,000 Pakistani soldiers prisoners of war.
Cause of War:
In March 1971, Pakistan’s Military dictator Yahya Khan, who had taken some strict action in East Pakistan. The situation turned so worse that there was no social justice. During this period of time, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also arrested, due to which many refugees turning toward India. Due to this, there was a pressure on India to intervene through the army.
At that time, the Prime Minister of India was Indira Gandhi. She has talked about the whole issue with Sam Manekshaw, who was Chief of the Army Staff.
What were the steps taken by the Indian Army:
After the conversation between Gandhi and Manekshaw, India had attacked Pakistan. But there was a big hurdle arrived in the form of weather. India was not having the capacity to built the bridge near the mountain division.
Due to the excessive rains, it was difficult for Indian Army to entered to East Pakistan. Considering the interest of Indian soldiers, Manekshaw refused to take the military action during this time.
Know the man who informed about the victory of the 1971 war to Indira Gandhi?
It was the December month and on 3rd December, Indira Gandhi reached West Bengal’s Kolkata to address a public meeting. At this time, Pakistan’s Air Force aircraft attacked Indian military airport at Pathankot, Srinagar, Amritsar, Jodhpur, Agra. After this incident, Indira Gandhi returned to Delhi and took cabinet meetings.
After the attack, the Indian army has started the counter-reaction and captured the Jessore and Khulna area of East Pakistan. On 14th December, the Indian army has decoded a secret message in which it was mentioned that a meeting will be conducted at 11 pm at the Government house in Dhaka.
Therefore, the Indian Army decided to drop the bombs at this time on the building. During the meeting, MIG-21 planes have dropped the bomb on the main roof of the building. This was the time when Governor Malik wrote his resignation.
On 16th December, Manekshaw sent a message to General Jacob and asked him to reach Dhaka for surrender. During this time, it was Chief of the Indian Army Sam Manekshaw, who informed Indira Gandhi about the victory of 1971 was via a phone call.
First published: 13 December 2018, 13:39 IST
