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India-Pakistan War-1971 Module - V

Major Wars Post
Independence

19

Note
INDIA-PAKISTAN WAR - 1971

The 1971 Indo-Pak war was the third war that India fought with Pakistan after
independence. However, this time the reasons for the war were different as compared
to the previous ones. You may recall here that on the eve of partition of India there
were two wings of Pakistan - the West and the East - separated by 1000 miles with
India being sandwiched between the two.
The Western wing is the present day Pakistan and where the government and capital
of the country Islamabad is located while the capital for East Pakistan was Dhaka.
The people of East Pakistan were dissatisfied with the treatment given to them by the
West Pakistani Government. Hence they revolted against them. India helped the Mukti
Bahini of East Pakistanis to get freedom. This was the major reason why the 1971 war
took place. It was also the first war where Indian Army, Navy and Air Force took part
collectivals. Each of these wings of the Armed Forces played a major part in Indian
victory. Because of Indian help a new nation called Bangladesh was born.

Objectives

After studying this lesson, you will be able to:
 identify the reasons for the 1971 war and

 explain the major operations of the war.
19.1 Why did India and Pakistan fight a war in 1971?

It is important to understand the reasons behind India’s involvement in the 1971 war.
East Pakistanis were basically Bengali Muslims. Development in Pakistan was
concentrated in the Western part while the Eastern side was neglected. In the 1970
local elections in East Pakistan a new party The Awami League came to power. The
people now wanted more autonomy and control over natural resources. Recall here
what you have learnt in your previous lessons regarding the nature of political system
in existence in Pakistan. Since its independence the government of Pakistan depended
very much on the military to rule. By the time this war happened, Pakistan was under
the control of a military General named Yahya Khan who took over power from his
predecessor General Ayub Khan.

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MILITARY HISTORY 57