Lankan Ranger
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Creation of Bangladesh: Shining Moment or Strategic Blunder
DURGA ASTRIDE A TIGER. This is how Atal Behari Vajpayee described Indira Gandhi immediately after Indias lightening victory in the 1971 war, which resulted in creation of Bangladesh.
Ironically and now in retrospect, correctly, he led a protest march against Shimla Agreement in 1972. In the best tradition of the Indian State, whatever was won militarily has been thrown away at the negotiating table time after time.
Although creation of Bangladesh was hailed as a defining moment in the history of the sub continent at that time, it is turning out to be a strategic nightmare now.
Bangladesh would have been created, perhaps of its own steam, sooner or later. But by our intervention we have created a problem for us with serious strategic disadvantages.
With Bangladesh as its Eastern Wing, Pakistan was always unbalanced. With its severance, Pakistan is now a viable and cohesive entity with its Armed Forces much more capable of not only defending her territory but carrying the war into India as per its doctrine of Offensive Defence.
By creating Bangladesh, we have made an implacable enemy of Pakistan for whom Balkanisation of India by whatever means has become an article of faith. Even if Kashmir problem is resolved to Pakistans satisfaction, its hostility towards India is not going to come to an end.
It will find some other means to continue its strategic aim break up of India. This fact is not understood by many peaceniks and those who believe that people to people contact and mouthing of platitudes will resolve all problems between India and Pakistan.
Bangladesh in the meantime has reached the other extreme. Not only its history has been falsified to eliminate Indian Armys role in the creation of Bangladesh, it is firmly in the Pakistani camp lock, stock and barrel.
It is indeed tragic. West Pakistan always treated East Pakistan with contempt. It was a strange case of creation of a nation with its two wings thousands of miles apart held together only by a tenuous link of religion.
Bangladesh has conveniently forgotten how inhumanly its citizens were treated by West Pakistanis when it was a part of Pakistan. To put things in correct perspective.
It may be relevant to quote a passage from C-in-C Bangladesh, General MAG Osmanys letter to Lt Gen Gul Hassan Khan, C-in-C Pakistan Army in 1972 after the creation of Bangladesh.
The seventy five million people of Bangladesh were subjected to the most inhuman form of genocide, rape, repression and arson by Pakistani Armed Forces who exhibited not the slightest hesitation in killing their Bengali brother officers and men, unarmed and in cold blood all aimed at denial of human rights guaranteed by United Nations Charter.
Indeed history does not have a single instance of inhuman acts which can equal the bestial treatment meted out to our people between night 25/26 March 1971 to the day before surrender.
Historys most ignominous defeat in which some 93,000 professional and very well equipped soldiers led by their officers including a substantial number of General Officers bowed to lay down their arms and were stripped of their badges of ranks is therefore the justice meted by God such as he has always done and promised to do. Forgetting all the above, Bangladesh is now cozying up to Pakistan compromising even its self respect in the process.
Every election time, Bangladesh goes through convulsions. Same is the case now. The two Beghums have reduced the whole election process to a farce. In no democratic country, executive powers are handed over to someone else to conduct elections.
Hopefully better sense will prevail and election process, however farcial, will be gone through. We also need to seriously reexamine our policy of investing in individuals rather than institutions.
We have learnt nothing from the past. In 1972, Indira Gandhi thought that by making concessions to Bhutto, she will earn his goodwill. What we got instead is a nuclear Pakistan. Similarly in Bangladesh, we put all our eggs earlier in Sheikh Mujibs basket.
With his assassination, we lost all our bargaining power. Thereafter it was Sheikh Hasinas turn. The result is that whenever Beghum Khalida Zia comes to power, anti Indian forces gain upper hand.
Creation of Bangladesh: Shining Moment or Strategic Blunder | Indian Defence Review
DURGA ASTRIDE A TIGER. This is how Atal Behari Vajpayee described Indira Gandhi immediately after Indias lightening victory in the 1971 war, which resulted in creation of Bangladesh.
Ironically and now in retrospect, correctly, he led a protest march against Shimla Agreement in 1972. In the best tradition of the Indian State, whatever was won militarily has been thrown away at the negotiating table time after time.
Although creation of Bangladesh was hailed as a defining moment in the history of the sub continent at that time, it is turning out to be a strategic nightmare now.
Bangladesh would have been created, perhaps of its own steam, sooner or later. But by our intervention we have created a problem for us with serious strategic disadvantages.
With Bangladesh as its Eastern Wing, Pakistan was always unbalanced. With its severance, Pakistan is now a viable and cohesive entity with its Armed Forces much more capable of not only defending her territory but carrying the war into India as per its doctrine of Offensive Defence.
By creating Bangladesh, we have made an implacable enemy of Pakistan for whom Balkanisation of India by whatever means has become an article of faith. Even if Kashmir problem is resolved to Pakistans satisfaction, its hostility towards India is not going to come to an end.
It will find some other means to continue its strategic aim break up of India. This fact is not understood by many peaceniks and those who believe that people to people contact and mouthing of platitudes will resolve all problems between India and Pakistan.
Bangladesh in the meantime has reached the other extreme. Not only its history has been falsified to eliminate Indian Armys role in the creation of Bangladesh, it is firmly in the Pakistani camp lock, stock and barrel.
It is indeed tragic. West Pakistan always treated East Pakistan with contempt. It was a strange case of creation of a nation with its two wings thousands of miles apart held together only by a tenuous link of religion.
Bangladesh has conveniently forgotten how inhumanly its citizens were treated by West Pakistanis when it was a part of Pakistan. To put things in correct perspective.
It may be relevant to quote a passage from C-in-C Bangladesh, General MAG Osmanys letter to Lt Gen Gul Hassan Khan, C-in-C Pakistan Army in 1972 after the creation of Bangladesh.
The seventy five million people of Bangladesh were subjected to the most inhuman form of genocide, rape, repression and arson by Pakistani Armed Forces who exhibited not the slightest hesitation in killing their Bengali brother officers and men, unarmed and in cold blood all aimed at denial of human rights guaranteed by United Nations Charter.
Indeed history does not have a single instance of inhuman acts which can equal the bestial treatment meted out to our people between night 25/26 March 1971 to the day before surrender.
Historys most ignominous defeat in which some 93,000 professional and very well equipped soldiers led by their officers including a substantial number of General Officers bowed to lay down their arms and were stripped of their badges of ranks is therefore the justice meted by God such as he has always done and promised to do. Forgetting all the above, Bangladesh is now cozying up to Pakistan compromising even its self respect in the process.
Every election time, Bangladesh goes through convulsions. Same is the case now. The two Beghums have reduced the whole election process to a farce. In no democratic country, executive powers are handed over to someone else to conduct elections.
Hopefully better sense will prevail and election process, however farcial, will be gone through. We also need to seriously reexamine our policy of investing in individuals rather than institutions.
We have learnt nothing from the past. In 1972, Indira Gandhi thought that by making concessions to Bhutto, she will earn his goodwill. What we got instead is a nuclear Pakistan. Similarly in Bangladesh, we put all our eggs earlier in Sheikh Mujibs basket.
With his assassination, we lost all our bargaining power. Thereafter it was Sheikh Hasinas turn. The result is that whenever Beghum Khalida Zia comes to power, anti Indian forces gain upper hand.
Creation of Bangladesh: Shining Moment or Strategic Blunder | Indian Defence Review
