Firstly, none of us has 'retracted' any claim on numbers for the simple reason that none of us (i.e. Abir and I) made that claim in the first place. We are pointing out that numbers don't matter to the question of genocide, to which PA stands accused.
Secondly, none of us has 'accepted' that India was involved in East Pakistani affairs since 'January' of 1971, or continues to meddle in Pakistani affairs.
Raising strawman, then beating it down to pulp and then celebrating such amazing victory by patting each other's back, all come naturally to certain Pakistanis, just like breathing. It's time you came out of that cave.
AAaaa.. that's it?
I doubt if you understand what Operation Searchlight is. It refers to the brutal crackdown on AL by PA that started in the middle of the night of 25th March, 1971 and soon turned into a campaign for extermination of Hindus through out the period till December.
Ahan..so you want to tell me that you know about the Operation more than the ones who planned it? FYKI, Lt Gen Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, commander of the Eastern Theatre had, in February 1971, prepared plans for dealing with an insurgency situation in East Pakistan. The plan was code-named
Operation BLITZ. He was, however aware that a military action alone was not the solution to the political impasse.
I need hardly mention that Operation BLITZ will not and should not be an end in itself but must be followed immediately by the projection of political and economic progress at the national level. Such a course would be an essential sequel to this fire brigade action for the wheel would only then be turned full circle, wrote Yaqub to Yahya.
But then the situation in East Pakistan after the postponement of the National Assembly session was fast deteriorating. Sheikh Mujibur Rehman had given the call for a virtual takeover of the administration of the province by his supporters which, by now, included almost all politicians, the majority of bureaucrats and a large number of the members of the Bengali elements in the armed forces besides the entire Bengali civil population. Although, all the personalities interviewed at Dacca categorically denied that the militants of the Awami League massacred the
non-Bengalis even before the military crackdown by the Pakistan Army, however, there was ample evidence to prove that they went on a rampage as soon as the announcement of postponing the National Assembly session was made on March 1. The scene immediately prior to the proposed military action was of complete disorder and total disregard of governmental authority.
Gen Yahya wanted that if a firm action had been taken earlier things would not have gone out of hand. Yahyas insistence for a military action forced Lt Gen Yaqub Khan to resign. He was replaced by Lt General Tikka. There were only two alternatives at that stage. Order the army to restore the authority of the government or hand over powers to the majority party.
The military junta was split on the question of suppressing the insurgency by a military action. Those in East Pakistan were not in favour of it as they had been witnessing the growing popularity of the Awami League in that province. They knew that even after eliminating the die-hard secessionists, the movement in favour of the Six Points Formula would not die down. They were concerned about the mass killings on both sides which were bound to follow once the army was given a free hand to deal with all those elements which had bottled them up and were humiliating them at every corner. Those in West Pakistan were advocating a strong military action.
Unfortunately, the military authorities in East Pakistan were completely ignored during the political negotiations which had begun in Dacca on March 15. The decision for suppressing the insurgency in East Pakistan by military force, if it becomes necessary, was made on
March 22, 1971 at a meeting between the
president, the governor and the martial law administrator at Dacca. No party leader opposed the use of force to re-instate the governments authority. On the afternoon of March 23, when Dacca had given its unanimous vote against a United Pakistan the armed forces chiefs also conveyed their recommendation of a military action; Yahya declared the emergency plan to restore law and order on that very day.
However,
it was not till March 24, that the final decision to crush the Awami League and its supporters was taken. All avenues for seeking a political solution, short of making Pakistan into a confederation, had been explored with no effect. No amount of persuasion, reasoning or discussion had made Mujib or Bhutto change their rigid stand. The fault of postponing the National Assembly session was to be followed by another one, the military action. The point of no return had arrived. Yahya called Gen Tikka Khan and Maj Gen Rao Farman and asked them to finalize the operation orders for Operation SEARCHLIGHT. The plan prepared earlier by Farman was given the final touches. And the opration began on night 25/26 Mar '71, now what's the fuss about?
Pre-25th March, India was nowhere involved in any Pakistani affair for the simple fact that Indian leaders ware pretty busy with general elections. The elections were held during March 1-10 and Mrs Gandhi's govt. came into existence soon afterwards. As Sisson and Rose noted (in their book War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh):
Yeah right.
i think you have forgotten Agartala Conspiracy:
And also:
The Bangla Desh Operation possibly began a year before the actual operation was underway. Even when the world did get a whiff of it in the shape of the Mukti Bahani, many remained unaware of RAWs involvement. By then Phase I of the operation was already completed. Phase II saw the Indian Armed Forces poised for the liberation of Bangla Desh. RAW, along with the Mukti Bahani, when they developed into a formidable force, provided information to the Indian forces.
The Indian Express : Op-Ed
Mind it, before you try to open your beak and rubbish this as pro-Pakistani news, i must tell you that this Op-Ed infact hinges around depicting india as the 'savior' of Bangladesh and Pakistan as the 'bad boy'.
'...from mid January to early March, the entire political leadership in India was heavily involved in its own election campaign, with both the government and the opposition party leaders on almost constant tours of their own constituencies and the country. They had neither the time nor the inclination to follow events in Pakistan in any depth. Even the External Affairs and Defence ministries and Mrs. Gandhi's private secretariat were rather perfunctory in their analysis of developments before 25 March. No top-level in-depth discussions of Indian polity toward Pakistan took place from February to early March, the critical period, except indirectly in some consideration of developments in West Bengal. Although the Government of India held strong views on how its interests were affected by the political negotiations in Pakistan, the available evidence suggests that New Delhi preferred to await the course of developments there before defining its own policy. '
WTF is this?
"By 1968 Indian operatives had already been in contact with the pro-Mujib faction." - Inside RAW: the story of Indias secret service by Asoka Raina, 1981
^^ Also, by this definition (the poor, unable to multi-task and busy indian govt couldnt spare time to plan for Bangladesh and 'follow events in Pakistan in any depth' , WTF?), Pakistan could not have planned Mumbai (Nov 2008) as it was busy with many internal issues, namely (a few of them from Oct-Nov 2008):
3 Sep - Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani survives an assassination attempt.
6 Sep - The Electoral College of Pakistan elects Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party as the next President of Pakistan.
11 Sep - President George W. Bush is reported to have authorized United States special forces to conduct operations against insurgents inside Pakistan without seeking approval from the Government of Pakistan.
22 Oct - Pakistan sought help from the IMF on Wednesday to avoid defaulting on billions of dollars in loans and skirt a financial crisis brought on by high fuel prices, dwindling foreign investment and soaring militant violence.
And important of all,
29 Oct - At least 100 people die after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan near the city of Quetta in the Province of Balochistan.
etc
etc.
India got involved after 25th March, 1971 when refugees started pouring into West Bengal, thanks to PA. On 10th April, Bangladesh Govt-in-Exile was declared in Mujibnagar, and formally created on 17th. That was the beginning of India's involvement and that is no secret.
Sure.
You have been adequately face-palmed one more time, see above.
Though i would like to leave you with one thought...unfortunately i ain't sure you have anywhere to put it, so i'll pass!
You seriously need to read some history book. ASAP. 3rd Dec, 1971 is not the threshold. 25/26th March, 1971 is. Guess which day is celebrated as Independence day in Bangladesh and why.
Well, for me 3 Dec is the threshold, because every text book that you guys have been reading quotes this date to portray Pakistan as the aggressor during the 1971 War. Fortunately, thanks to PDF, you guys wont do it any more!!