Liberation war of Bangladesh: Role of foreign actors

Bangladesh, a beautiful country located in South Asia, got her independence after fighting for nine months against Pakistan which had a well-trained and highly equipped army whereas the people of Bangladesh had extreme determination and the unbeatable mindset to get their desired independence.

The Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the architect of the independence of Bangladesh who sacrificed his entire life for the sake of the people of Bangladesh and his magical power of uniting people to fight for their own rights were the major key player in the Liberation War. Bangladesh and the name Sheikh Mujubur Rahman are inseparable.

Since the independence of the Indian Subcontinent, the entire landmass was being divided into two major parts where the Muslim dominated region Pakistan had two constituent parts of its own.

Bangladesh which used to be known as East Pakistan was oppressed by West Pakistan from every single perspective starting from the language issues up to the economic, social and most importantly the political perspective was a salient one to take into consideration.  

During the nine months of blood-shedding battle which started on the 26th March of 1971, the roles of the foreign actors were very significant and it must be taken into consideration.

India, the Soviet Union, China, USA were one of the major key players who had a direct stake in this war and their roles were quite different as in the field of International Relations, every state actor always do want to serve their own interest while taking any steps that can have a global impact.

India: The role of India was very friendly right from the beginning of the Liberation War of Bangladesh and India supported Bangladesh from every point of view because they also had their clear stake in this.

India gave shelter to more than 1 million war refugees who lost everything during this war time and all they wanted to save their lives by crossing the border. Indian government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi played their charismatic role by taking care of this humiliated bunch of people by ensuring them food, accommodation, medical assistance and India spent 700 million US dollar just to look after this entire population who were subjected to all sorts of decays by the West Pakistan.

Indira Gandhi went to visit Moscow to get the support of the Soviet Union in the United Nations Security Council and we got to see the result later. When UNSC was trying to look for the ceasefire option by the influence of other actors, the Soviet Union gave their veto in that decision and so India could make a joint and all scaled classified attack against the Pakistan Army.

India also gave Bangladesh the recognition as an Independent country on the 6th December of 1971. India helped the freedom fighters of Bangladesh by training them up and also by providing them with the arms and ammunition during the entire time of war.

Some experts say that it would be a lot tougher task to get the victory of Bangladesh within a short possible time without the all-out support by India.  

Soviet Union: Soviet Union supported Bangladesh wholeheartedly and they used their veto power consecutively three times in the United Nations Security Council which made the way easier for Bangladesh to reach her ever desired goal, “Independence”.    

In some stages of this Liberation War, the Soviet Union even declared the war as the “NATIONAL WAR”. The Soviet Foreign Minister during the time of war, Andrei Gromyko said to Rogers who was the Foreign Secretary of the USA,” The matter of East Pakistan is not an internal matter of Pakistan anymore. It has become a global issue.”

The Liberation War of Bangladesh got international recognition and support because of the diplomatic initiatives taken by Soviet Union.

China: The role of China was very much questionable as they were trying to help Pakistan because of their self-interest to ensure their stronghold in South Asia which Pakistan could help them to get established.

China was trying to portray this war as the internal matter of Pakistan where the whole world was supporting Bangladesh as Pakistan was inhumane and they were committing a mass genocide by killing millions of people. China could have played a better role instead of helping Pakistan in these heinous activities.

USA: The United States of America didn’t play any praise-worthy role during the Liberation War period as they did not want to make their bilateral relationship with Pakistan bad because of this issue.

The USA treated this war as the internal matter of Pakistan and they were secretly helping Pakistan financially and logistically. They raised the proposal of the ceasefire in East Pakistan on the 4th December of 1971 which was done to save Pakistan from getting defeated.

The United States of America even sent their 7th Naval Fleet in the Indian Ocean to save Pakistan but that fleet could not get the scope to enter into the Bay of Bengal because the Soviet Union also sent two task forces for tackling the situation.

The USA played some positive roles too by giving financial aid to India for taking care of the refugees that came from Bangladesh. The President of the United States of America, Richard Nixon granted 250 million dollars for the people who took shelter in the West Bengal, Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura region as the war refugees.  

The Soviet Union, USA and China were involved in this Liberation War for serving their own interest to ensure their own domination over this region which has the geostrategic significance. It was also an unofficial competition among these major actors of world politics.

Bangladesh got her independence on the 16th December of 1971 and 3 million people sacrificed their very own lives to get the freedom. Two lacs women were being abused physically and they were mentally traumatized because of what they had to go through. After all of these sacrifices, Bangladesh got to reach her desired destination by establishing herself as an independent country in the world map.
 
Ahmad Alfatah Mugdho is currently studying International Relations at the University of Dhaka.