We have just celebrated the Vijay Diwas, on December 16. It is still an interesting history evoking excitement because of the electrifying leadership of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. let us recapitulate what happened in those turbulent days. Things started happening thick and fast after Awami league under the leadership of the erstwhile East Pakistan leader Mujib-ur Rehman won an absolute majority in Pakistan’s Parliament. The leaders of West Pakistan refused to hand over power to Rehman. The people of East Pakistan erupted in anger, triggering backlash from West Pakistan. After police failed to quell the unrest the Pak Army was unleashed. The Bengalis of East Pakistan formed a Mukti Fauj. Rehman was arrested and taken for solitary confinement to West Pakistan. later, his grave was dug, as he was sentenced to death. Unspeakable tyranny ensued. People of East Pakistan declared independence of what they called Bangladesh. Around 10 million East Pakistanis sheltered in West Bengal, Tripura and Assam. Though Indira Gandhi kept neutrality her government kept assisting the Mukti Fauj in East Pakistan by all possible means. Clouds of an all-out war started hovering over the horizon of the Indian subcontinent with USA, USSR and China taking increasing interest in the fast-paced developments unfolding here.
Things, however, climaxed after Pak President Yahya Khan ordered Pak aeroplanes to attack five of Indian airbases on the night of December 3 1971. On December 4, Indira was in Calcutta. She was then unaware of what was happening. After addressing a public meeting she was meeting some writers when she received a message. She, however, remained unfazed and carried on her talks with the intellectuals. That night she flew back to the capital, a picture of composure, when her life was under threat as the Pakistan Air Force was airborne. Once back to Delhi, she met the Opposition leaders and told them she had ordered the army to march into East Pakistan. She addressed the nation on air the same night, asking the people to be ready for a full-fledged war. Mukti Fauj fought valiantly hand in hand with Indian Army. The Pak Army was demoralized, seeing the entire population of East Pakistan lending their full weight behind the Indian Army-Mukti Fauj combine. On December 6, she recognized the independence of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, while addressing the Parliament. “Our thoughts at this moment are with the father of the new nation, Mujib-ur Rehman,” she said to the roaring applause from the members, cutting across party lines.
However, on the sixth day of the war, Indian Army received some severe blows on the front. A gloomy commander-in-chief General Manekshaw reported to Indira Gandhi about the casualties the Indian Army had suffered. Indira remained cool. “Dear Sam, you cannot win every day,” she said.
It was perhaps the finest moments for the lady who represented not just the velvet but the steel and granite of India, as her biographer Pupul Jayakar wrote. She was compared to Durga, out to vanquish the demons, fighting the battle as the invincible general of the Indian Army.
Crushed by the deadly blows, the Pakistan leadership based in Dhaka finally agreed to lay down arms. At that critical point of time, US President Richard Nixon stepped into the scene to stop Pakistan Army from surrendering on humiliating terms. The dreaded Seventh Fleet started sailing towards Bay of Bengal to browbeat India. On December 12 when the fleet was nearing the war front Indira addressed a gathering at Ramlila Ground, ignoring the Intelligence’s warning. She spoke with a passionate intensity. “We would not retreat. Not by a single step would we move back,” she thundered.
What followed was well-known. Pakistani forces led by General Niazi surrendered before lieutenant General Arora in Dhaka at 4.30 pm on December 16.
Indira Gandhi was engaged in an interview when the eagerly-awaited surrender happened. She received a call on her secret phone. Manekshaw was on line. She answered in monosyllables without any change of expression on her face, wrote Jayakar. She did not cancel the interview. The interview over, she ran into the lok Sabha like a nimble girl carrying good news. It was 5.30 pm when she rose to address the emotion-choked House. “Mr Speaker, Sir. I have an announcement to make, which, I think, the House has been waiting for, for some time. The West Pakistan forces have unconditionally surrendered in Bangladesh...”
Many asked her to mount an attack on West Pakistan which was reeling under a stunning shock. But she chose not to, keeping in view the fact that it would let the big powers-USA, USSR and China- to dabble in the sub-continent. She declared instead a unilateral ceasefire on the Western front, to the surprise of the big powers.