The Problem: Indias Military Intervention in East Pakistan (Essay Sample)

India’s Military Intervention in East Pakistan
[Name]
[Institutional Affiliation]
The most unfortunate and yet unsolved problem in the entire South Asia are the unsolved conflicts between India and Pakistan. The roots of the conflicts are in the partition of the two countries back in 1947. The British had ruled the subcontinent for 250 years and exploited the land and its people using the divide and rule principle. The British established policies which developed a rift between Hindu and Muslim population of the sub-continent (Mir, 2014). The main reason behind the British policy was to undermine the potential rebellion against the colonial rule imposed by them. The British used these two groups against each other and earned great benefits from this divide. The policies lead to the formation of the All India Muslim League which eventually demanded their independent state for Muslims in the Muslim majority areas of the subcontinent in 1940. The demand for a separate homeland for the Muslims gain momentum and resulted in the formation of Pakistan and India as two separate sovereign states (Mir, 2014).
Since their establishment as the sovereign states, they have fought three major wars and latest border confrontation occurred in 1999 when Pakistan’s Army infiltrated the Indian’s Army positions in the Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir. In the late 1990’s the both nations declared themselves and tested nuclear-capable missiles. Becoming the nuclear powers the both nations have raised concerned in the eyes of the entire world as the case of nuclear war would be dreadful for the region and the entire world (Park, 2016). The war of 1971 resulted in the separation of the East-Pakistan from West-Pakistan and formation of a new sovereign state known to the world as Bangladesh. In this essay, I would like to discuss the factors that resulted in the conflict of 1971, the India’s political stance at the time, the reasons behind the India’s military intervention in the East-Pakistan and legitimacy of the Indian intervention.
The India participated in the conflict claiming that it is there to protect the innocent lives of the civilians and stop the flow of the migrants towards their border. To analyze this claim and prove its legitimacy one needs to analyze the concept of the humanitarian intervention, political and military situation of the East Pakistan and core of the conflict between the people of East Pakistan and the government along with the consequences for the India. In this essay, a brief review is provided for the readers in order to have a clear idea of the situation back in 1971, factors behind and the reason for the intervention of the India in the matters of a sovereign state using the phrase humanitarian intervention.
Before analyzing the stance taken by the India at the time of the conflict it is important ot understand the geopolitics of the East Pakistan at the time. The genocide which happened in the Pakistan was not a surprise for the victims. Since its establishment, there was a significant difference between the geographically distinct parts of the same state. There was not only a single genocide experienced by the victims it included, a civil war between the two wings of the Pakistan, community violence between the Bengalis and non-Bengalis, a conventional war and counter-genocide. By the 1970’s due to decades of military dictatorship the relationships between the eastern and western parts of the country were under extreme pressure (Pai, 2008).
The disadvantaged part of the country which was highly populated than the West Wing of the country was feeling that it was just a colony of the Western Wing. The ruling class along with the military leadership belonged to the West Pakistan while the bulk of the revenue was generated from the East Pakistan in the form of the exports from its part. Even after the two decades passed as a single nation the views of the people in the West Pakistan were not changed about the people of East Pakistan and they were commonly called "low-lying people of a low-lying land" (Pai, 2008).
Some of the people argue that the East Pakistan was becoming the drain of the economy. The export levels of the country were falling and the devastated economy due to the natural disaster were putting a burden on the central government present in the East Pakistan. There were deepest differences between the two parts of the country. In the same strained situation, the General Yahya Khan the president of the military government of the Pakistan announced to held elections in the country. The transition to democracy was going to take place (Jabeen & Chandio, 2010). In the mid of 1970, it was generally estimated that the new government will be formed with Z.A Bhutto as the new leader of the nation. The Mujib-Ur-Rehman’s Awami League was supposed to gain the majority in the East Pakistan. Just before the elections "Bhola" a storm struck the East Pakistan affecting almost the entire geographical area of the country. The government was slow in providing the relief services and the result was the increased rage of the Bengalis (Pai, 2008). Following the event the Mujib-Ur-Rehman exploiting the situation called to observe civil-disobedience and demanded substantive autonomy for the entire Bengali region (Pai, 2008). The elections were conducted and the Awami Muslim League won 106 compared to the 86 seats of PPP headed Z.A Bhutto. The Awami league and PPP decided not to cooperate with each other resulting in a political deadlock and eventual dismantling of the entire state (Chandio et.al, 2010).
In such a complicated situation the Military command of the Pakistan under a dictator started to take action. The simple defense strategy of Pakistan in the 1970’s war was the defense of the East lies in the West. There were limited military resources allocated for the East Pakistan. The protests announced by the Awami League were not peaceful. The civil disobedience was at its peak, there were reports of attacks on the police and riots between Bengalis and Baharis (non-Bangladeshi) (Pai, 2008; Zaki, 2012). The soldiers from the West Pakistan in the army were subjected to violence, insult, and fatal attacks. The army did not respond to the attacks and it seemed that the army had already planned to suppress the movement by the use of excessive force (Pai, 2008). The army sent reinforcements to the Eastern Wing when the negotiations between the politicians Z.A Bhutto, General Yahya Khan, and Mujib failed. The India at the time had made its territory no-fly zone for the all Pakistani airplanes at that time. There were constant threats by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to respond to any Pakistani flight operating conducting over its air space. The Pakistan had to use Srilanka’s air space to transport troops and other necessary items to East Pakistan (Pai, 2008; Zaki, 2012).
The military command decided to use the firepower against its own citizens because they were facing the scenario of losing the government into the hands of Bengalis. The worst scenario was the fact that they would lose the country and they did. They would not have able to control the 75 million people using gentle politics. The general population was armed with the aid of India at that time. Moreover, the Pakistani Leadership thought that the citizens of the East Pakistan were not martial and their rebellion can be controlled by simply terrorizing them (Pai, 2008; Zaki, 2012). The military of Pakistan was also suffering from the Hinduphobia as they thought that Bangladeshi population was under the influence of the Hindu population. They tried to wipe out the Hindu population by means of genocide or forcing them to migrate to India. They wanted to convert the Bangladeshi identity into an Islamic one (Pari, 2008).
The Pakistani Army started to exterminate the Bengalis indiscriminately. The only parameter was to eliminate any Bengali who had the capability or intention to act for the separation of East Pakistan. The existing and potentially capable citizens were the general targets for the genocide. The Hindu minority was also the major target of the army operations for killing. The members of the Awami League, their supporters, intellectuals and university students were targeted and killed. The extermination also included the Bengali soldiers and policemen which were just killed because of their race despite the fact that they were loyally serving the Pakistan (Pari, 2008).
The first phase of the genocide started on the March 25th by the Pakistani army with the operation known as "Operation Search Light" (Pari, 2008). It was a massive operation against lightly armed Bengali resistance at the time. The tanks were used and the entire neighborhoods were set on the fire using artillery. Dhaka University was the major site of a large number of casualties. There were strikes against the Bangladeshi police and paramilitary forces. The death toll alone in the Dhaka was 30,000. The pattern of the operation was repeated in the major cities all around the East Pakistan and the conquered villages and cities were labeled as "liberated areas" (Pari, 2008).
The second phase of the operation "Search and Destroy" was started in the mid-May to early October. The resistance was more organized and continuously received training from the India; successfully carried out raids on the supply routes and the target of opportunities at their disposal. The local population supported the resistance and the training knowledge to advantage against the army. The army retaliated by repeating its genocidal tactics and committed more war crimes. The army continued its operation by destroying and burning the villages on the hint of cooperation with the rebels. The estimated rape victims during this operation were among 200,000 to 40,0...