Bangladesh Liberation War
(From Wikipedia-the free encyclopedia)
Bangladesh Liberation WarPart of fighters, Pakistan Armysoldiers firing mortars, East Pakistani refugees in India, Bangladeshis celebrating the fall of Dhaka, Surrender ceremony of Pakistan Army toBangladesh-India Allied Forces on December 16, 1971, Indian Armytroops marching towards JessoreDate26 March – 16 December 1971LocationEast PakistanResult• Indian and Mukti Bahini victory against Pakistan
• Subsequent independence of Bangladesh
• Eastern Military High Command collapse
• Disintegration of United Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Territorial
changesEast Pakistan secedes to become BangladeshBelligerents East Pakistan
India (joins the war on 3 December 1971)[1]
West Pakistan
Commanders and leaders General M. A. G. Osmani
Lt.Gen. J.S. Aurora
FM Sam Manekshaw
Lt.Gen. Sagat Singh
Maj.Gen. JFR Jacob LGen A.A.K. Niazi
LGen Tikka Khan
RAdm M. Shariff
Air-CDRE Enamul HuqStrengthBangladesh Forces: 175,000[2][3]
India: 250,000[2]Pakistan Combatant Forces: ~ 365,000[2]
Para Military: ~250,000[4]
Casualties and lossesBangladesh Forces: 30,000
India: 1,426 KIA
3,611 Wounded (Official)
1,525 KIA
4,061 Wounded[5]Pakistan
~8,000 KIA[citation needed]
~10,000 WIA[citation needed]
93,000 [6] POWs
(56,694 Armed Forces
12,192 Paramilitary
rest civilians)[5] [7]
Civilian death toll: 300,000–3,000,000 (estimates)
Bangladesh Liberation War- The Bangladesh Liberation War (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ Muktijuddho) was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and Indiaagainst West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation ofBangladesh.
The war broke out on 26 March 1971 as army units directed by West Pakistan launched a military operation in East Pakistan against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, and armed personnel who were demanding separation of the East from West Pakistan. Bengali military, paramilitary, and civilians formed the Mukti Bahini (Bengali: মুক্তি বাহিনী"Liberation Army") and used guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the West Pakistan army. India provided economic, military and diplomatic support to the Mukti Bahini rebels, leading West Pakistan to launch Operation Chengiz Khan, apre-emptive attack on the western border of India which started the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
On 16 December 1971, the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini defeated the West Pakistani forces deployed in the East. The resulting surrender was the largest in number of prisoners of war since World War II.
BackgroundIn August 1947, the Partition of British India gave birth to two new states;[10] a secular state named India and an Islamic state named Pakistan. Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west ofIndia.[11] The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge.[12]
On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[13] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment[14] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.[15]
The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces[16] led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971.[17] Pakistani President Agha Mohammed Yahyaordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war.[17] The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[18][19] flooding into the eastern provinces of India.[18] Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.
East Pakistani grievancesEconomic disparitiesAlthough East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget.
YearSpending on West Pakistan (in millions ofPakistani rupees)Spending on East Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees)Amount spent on East as percentage of West1950–5511,2905,24046.41955–6016,5505,24031.71960–6533,55014,04041.81965–7051,95021,41041.2Total113,34045,93040.5Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan.Political differencesThis section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population,[20] political power remained firmly in the hands of West Pakistanis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the "One Unit" scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes.
After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to be devolved to the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President.
East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, he were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings.
The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a Sindhi and former professor), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.[21] Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for each wing. The proposal elicited outrage in the east wing, already chafing under the other constitutional innovation, the "one unit scheme". Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike. Bhutto feared a civil war, therefore, he sent his most trusted companion, dr. Mubashir Hassan.[21] A message was convened and Mujib decided to meet Bhutto.[21] Upon his arrival, Mujib met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Mujib as Premier and Bhutto as President.[21] However, these developments were unaware to military, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Mujib to reached a decision.[21]
On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be the prime minister) delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:
- The immediate lifting of martial law.
- Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.
- An inquiry into the loss of life.
- Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March.
He urged "his people" to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, "Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our independence." This speech is considered the main event that inspired the nation to fight for its independence. General Tikka Khan was flown in to Dhaka to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in.
Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dhaka. These "Government Passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress. MV Swat, a ship of the Pakistan Navy, carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harboured in Chittagong Port and the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship. A unit of East Pakistan Rifles refused to obey commands to fire on Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny of Bengali soldiers.
Military imbalanceBengalis were underrepresented in the Pakistan military. Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of overall force by 1965; of these, only a few were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative posts.[22] West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined" unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis; the "martial races" notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis.[22] Moreover, despite huge defence spending, East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts, purchasing and military support jobs. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis as only an under-strengthinfantry division and 15 combat aircraft without tank support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliations during the conflict.[23][24]
Language controversyMain article: Bengali Language MovementThe neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor-General, declared in Dhaka (then usually spelled Dacca in English) that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the common language for all of Pakistan.[25] This proved highly controversial, since Urdu was a language that was only spoken in the West by Muhajirs and in the East by Biharis, although the Urdu language had been promoted as the lingua franca of Indian Muslims by political and religious leaders such as Sir Khwaja Salimullah, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and Maulvi Abdul Haq. The language was considered a vital element of the Islamic culture for Indian Muslims; Hindi and the Devanagari script were seen as fundamentals of Hindu culture. The majority groups in West Pakistan spoke Punjabi, while the Bengali language was spoken by the vast majority of East Pakistanis.[26] The language controversy eventually reached a point where East Pakistan revolted while the other part of Pakistan remained calm even though Punjabi was spoken by the majority groups of West Pakistan. Several students and civilians lost their lives in a police crackdown on 21 February 1952.[26] The day is revered in Bangladesh and in West Bengal as the Language Martyrs' Day. Later, in memory of the 1952 killings, UNESCOdeclared 21 February as the International Mother Language Day in 1999.[27]
In West Pakistan, the movement was seen as a sectional uprising against Pakistani national interests[28] and the founding ideology of Pakistan, the Two-Nation Theory.[29] West Pakistani politicians considered Urdu a product of Indian Islamic culture,[30] as Ayub Khan said, as late as 1967, "East Bengalis... still are under considerable Hindu culture and influence."[30] But, the deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.[29][30]
Response to the 1970 cycloneThe 1970 Bhola cyclone made landfall on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November, around the same time as a local high tide,[31] killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people. Though the exact death toll is not known, it is considered the deadliest tropical cyclone on record.[32] A week after the landfall, President Khan conceded that his government had made "slips" and "mistakes" in its handling of the relief efforts due to a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.[33]
A statement released by eleven political leaders in East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with "gross neglect, callous and utter indifference". They also accused the president of playing down the magnitude of the problem in news coverage.[34] On 19 November, students held a march in Dhaka protesting the slowness of the government response.[35] Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50,000 people on 24 November, where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation.
As the conflict between East and West Pakistan developed in March, the Dhaka offices of the two government organisations directly involved in relief efforts were closed for at least two weeks, first by a general strike and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the Awami League. With this increase in tension, foreign personnel were evacuated over fears of violence. Relief work continued in the field, but long-term planning was curtailed.[36] This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This is one of the first times that a natural event helped to trigger a civil war.[37]
Operation SearchlightMain articles: Operation Searchlight and Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan#Evolution of the Pakistan High Command plan in 1971A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army – codenamed Operation Searchlight – started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement[38] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,[39] within one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.[40]
The main phase of Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali hands in mid-May. The operation also began the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, which ultimately resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. The international media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which vary greatly, from 5,000–35,000 in Dhaka, and 200,000–3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole,[8] and the atrocities have been referred to as acts of genocide.[41][42]
According to the Asia Times,[43]
At a meeting of the military top brass, Yahya Khan declared: "Kill 3 million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands." Accordingly, on the night of 25 March, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight to "crush" Bengali resistance in which Bengali members of military services were disarmed and killed, students and the intelligentsia systematically liquidated and able-bodied Bengali males just picked up and gunned down.
Although the violence focused on the provincial capital, Dhaka, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the University of Dhaka were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall – the Jagannath Hall – was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered. The Pakistani army denies any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamood-ur-Rehman commission in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used at the university. This fact and the massacre at Jagannath Hall and nearby student dormitories of Dhaka University are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Prof. Nurul Ullah of the East Pakistan Engineering University, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories.[44]
The scale of the atrocities was first made clear in the West when Anthony Mascarenhas, a Pakistani journalist who had been sent to the province by the military authorities to write a story favourable to Pakistan's actions, instead fled to the United Kingdom and, on 13 June 1971, published an article in the Sunday Times describing the systematic killings by the military. The BBC writes: "There is little doubt that Mascarenhas' reportage played its part in ending the war. It helped turn world opinion against Pakistan and encouraged India to play a decisive role", with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself stating that Mascarenhas' article has led her "to prepare the ground for India's armed intervention".[45]
Hindu areas suffered particularly heavy blows. By midnight, Dhaka was burning,[citation needed] especially the Hindu dominated eastern part of the city. Time magazine reported on 2 August 1971, "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Pakistani military hatred."
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Mujib with multiple charges. The tribunal's sentence was never made public, but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case.[citation needed] Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dhaka to avoid arrest. The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan.[46]
Declaration of independenceThe violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces on 25 March 1971, proved the last straw to the efforts to negotiate a settlement. Following these outrages, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official declaration that read:
Today Bangladesh is a sovereign and independent country. On Thursday night, West Pakistani armed forces suddenly attacked the police barracks at Razarbagh and the EPR headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka. Many innocent and unarmed have been killed in Dhaka city and other places of Bangladesh. Violent clashes between E.P.R. and Police on the one hand and the armed forces of Pakistan on the other, are going on. The Bengalis are fighting the enemy with great courage for an independent Bangladesh. May Allah aid us in our fight for freedom. Joy Bangla.[47][48]
Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message.[49] Mujib was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 at about 1:30 am (as per Radio Pakistan's news on 29 March 1971).
A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in Chittagong. The message was translated to Bangla by Dr. Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Radio Pakistan. They crossed Kalurghat Bridge into an area controlled by an East Bengal Regiment under Major Ziaur Rahman. Bengali soldiers guarded the station as engineers prepared for transmission. At 19:45 hrs on 27 March 1971, Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast the announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur. On 28 March Major Ziaur Rahman made another announcement, which was as follows:
This is Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. At his direction, I have taken command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalis to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our Motherland. By the grace of Allah, victory is ours. Joy Bangla. Audio of Zia's announcement (interview – Belal Mohammed)
The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited. The message was picked up by a Japanese ship in Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia and later by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
M A Hannan, an Awami League leader from Chittagong, is said to have made the first announcement of the declaration of independence over the radio on 26 March 1971.[50] There is controversy now as to when Major Zia gave his speech. BNP sources maintain that it was 26 March, and there was no message regarding declaration of independence from Mujibur Rahman. Pakistani sources, like Siddiq Salik in Witness to Surrender had written that he heard about Mujibor Rahman's message on the Radio while Operation Searchlight was going on, and Maj. Gen. Hakeem A. Qureshi in his book The 1971 Indo-Pak War: A Soldier's Narrative, gives the date of Zia's speech as 27 March 1971.[51]
26 March 1971 is considered the official Independence Day of Bangladesh, and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth. In July 1971, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi openly referred to the former East Pakistan as Bangladesh.[52] Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971.
Liberation warMain article: Bangladesh War timelineMarch to JuneLeaflets and pamphlets played an important role in driving public opinion during the war.See also: Mukti BahiniAt first resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.[53] But when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The Mukti Bahini became increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India. Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganising their forces. They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (who were mostly members of the Muslim League, the then government party and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time ofpartition.
On 17 April 1971, a provisional government was formed in Meherpur district in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Acting President, Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister, and General Muhammad Ataul Ghani Osmani as Commander-in-Chief, Bangladesh Forces. As fighting grew between the occupation army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini an estimated 10 million Bengalis, sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.[54]
June – SeptemberThe eleven sectorsSee also: List of sectors in Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M. A. G. Osmani as commander-in-chief (C-in-C) with the status of Cabinet Minister, Lt. Col. Abdur Rabb as chief of Staff (COS), Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) and Major A R Chowdhury as Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS). Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors each with a commander chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani army who joined the Mukti Bahini to conduct guerrilla operations and train fighters. Most of their training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with assistance from India. The 10th Sector was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) General M. A. G. Osmani and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C's special force.[55] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.[56]
Guerrilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August. Economic and military targets in Dhaka were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong on 16 August 1971. Pakistani reprisals claimed lives of thousands of civilians.[citation needed] The Indian army took over supplying the Mukti Bahini from the BSF. They organised six sectors for supplying the Bangladesh forces.
October – DecemberAlso See: Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan, Bangladesh 1971: Opposing Plans, Pakistan Army Order of Battle December 1971and Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971Bangladesh conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 BOPs fell to Bengali forces. Guerrilla attacks intensified, as did Pakistani and Razakar reprisals on civilian populations. Pakistani forces were reinforced by eight battalions from West Pakistan. The Bangladeshi independence fighters even managed to temporarily capture airstrips at Lalmonirhatand Shalutikar.[57] Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent another 5 battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.
Indian involvementIllustration showing military units and troop movements during the war.See also: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971Major battles
Wary of the growing involvement of India, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a pre-emptive strike on Indian Air Force bases on 3 December 1971. The attack was modelled on the Israeli Air Force's Operation Focus during the Six-Day War, and intended to neutralize the Indian Air Force planes on the ground. However, the plan failed to achieve the desired success since India had anticipated such an action. The strike was however seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression. This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War.
As a response to the attack, both India and Pakistan formally acknowledged the existence of a state of war between the two countries, even though neither government had formally issued a Declaration of War.[58]
Three Indian corps were involved in the invasion of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more fighting irregularly. This was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions.[59] The Indians quickly overran the country, selectively engaging or bypassing heavily defended strongholds. Pakistani forces were unable to effectively counter the Indian attack, as they had been deployed in small units around the border to counter guerrilla attacks by the Mukti Bahini.[60]Unable to defend Dhaka, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971.
The speed of the Indian strategy can be gauged by the fact that one of the regiments of Indian army (7 Punjab now 8 Mechanised Inf Regiment) fought the liberation war along the Jessore and Khulna axis. They were newly converted to a mechanised regiment and it took them just 1 week to reach Khulna after capturing Jessore. Their losses were limited to just 2 newly acquired APCs (SKOT) from the Russians.
India's external intelligence agency, the RAW, played a crucial role in providing logistic support to the Mukti Bahini during the initial stages of the war. RAW's operations, in then East Pakistan, was the largest covert operation in the history of South Asia.
Pakistani responsePakistan launched a number of armoured thrusts along India's western front in attempts to force Indian troops away from East Pakistan. Pakistan tried to fight back and boost the sagging morale by incorporating the Special Services Group commandos in sabotage and rescue missions.
The air and naval warThe Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan, and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. It achieved near-total air supremacy by the end of the first week as the entire Pakistani air contingent in the east, PAF No.14 Squadron, was grounded because of Indian airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lal Munir Hat and Shamsher Nagar. Sea Hawks from INS Vikrant also struck Chittagong, Barisal and Cox's Bazar, destroying the eastern wing of the Pakistan Navy and effectively blockading the East Pakistan ports, thereby cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers. The nascent Bangladesh Navy (comprising officers and sailors who defected from the Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably Operation Jackpot.
United Nations Security Council involvementThough the United Nations condemned the human rights violations during and following Operation Searchlight, it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war.
Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of independence in March 1971, India undertook a world-wide campaign to drum up political, democratic and humanitarian support for the people of Bangladesh for their liberation struggle. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made a whirlwind tour of a large number of countries in a bid to create awareness of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis. This effort was to prove vital later during the war, in framing the world's context of the war and to justify military action by India.[61] Also, following Pakistan's defeat, it ensured prompt recognition of the newly independent state of Bangladesh.
Following India's entry into the war, Pakistan fearing certain defeat, made urgent appeals to the United Nations to intervene and force India to agree to a cease fire. The UN Security Council assembled on 4 December 1971 to discuss the hostilities in South Asia. After lengthy discussions on 7 December, the United States made a resolution for "immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops." While supported by the majority, the USSR vetoed the resolution twice. In light of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis, the United Kingdom and France abstained on the resolution.[58][62]
On 12 December, with Pakistan facing imminent defeat, the United States requested that the Security Council be reconvened. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was rushed to New York City to make the case for a resolution on the cease fire. The council continued deliberations for four days. By the time proposals were finalised, Pakistan's forces in the East had surrendered and the war had ended, making the measures merely academic. Bhutto, frustrated by the failure of the resolution and the inaction of the United Nations, ripped up his speech and left the council.[62]
Most UN member nations were quick to recognize Bangladesh within months of its liberation.[61]
Surrender and aftermathIndian Lt. Gen J.S. Aurora and Pakistani Lt. Gen A.A.K. Niazi's signatures on the Instrument of Surrender.On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi, CO of Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender. At the time of surrender only a few countries had provided diplomatic recognition to the new nation. Over 90,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces making it the largest surrender since World War II.[6][63] Bangladesh sought admission in the UN with most voting in its favour, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.[64] The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.[65] To ensure a smooth transition, in 1972 the Simla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan. The treaty ensured that Pakistan recognised the independence of Bangladesh in exchange for the return of the Pakistani PoWs. India treated all the PoWs in strict accordance with the Geneva Convention, rule 1925.[66] It released more than 93,000 Pakistani PoWs in five months.[6]
Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India. The accord also gave back more than 13,000 km2 (5,019 sq mi) of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas;[67] most notably Kargil (which would in turn again be the focal point for a war between the two nations in 1999). This was done as a measure of promoting "lasting peace" and was acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India. But some in India felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for leniency, arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being overly harsh by Pakistanis.
Reaction in West Pakistan to the warReaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and civilians alike. No one had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight and there was also anger at what was perceived as a meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan. Yahya Khan's dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto who took the opportunity to rise to power. General Niazi, who surrendered along with 93,000 troops, was viewed with suspicion and hatred upon his return to Pakistan. He was shunned and branded atraitor. The war also exposed the shortcomings of Pakistan's declared strategic doctrine that the "defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan".[68] Pakistan also failed to gather international support, and found itself fighting a lone battle with only the USA providing any external help. This further embittered the Pakistanis who had faced the worst military defeat of an army in decades.
The debacle immediately prompted an enquiry headed by Justice Hamoodur Rahman. Called the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, it was initially suppressed by Bhutto as it put the military in a poor light. When it was declassified, it showed many failings from the strategic to the tactical levels. It also condemned the atrocities and the war crimes committed by the armed forces. It confirmed the looting, rapes and the killings by the Pakistan Army and their local agents although the figures are far lower than the ones quoted by Bangladesh. According to Bangladeshi sources, 200,000 women were raped and over 3 million people were killed, while the Rahman Commission report in Pakistan claimed 26,000 died and the rapes were in the hundreds. However, the army's role in splintering Pakistan after its greatest military debacle was largely ignored by successive Pakistani governments.[citation needed]
AtrocitiesRayerbazar killing field photographed immediately after the war, showing dead bodies of intellectuals (Image courtesy: Rashid Talukdar, 1971)Main article: 1971 Bangladesh atrocitiesDuring the war there were widespread killings and other atrocities – including the displacement of civilians in Bangladesh (East Pakistan at the time) and widespread violations of human rights – carried out by the Pakistan Army with support from political and religious militias, beginning with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971. Bangladeshi authorities claim that three million people were killed,[8] while theHamoodur Rahman Commission, an official Pakistan Government investigation, put the figure as low as 26,000 civilian casualties.[69] The international media and reference books in English have also published figures which vary greatly from 200,000 to 3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole.[8] A further eight to ten million people fled the country to seek safety in India.[70]
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,[71] at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.[72] Just 2 days before the surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and Razakar militia (local collaborators) picked up at least 100 physicians, professors, writers and engineers in Dhaka, and murdered them, leaving the dead bodies in a mass grave.[73] There are many mass graves in Bangladesh, and as years pass, more are being discovered (such as one in an old well near a mosque in Dhaka, located in the non-Bengali region of the city, which was discovered in August 1999).[74] The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dhaka to the United States State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dhaka University and other civilians.[75] Numerous women were tortured, raped and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate. Bangladeshi sources cite a figure of 200,000 women raped, giving birth to thousands of war babies.[76][77][78] The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex-slaves inside the Dhaka Cantonment. Most of the girls were captured from Dhaka University and private homes.[79] There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,[80] but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.[81]
On 16 December 2002, the George Washington University's National Security Archive published a collection of declassified documents, consisting mostly of communications between US embassy officials and United States Information Service centres in Dhaka and India, and officials in Washington DC.[82] These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms selective genocide[83] and genocide (see The Blood Telegram) to describe events they had knowledge of at the time. Genocide is the term that is still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh,[84][85] although elsewhere, particularly in Pakistan, the actual death toll, motives, extent, and destructive impact of the actions of the Pakistani forces are disputed.
Foreign reactionUSA and USSRThis section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)The United States supported Pakistan[86] both politically and materially. U.S. President Richard Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan. But when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, Nixon sent the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal,[87] a move deemed by the Indians as a nuclear threat.Enterprise arrived on station on 11 December 1971. On 6 and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of ships, armed with nuclear missiles, from Vladivostok; they trailed U.S. Task Force 74 in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until 7 January 1972.
The Nixon administration provided support to Pakistan President Yahya Khan during the turmoil.Nixon and Henry Kissinger feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and which he intended to visit in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China. In order to demonstrate to China the bona fides of the United States as an ally, and in direct violation of the US Congress-imposed sanctions on Pakistan, Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan and routed them through Jordan and Iran,[88] while also encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan.
The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the genocidal activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably theBlood telegram.
The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies, as well as the Mukti Bahini during the war, recognising that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals – the United States and China. It gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, the USSR would take countermeasures. This was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean.
At the end of the war, the Warsaw Pact countries were among the first to recognize Bangladesh. The Soviet Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972.[89] The United States delayed recognition for some months, before according it on 8 April 1972.[90]
ChinaAs a long-standing ally of Pakistan, the People's Republic of China reacted with alarm to the evolving situation in East Pakistan and the prospect of India invading West Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Believing that just such an Indian attack was imminent, Nixon encouraged China to mobilise its armed forces along its border with India to discourage it. The Chinese did not, however, respond to this encouragement, because unlike the 1962 Sino-Indian War when India was caught entirely unaware, this time the Indian Army was prepared and had deployed eight mountain divisions to the Sino-Indian border to guard against such an eventuality.[58] China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.
When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972, China vetoed their application[91] because two United Nations resolutions regarding the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians had not yet been implemented.[92] China was also among the last countries to recognize independent Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 31 August 1975.[91][61]
See also- Recipients of Bangladeshi military awards in 1971
- Artistic depictions of Bangladesh Liberation War
- Timeline of the Bangladesh War
- Mukti Bahini
- Liberation War Museum
References- Pierre Stephen and Robert Payne: Massacre, Macmillan, New York, (1973). ISBN 0-02-595240-4
- Christopher Hitchens "The Trials of Henry Kissinger", Verso (2001). ISBN 1-85984-631-9
- Library of Congress Country Studies
History of Bangla (Banglar itihash)
Bangla, being a member of the Indo-Aryan languages, is derived from Sanskrit, and hence appears to be similar to Hindi. It is written left-to-right, top-to-bottom of page (same as English). Vocabulary is akin to Sanskrit, and whilst it is quite difficult at first, there are to some extent similarities with Latin as exemplified by the following words [1]:
A table comparing the similarities between Bangla, Sanskrit, English & Latin wordsLanguageWordEnglishmonthmothernewnightnosethreeLatinmensismaternovusnoxnasustresSanskritmãsmatarnavanaktnãstrayasBanglamaashmatanoboratrinaakhtin
Bangla vocabulary shows many influences. In Bangladesh there is obviously a strong Perso-Arabic influence due to Islam. This is seen in the greetings of "Salaam aleykum" (Peace be unto you) and the reply "Wa aleykum as-salaam" (Unto you also peace) as well as "Khoda hafez" (God Bless you), the choice of names (Mohammed, Tanvir, Khaleda, Fatema), the names of family members "abba" (father) and "amma" (mother). Interestingly, the subsequent trade routes between the Arab world and the home of the Moguls led to words such as "dokan" (shop), "tarikh"(date), "kolom"(pen) and "bonduk" (gun) entering Bangla. The etymology of Bangladesh's second city, Chottogram, is of linguistic interest. Known as "Shatt' al-Ganga" (Arabic for "mouth of the Ganges") by the Arab traders who patronized the route prior to the discovery of India by the Europeans, the British anglicized the name to Chittagong.
In West Bengal the language situation is somewhat different. Being predominantly a Hindu state, the Hindu greeting is "Namashkar". The way of addressing family members is somewhat different also: "ma" (mother), "baba" or "pita" (father). However, it is in the case of "dada" that confusion arises. For Muslims "dada" is paternal grandfather whereas for Hindus it is elder brother.
Whilst other cultural differences include "goshol kora" (Bangladesh)/"snan kora" (West Bengal) meaning to bathe, "shathey" (BD)/"shongey" (WB) meaning with, "pani" (BD)/"jol" (WB) meaning water and "lobon" (BD)/"nun" (WB) meaning salt [2], these prove not to be an obstacle to learning Bangla. They are simply something to be aware of just like "lift" (GB English) and "elevator" (US English).
A strong influence of English in Bangla is easily noticeable. Primarily, during the days of the Raj many words of English origin such as "tebil" (table), "tiffin" (archaic in modern day English meaning snack box) entered Bangla. In more recent time the ever rising global nature of English has lead to words such as "television", "telephone", "video" and "radio" being adopted by Bangla. However, unlike India, there has never been the need for English as a lingua franca and thus Bangla is the state language of Bangladesh.
Culturally, Bangla is very close to the hearts of Bangladeshis. There is without a doubt many reasons for this: following partition (1947) of India and the departure of the educated Hindu classes in the administration, the Bangladeshi intellectuals felt the need of Bangla as a means of identifying their culture and nationalism. This is exemplified by the fact that Bangla was crucial in precipitating the events of the Bangladeshi War of Independence (1971) for the following reasons. The partition of British India led to the creation of India and Pakistan. Pakistan - a country made of two regions physically divided by the land mass (1600 kilometers) of India, yet theoretically united by religion (Islam). However, the differences between the predominantly Urdu speaking province (West Pakistan - modern day Pakistan) and that of the predominantly Bangla speaking province (East Pakistan - now the independent state of Bangladesh) were great. The uniting factor of Islam was to prove not enough to overcome the economic, political and social differences. The differences and inequalities of the West Pakistani administrative centre stirred up a sense of Bangla nationalism which the Muslim League - in its desire to create a Muslim homeland and so end Hindu dominance - had not calculated. The economic, political and social inequalities were exacerbated with time. The Pakistan government's declaration that `Urdu and only Urdu' would be the national language led to a language movement which quickly became the Bangla national movement. The death of 12 students who were killed by the Pakistani army during the 1952 riots in Dhaka is commemorated by a stark statue (Shohid Minaar - the martyr's tower) in Dhaka near Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The image of which appears on stamps and on the two taka note (See picture).
Bangla, like English, has distinct linguistic tracts. Whilst in English vocabulary of Anglo-Saxon/German stock is much more prevalent in everyday parlance, whereas words of French derivation are more educated and those of Latin stock show a further level of education as exemplified by the words: holy (heilig in German), sacred (sacré in French) and consecrated (consecrãre in Latin) a similar situation arises in Bangla. As opposed to being a concept of the level of education, the distinct choice of word stock is more to do with a political/religious/social inclination. The words "nobo"/"notun", meaning new, are not interchangeable. "nobo" is used in auspicious circumstances hence to wish someone "Happy New Year" one says "Shubo nobo bosho", whereas "notun" is used in everyday language as exemplified by "I have a new car" renders "Ami notun gari achi". However, the word "victory" can be translated into Bangla in two ways. The choice of the word "joy" in proclaiming independence from Pakistan (1971) was crucial. For "joy" is a very Bangla word as opposed to "zindabad" which with its Urdu roots would have been a most inappropriate choice.
Bangla literature dates back to the 12th Century. In modern times it was the first Indian language to show the influence of Western literary styles, and in 1913 the Bangla poet and philosopher Rabindrananth Tagore (1861 - 1941) was the first Asian novelist to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. The award was for an English translation of his mystical poem "Gitanjali" (Song offerings). Modern day poets include Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899 - 1976) "bidrohi kobi" (the revolutionary poet) and Jasimuddin (1903 - 1976) "Polli kobi".Rabindra (Rabindranath Tagore, like all writers from the Indian sub-continent is known by first name, rather than by surname as is the practise in the West) besides being a literary artist, was the Indian subcontinent's greatest artist, an innovative musician (responsible for scores of songs including both the Bangladesh and Indian national anthems) and a social reformer.
Kazi Nazrul Islam's revolutionary poetry and sense of Bengali nationalism developped rapport with the Bengali Language Movement of the 1950's and 1960's which ultimately lead to the estblishment of Bangladesh as a sovereign state. In 1972 he moved from Culcutta to Bangladesh and was made tha national poet.
Jasimuddin, is recognized as the embodiment of Bengali folk culture as his inspiration was derived from the life of peasant farmer, fishermen, boatmen and the wandering gypsies.
Let's learn Bangla (Esho Bangla shikhi)
There are many outlets for Bangla books. Ruposhi Bangla (London) specializes in Bengali books and cultural objects. However, whilst Soma Books (London) does not offer a complete range of Bangla books, it does offer a wall chart showing the Bangla alphabet with accompanying pictures, some of Tagore's books (in English) and a great many favourite children's books in dual language (See Bangladesh in Britain page).As to learning the language there are great deal of books. On a note of caution, be careful. Many books have not been proof read very effectively, and thus can be very misleading to the beginner. Books published in the West tend to be of a better standard in this regard. If possible take a native speaker with you when selecting a book.
Bangla alphabet (Bangla bornomala)To start off with Bangla does not have the concept of upper or lower case letters. When learning Bangla it is best to try to get to grips with the alphabet as
(i) the sooner one learns the alphabet, the more aware one is of the complicated sound system which is nearly impossible to represent in Latin script;
(ii) the Bangla alphabet, unlike the Greek and Roman alphabets, is arranged in a logical fashion: Vowels first, then consonants (velars, palatals, retroflex, dentals, labials), semi-vowels and dipthongs and
(iii) transliterations tend to be very poor as most Bangla is transliterated via Hindi. Thus the implicit 'o' (after a consonant) in Bangla, is replaced with the implicit 'a' (after a consonant) of Hindi. This is best demonstrated with the famous Bangla author, film-director Satyajit Rai - a more appropriate transliteration of his name would be Shotojit Rai.Dr. Hilali's "Learning Bengali" [3] has an introduction to the vowel and consonant system of Bangla, which whilst it is only a few pages, is comprehensive. The following information is intended to be a brief overview of Bangla.
As to the vowels there are eleven vowels in Bengali with seven sounds - long and short. All Bangla vowels can be nasalised by using the nasal sign called "chondrobindu" (meaning moon dot). All Bangla vowels in the initial position of a word retain their original shape (see table below to see the traditional arrangement of Bangla vowels)
However, with the exception of the first vowel ("a") which has no signature and is always implicit in the consonant , they all change their shape when used with a consonant. The new shape, a signature (known in Bangla as a "kar"), then might proceed, come after, be around or at the bottom of the consonant.
As to consonants Bangla includes 39 characters. However, these 39 characters number no more than 29 sounds.
As one starts to learn words, begins to read letters and newspapers one comes across an array of letters not previously seen - conjuncts. These are the amalgamation of two or three sounds into one specific letter. Whilst in English for example "s" and "t" are two specific letters, which when said together produce one sound "st" and are written as two letters next to each other, this is not the case in Bangla. In the case of the word "London", the conjunct of "nd" is recognizable as the two letters are simply written on top of each other. However, in other cases, for example "bondhu" the resulting conjunct is a character which is hardly recognizable and needs to be learnt.
Bangla grammar (Bangla bakaron)
Grammatically, Bangla has some major differences from English. However, if one has previously studied foreign languages and has a concept of grammar we believe it is relatively easy. Like German, there are many impersonal constructions. When expressing coldness/hunger the expression is "amar thaan'da lagch'he" (Mir ist kalt) "amar khidaa legech'he" (Mir ist hungrig), which literally means "to me there is cold"/"to me there is hunger".Like Slavonic languages there is not a separate word for "the" or "a". Therefore the word "desh" may render country or countries. While it is usually obvious from context/grammatical agreement etc.,. the addition of the suffix "ta" ("deshta") renders "the country". Similarly, if the word "ek" (one) appears before the noun, it is evident that it refers to "one country". However, where it is to be "ekta" ("ek" plus the suffix "ta") this would be indicative that it were this one specific country.
Punctuation, with the exception of the full-stop, is the same as English puctuation. The end of a sentence in Bangla is indicated by a "dari" (full-stop) which is a straight line running vertical to the last word of the sentence.
Bangla coursesDue to the recent migration of Bangla speakers into the West in great numbers, particularly the UK and the USA, there has been an upsurge in people wishing to learn Bangla (as in the case of people of Bengali descent) as a means of reestablishing cultural links or (as in the case of the growing numbers of non-Bengalis learning Bangla) for sheer enjoyment, interest and employment purposes.The following organizations offer Bangla courses which range from examination level classes (G.C.S.E, "A" Level, degree, course units in degrees, classes for nurses/social workers/health workers with the local community etc.,.) for non-native speakers as well as those of Bengali descent:
In the United Kingdom :
Bangla on SW RadioRadio Bangladesh Overseas Broadcasts1230 - 1300 GMT @ 9650 KHz and 13616 KHz
1745 - 1900 GMT @ 7190 KHz, 9650 KHz and 15520 KHz
1915 - 2000 GMT @ 7190 KHz, 9650 KHz and 15520 KHzRadio Bangladesh
National Broadcasting Authority Head Quarters
121 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue
Dhaka - 1000, Bangladesh
BBC World Service Bangla Broadcasts0030 - 0045 GMT @ 9850 KHz, 11850 KHz and 15380 KHz
1330 - 1410 GMT @ 9605 KHz, 9860 KHz and 11920 KHz
1630 - 1700 GMT @ 7105 KHz, 9605 KHz and 9860 KHzBBC World Service
PO Box : 76, Bush House
London WC2B 4PH, UK
Tel : +44 (0)171 240 3456
or PO Box : 6079, Gulshan
Dhaka - 1212, Bangladesh
References
Anita J. Brady and Shabbir A. Bashar (collected)
Bangla, being a member of the Indo-Aryan languages, is derived from Sanskrit, and hence appears to be similar to Hindi. It is written left-to-right, top-to-bottom of page (same as English). Vocabulary is akin to Sanskrit, and whilst it is quite difficult at first, there are to some extent similarities with Latin as exemplified by the following words [1]:
A table comparing the similarities between Bangla, Sanskrit, English & Latin wordsLanguageWordEnglishmonthmothernewnightnosethreeLatinmensismaternovusnoxnasustresSanskritmãsmatarnavanaktnãstrayasBanglamaashmatanoboratrinaakhtin
Bangla vocabulary shows many influences. In Bangladesh there is obviously a strong Perso-Arabic influence due to Islam. This is seen in the greetings of "Salaam aleykum" (Peace be unto you) and the reply "Wa aleykum as-salaam" (Unto you also peace) as well as "Khoda hafez" (God Bless you), the choice of names (Mohammed, Tanvir, Khaleda, Fatema), the names of family members "abba" (father) and "amma" (mother). Interestingly, the subsequent trade routes between the Arab world and the home of the Moguls led to words such as "dokan" (shop), "tarikh"(date), "kolom"(pen) and "bonduk" (gun) entering Bangla. The etymology of Bangladesh's second city, Chottogram, is of linguistic interest. Known as "Shatt' al-Ganga" (Arabic for "mouth of the Ganges") by the Arab traders who patronized the route prior to the discovery of India by the Europeans, the British anglicized the name to Chittagong.
In West Bengal the language situation is somewhat different. Being predominantly a Hindu state, the Hindu greeting is "Namashkar". The way of addressing family members is somewhat different also: "ma" (mother), "baba" or "pita" (father). However, it is in the case of "dada" that confusion arises. For Muslims "dada" is paternal grandfather whereas for Hindus it is elder brother.
Whilst other cultural differences include "goshol kora" (Bangladesh)/"snan kora" (West Bengal) meaning to bathe, "shathey" (BD)/"shongey" (WB) meaning with, "pani" (BD)/"jol" (WB) meaning water and "lobon" (BD)/"nun" (WB) meaning salt [2], these prove not to be an obstacle to learning Bangla. They are simply something to be aware of just like "lift" (GB English) and "elevator" (US English).
A strong influence of English in Bangla is easily noticeable. Primarily, during the days of the Raj many words of English origin such as "tebil" (table), "tiffin" (archaic in modern day English meaning snack box) entered Bangla. In more recent time the ever rising global nature of English has lead to words such as "television", "telephone", "video" and "radio" being adopted by Bangla. However, unlike India, there has never been the need for English as a lingua franca and thus Bangla is the state language of Bangladesh.
Culturally, Bangla is very close to the hearts of Bangladeshis. There is without a doubt many reasons for this: following partition (1947) of India and the departure of the educated Hindu classes in the administration, the Bangladeshi intellectuals felt the need of Bangla as a means of identifying their culture and nationalism. This is exemplified by the fact that Bangla was crucial in precipitating the events of the Bangladeshi War of Independence (1971) for the following reasons. The partition of British India led to the creation of India and Pakistan. Pakistan - a country made of two regions physically divided by the land mass (1600 kilometers) of India, yet theoretically united by religion (Islam). However, the differences between the predominantly Urdu speaking province (West Pakistan - modern day Pakistan) and that of the predominantly Bangla speaking province (East Pakistan - now the independent state of Bangladesh) were great. The uniting factor of Islam was to prove not enough to overcome the economic, political and social differences. The differences and inequalities of the West Pakistani administrative centre stirred up a sense of Bangla nationalism which the Muslim League - in its desire to create a Muslim homeland and so end Hindu dominance - had not calculated. The economic, political and social inequalities were exacerbated with time. The Pakistan government's declaration that `Urdu and only Urdu' would be the national language led to a language movement which quickly became the Bangla national movement. The death of 12 students who were killed by the Pakistani army during the 1952 riots in Dhaka is commemorated by a stark statue (Shohid Minaar - the martyr's tower) in Dhaka near Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The image of which appears on stamps and on the two taka note (See picture).
Bangla, like English, has distinct linguistic tracts. Whilst in English vocabulary of Anglo-Saxon/German stock is much more prevalent in everyday parlance, whereas words of French derivation are more educated and those of Latin stock show a further level of education as exemplified by the words: holy (heilig in German), sacred (sacré in French) and consecrated (consecrãre in Latin) a similar situation arises in Bangla. As opposed to being a concept of the level of education, the distinct choice of word stock is more to do with a political/religious/social inclination. The words "nobo"/"notun", meaning new, are not interchangeable. "nobo" is used in auspicious circumstances hence to wish someone "Happy New Year" one says "Shubo nobo bosho", whereas "notun" is used in everyday language as exemplified by "I have a new car" renders "Ami notun gari achi". However, the word "victory" can be translated into Bangla in two ways. The choice of the word "joy" in proclaiming independence from Pakistan (1971) was crucial. For "joy" is a very Bangla word as opposed to "zindabad" which with its Urdu roots would have been a most inappropriate choice.
Bangla literature dates back to the 12th Century. In modern times it was the first Indian language to show the influence of Western literary styles, and in 1913 the Bangla poet and philosopher Rabindrananth Tagore (1861 - 1941) was the first Asian novelist to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. The award was for an English translation of his mystical poem "Gitanjali" (Song offerings). Modern day poets include Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899 - 1976) "bidrohi kobi" (the revolutionary poet) and Jasimuddin (1903 - 1976) "Polli kobi".Rabindra (Rabindranath Tagore, like all writers from the Indian sub-continent is known by first name, rather than by surname as is the practise in the West) besides being a literary artist, was the Indian subcontinent's greatest artist, an innovative musician (responsible for scores of songs including both the Bangladesh and Indian national anthems) and a social reformer.
Kazi Nazrul Islam's revolutionary poetry and sense of Bengali nationalism developped rapport with the Bengali Language Movement of the 1950's and 1960's which ultimately lead to the estblishment of Bangladesh as a sovereign state. In 1972 he moved from Culcutta to Bangladesh and was made tha national poet.
Jasimuddin, is recognized as the embodiment of Bengali folk culture as his inspiration was derived from the life of peasant farmer, fishermen, boatmen and the wandering gypsies.
Let's learn Bangla (Esho Bangla shikhi)
There are many outlets for Bangla books. Ruposhi Bangla (London) specializes in Bengali books and cultural objects. However, whilst Soma Books (London) does not offer a complete range of Bangla books, it does offer a wall chart showing the Bangla alphabet with accompanying pictures, some of Tagore's books (in English) and a great many favourite children's books in dual language (See Bangladesh in Britain page).As to learning the language there are great deal of books. On a note of caution, be careful. Many books have not been proof read very effectively, and thus can be very misleading to the beginner. Books published in the West tend to be of a better standard in this regard. If possible take a native speaker with you when selecting a book.
- TEACH YOURSELF BENGALI by William Radice
First published in UK (1994) by HODDER HEADLINE Plc
338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, UK
First published in USA (1994) by NTC Publishing Group
4255 West Touhy Avenue, Lincolnwood (Chicago)
Illinois 60646 - 1975, USA
Price : UK£ 12.99 including cassette
ISBN 0-340-55257-3
This book is available from : Dillons, 82 Gower Street, London WC1E 6EQ, Tel. +44 (0)171 636 1577, fax : +44 (0)171 580 7680; - LEARNING BENGALI by M R Hilali
Published by Ruposhi Bangla (UK) Ltd. (1990)
220 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SG, UK
Price : UK£ 15.00
Distributors in Bangladesh : Ruposhi Bangla (Bangladesh) Ltd.
136/4 Noyatola, Maghbazaar, Dhaka - 1217
ISBN 1 871109 01 9 - LEARN BENGALI YOURSELF by Bidhubhusan Dasgupta
Published by A. Das Gupta (1989)
C-15 College Street Market, Calcutta - 700007, India
Price : Indian Rupees 18.00 - Oxford Picture Dictionary ENGLISH- BENGALI by E C Parnwell
Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK (1989)
Price : Indian Rupees : 17.50
SBN 0 19 562156 5
Bangla alphabet (Bangla bornomala)To start off with Bangla does not have the concept of upper or lower case letters. When learning Bangla it is best to try to get to grips with the alphabet as
(i) the sooner one learns the alphabet, the more aware one is of the complicated sound system which is nearly impossible to represent in Latin script;
(ii) the Bangla alphabet, unlike the Greek and Roman alphabets, is arranged in a logical fashion: Vowels first, then consonants (velars, palatals, retroflex, dentals, labials), semi-vowels and dipthongs and
(iii) transliterations tend to be very poor as most Bangla is transliterated via Hindi. Thus the implicit 'o' (after a consonant) in Bangla, is replaced with the implicit 'a' (after a consonant) of Hindi. This is best demonstrated with the famous Bangla author, film-director Satyajit Rai - a more appropriate transliteration of his name would be Shotojit Rai.Dr. Hilali's "Learning Bengali" [3] has an introduction to the vowel and consonant system of Bangla, which whilst it is only a few pages, is comprehensive. The following information is intended to be a brief overview of Bangla.
As to the vowels there are eleven vowels in Bengali with seven sounds - long and short. All Bangla vowels can be nasalised by using the nasal sign called "chondrobindu" (meaning moon dot). All Bangla vowels in the initial position of a word retain their original shape (see table below to see the traditional arrangement of Bangla vowels)
However, with the exception of the first vowel ("a") which has no signature and is always implicit in the consonant , they all change their shape when used with a consonant. The new shape, a signature (known in Bangla as a "kar"), then might proceed, come after, be around or at the bottom of the consonant.
As to consonants Bangla includes 39 characters. However, these 39 characters number no more than 29 sounds.
As one starts to learn words, begins to read letters and newspapers one comes across an array of letters not previously seen - conjuncts. These are the amalgamation of two or three sounds into one specific letter. Whilst in English for example "s" and "t" are two specific letters, which when said together produce one sound "st" and are written as two letters next to each other, this is not the case in Bangla. In the case of the word "London", the conjunct of "nd" is recognizable as the two letters are simply written on top of each other. However, in other cases, for example "bondhu" the resulting conjunct is a character which is hardly recognizable and needs to be learnt.
Bangla grammar (Bangla bakaron)
Grammatically, Bangla has some major differences from English. However, if one has previously studied foreign languages and has a concept of grammar we believe it is relatively easy. Like German, there are many impersonal constructions. When expressing coldness/hunger the expression is "amar thaan'da lagch'he" (Mir ist kalt) "amar khidaa legech'he" (Mir ist hungrig), which literally means "to me there is cold"/"to me there is hunger".Like Slavonic languages there is not a separate word for "the" or "a". Therefore the word "desh" may render country or countries. While it is usually obvious from context/grammatical agreement etc.,. the addition of the suffix "ta" ("deshta") renders "the country". Similarly, if the word "ek" (one) appears before the noun, it is evident that it refers to "one country". However, where it is to be "ekta" ("ek" plus the suffix "ta") this would be indicative that it were this one specific country.
Punctuation, with the exception of the full-stop, is the same as English puctuation. The end of a sentence in Bangla is indicated by a "dari" (full-stop) which is a straight line running vertical to the last word of the sentence.
Bangla coursesDue to the recent migration of Bangla speakers into the West in great numbers, particularly the UK and the USA, there has been an upsurge in people wishing to learn Bangla (as in the case of people of Bengali descent) as a means of reestablishing cultural links or (as in the case of the growing numbers of non-Bengalis learning Bangla) for sheer enjoyment, interest and employment purposes.The following organizations offer Bangla courses which range from examination level classes (G.C.S.E, "A" Level, degree, course units in degrees, classes for nurses/social workers/health workers with the local community etc.,.) for non-native speakers as well as those of Bengali descent:
In the United Kingdom :
- School of Oriental and African Studies - SOAS (University of London)
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG. - Kingsway College
The Grays Inn Centre, Sidmouth Street, London WC1H 8JB
Tel. : (0171) 306 5700 - University of Westminster - School of Languages
115 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8JS
- School of Oriental and African Studies - SOAS (University of London)
- In the United States :
- Cornell University - Asian Studies Department
Ithaca, NY 14853, tel. : 607-255-4087, E-mail - [email protected] - Columbia University - Dept: Middle East Languages & Cultures
New York, NY 10027
Contact: Theodore Riccardi
- Cornell University - Asian Studies Department
Bangla on SW RadioRadio Bangladesh Overseas Broadcasts1230 - 1300 GMT @ 9650 KHz and 13616 KHz
1745 - 1900 GMT @ 7190 KHz, 9650 KHz and 15520 KHz
1915 - 2000 GMT @ 7190 KHz, 9650 KHz and 15520 KHzRadio Bangladesh
National Broadcasting Authority Head Quarters
121 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue
Dhaka - 1000, Bangladesh
BBC World Service Bangla Broadcasts0030 - 0045 GMT @ 9850 KHz, 11850 KHz and 15380 KHz
1330 - 1410 GMT @ 9605 KHz, 9860 KHz and 11920 KHz
1630 - 1700 GMT @ 7105 KHz, 9605 KHz and 9860 KHzBBC World Service
PO Box : 76, Bush House
London WC2B 4PH, UK
Tel : +44 (0)171 240 3456
or PO Box : 6079, Gulshan
Dhaka - 1212, Bangladesh
References
- Kenneth Katzner, 'The Languages of the World', Routledge, 1995.
- William Radice, 'Teach yourself Bengali', Hodder and Stoughton 1994.
- M R Hilali, 'Learning Bengali', Ruposhi Bangla (UK) Ltd., 1990.
Anita J. Brady and Shabbir A. Bashar (collected)