Liberation Bangladesh - 1971 by Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch [Paperback]

Narrated for the first time in this book, are never before published stories by soldiers who fought the Liberation War. Described with disarming candour and honesty, the book covers the sacrifices of the citizens of Bangladesh and the exploits of the Indian Armed Forces jointly with the Mukti Bahini, which brought the tyranny and genocide of the Pakistan establishment to an end and a new nation, Bangladesh was born. How can any national not be proud of soldiers such as these? Their saga or courage, valour,suffering and pain must never be forgotten if we are to preserve our freedom and our way of life. A compelling read for the young and old alike. On 25 March 1971, the Pakistan Government launched Operation Searchlight, the code name for the military crackdown on the Eastern wing, to suppress Bengali calls for self determination. In a conference held a moth earlier, President Yahya Khan said ""Kill three million of them and the rest will eat out of your hands,"" thus giving state sanction to genocide. Over the next nine months, the Pakistan military and supporting militias went on an orgy of killing, rape and loot, which for its sheer brutality is unparalleled. The resistance movement that developed to fight the forces of repression had to contend with the might of a merciless and well-armed military that had no compunction in killing unarmed civilians. Yet, the people soldiered on, unwilling to suffer indignity and deprivation. In support of the freedom movement, the Indian Armed Forces, jointly operation with the Mukti Bahini intervened militarily on 3 December and in a swift 13-day war,forced the Pakistani military to unconditionally surrender.