On March 31, 1971, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi moved a resolution in parliament strongly criticising the military action in Bangladesh.
At 4:00am on March 30, 1971, Bangladeshi forces, comprising East Pakistan Rifles (EPR), police and civilians under the leadership of Abu Osman Chowdhury, then a major and commander of the fourth wing of EPR, attacked the Pakistan occupation army in Kushtia from three sides.
In the evening, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was flown via helicopter from the cantonment, where he was detained, to the Tejgaon Airport. Afterwards, he was flown to Karachi by a special military aircraft.
On March 28, 1971, American Consul General in Dhaka, Archer K Blood, sent a telegram to Islamabad and Washington captioned “selective genocide”. He reported that they were “mute and horrified by a reign of terror by the Pakistan military” in East Pakistan. Pointing towards various pieces of evidence, Blood suggested that Awami League supporters and Hindus were being systematically targeted by the martial law administrators.
American Consul General Archer K Blood in a situation report submitted on March 27, 1971, wrote that according to numerous accounts, including eye witness reports, the Pak military crackdown on Bangalee nationalists has been carried out throughout Dacca swiftly, efficiently (despite heavy resistance from some quarters, including pro-Awami League police and East Pak Rifles), and often with ruthless brutality.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a press statement issued today, called for a general strike throughout Bangladesh on March 27 against the army’s action in certain places in East Pakistan including Saidpur, Rangpur and Joydevpur.
There was a final meeting between Awami League’s team and Yahya’s advisers on March 24, 1971, at 6:00pm.
The representatives of president Yahya Khan and an Awami League team met twice today.
"Every scoundrel wants to be a poet; ants are hell-bent on flying / The jungle's tusked boars lay claim to the highest throne."
This alignment between India and China on Bangladesh's elections is quite unique in the context of South Asia
The by-elections in Laxmipur-3 and Brahmanbaria-2 have once again laid bare the grim political reality of Bangladesh, all while the country is just about two months away from its national election.
On October 18, US President Joe Biden travelled to Israel, offering support for its military operations in the Gaza Strip, despite growing global calls for a ceasefire.
In the upcoming election, if the ruling party emerges victorious, Chinese influence may strengthen even further.
The way the AL-led government has been handling Khaleda Zia's treatment issue lacks political courtesy and reeks of vengeance.
The lack of protest against this undemocratic move is also concerning.
Pakistan is the metaphor of everything Bangladesh doesn't want to be.
After the war, the library authorities placed advertisements requesting people to return any books from the library that they might have in their possession, but the response was poor. The library's hundred-year-old collection was lost forever.
After a two-year pause, the conflict between the Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar’s military junta has resurged in Rakhine.
