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16 December, celebrated in India as Vijay Diwas, marks the anniversary of the Indian Army’s victory in the war against Pakistan in 1971. The war was marked by the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops and is still remembered as a spectacular victory for India.
But what separates this war from the other wars India has had with Pakistan, is that this was the first time India went on the offensive against its arch enemy. Senior journalist K Yatish Rajwat highlights the importance of the war of 1971.
The popular narrative says that India, which was planning to intervene militarily in the ongoing Bangladeshi liberation movement, was attacked in a “pre-emptive”strike by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at Indian Air Force bases on 3 December 1971. The strike was seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression, and it marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War.
Within two weeks of intense fighting, Pakistani forces in East Pakistan surrendered to the joint command of Indian and Bangladeshi forces following which the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was created.
But history of course, isn’t immune to distorted narratives. Here’s how the war of 1971 plays out in Indian and Pakistani textbooks.
Pakistan’s narrative of the creation of Bangladesh blames India for “instigating” the East Pakistani dissenters. There is little or no mention in the textbooks of the recorded brutalities in 1971.
While Indian school text books claim India did nothing more than extend support to a “freedom struggle”.
For more on the opposing accounts of Indian and Pakistani history, click here.
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