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Concept
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Summary
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 or the Third India–Pakistan War was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 to 16 December 1971.
The official de-jure war began with Pakistan airforce-affiliated Operation Chengiz Khan, which consisted of preemptive aerial strikes on 11 Indian air stations resulting in minor damages and the suspension of counter-air operations for a mere few hours. The strikes led to India declaring war on Pakistan, marking its entry into the war for East Pakistan's independence, on the side of Bengali nationalist forces. India's entry expanded the existing conflict, with Indian and Pakistani forces engaging on both the eastern and western fronts.
Thirteen days into the war, India had achieved total superiority in East Pakistan, while it also had sufficient superiority in West Pakistan, which later resulted in the Eastern defence of Pakistan signing a joint instrument of surrender, the second-largest in recorded history after the German surrender in World War II on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka. This marked the official end of the conflict and the formation of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh. Approximately 93,000 Pakistani servicemen were taken prisoner by the Indian Army, including 79,676 to 81,000 uniformed personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces along with some Bengali soldiers who had remained loyal to Pakistan. The remaining 10,324 to 12,500 prisoners were civilians, either family members of the military personnel or collaborators (Razakars).
It is estimated that members of the Pakistani military and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 civilians in Bangladesh. As a result of the conflict, a further eight to ten million people fled the country to seek refuge in India.
During the 1971 Bangladesh war for independence, members of the Pakistani military and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias called the Razakars raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bangladeshi women and girls in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape.
Official source
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