Kader Bahini

Last updated

Kader Bahini (Force of Kader) was an independent militia created during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the other being Mukti Bahini. [1] It was named after its leader, Kader Siddique.

Contents

The militia operated against the Pakistan Army in Tangail zone. [2] It comprised an estimated 50,000 civilians. Siddique was wounded at the Makrar battle near Balla village. Kader Bahini is notable for the capture of a Pakistani ship with large quantities of arms and ammunition at Bhuapur. They also captured several armored cars along with bulletproof carriers.

Background

A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army – codenamed Operation Searchlight – started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement [3] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military, [4] within one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan. [5]

During 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 began with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971. Members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias killed an estimated 300,000 [6] to 3,000,000 people, [7] and raped 200,000–400,000 Bangladeshi women in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. [8] [9]

Formation

On 1 March 1971 the Tangail district unit of Swadhin Bangla Gono Mukti Parishad was formed. They organised the local youths and provided them with military training. After the launch of operation searchlight, local Mukti Bahinis in Tangail set up blockades on the road to Tangail at Goran-Satiachara in Mirzapur. The Pakistan army entered Tangail on 3 April, breaking through the blockade. Abdul Kader Siddique who was then a leader of Chhatra League form the Kader Bahini composed Mukti Bahini from Tangail soon after. Naik Habibur Rahman Mia, a veteran (since 1955) of the 2nd East Bengal Regiment and who had been a Weapons Instructor at EBRC, was one of the Company Commanders of the Kaderia Bahini. The in-charge of training was 41 year old Ghatail, Tangail native, retired Subedar Major of the 1st East Bengal Regiment, Khondokar Abu Taher, who was one of the first generation recruits of the 1st East Bengal Regiment in 1949, retired in 1970 as Sub. Maj and had been a Weapons Instructor at PMA Kakul. Lance Naik Mohiuddin and Sepoy Abdul Majid of East Bengal Regiment were Commando Platoon Leaders. At its height the force had at its disposal more than 15,000 .303 and Chinese Rifles, 2,000 SLRs, 800 LMGs and MMGs, 200 Antitank Rocket Launchers, 80 odd 50 Cal Heavy Machine Guns, 150 60mm mortars, 40 81mm mortars, 12 105 mm Recoilless Guns, and 10 120 mm mortars. [10]

Area of operations

The kader Bahini operated inside Tangail area. Throughout the Bangladesh Liberation war the force stayed inside Bangladeshi territory and did not move to India like many other units of the Mukti Bahini. Kader Siddiqui the founder and leader of Kader Bahini was himself a native of Tangail. [11]

Jahazmara battle

On 10 August 1971, Kader Bahini in Tangail attacked two ships of the Pakistan army containing arms, ammunition and fuel. The two ships were named ST Razan and SU Engineers LC-3. They were attacked on the convergence point of Jamuna and Dhaleswari rivers at Sirajkandi. After a brief battle, Kader Bahini emerged as the winning side. They destroyed the supplies harming the logistics of Pakistan army in the region. The Battle came to be known as Jahazmara(Ship Killing). The Public Works Department built a monument near the site of the battle. [12]

Liberation of Tangail

On 10 December 1971, 2,000 Indian paratroopers landed in Tangail. They joined up with Kader Bahini. Together they liberated Tangail from Pakistan army. Captain Peter, a Bengali Indian army officer had arrived on 3 December to plan the landing of the Indian troops. New Tangail town was the last stronghold of Pakistan to fall in Tangail. Tangail was freed on 11 December 1971. [13] [14]

Dissolution

After the surrender of Pakistan army on 16 December 1971, Sheikh Mujib was still in Pakistan. He was sentenced to death by a military tribunal. Kader Siddique declared that he and his 50 thousand men would not surrender until Mujib returned. In 1972 after Mujib had returned from Pakistan Kader and his men surrendered his arms to Mujib on Bindubasini Boys High School in Tangail town. [15] [16]

Former members

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Armed Forces are the combined military forces of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It consists of the three uniformed military services: the Bangladesh Army, the Bangladesh Navy and the Bangladesh Air Force. The Armed Forces are under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Defence of the Government of Bangladesh, and is directly administered by the Armed Forces Division of the Prime Minister's Office. The President of Bangladesh serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. It has the third-largest defence budget in South Asia and according to the Global Firepower index it is the third most powerful military force in South Asia. Border Guard Bangladesh and Bangladesh Coast Guard are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs during peacetime, but during wartime they fall under the command of Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Navy respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheikh Mujibur Rahman</span> Founder and first president of Bangladesh (1920–1975)

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib, also widely known as Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, statesman and the founding leader of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. He first served as the titular president of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh between April 1971 and January 1972. He then served as Prime Minister of Bangladesh from the Awami League between January 1972 and January 1975. He finally served as President again during BAKSAL from January 1975 till his assassination in August 1975. In 2011, the 15th constitutional amendment in Bangladesh referred to Sheikh Mujib as the Father of the Nation who declared independence; these references were enshrined in the fifth, sixth, and seventh schedules of the constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh Liberation War</span> 1971 armed conflict that led to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan

The Bangladesh Liberation War was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan—under the orders of Yahya Khan—launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.

Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani, also known as Bangabir, was a Bengali military leader. Osmani's career spanned five decades, beginning with service in the British Indian Army in 1939. He fought in the Burma Campaign during World War II. After the partition of India in 1947, he joined the Pakistan Army and served in the East Bengal Regiment, retiring as a colonel in 1967. Osmani joined the Provisional Government of Bangladesh in 1971 as the commander-in-chief of the nascent Bangladesh Forces. Regarded as the founder of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, Osmani retired as a four-star general from the Bangladesh Army in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khaled Mosharraf</span> Bangladeshi freedom fighter and military leader

Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttom was a Bangladeshi military officer known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War. Khaled was the Sector Commander of Bangladesh Forces Sector 2, leader of the Crack Platoon and K Force (Bangladesh) Brigade Commander during the Bangladesh War of Independence. He fought heroically for Bangladesh's independence and was wounded in front line combat against the Pakistan Army. Under his command K-Force played a crucial role in the unconditional surrender of the Pakistani Army on 16 December 1971. On 23 October, while commanding an operation of the K-Force, Khaled Mosharraf was gravely wounded by enemy fire and required a long period of recovery. Although he suffered a bullet injury, he recovered and remained in command of Bangladesh Forces Sector 2. He is best known as an exceptional combatant who had planned and carried out guerrilla warfare from deep within the jungles of Melaghar. More than thirty five thousand guerilla fighters fought under Khaled's command in sector 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Kader Siddique</span> Bangladeshi politician and former freedom fighter

Abdul Kader Siddique is a Bangladeshi politician. He is popularly known under the title "Bangabir." He served as a Mukti Bahini member and organizer of the Bangladesh Liberation War. He fought with an estimated 17,000-strong guerrilla force in the Tangail region against the Pakistan Army. The army was called Kaderia Bahini. At the end of the war, in1971, Siddique's forces entered Dhaka along with the Indian forces, signaling the end of the war. He was awarded Bir Uttom by the Government of Bangladesh. Since 1999, he has been serving as the leader of his newly formed party, the Krishak Sramik Janata League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberation War Museum</span> Museum in Dhaka, Bangladesh

The Liberation War Museum is a museum at Agargaon in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, which commemorates the Bangladesh Liberation War that led to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krishak Sramik Janata League</span> Bangladeshi political party

The Krishak Sramik Janata League is a political party in Bangladesh formed by Bangabir Kader Siddiqui, a renowned war hero who leaded the Kaderia Bahini during the Bangladesh's Liberation War of 1971, after he left Awami League in 1999. Although, the party adopted the Mujibist ideology, which is the ideology of Awami League, the party of Sheikh Mujib. The district of Tangail, which was headquarters of the Kaderia Bahini, is known as the "stronghold" of the party.

The Battle of Dhalai was a battle fought between India and Pakistan before the formal start 1971 India-Pakistan War for the liberation of Bangladesh. The battle started after an attack by Indian army on Pakistani border outpost (BOP) in East Pakistan on 28 October and lasted until 3 November 1971. Three infantry battalions belonging to 61 Mountain Brigade, one battalion belonging to East Bengal Regiment and 7 Rajputana Rifles supported by an artillery sized brigade of Indian army fought against a battalion sized 12 Frontier Force of Pakistan army.

The Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad was an armed underground student political group secretly organized in 1961 by Serajul Alam Khan, a key founder of Bangladesh, that worked to wage an armed secessionist struggle against Pakistani rule and achieve the independence of East Pakistan as "Bangladesh".

The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March 1971 and ended on 16 December 1971. Some of the major events of the war are listed in the timeline below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tangail Airdrop</span>

The Tangail Airdrop was an airborne operation conducted by the Indian Army in order to seize Poongli Bridge and ferry in the Tangail area. The operation, involving 2 Para of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment is often regarded as one of the largest - if not the largest - airborne operation following World War 2. The operation saw the capture of all objectives and the repulsion of the Pakistan Army's 93rd Infantry Brigade which was attempting to withdraw to Dhaka to bolster its defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalihati Upazila</span> Upazila in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh

Kalihati is an upazila of Tangail District, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh.

Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni was a Bangladeshi politician. He was one of the nephews of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the founding father of Bangladesh. He was the founder of Mujib Bahini Bangladesh Liberation Force-BLF one of the major guerrilla forces of the Bangladesh Liberation War and also the founder of Bangladesh Awami Jubo League, the youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League.

The Mujib Bahini, also known as Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF), was an armed force formed during the Bangladesh Liberation War to fight against Pakistan in 1971. The force was mainly composed of activists drawn from the Awami League and its student front, the Chhatra League. At its height, it had reportedly 13,000 members. It was organised with the active assistance of Major General Sujan Singh Uban of the Indian Army. Serajul Alam Khan and Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, Tofael Ahmed and Abdur Razzaq, MP were the organizers of this force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Bangladesh</span> Overview of the process of militarization in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's military history is intertwined with the history of a larger region, including present-day India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. The country was historically part of Bengal– a major power in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Latif Siddiqui</span> Bangladeshi politician

Abdul Latif Siddiqui is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He represented the Tangail-4 constituency for two terms in the Bangladesh Parliament. He served as the Minister of Textiles and Jute in the second Hasina ministry and Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology in the third Hasina ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provisional Government of Bangladesh</span> Government-in-exile of Bangladesh (1971–1972)


The Provisional Government of Bangladesh, popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government, was established following the declaration of independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh on 10 April 1971. Headed by prime minister Tajuddin Ahmad, it was the supreme leadership of the Bangladeshi liberation movement, comprising a cabinet, a diplomatic corps, an assembly, an armed force, and a radio service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukti Bahini</span> Bengali guerrilla resistance movement in former East Pakistan

The Mukti Bahini, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary and civilians during the Bangladesh Liberation War that transformed East Pakistan into Bangladesh in 1971. They were initially called the Mukti Fauj.

Anwar Ul Alam Shaheed was a colonel of the Bangladesh Army, secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs, diplomat, and ambassador of Bangladesh to Span and Bahrain. He had served in the Kaderia Bahini and Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini.

References

  1. ↑ When Indian spies trained separatists to hijack an Indian aircraft
  2. ↑ Nabi, Nuran. "The Tangail Landings: A signal for victory". The Daily Star. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Bose, Sarmila (8 October 2005). "Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971". Economic and Political Weekly . Archived from the original on 1 March 2007.
  4. ↑ Salik, Siddiq, Witness To Surrender, pp 63, 228–9, ISBN   984-05-1373-7
  5. ↑ Siddiqui, Asif (December 1997). "From Deterrence and Coercive Diplomacy to War: The 1971 Crisis in South Asia". Journal of International and Area Studies. 4 (1): 73–92. JSTOR   43106996.
  6. ↑ "Bangladesh war: The article that changed history – Asia". BBC News. 25 March 2010.
  7. ↑ White, Matthew, Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century
  8. ↑ Sharlach, Lisa (2000). "Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda". New Political Science. 22 (1): 92–93. doi:10.1080/713687893.
  9. ↑ Sajjad, Tazreena (2012) [First published 2009]. "The Post-Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women". In Totten, Samuel (ed.). Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide. Transaction. p. 225. ISBN   978-1-4128-4759-9.
  10. ↑ "Tangail was freed on this day in 1971". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Ahsan, Syed Badrul. "Old images from a long-ago war". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Shakil, Mirza. "Indifference dims glory of a war memorial". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Tangail was freed on this day in 1971". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  14. ↑ Nabi, Nuran. "The Tangail Landings: A signal for victory". The Daily Star. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Akhaura has its war memorial after 38 yrs". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  16. ↑ Chandan, Md Shahnawaz Khan. "Our Cruel Birth". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Arrest warrant for Kader Siddique". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  18. ↑ Chowdhury, Arun. "A Conversation with Dr. Nuran Nabi". The Daily Star. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  19. ↑ Shaikh, Emran Hossain. "A controversial career to say the least". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.