Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan was a Pakistani military officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army from 1966 to 1971.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist, who was the founding leader of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he had held continuous positions either as Bangladesh's president or as its prime minister from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. His nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are collectively known as Mujibism.
The Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence and known as the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was an 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 East Pakistanis on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.
The independence of Bangladesh was declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March and lasted till 16 December 1971 which is celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh. In the early hours of March 26, 1971, the undisputed leader of Bengali, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, declared independence before being arrested by the Pakistani army. Later many others declared on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Archer Kent Blood was an American career diplomat and academic. He served as the last American Consul General to Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is famous for sending the strongly worded "Blood Telegram" protesting against the atrocities committed in the Bangladesh Liberation War. He also served in Greece, Algeria, Germany, Afghanistan and ended his career as chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, retiring in 1982.
The Bangladesh genocide was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis, especially Bengali Hindus, residing in East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War, perpetrated by the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Razakars. It began on 25 March 1971, as Operation Searchlight was launched by West Pakistan to militarily subdue the Bengali population of East Pakistan; the Bengalis comprised the demographic majority and had been calling for independence from the Pakistani state. Seeking to curtail the Bengali self-determination movement, erstwhile Pakistani president Yahya Khan approved a large-scale military deployment, and in the nine-month-long conflict that ensued, Pakistani soldiers and local pro-Pakistan militias killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 Bengalis and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women in a systematic campaign of mass murder and genocidal sexual violence. In their investigation of the genocide, the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists concluded that Pakistan's campaign involved the attempt to exterminate or forcibly remove a significant portion of the country's Hindu populace.
The Bangladesh War of Independence 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.
The Lionel Gelber Prize is a literary award for English non-fiction books on foreign policy. Founded in 1989 by Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber, the prize honors "the world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues." A prize of CA$50,000, is awarded to the winner. The award is presented annually by the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.
Mohammad Hossain Ali was a Bangladeshi diplomat and former ambassador to the United States.
The Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation was a treaty signed between India and the Soviet Union in August 1971 that specified mutual strategic cooperation. This was a significant deviation from India's previous position of non-alignment during the Cold War and was a factor in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war.
Bangladesh-United States relations are the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States of America. For the United States, Bangladesh is the 38th largest goods supplier and 60th largest export market. For Bangladesh, the United States is the largest export market. The two countries signed a bilateral investment treaty in 1986. U.S. companies are the largest foreign investors in Bangladesh. The U.S. government is the leading contributor of humanitarian assistance in response to the Rohingya crisis. Both nations have announced similar views for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
Independence and National Day is celebrated on 26 March as a national holiday in Bangladesh. It commemorates the country's declaration of independence from Pakistan in the early hours of 26 March 1971.
Bangladesh–Russia relations are the foreign relations between Bangladesh and Russia. Bangladesh has an embassy in Moscow and Russia has one in Dhaka and a consulate-general in Chittagong. Diplomatic relations between the USSR and Bangladesh were established on January 25, 1972. These relations have continued with Russia being the successor state to the Soviet Union.
The Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, refers to the declaration of independence of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971, at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; the following day Major Ziaur Rahman declared independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra radio station in Kalurghat, Chattogram. On 10 April, the Provisional Government of Bangladesh issued a proclamation on the basis of the previous declaration and established an interim constitution for the independence movement.
The 7th March Speech of Bangabandhu, or the 7/3 Speech, was a public speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka to a gathering of over one million (1,000,000) people. It was delivered during a period of escalating tensions between East Pakistan and the powerful political and military establishment of West Pakistan. In the speech, Bangabandhu informally declared the independence of Bangladesh, proclaiming: "The struggle this time, is a struggle for our liberty. The struggle this time, is a struggle for our independence." He announced a civil disobedience movement in the province, calling for "every house to turn into a fortress".
The Provisional Government of Bangladesh, popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government ; also known as the Bangladeshi government-in-exile, was the first and founding government of Bangladesh that was established following the proclamation 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. It operated as a government-in-exile from Kolkata. The president of this government was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is the main undisputed figure here but in his absence Syed Nazrul Islam became the acting president.
The Bangladesh Liberation War was a revolutionary war of independence that took place in South Asia in 1971; it resulted in the establishment of the republic of Bangladesh. The war pitted East Pakistan against West Pakistan and lasted nine months. It witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the indiscriminate killing of 100,000 to 300,000 people from both sides.
Tungipara Sheikh family of Tungipara is one of the two most prominent Bangladeshi political families, other being the Zia family. The family primarily consists of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and their relatives. Their political involvement has traditionally revolved around the Bangladesh Awami League.
The non-cooperation movement of 1971 was a historical movement in then East Pakistan by the Awami League and the general public against the military government of Pakistan in March of that year. After the announcement of the suspension of the session of the National Assembly of Pakistan on 1 March, the spontaneous movement of the people started, but officially on the call of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the non-cooperation movement started on 2 March and continued until 25 March. The movement lasted for a total of 25 days.
Gary Jonathan Bass is an American academic and author, specializing in international security, international law, and human rights. He is the William P. Boswell Professor of World Politics of Peace and War at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1999. Bass earned his Bachelor of Arts and PhD from Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Crimson. He has authored four books, including The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. His most recent work, Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia, has received widespread acclaim and was shortlisted for major literary awards. Bass has also contributed to numerous publications, including The New York Times and The Economist.
