Twenty-four years of built-up emotions and it all came tumbling down as events cascaded out of control, leading to a standoff between the Pakistan Army and the Bengali intellectuals. Neither Zulfiqar Bhutto (a distant second) nor Yahya Khan, the debauched Army chief and President, could imagine a Pakistan ruled by a Bengali leader.
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This was followed by a general election that resulted in East Pakistan’s Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman romping home to claim the right to form the Pakistan government. They had their differences with the Urdu-speaking West Pakistanis, who did not appreciate the sentiment of Bengali sub-nationalism the latter was based upon culture and not faith. The Pakistan government’s response was so tardy, insufficient and insensitive that it hugely irked the already seething Bengalis. First, a massive cyclonic storm, Bhola, in November 1970 in the Bay of Bengal had ravaged East Pakistan killing half a million people. In March 1971, two events caused a crisis in Pakistan, in its east wing to be precise. I write this at a time when the high mark of history is being celebrated and should therefore help in spurring inquisitiveness about the historic event among more people in South Asia. Much of India does not have any idea about what went into the making of that victory. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Pakistan’s abject surrender to the Indian Army on 16 December 1971, it makes for an emotive moment in the history of modern India.