Surrender At Dacca
Dear Readers,
Today is Vijay Diwas: ‘The Victory Day ’, and it is the 50 Anniversary of the Vijay Diwas. Fifty years back on this historic day, the Pakistani Army surrendered to the Indian Army in Dacca, East Pakistan. General AAK Niazi signed the Instrument of surrender with Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora; Commander of the Indian and Bangladesh forces in the Eastern Theatre, which ended the war between India and Pakistan in 1971. The Pakistani Army surrendered in the East with 93,000 soldiers, an unprecedented number. The victory was unique as it gave birth to a new nation Bangladesh. Today we celebrate the Vijay Diwas by paying tribute to all the brave men who laid down their life for the sake of the glory of their nation and its armed forces. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. This year’s Vijay Diwas celebrations have been muted due to the sad demise of 14 brave men in the Helicopter Crash in Conoor on 08th December 2021.
This piece is a tribute to all the brave men of the Indian armed forces and the Mukti bahini who sacrificed their lives for the birth of a new nation, ‘Bangladesh’.
SURRENDER AT DACCA
“The Pakistani Eastern command agrees to surrender all Pakistani Armed Forces in Bangladesh to Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Indian and Bangladesh forces in Eastern Theatre. The surrender includes all Pakistan land, air and naval forces as also all paramilitary forces and civil armed forces. The forces will lay down their arms and surrender at the places where they are currently located to the nearest regular troops under the command of Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora. “
The text mentioned above is the first paragraph from the Instrument of surrender signed by General Niazi in the presence of Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora on 16th December 1971.
Thus 30000 thousand Pakistani soldiers surrendered to 3000 Indian soldiers on 16th December 1971. A story that is still untold in the public discourse in India. Such is the power of this story of Indian victory in the 1971 war, which shaped the destiny of three nations. It reduced Pakistan into a single entity, made India the champion of humanitarian intervention and last but not least, gave birth to a new nation, ‘Bangladesh’.
The thrust from the northern axis led by 101 communication zone, east, and southeast by 4 corps finally bore fruit. General Niazi decided to surrender, but not before enough drama ensued in Rawalpindi and Eastern Command Head Quarters at Calcutta. By 09th December, the stress of war had begun to tell on East Pakistan’s military and civil leadership. In a ploy to further demoralise the Pakistanis, General Sam Manekshaw publicly announced the offer of surrender to the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan and dropped leaflets from the air. General Niazi was aware of the deteriorating situation, as was Dr AM Mallik, the governor of East Pakistan. All promises by the power to be in Rawalpindi of Chinese help coming at the doorsteps, the seventh fleet intervening and removing the blockade in the Bay of Bengal, had vanished in thin air. Exasperated, on the night of 13/14 the December 71, General Niazi sent a message to Chief of the Pakistani Army General Hamid:
“Please ask General Yayha khan to negotiate the ceasefire at the earliest. It is becoming difficult for us to hold on any longer. If the ceasefire is not announced, it will lead to bloodshed by the evening tomorrow.”
In reply General Yahya Khan the chief Martial law administrator of Pakistan sent this message back to General Niazi.
“General Niazi, you have reached a stage where continuance of fighting is humanly impossible; neither is it going to lead to a favourable outcome. I recommend you take steps to end the fighting and save as many Pakistani lives as possible.”
On 14th December, the governor arranged a meeting to discuss the future course of action and the possibility to accept a surrender. The meeting was being held in the Old Government house. The Indian Air Force, under the orders of Eastern Command HQ in Calcutta, bombed the very building where the meeting was being held. That effectively ceased any resistance the senior hierarchy would have had for surrender. So terrified was the governor after the bombing that he resigned from his post then and there. The Pakistani rule effectively ended in East Pakistan on 14th December 1971.
While behind the scenes in Rawalpindi and Dacca, they were trying for a ceasefire, the major stumbling block was: the Indians were not keen to have an UN-sponsored ceasefire. Both General Manekshaw and HQ eastern command thought they were better positioned to extract an unconditional surrender out of the Pakistanis.
On 16th December 71, around 10 am, 2 PARA was the first battalion to enter Dacca. Around the same time, 4 Guards from 311 Infantry Brigade, which was part of the leap across Meghna, had crossed the Lakhya and the Balu rivers and had no water obstacle between them and Dacca. They were facing their old foes of Akhura, the Pakistani 12 FF battalion. The other Indian brigades were fast closing in onto Dacca.
The chief architect of the actual surrender was Major General Jacob, the Chief of Staff of Eastern command. He was in touch with General Manekshaw throughout the situation. He reported the Pakistani communication which Niazi had initiated for the US consulate, asking them to negotiate a surrender on 14th December 1971. Manekshaw had publicly announced an offer of surrender but responded explicitly to this news by sending a message:
“General Niazi, since you have indicated your desire to stop fighting, I offer you a surrender. You must surrender by 0900h on 16th December and ask all Pakistani army units to cease fire and stop fighting and surrender to my advancing forces. If you failed to do so, after 0900h on 16th December, I would be compelled to launch the full fury of the Indian Army’s offensive”.
All India Radio broadcasted the above message every half hour. The news was received and acknowledged by General Niazi. He invited General Jacob, the COS Eastern Command, General Manekshaw’s emissary, to negotiate a surrender and have lunch with him in Dacca. In a daring act, General Jacob flew to Dacca via Jessore. At Jessore, he was escorted by a Pakistani helicopter to Dacca. He landed in Dacca with his Colonel Intelligence Colonel Khara and Air Force commander for Advance tac Headquarters, Air Commodore Purshottam. Amidst heavy tension and a fleet of Pakistani Sabre jets, he was received by the Pakistani Chief of Staff of the Eastern Command Brig Baqar Siddiqui.
The meeting between General Jacob and General Niazi is now well documented and achieved legendary status. General Jacob had carried an instrument of surrender, a document quite different from the one submitted by the Pakistanis to the Americans. This document was an instrument of complete and unconditional surrender. There were loud protests from the Pakistani contingent, which was with General Niazi. But General Jacob was unmoved and demanded an unconditional surrender. He left the conference room, stating that he would leave them for half-hour to decide and then come back to hear their verdict. A future of a nation was at the cusp of a historic decision. As General Jacob’s describes in his book “Surrender at Dacca”. That half-hour was the longest, and he was unsure what decision General Niazi would take? A refusal to accept the terms would have meant a long-drawn fight for Dacca, which would mean losing many more human lives. He knew Niazi had 30,000 troops inside Dacca, and India had only 3000 outside. Also breathing down was the prospect of a UN driven ceasefire would have put at risk the birth of a new nation: Bangladesh.
When he returned to the office of General Niazi, there was pin-drop silence. There were tears in the eyes of General Niazi. General Jacob asked twice if the conditions of surrender were acceptable, and both times he got no reply. He then picked up the surrender document and announced, “Your Silence Indicates Your Acceptance”, and thus the famous ‘Jacob Squeeze’ tactics came into force. The surrender ceremony was organised at the historic Race-course in Dacca. It was the first public surrender of its kind. Jacob got Niazi to accept all his conditions.
Meanwhile, Lt Gen Aurora, the Army Commander, had flown to Agartala from Calcutta based on an earlier message and acceptable timetable. It was in a bid to carry his commanders for the surrender ceremony. He brought along with him General Sagat Singh; GOC 4 corps, Air Marshal Dewan; Air Officer Commanding Eastern Air Command, Admiral Krishnan; Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Group Captain Khondekar: Chief of staff Mukti Bahini and Ashok Ray of the Indian External Affairs Ministry, and several press representatives. They flew in ten helicopters (Five MI 4s and Five Alouettes) from Agartala to Dacca.
The entourage was received at the airport by General Jacob and General Niazi.
They then moved to the race-course. General Aurora was given a Guard of honour by two contingents, one Indian and one Pakistani. The Indian contingent was from 2 PARA under Lt Col Pannu and the other a contingent made up of troops available to the Pakistanis commanded by General Niazi’s ADC. The formal surrender occurred thereafter when the two army commanders signed the Instrument of surrender. Then General Niazi removed his Lanyard and handed over his personal weapon to General Aurora. Thus, the historic surrender at Dacca was completed amidst jubilation in the Bangla population, which had thronged the race-course at Dacca. Their slogans were reverberating; “Joy Bangla” “Joy Bharat”. The Indian Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, made this statement in the parliament after the surrender was complete:
“Dacca is now a free capital of a free capital of a country. The Instrument of surrender was signed in Dacca at 1631h Indian Standard Time by Lt Gen AAK Niazi on behalf of the Pakistan Eastern Command and Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora GOC in command of the Indian and Bangladesh Forces today. We hail the people of Bangladesh in their hour of triumph. All nations who value human spirit will recognise it as a significant milestone in man’s quest for liberty”.
The surrender was not without trouble. Mukti Bahini, under their fearsome leader Tiger Siddiqui wanted to avenge the atrocities and kill General Niazi even before the surrender. But some deft and courageous handling by General Jacob first and then by General Sagat Singh later, an ugly situation was averted, and the ceremony could come to a successful end.
What makes surrender at Dacca such a fascinating and legendary tale. There were many firsts. It was the most significant victory ever for a single force: an armed force of a single nation. India achieved what no country in the annals of modern warfare has achieved. A complete victory with surrendered prisoners totalling almost 93,000 within 14 days. Treatment of each of them as per the Geneva convention. Successful repatriation of each of them back to their own country once the Shimla accord was signed. Fighting a just war for a humanitarian cause, liberating a race and handing over a new nation to its people. Exemplary behaviour of a non-occupational force and resolve of a nation to keep its promises.
The 1971 war was a glorious chapter in the annals of our military and political history. The bravery of our soldiers and the solid support lent to them by the entire nation stands as a testimony of times that seem hard to find today. One cannot but pay tribute to the Political Leadership of the country under Mrs Indira Gandhi. She was resolute in her Political aims and spelt it out clearly to the Military leadership, which allowed them to fight a successful war. It was a tribute to her leadership that encouraged the opposition leader of that time, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to name her ‘Durga’: the powerful Indian goddess.
Today 16th December 2021, we celebrate the 50th jubilee year of this historic victory as “Vijay Diwas”.
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