Operation Searchlight: Incidents behind the darkest chapter

 

Operation Searchlight was a planned genocide carried out by the Pakistani army from March 25, 1971, through which they sought to suppress the Bengali nationalist movement that took place in March 1971 and earlier. The genocide was carried out on the orders of the West Pakistani rulers. The main objective of the operation was to capture all the major cities of then East Pakistan by March 26 and wipe out the political and military opposition within a month. The Bengalis then put up counteraction, which was beyond the imagination of the Pakistani planners.

The genocide angered the Bengalis, which is why the Bengali officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army revolted, Bangladesh was declared independent and many people had to take shelter in India as refugees. This horrific genocide marked the beginning of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 and the Bengalis struggled to disperse the occupying Pakistani forces. As a result, independent Bangladesh was established on 16 December 1971 with the unconditional surrender of the Pakistani army to the joint command of India and Bangladesh.

After the Awami League got an absolute majority in the 1970 elections, the Bengalis hoped that there would be a change of power and the Awami League would form a government according to the 6 points. On 28 February 1971, the then President and Army Chief Yahya Khan, under the persuasion and pressure of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), adjourned the National Assembly till March. The Awami League organized a public meeting to protest the postponement. General Yahya arrived in Dhaka in mid-March for a meeting with Sheikh Mujib and was later joined by Bhutto. But the meeting was unsuccessful.

Sukhranjan Dasgupta, in his book "Midnight Massacre in Dhaka", said that after independence Tajuddin Ahmed cited him as the reason for Operation Searchlight. According to the plan, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will not want to be in the cabinet. Syed Nazrul Islam will be the Prime Minister, Tajuddin Ahmed will be the Home Minister and Mushtaq will be the Speaker of Parliament. Then Syed Nazrul as the Prime Minister will order the withdrawal of Pakistani troops from East Pakistan and Tajuddin will do the order. After this is done, Sheikh Mujib as the Father of the Nation will convene a session of the National Parliament in Dhaka, where he will propose the creation of an independent Bangladesh.

However, Bhutto got a glimpse of the plan, which was informed by Mushtaq. That is why on March 25, the Pakistani army launched Operation Searchlight under Bhutto's direction. Major General Khadim Hussain Raja, the GOC of the 14th Division, and Major General Rao Farman Ali drew up the original plan of the operation in early March, based on a resolution adopted at a meeting of the Pakistan Armed Forces on 22 February 1971.

General Farman sets the boundaries of the operation, and the conditions of success, etc., and General Khadim oversees the work of allocating army space and specific responsibilities to different brigades and units. It was assumed that the Bengali army would revolt at the beginning of the operation, so the planners proposed to disarm the Bengali army before the operation and arrest the Bengali political leaders. Although General Hamid immediately decided to disarm the Bengali army units, he only allowed disarming the EPR, armed police, and paramilitary forces.

According to the decision taken by the Pakistani planners, the main objective of the operation was to wipe out various important sections of the Awami League and the armed forces that had supported the Awami League during the military rule. The ability to apply uninterrupted and maximum power was provided. Authorization for raids on general settlements and Hindu areas was also given.

Their main goals were 1. The operation should be started simultaneously all over East Pakistan. 2. The maximum number of leaders of political and student organizations, individuals involved in cultural organizations, and teachers should be arrested. 3. Operation in Dhaka must be 100% successful. Dhaka University should be occupied and searched. 4. All internal and international communication systems including telephone, television, radio, and telegraph should be disconnected. 5. All-East Pakistani (Bengali) troops must be disarmed with weapons and ammunition and 7. Yahya Khan will act to keep the Awami League busy by creating misconceptions in their minds.

The planners of Operation Searchlight needed to ensure that all concerned Pakistani unit commanders understood their responsibilities before embarking on the operation. And this work needed to be done in complete secrecy. Gathering members of the armed forces, supplying arms, bringing additional troops from West Pakistan to East Pakistan, providing details to regional commanders - all these things needed to be done without any suspicion. On March 24 and 25, a team of Pakistani generals visited the main garrisons by helicopter. In all cases, complete secrecy was maintained. Some Bengali officials were suspicious of the Pakistanis' frequent briefings, but they had no idea what had happened at the briefings before the attack.

To ensure success, the military transferred Bengali officers from sensitive areas and deployed Pakistani forces there. However, the Pakistanis refrained from the mass transfer of Bengali officers, as security and privacy could be compromised. Despite the rejection of all leave applications in February 1971, in March the Pakistani authorities again urged the Bengali officers to take leave, while the Pakistani officials were asked to remain vigilant without taking any leave.

On and before March 25, the Bengali units were divided into smaller units, sent out of the cantonment to perform various tasks, isolated from one part to another and all parts kept as far away as possible from the radio and wireless communication grid. Bengali officers are either sent on leave or kept as far away as possible from the leadership center or the units engaged in direct operations. But things were done in such a way that no doubt rose in anyone. Although the operation was supposed to start at 11 pm, the Pakistani troops withdrew from the Dhaka cantonment at 11.30 pm because the Pakistani field commander wanted the Bengali troops to have no chance to respond.

The 10th Bengali Regiment was easily disarmed in the cantonment. Commando forces led by Major Belal and Lt. Col. Z. A. Khan were able to arrest Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the beginning of the operation. Pakistani forces were also able to easily capture the EPR forces stationed in Mirpur and seize the President's House and the Governor's House without any hindrance, but many managed to escape and many died.

Irregular forces of the 18th and 32nd Punjab Regiments raided the Dhaka University area by defeating the Awami League's small-scale obstruction of volunteers and killing unarmed students in the dormitory, as well as several professors, and then on the morning of March 26 attacked the Hindu area and Old Dhaka. The police stationed at Rajarbagh, with the help of Awami League volunteers, were able to put up a formidable resistance but were gradually defeated and most of those who survived were captured or fled.

By dawn, the city was under siege and a citywide curfew was imposed. The captured Bengali soldiers and EPR and police officers were either killed or imprisoned without trial. Pakistani troops lifted the curfew for two-hours on March 27, when thousands of townspeople fled Dhaka for the village.


The writer is a columnist and assistant officer at Career and Professional Development Services
Southeast University.
E-mail: [email protected]