In 1971, Pakistan's military dictator Yahya Khan allowed an election to be held, gambling that no party would get a clear majority. He was wrong, because an East Pakistani, ethnic Bengali dominated political party got enough votes to stake its claim to form the federal government in Pakistan. This was opposed by the West Pakistani elite and the West Pakistani dominated military. The relationship between Pakistan's two wings, East Pakistan and West Pakistan had remained turbulent. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto recalls being taught at school in West Pakistan that "East Pakistanis are short, dark and eat rice, whilst West Pakistanis are tall, fair and eat wheat". When the victorious East Bengali political party's right to govern was opposed a civil disobedience movement started in East Pakistan that was quelled by furious genocide of ethnic Bengalis by the West Pakistani dominated Army. Over the course of 1971, over ten million East Pakistani refugees fled to India putting an enormous strain on the Indian economy. There was no going back at this stage and India had become embroiled in the internal strife of Pakistan, and military intervention took place in 1971 on humanitarian grounds.
In a campaign that has gone down in history as the fastest release of territory from occupation since World War Two, the Indian Armed forces tore through the Pakistani defences in East Bengal and liberated the people there to form the new nation Bangladesh. In the west the military campaign for India was merely a holding operation as West Pakistan tried to open a second front and occupy territory to take the pressure off their beleagured forces in the east. Even so some historic military landmarks were notched up on the western front in the form of an innovative missile boat attack that crippled the Pakistani port of Karachi. Short range Indian coastal defence boats had been towed to Karachi for the attack. In another air-land battle over Longewala an attacking Pakistani tank force was defeated entirely by Indian Air force aircraft in a 'first of its kind' action of a type that was not seen again until allied air forces attacked Iraqi armour two decades later.
Pictures from the 1971 war
