When Anwarul Aleem, an undergraduate student living in Old Dhaka in 1971, heard on radio that the Pakistani forces were surrendering, he could not believe his ears. Finally, the day of victory came after nine months of the bloody Liberation War.
Published : 16 Dec 2020, 01:16 AM
The residents of his neighbourhood in the Mitford area took out multiple small processions overnight to celebrate the occasion. “Oh! How they cheered celebrating the long-awaited freedom after captivity!" recalled Aleem, now a septuagenarian.
“All Bengali families kept the windows open and lights on the whole night. There was no street lamp, but the streets were illuminated with the lights from the homes," he said, the idea being that those who kept the windows shut did not support Bangladesh.
Aleem is now settled in Mirpur after retiring from his medicine business. As the nation stands months away from the golden jubilee of its independence, he shared his memories of the victory with bdnews24.com.
After the Pakistani forces attacked the unarmed Bengalis on Mar 25, 1971, Bangladesh entered its war of independence. Those who lived in Dhaka that time were mostly housebound.
They could feel victory was not far away; that the emergence of Bangladesh on the world map is happening soon. At the same time, the Pakistani forces curbed normal life by clamping restrictions on movement. They imposed a curfew for three days prior to the day of victory.
On Dec 15, probably on Akashvani, India’s national radio, Aleem and the others heard that Pakistan may surrender. “We had to listen to the radio secretly in those days. Mostly we listened to Akashvani and sometimes Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra," he said.
“People wouldn't believe it until they (Pakistan forces) surrender. But the next day, that is on Dec 16, while sitting on the rooftop, we saw three or four Indian helicopters flying over around 12pm. Watching that, I thought that the (Pakistan's) surrender was about to happen. I started looking for my friends," he recalled.
Taking along his friends, Aleem proceeded to the Racecourse ground, now the Suhrawardy Udyan, where the stage was already set for the 93,000 Pakistani soldiers to law down arms.
Sector Commander KS Shafiullah, chief of the S Force, who was present there during the signing of the instrument of surrender, said there were not many people on his way from the airport to the Racecourse. A small number of people were at the Racecourse when Shafiullah and others escorted Pakistan’s General AAK Niazi.
“People streamed out on the streets after the surrender was done. They took out processions," Shafiullah said.
"They were stopping Indian army trucks and exchanging greetings with the soldiers. Some people were buying the soldiers Fanta and 7up. They cheered their heart out seeing the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers,” said Aleem.
He said the people got angry the following day when they saw Pakistani soldiers coming to the capital carrying arms. “Why would they still carry arms ?” he asked.
Freedom fighter Sohel Ahmed had their camp set at Atibazar in Keraniganj beside the river Buriganga. They entered Dhaka around 11 am on Dec 16.
“Some of our fellow freedom fighters died in a boat capsize. We entered the then Pakistan Betar (Radio Pakistan) and hoisted the national flag. People glowed with happiness for gaining freedom,” he said.
Aleem and his friends went near Hotel Intercontinental the following day where many foreign journalists were present.
One of his friends pointed at a Sikh officer and said it was Indian General Jagjit Singh Aurora, general officer commanding-in-chief, Eastern Command.
“We were so excited! We were watching them from afar. I'm not sure if he really was General Aurora. Then we went to Tejgaon Airport where the Pakistani soldiers stayed. Some of them were weeping while some stood silent,” Aleem said
Gen Aurora, on behalf of the joint force, accepted the instrument of surrender from Niazi, his old Quetta classmate.
Maj Gen Shafiullah came to participate in the ceremony after defeating a Pakistani brigade in one of his final battles in Akhaura. An Indian brigade joined them afterwards. The Bangladeshi freedom fighters took the Sylhet highway to Ashuganj while the Indian brigade moved forward along the rail line.
On Dec 10, the Bangladeshi fighters started for Dhaka from Narsingdi and reached Demra the following day. “We fired from the other side of the river. On Dec 14, the Pakistani troops in Demra surrendered,” said Shafiullah.
“I took it to the airport, picked Niazi and went to the Racecourse. I was present when the instrument of surrender was signed. Niazi signed it and then Gen Aurora followed suit. I pointed it out when Gen Aurora made a mistake in signing the instrument. He then signed it again.”
Lt Gen JFR Jacob of the Indian Army drafted the historical instrument of surrender and cajoled Gen Niazi to surrender.
“I was just negotiating the surrender process, not blackmailing him. All I said was that we would not take any responsibility for the resumption of any hostile situation if they did not surrender,” Jacob told bdnews24.com in a 2008 interview.
“Then, I gave him 30 minutes to think it out. When I came back, he still kept quiet. Then I walked up to him and said, 'General, do you accept this document?' I asked him thrice, but he didn't answer. So I picked it up and said I'd take it as accepted.
"Then I saw tears in his eyes. I looked at him with pity and thought this man has behaved very badly with the people of Bangladesh. You know what his army did and I don't want to repeat that. I wanted him to surrender in front of the people of Dhaka."
He (Niazi) said, 'I won't surrender anywhere else. I'll surrender in the Dhaka office.'
I said, 'No. You will surrender at the Racecourse in front of the people of Dhaka."
It's the only public surrender in history.
Niazi said: "You'll also give us a guard of honour."
It was he who had said Dhaka would fall over 'my dead body'. That's why I made it a point to make him surrender in front of the people of Dhaka.” Jacob had said.
AK Khandaker, the deputy chief of staff of the Bangladesh Armed Forces during the Liberation War, said he was in Kolkata just before victory. “On Dec 16, I found some people waiting for me. They told me that Pakistan forces will surrender that day to the allied forces. A small ceremony will be held in Dhaka Racecourse and I have to represent Bangladesh and the Mukti Bahini.” he wrote in an article published in bdnews24.com in 2013.
After arriving at the Racecourse, he saw a table in a little place left open. Two chairs were brought from nearby Dhaka Club for Gen Aurora and Gen Niazi.
“The Pakistani soldiers were cleared away from the premises right after the signing, because we were responsible for their security after they surrendered. Thousands of people began to cheer. Some of them came forward and embraced us. Almost everyone had tears in their eyes. ‘We’ll sleep in peace from tonight,’ they said, sobbing,” AK Khandaker wrote.
Gen Jacob’s watch showed the time 4.55pm (Indian time) when the instrument of surrender was signed. It was 5.25pm in Bangladesh time.
Evening had descended by then, but there was no arrangement of light, wrote Gen Jacob in his book “Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation”.
Nevertheless, the people of Bangladesh had lit the light of freedom at their homes in the newly independent country.