1971 War - The Speeches by Indira Gandhi
In September 1971 I visited Moscow and then in October I undertook a three-week official tour of European countries to tell people there, that if they had any influence on the Pakistanis, they should try and get them to act more reasonably. It is then that I met Mairaux again. He was a very remarkable man and delightful to talk to. We discussed so ma Lim then and even later when he came to India, he was not at all well , but for a man of his age and health, his enthusiasm and his passionate feeling for freedom, were something which one should associate with youth. And that he did not just talk about it but he wanted to be brave, and wanted to do something, however small, made a deep impression on me.
I had no doubt in my mind that the Bangladeshis would win their freedom. Not the slightest doubt. The only question was when would it happen and which side of the fence would we be on... If only for geographical reasons, we couldn't afford to be on the wrong side. Besides, if they were about to win, what was the point of greater bloodshed especially bearing in mind the atrocity stories told by refugees and by the foreign and our own press?
Intellectuals and so on, were being singled out, and after the war, a large number of them were massacred. But we kept out of it as long as we possibly could. It was not an ordinary war.
On 5 November 1971, I was in Washington when I addressed journalists at the National Press Club to explain our position.
On 3 December, I was addressing a private meeting in Calcutta when the third full-scale Indo-Pak war began. I was with a group of editors of small newspapers who had complained about the big newspapers. An aide came quietly into the room with the news that seven of our cities were being bombed.
I returned immediately to Delhi and in the early hours of 4 December 1971, I broadcast to the nation.
On 16 December 1971, Pakistan surrendered. Bangladesh was thus liberated within 14 days. It was a decisive military victory, there is no doubt about that. But, what I am most proud of— not for me but for the army — is that it was so neatly done. In large part, this was due to the leadership in the army and to the excellent rapport between me and the armed forces. I kept in constant touch with them.
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