Editing Content :: Admin Scraper

Chapter

Content type

Position

Value

66 PoliticsinIndiasinceIndependence response to this, the people started a struggle to liberate ‘Bangladesh’ from Pakistan. Throughout 1971, India had to bear the burden of about 80 lakh refugees who fled East Pakistan and took shelter in This the neighbouring areas in India. India extended moral and material sounds like support to the freedom struggle in Bangladesh. Pakistan accused joining the Soviet bloc. Can we say that India of a conspiracy to break it up. we were non-aligned Support for Pakistan came from the US and China. The US-China even after signing this treaty with the Soviet rapprochement that began in the late 1960s resulted in a realignment Union? of forces in Asia. Henry Kissinger, the adviser to the US President Richard Nixon, made a secret visit to China via Pakistan in July 1971. In order to counter the US-Pakistan-China axis, India signed a 20-year Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Soviet Union in August 1971. This treaty assured India of Soviet support if the country faced any attack. After months of diplomatic tension and military build-up, a full-scale war between India and Pakistan broke out in December 1971. Pakistani aircrafts attacked Punjab and Rajasthan, while the army moved on the Jammu and Kashmir front. India retaliated with an attack involving the air force, navy and the army on both the Western and the Eastern front. Welcomed and supported by the local population, the Indian army made rapid progress in East Pakistan. Within ten days the Indian army had surrounded Dhaka from three sides and the Pakistani army of about 90,000 had to surrender. With Bangladesh as a free country, India declared a unilateral ceasefire. Later, the signing of the Shimla Agreement between Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 3 July 1972 formalised the return of peace. A decisive victory in the war led to national jubiliation. Most people in India saw this as a moment of glory and a clear sign of India’s growing military prowess. As you would read in the next chapter, Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister at this time. She had already won the Lok Sahba elections in 1971. Her personal popularity soared FastForward KargilConfrontation In the early part of 1999 several points on the Indian side of the LoC in the Mashkoh, Dras, Kaksar and Batalik areas were occupied by forces claiming to be Mujahideens. Suspecting involvement of the Pakistan Army, Indian forces started reacting to this occupation. This led to a confrontation between the two countries. This is known as the Kargil conflict. This conflict went on during May and June 1999. By 26 July 1999, India had recovered control of many of the lost points. The Kargil conflict drew attention worldwide for the reason that only one year prior to that, both India and Pakistan had attained nuclear capability. However, this conflict remained confined only to the Kargil region. In Pakistan, this conflict has been the source of a major controversy as it was alleged later that the Prime Minister of Pakistan was kept in the dark by the Army Chief. Soon after the conflict, the government of Pakistan was taken over by the Pakistan Army led by the Army Chief, General Parvez Musharraf. Reprint 2026-27