The Mukti Bahini: Three Dimensional Guerillas

Introduction

The 1971 Indo-Pakistan War fought half a century ago remains one of the few twentieth century conflicts where armed forces of both sides deployed in all three dimensions—land, sea and air—as seen during the Second World War. The war marked the demise of Great Britain as a colonial power in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and was thus one of the direct causes of India’s independence. The military leadership of India and Pakistan in 1971 had fought the world war together in the army of undivided India. A handful had been commissioned into service together, some of them in the same theatres of the war. The armed forces on both sides continued the training and traditions handed down by the British in the armed forces on both sides.