When did the operation searchlight begin?
March 26, 1971Operation Searchlight / Start date
What was Operation Blitz?
The military action, code named ‘Operation Blitz’, began on March 25, 1971. A brutal campaign of mass murder was unleashed. Rape on a massive scale became a weapon of harrowing repression. This massive brutality was conducted in the traditions of the colonial masters who had set up the army.
What was the aim of the liberation war?
The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971. It pursued the systematic elimination of nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities and armed personnel.
What was the purpose of Operation Searchlight?
Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971.
Why was there a civil war in East Pakistan in 1971?
WHO declared the operation searchlight?
As per instruction of the Chief of Staff General Abdul Hamid Khan on 17 March, General Khadim Hossain Raja finalised the plan of the Operation Searchlight on the day following in the office of the GOC in the Dhaka Cantonment. Rao Forman Ali himself prepared this five pages operation plan.
What was the core cause of East Pakistan desiring to be a sovereign nation in the Bangladesh liberation war?
The liberation war of Bangladesh was not merely a war for independence fought by Bangladeshi nationalists – one of its main triggers was religion. The Pakistani government wanted to turn Bangladeshis into exemplary Muslims by alienating them from their Hindu background.
What is Operation Searchlight How was it planned and operated by the Pakistan Army?
A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army – codenamed Operation Searchlight – started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military, within one month.