Members of the Mukti Bahini preparing for their next guerilla attack.
On May 1, 1971, General SHFJ Manekshaw issued the Indian Army Operational Instruction No. 52. A structured policy to provide training facilities and logistical and operational support for the liberation of Bangladesh was prepared by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Command. The Indian Army was responsible for training, equipping, and providing logistical support to Mukti Bahini. Selection of personnel, discipline, motivation, planning and execution of operations were an exclusive prerogative of the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Bangladesh. An elaborate procedure was adopted for the selection of recruits for Mukti Bahini. Youth from all over Bangladesh were recruited to cover the entire territory. They were trained in the Indian Army s Operation Jackpot sectors training camps located close to their native places. The Indian Government s Ministry of Rehabi
Praveen Davar | | Published 29.04.21, 12:15 AM
The Mukti Bahini played a key role in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. However, its role tends to be overshadowed by the much bigger contribution of the Indian armed forces in the final stages of the war that changed the geopolitics and geography of the subcontinent, thanks to the visionary leadership of the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, and the outstanding military leadership of General (later Field Marshal) Sam Manekshaw and the other two service chiefs and commanders at various levels.
Beginning as the Mukti Fauj, the Mukti Bahini was born soon after the crackdown by the Pakistan army on March 25, 1971. It gradually grew into a large organization of armed and trained men owing allegiance to the provisional government of Bangladesh. The terror let loose by the Pakistan army motivated many young people to