On this day India celebrates Vijay Diwas (Victory Day) to mark its military win over Pakistan in the 1971 war.
On the occasion of Vijay Diwas (Victory Day), Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar along with three service chief paid homage to martyrs of 1971 Indo-Pak war at Amar Jawan Jyoti. To mark this day different programmes are being organised at the headquarters of the Eastern Command at the Fort William in Kolkata.
On December 16 in the year 1971 the chief of Pakistani forces, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops surrendered to the allied forces consisting of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini which was led by General Jagjit Singh Aurora in Dhaka after their defeat in the war. Pakistan lost half its navy, air force and a third of its army. The war stripped the nation of more than half of its population.
The Governor of East Pakistan signed the instrument of surrender to the allied forces of the Indian Army and East Pakistan’s Mukti Bahini.
After the surrender, East Pakistan was liberated and the new nation of Bangladesh was formed.
The surrender was signed at Ramna Race Course in Dhaka, where Mujibur Rehman delivered his historic speech on 7th of March where he declared region’s independence from Pakistan.
According to reports, the number of refugees from East Bengal in India had reached 10 million by November 1971,
Following the day, the Indian government announced a unilateral ceasefire on the western front.
