Section 8. Situation in the Indian Subcontinent
1. General situation
The situation in the Indian subcontinent in 1971 appeared generally unstable and saw an armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which developed out of the self-government movement in East Pakistan. Since the Indo-Pakistan conflict not only stemmed from a long relationship of dispute between the two countries but also involved the interests of the three countries of the United States, China and the Soviet Union in the Indian subcontinent, mediation efforts made by the United Nations and other parties failed to prevent the outbreak of the war. It is believed that the adjustment of relations among the three countries in the Indian subcontinent will be attended with much difficulty.
In Ceylon, acts of terrorism by ultra-leftist elements in and after early April 1971 reportedly spread throughout the country. However, the curfew order was completely lifted on November 15 and public order apparently has been restored. That officials of the Embassy of North Korea, which had maintained diplomatic relations with Ceylon since June 1970, were deported from Ceylon in connection with the incident was widely noted.
2. Indo-Pakistan conflict
The conflict between India and Pakistan has a long history, and their first armed clash occurred immediately after their independence in 1947, followed by another and larger conflict in 1965 mainly over Kashmir. The latest conflict occurred over East Pakistan.
In the general elections in Pakistan held in December 1970, the Awami League (President Mujibur Rahman), which advocated that the central government exercise control over only military and diplomatic affairs and other powers be delegated to local governments to expand the right of autonomy in East Pakistan, scored a major victory in the elections and became the leading party. After the talks failed between the Awami League on the one hand and the military and the People's Party (President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, incumbent President of Pakistan), the second party which insisted on the maintenance of the powerful central government, on the other, President Yahya Khan personally visited Dacca and held talks with Rahman. Meantime, discontent mounted among the people of East Pakistan, ruled by West Pakistan for many years, and various acts of anti-government sabotage were carried out. The tripartite talks among President Yahya Khan, Rahman and Bhutto ultimately broke down, and troops stationed in East Pakistan began a large-scale suppression of the people of East Pakistan at midnight of March 25, 1971. At the same time, the Awami League was outlawed and Rahman arrested. The number of refugees flowing into India since the start of the suppression reportedly had approached about 10 million by the time of the outbreak of the war on December 3, causing serious economic, social and political unrest in India. Relations between India and Pakistan gradually aggravated and the refugee problem became the direct cause of the war. On April 17, 1971, the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was established within Indian territory. India openly supported the government and reportedly gave positive support by providing it with the training of guerrillas and with weapons. Externally, India rejected negotiations between India and Pakistan, saying there was no way of settling the East Pakistan problem other than a political settlement between East and West Pakistan. Guerrilla activities, which remained inactive during the rainy season (June-October), became active as the rainy season ended. In the midst of the tense situation, Indian Premier Indira Gandhi visited six countries in Europe and America (Belgium, Austria, Britain, the U.S., France and Germany) for 20 days from October 24, seeking their understanding on India's position. Meantime, a Pakistan Government mission led by Bhutto visited the People's Republic of China for three days from November 5. Efforts by Japan, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and other major powers and also the U.N.'s mediation efforts failed to produce any substantial effects, and liberation forces supported by Indian forces began attacks in real earnest along the whole length of the East Pakistan border on November 21. To counter the attacks, the Pakistan Air Force bombed Indian Air Force bases, such as those in Srinagar, Amritsar and Pathankhot, while Pakistan troops advanced into India across the cease-fire line in Kashmir. Indian troops counterattacked (the report of UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) submitted to the Security Council on December 4), and India and Pakistan thus went into a state of all-out war.
The government forces stationed in East Pakistan, unable to resist the superior Indian forces, unconditionally surrendered on December 16. The hostilities in West Pakistan also came to an end on December 17 in accordance with India's proposal for a cease-fire, and the fighting ended two weeks after the outbreak of the war, with the tide of war overwhelmingly in favor of India.
3. The situation after the cease-fire
(1) The treatment of Awami League President Rahman under detention in West Pakistan became the focus of the adjustment of relations between India and Pakistan after the cease-fire. Rahman was released on January 8, 1972, and returned to Dacca on January 10 through Britain and India. On his return, he issued a statement to his people to the effect that the ties between Pakistan and India had been broken, and Bangladesh would take socialism, democracy and post-religionism as its basic principles. On January 12, Rahman assumed the post of prime minister and took the first step toward national construction by instituting such measures as ordering the disarmament of the liberation forces. Since around that time, the repatriation of East Pakistani refugees began to make rapid progress. Premier Rahman visited Calcutta for two days from February 6 on his first foreign tour as prime minister and held talks with Premier Gandhi. As a result of the talks, it was announced that the Indian troops remaining in Bangladesh would be withdrawn by March 25. (Later, the date for withdrawal was advanced and withdrawal was completed by March 16). After his visit to India, Premier Rahman visited the Soviet Union (March 1 through 5), and a joint communique issued by the two countries stated that the Soviet Union had promised to provide Bangladesh with various kinds of economic aid. Later, a trade agreement was concluded between the two countries (March 31), effecting closer relations between the Soviet Union and Bangladesh.
On the occasion of Bangladesh's first Independence Day (March 26), Premier Rahman announced over the radio his policies to nationalize banks, insurance companies and various industries and establish a constitution. He announced that Bangladesh externally would firmly maintain a diplomatic policy of non-alignment and peaceful coexistence.
(2) Concerning the problem of recognizing Bangladesh, India (December 6) and Bhutan (December 7) recognized it during the war and, after the cease-fire, various East European countries, Burma, the Soviet Union, Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany followed suit in January 1972.Japan recognized it on February 10. The number of countries to recognize the new nation continued to increase subsequently and had reached a figure of 54 by the end of March.
(3) In Pakistan after the cease-fire, President Yahya Khan resigned and Bhutto, president of the People's Party, became president and also Chief Martial Law Administrator (December 20). On adjustment of Pakistan's relations with Eangladesh, President Bhutto persisted in his tough posture that East Pakistan was part of Pakistan, and asked various countries to withhold their recognition of Bangladesh until talks with East Pakistan were completed. Pakistan broke off its diplomatic relations with some countries that had recognized Bangladesh as an act of retaliation, and it seceded from, the British Commonwealth on January 30 in anticipation of recognition of Bangladesh by members of the British Commonwealth. Later, President Bhutto visited the Islamic countries of Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria (January 24 through 28) and also Peking (January 31 through February 2), where a joint communique between the two countries criticizing India was published. In the domestic field, President Bhutto announced a structural reform and personnel reshuffle of the military (March 3) in view of the situation. On March 6, he promised over the radio to convene the National Assembly and repeal martial law (August 14, 1972). Pakistan continued to carry out positive diplomatic activities, and President Bhutto visited the Soviet Union (March 16 through 18). Meantime, British Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alec Douglas-Home visited Pakistan (March 20).
(4) Indian Premier Gandhi paid an official visit to Bangladesh (March 17 through 19), and the prime ministers of the two countries signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace good for 25 years and also issued a joint declaration, and relations between the two countries became even closer. In India's State Assembly elections (March 5 through 11), which attracted attention as the first election after the Indo-Pakistan War, the Congress Party, the party in power, won an even greater victory than in the fifth General Elections in March 1971. Swaran Singh, Minister of External Affairs, visited Afghanistan and the Soviet Union (March 31 through April 3). It is believed that the successive visits to Moscow by leaders of the three countries in the Indian subcontinent made it possible to increase the possibility of holding talks between India and Pakistan.
4. Moves of the U.S., China and the Soviet Union over the Indo-Pakistan conflict
(1) The United Nations discussed the Indo-Pakistan conflict from December 4 to 6, and all resolutions submitted to the Security Council were rejected because of the violent clash of interests and expectations of the three great powers of the United States, China and the Soviet Union. It was impossible to adjust the views of the three permanent Security Council members on the problem, and a Security Council resolution dated December 6 decided to refer the matter to the General Assembly for discussion. In accordance with the resolution, the General Assembly debated the Indo-Pakistan conflict on December 7, and a resolution jointly sponsored by 33 countries, including Japan, was adopted by majority vote. However, no effective measure to settle the armed conflict between Indian and Pakistani forces could be taken, and a cease-fire was brought about in the form of a victory for the Indian forces.
(2) The United States expressed its stand of neutrality on the Indo-Pakistan problem at the beginning, and showed little sympathy toward East Pakistan, when the West Pakistani forces suppressed the people. However, it gradually began to show an attitude of supporting West Pakistan from the summer of 1971, and on December 15, it sent part of the U.S. Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal. Soon after the start of armed suppression by the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan, the Soviet Union sent President Nikolai Podgorny's letter dated -April 20 to President Yahya Khan, which criticized the suppression by the Pakistan Government forces and supported India's stand by demanding a political settlement of the East Pakistan problem. Further, on August 9, the Soviet Union concluded the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation with India and, in the U.N. debate on the Indo-Pakistan issue, it always supported India's stand and exchanged violent words, especially with China. The People's Republic of China had been in friendly relations with Pakistan since the Sino-Indian War of 1962, and it did not make any official comment on the armed suppression in East Pakistan by the West Pakistani troops, and this attracted attention. On the occasion of the latest Indo-Pakistan conflict, it consistently supported Pakistan, and violently criticized the Soviet Union and India in the United Nations. The People's Republic of China closed its consulate-general in Dacca in December 1971, and all its staff members returned home in January 1972. In the Joint Communique issued on the occasion of President Nixon visit to the People's Republic of China (February 21 through 28), the People's Republic of China also clarified its support for Pakistan.