Mukti Bahini

The Mukti Bahini ("liberation force") was the Bengali fighting force of the 1971 war that made Bangladesh. It had two parts: regular troops, mostly mutineers from the East Bengal Regiment and the East Pakistan Rifles, later called the Niyomito or Niamita Bahini, and irregular fighters, the Gono or Gana Bahini, drawn from students, peasants, workers and political activists.

How it began: Pakistan's army crackdown (Operation Searchlight) began on the night of 25 to 26 March 1971. On 4 April senior Bengali officers met at Teliapara and Colonel M.A.G. Osmani was put in command of the liberation forces. The exile government, the Mujibnagar government, was formed on 10 April 1971, with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as President and Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister. The country was divided into eleven sectors, and the sector commanders met from 10 to 17 July.

India's part: Banglapedia records that Indira Gandhi pledged full support on 27 March 1971, Indian border forces opened the border, and refugee camps became recruiting and training grounds. ThePrint says RAW "actively helped" the force and is believed to have trained about 100,000 people, a figure the article does not confirm. A joint Mukti Bahini and Indian command was set up in November 1971 under Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, a Sikh officer. Joint operations began on the evening of 3 December, after Pakistan's air strikes.

Shahbeg Singh: Shekhar Gupta, writing in ThePrint, says Major General Shahbeg Singh raised and trained the Mukti Bahini. SinghStation says Field Marshal Manekshaw picked him, then a brigadier, to head Delta Sector from Agartala and to direct operations in central and eastern Bangladesh. Lt Gen K.S. Brar told ThePrint that Shahbeg Singh was with the Mukti Bahini in 1971. In May 1984 Shahbeg Singh told The Telegraph that he had trained Zia-ur-Rahman, said "I became a Bengali for the sake of my country", and would say no more because the work was secret.

Key moments

• 25 to 26 March 1971: the Pakistan Army crackdown begins.
• 4 April 1971: command structure agreed at Teliapara.
• 10 April 1971: Mujibnagar government formed.
• November 1971: joint command with the Indian Army under Aurora.
• 16 December 1971: Lt Gen A.A.K. Niazi signs the surrender at Ramna Racecourse, Dhaka, at 5:01 p.m., with Aurora; Group Captain A.K. Khandaker represents the Mukti Bahini.

Where it stands: the Mukti Bahini was succeeded by the Bangladesh Armed Forces, the Bangladesh Rifles and the Bangladesh Police. Seven fighters received the Bir Sreshtho, Bangladesh's highest military honour.