1971 Indian Invasion of East Pakistan
In 1947 the Dominion of Pakistan was created following the independence of India from Britain. It was decided that Hindu areas would become part of India and Muslim areas would become part of Pakistan. Under this arrangement, the areas known today as Pakistan and Bangladesh were made part of the Dominion of Pakistan. In 1956, the western territory of Pakistan was named West Pakistan, and East Bengal (1,000 km away on the other side of India) was renamed to East Pakistan.
The Bengali people were never fond of being under the dominion of Pakistan, and several different independence movements occurred over the decades, finally coming to a head in 1971. East Pakistan was one of the largest states in Pakistan, it had the largest population and the largest economy, therefore the Pakistani government was unwilling to support independence.
In 1970 the elections in East Pakistan gave control of governance to the Awami League, a political group dedicated to representing the Bengalis who had felt ignored by the Pakistan Muslim League government. President General Yahya Khan attempted to come to a power sharing agreement between the Muslim League and the Awami League but negotiations stopped when the President ordered the military to attack the Awami League. The Awami League responded by declaring East Pakistan independent on March 26, 1971. The fighting and violence against Bengal Hindus led to thousands of refugees coming over the Indian border. India began talks for a military response to protect Bengal Hindus and return the thousands of refugees burdening their border back home.
War between India and Pakistan became inevitable when Pakistan launched preemptive airstrikes against India on December 3, 1971. Pakistan was outnumbered militarily; their navy was not as strong as India’s and they had little chance of winning by air. The Indian Navy blockaded East Pakistan and the Indian Army surrounded the East Pakistan capital, Dacca, and gave the Pakistan Army 30 minutes to surrender. Pakistan surrendered, and a ceasefire was negotiated. East Pakistan then became Bangladesh.