Crack Platoon

Crack Platoon or Dhaka Crack Platoon was a special commando team of the Mukti Bahini which was formed in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was a suicide squad formed by young members of Mukti Bahini which carried out commando operations in Dhaka and its surroundings.[1] The commandos were mostly students and civilians, received guerrilla training later in the training camps for Mukti Bahini in India and then engaged in battle against Pakistan Army.[2]

Background

In August 1947, the Partition of British India gave rise to two new states;[3] the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, the latter intended to be a homeland for the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent. The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west of India.[4] The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (now Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge.[5] On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[6] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment,[7] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight[8]

The events of the nine-month conflict of the Bangladesh Liberation War are widely viewed as genocide; the Pakistan Army and collaborators targeted Hindu communities, intellectuals and members of the political opposition for attacks.[9] Historians have estimated that, during the conflict, between two hundred thousand[10] and four hundred thousand[11] women and children[12] were raped leading to an estimated 25,000 war babies being born.[13] Estimates of persons killed during the conflict range from between 269,000[14] to one[15] to three million.[16] An estimated ten million refugees entered India, a situation which contributed to its government's decision to intervene militarily in the civil war. Thirty million people were displaced.[16] Susan Brownmiller documented that girls from the age of eight to grandmothers of seventy-five suffered rapes during the war.[17]

Formation

Formation of Muktibahini

Main article: Mukti Bahini

The Mukti Bahini consisted of Bengali members of Pakistan armed forces and civilians from East Pakistan, in response to the Operation Searchlight on March 25, 1971, a violent military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army to curb the Bengali nationalist movement through selective genocide of Bengali people.

Mukti Bahini used Guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the Pakistan Army. India provided economic, military and diplomatic support to the Mukti Bahini, leading West Pakistan to launch Operation Chengiz Khan, a preemptive attack on the western border of India which started the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.The operation also precipitated the 1971 Bangladesh genocide and caused roughly 10 million refugees to flee to India. Essentially Bengali intelligentsia, academics and Hindus were targeted for the harshest treatment, with significant indiscriminate killing taking place. These systematic killings enraged the Bengalis, who declared independence from Pakistan, to achieve the new state of Bangladesh.

Formantion and deployment of Crack Platoon

In June, 1971, World Bank sent a mission to observe the situation in East Pakistan. The media cell of Pakistan government was circulating a news that situation in East Pakistan was stable and normal. Khaled Mosharraf, a sector commander of Mukti Bahini, planned to deploy a special commando team. The task assigned to the team was to carry out commando operations and to terrorize Dhaka. The major objective of this team was to prove that the situation was not normal actually. Moreover, Pakistan. at that time, was expecting economic aid from World Bank, which was assumed to be spent to buy arms. The plan was to make World Bank Mission understand the true situation of East Pakistan and stop sanctioning the aid.[18] Khaled along with A.T.M Haider, another sector commander formed the Crack Platoon. Initially, number of commandos in the platoon was 17. Those commandos were receiving training in Melaghar Camp at that time.[19] From Melaghar, commandos of Crack Platoon headed for Dhaka on June 4, 1971 and launched guerrilla operation on June 5.[18] Later, number of commandos was increased, the platoon was split and deployed in different areas surrounding Dhaka city.[20]

Major objectives and success

The basic objectives of Crack Platoon were to demonstrate the strength of Mukti Bahini, terrorizing Pakistan Army and their collaborators. Another major objective was proving to the international community that the situation in East Pakistan was not normal. That commando team also aimed at inspiring the people of Dhaka who were frequently being victims of killing and torture. These objectives were successfully fulfilled by Crack Platoon. The world Bank mission, in its report, clearly described the hazardous situation that was prevailing in East Pakistan. In the report world bank mission prescribed to end the military regime in East Pakistan.[21] Crack Platoon carried out several successful and important operations. The power supply in Dhaka was devastated[22][23] which caused severe problem for Pakistan Army and the military administration in Dhaka. The Chinese restaurants in Dhaka had become almost prohibited for Pakistani army officers.[24]

Recognition and awards

The role of Crack Platoon in the Bangladesh Liberation War was highly appreciated by the post war government of Bangladesh and the people. Six commandos of Crack Platoon were awarded Bir Bikrom, third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh and two commandos were awarded Bir Protik, fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh.

References

  1. ↑ , Children take interview of 55 war heroes, The Daily Star, August 9, 2008.
  2. ↑ Islam, Zahirul (2013). মুক্তিযুদ্ধে মেজর হায়দার ও তার বিয়োগান্ত বিদায়. প্রথমা প্রকাশন. p. 76. ISBN 978 984 90253 1 3.
  3. ↑ "Britain Proposes Indian Partition". Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: The Leader-Post. BUP. 2 June 1947.
  4. ↑ Grover, Preston (8 June 1947). "India Partition Will Present Many Problems". Sarasota, Florida, USA: Herald-Tribune, via Google News. Associated Press.
  5. ↑ "Problems of Partition". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. 14 June 1947.
  6. ↑ "Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971. Gendercide Watch". Gendercide.org. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Emerging Discontent, 1966–70. Country Studies Bangladesh". Countrystudies.us. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Bose, Sarmila (8 October 2005). "Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971". Economic and Political Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 March 2007.
  9. ↑ D'Costa, Bina (1 November 2011). Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia. Routledge. p. 144. ISBN 978-0415565660.
  10. ↑ Saikia, Yasmin (2011). Elizabeth D. Heineman, ed. Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones: From the Ancient World to the Era of Human Rights. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-8122-4318-5.
  11. ↑ Riedel, Bruce O. (2011). Deadly embrace: Pakistan, America, and the future of the global jihad. Brookings Institution. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-8157-0557-4.
  12. ↑ Ghadbian, Najib (2002). Kent Worcester; Sally A. Bermanzohn; Mark Ungar, eds. Violence and politics: globalization's paradox. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 978-0415931113.
  13. ↑ D'Costa, Bina (1 November 2010). Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia. Routledge. p. 132. ISBN 978-0415565660.
  14. ↑ Obermeyer, Ziad; Christopher J L Murray; Emmanuela Gakidou (26 June 2008). "Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme". British Medical Journal. BMJ 2008 (7659): 1482–6. doi:10.1136/bmj.a137. PMC 2440905Freely accessible. PMID 18566045.
  15. ↑ DeGroot, Gerard (2011). The Seventies Unplugged: A Kaleidoscopic Look at a Violent Decade. Pan Macmillan. p. 64. ISBN 978-0330455787.
  16. 1 2 Totten, Samuel; Paul Robert Bartrop; Steven L. Jacobs. Dictionary of Genocide: A-L. Volume 1: Greenwood. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-313-32967-8.
  17. ↑ Debnath, Angela (2009). Samuel Totten, ed. Plight and fate of women during and following genocide (7th ed.). Transaction. p. 49. ISBN 978-1412808279.
  18. 1 2 Mosharraf, Khaled (2013). মুক্তিযুদ্ধে ২ নম্বর সেক্টর এবং কে ফোর্স. প্রথমা প্রকাশন. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978 984 90253 2 0.
  19. ↑ Islam, Zahirul (2013). মুক্তিযুদ্ধে মেজর হায়দার ও তার বিয়োগান্ত বিদায়. প্রথমা প্রকাশন. p. 77. ISBN 978 984 90253 1 3.
  20. ↑ Islam, Zahirul (2013). মুক্তিযুদ্ধে মেজর হায়দার ও তার বিয়োগান্ত বিদায়. প্রথমা প্রকাশন. p. 78. ISBN 978 984 90253 1 3.
  21. ↑ Gavshon, Arthur L. (14 July 1971). "Experts Cite Remedial Measures for East Pakistan". The Day. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  22. ↑ "3 Power Plants Bombed By East Pakistan Rebels". Morning Record. 22 July 1971.
  23. ↑ "Pakistan Rebels Bomb Plant". The Daily News. 22 October 1971.
  24. ↑ "Dacca Cafes Bombed". The spokesman-Review. 25 July 1971.
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