Politics in India since Independence This sounds like joining the Soviet bloc. Can we say that we were non-aligned even after signing this treaty with the Soviet Union? response to this, the people started a struggle to liberate ‘Bangladesh’ from Pakistan. Throughout , India had to bear the burden of about lakh refugees who fled East Pakistan and took shelter in the neighbouring areas in India.
India extended moral and material support to the freedom struggle in Bangladesh. Pakistan accused India of a conspiracy to break it up. Support for Pakistan came from the US and China. The US-China rapprochement that began in the late 1960s resulted in a realignment of forces in Asia.
Henry Kissinger, the adviser to the US President Richard Nixon, made a secret visit to China via Pakistan in July . In order to counter the US-Pakistan-China axis, India signed a -year Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Soviet Union in August . This treaty assured India of Soviet support if the country faced any attack. After months of diplomatic tension and military build-up, a full-scale war between India and Pakistan broke out in December .
Pakistani aircrafts attacked Punjab and Rajasthan, while the army moved on the Jammu and Kashmir front. India retaliated with an attack involving the air force, navy and the army on both the Western and the Eastern front. Welcomed and supported by the local population, the Indian army made rapid progress in East Pakistan. Within ten days the Indian army had surrounded Dhaka from three sides and the Pakistani army of about , had to surrender.
With Bangladesh as a free country, India declared a unilateral ceasefire. Later, the signing of the Shimla Agreement between Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on July formalised the return of peace. A decisive victory in the war led to national jubiliation. Most people in India saw this as a moment of glory and a clear sign of India’s growing military prowess.
As you would read in the next chapter, Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister at this time. She had already won the Lok Sahba elections in . Her personal popularity soared