India’s Crowning Glory under Indira Gandhi

For the Congress, we did a Documentary Film to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The film traces the key role of Indira Gandhi on the social, diplomatic and military fronts.

On the social front, there was the additional responsibility of looking after a staggering 10 million refugees, who entered India, fleeing the reign of repression let loose in the erstwhile East Pakistan. On the diplomatic front, Indira Gandhi had to stand up against the US-Pakistan-China Axis on the one hand and, on the other hand, in winning over the erstwhile Soviet Union support by signing the India, Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation on August 9, 1971, ahead of the India, Pakistan War.

This was the first war in which all the three wings of the Indian Armed Forces, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, took part. The war eventually broke out, following the unprovoked Pakistani bombing of several places in India and shelling the Indian ground positions on December 3, 1971. On December 16, 1971, the war ended, following the unconditional surrender of Pakistani forces to the Lt General Jagjit Singh Arora, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces of India and Bangladesh.

In a short war, lasting 13 days, India scored a decisive and emphatic military victory, leading to the break-up of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh. After the Second World War, this was the first time that a large contingent of over 90,000 soldiers, were taken as Prisoners of War (POWs).