JAIPUR: India not only liberated Bangladesh in 1971, but also ushered in peace, said retired Major Chandrakant Singh during a session on his book ‘Meghna: The River of Victory’ on the concluding day of Jaipur Literature Festival here on Monday. The book is based on the unheard stories of the 1971 war. Other panellists were (Retd) Lt Gen SS Mehta, (Retd) Wing Commander Krishnamurti and Major General Raju Chauhan.
“The Americans remained in Afghanistan for 20 years. Did the country see peace? No. In Iraq, the Americans are still hanging around, but there’s no peace,” said Singh adding that Pakistan surrendered on December 16 and on December 22, the Bangladesh government in exile under PM Tajuddin Ali Ahmed arrived in his country. “General Sagat Singh handed over Dhaka to the Bangladeshi government. He told them that we are not an occupational army and this is your government and country,” said Singh.
Claiming that no country has left the liberated country that early in recent history, Singh made a shocking revelation that there were elements in the Indian establishment who wanted to have a military government (Bangladesh) headed by us.
“It was a victory of democracy over military rule, liberation over occupation and humanism over barbarism,” said (Retd) Lt Gen SS Mehta.
