Congress sets up committee to commemorate 50th anniversary of Bangladesh Liberation War

The Congress on Tuesday set up a committee chaired by former defence minister AK Antony to plan and coordinate the party's activities to commemorate the historic 50th anniversary of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

The panel includes Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and former Union minister Jitendra Singh.

Former president Pranab Mukherjee''s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee, who is a national spokesperson of the party, has also been included in the panel.

"The Congress President has approved the formation of the committee to plan and coordinate the activities of the Indian National Congress to commemorate the historic 50th anniversary of the Bangladesh Liberation War won in 1971, which holds testimony to the special relationship between our two countries," an official communication from the party said.

Other members of the committee include former Haryana minister Kiran Choudhry, Telangana Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy and Major Ved Prakash. Praveen Davar has been made the panel’s convener, the party said.

The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was fought during the tenure of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in what was then East Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. It resulted in the independence of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

The war began after the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan launched ‘Operation Searchlight’ against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971. It pursued the systematic elimination of nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities and armed personnel. The junta annulled the results of the 1970 elections and arrested Prime Minister-designate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The war ended on 16 December 1971 after West Pakistan surrendered.