On 25 March 1971, a significant conflict erupted in East Pakistan following the dismissal of an election victory by the Awami League, an East Pakistani political party. This event marked the beginning of Operation Searchlight,^[9] a brutal military campaign by the West Pakistani establishment to suppress rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan.^[10] The Pakistan Army's violent actions led Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,^[11] the Awami League leader, to declare the independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh on 26 March 1971.^[12] While most Bengalis supported this declaration, certain groups like Islamists and Biharis sided with the Pakistan Army.

Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the military to reassert control, igniting a civil war. This conflict resulted in a massive refugee crisis, with approximately 10 million people fleeing to India's eastern provinces.^[13] In response, India supported the Bangladeshi resistance movement, the Mukti Bahini. The Mukti Bahini, composed of Bengali military, paramilitary, and civilians, waged a guerrilla war against the Pakistani military, achieving significant early successes. The Pakistan Army regained some ground during the monsoon season, but the Mukti Bahini responded with operations like the naval-focused Operation Jackpot and air strikes by the nascent Bangladesh Air Force. Tensions escalated into a broader conflict when Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on India on 3 December 1971, leading to the Indo-Pakistani War. The conflict ended with Pakistan's surrender in Dhaka on 16 December 1971, a historic event in military history.

Throughout the war, the Pakistan Army and allied militias, including the Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams, committed widespread atrocities against Bengali civilians, students, intellectuals, religious minorities, and armed personnel.^[14] These acts included mass murder, deportation, and genocidal rape as part of a systematic campaign of annihilation. The violence led to significant displacement, with an estimated 30 million internally displaced persons and 10 million refugees fleeing to India.^[15]

The war profoundly altered South Asia's geopolitical landscape, leading to the establishment of Bangladesh as the seventh-most populous country in the world. The conflict also had broader implications during the Cold War, involving major global powers like the United States, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China. Bangladesh gained recognition as a sovereign nation by the majority of United Nations member states in 1972.