Operational Instruction No.52- How the Mukti Bahini was trained officially by India
One month after the Pakistani forces had commenced Operation Searchlight from 25 March, 1971, the Bengali fighting forces who were now being renamed as Mukti Bahini, had lost their initiative in holding back the Pakistani forces in their areas inside Bangladesh. After the Pakistani forces started gaining their foothold in the area, the Bengali fighting forces of volunteers, local people, Police, Ansar, Mujahids, East Pakistan Rifles and East Bengal Regimental Battalions under their respective commanders started taking refuge in India.
At that time, India was not only providing shelter to the refugees but was also providing all kinds of military aid to the Mukti Bahini.
On the 1st of May, 1971, General Sam Manekshaw had issued Operational Instruction No.52 to the Indian Army. This was a structured policy to provide training facilities and logistical and operational support for the liberation of Bangladesh. This Operational Instruction No.52 was prepared by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, the GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command, with the Indian army taking over the training, equipment and providing logistical support to the Mukti Bahini. An elaborate procedure to select and recruit all of the Bengali youth from all over Bangladesh to induct into the Mukti Bahini was created.
The first step was taken by the Indian Government’s Ministry of Rehabilitation, alongside the Provisional Government of Bangladesh who established special two-tier camps for young Bangladeshi youth. These were called as Youth camps which became the recruitment center for Operation Jackpot training camps. In the first tier, the youth reception camps were established were built along the entry points of the India-Bangladesh border of about 6-8 kilometers along the border. This first tier camps were mostly to provide rest, food and shelter after their journey, including verifying their identities and checking whether any of them were Pakistani agents or not, holding them back for a few days pending to admission into the regular youth relief camps which were established in centralized locations.
The work of the second tier youth camps were a bit different. Their work was to channelize the youth into organized and targeted purposeful activities in their return to Bangladesh, serve as holding camps from which trainees of the Bangladesh armed forces, regular forces and guerillas who would be recruited, training other youth as base workers to supplement regulars and guerillas. For each of the Youth camp, about 500 trainees were to be trained at the expense of Indian 1,55,000 rupees.
In total, about 25 of such youth camps were established.
Mukti Bahini guerillas were trained for about 3 to 6 weeks at the Indian army’s Operation Jackpot training camps. These guerillas were given basic training of handling small arms, light machine guns, mortars, explosives and they were further sent for advanced leadership or other training areas as per their suitability and then into the various sectors under the command of the Mukti Bahini commanders.
Though Bangladesh was divided into 11 operational sectors by the Bangladeshi High command, but the Indian army had divided the country into 6 sectors for the operations. These were called as Operational and Logistical sectors for Operation Jackpot. Each of these sectors were commanded by an Indian army Brigadier and by his officers and JCOs who coordinated with the Mukti Bahini in the operations against the Pakistani forces.
Alpha sector headquarters was located in Murtee in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal and was under the command of Brigadier BC Joshi. Bravo Sector headquarters was located in Raiganj district and was under the command of Brigadier Prem Singh. Charlie Sector headquarters was located in Chakulia, Bihar and was under the command of Brigadier Nasim Arthur Salik. Delta Sector headquarters was located in Devta Mura in Tripura under the command of Brigadier Shahbeg Singh. The Echo sector headquarters was located in Masimpur in Assam and was under the command of Brigadier MB Wadhwa. The Foxtrot sector headquarters was located in Meghalaya in Tura, under the command of Brigadier Sant Singh.
Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command overlook the training of the Mukti Bahini. He was initially assisted by Major General BN Sarkar and the Mukti Bahini had 2 kind of forces. One was the regular forces—Niyomito forces and the other was the guerilla forces—Gono Bahini. The Niyomito Bahini were of the Battalions of the East Bengal Regiment.
For the Gono Bahini, it was decided to induct trained guerillas inside Bangladesh with specific tasks. These guerillas would be in a group of 5 to 11. Guerilla launchpads were inside India while their bases were made inside Bangladesh, which consisted of safehouses where they could take shelter, food, information about objectives and medical facilities. Also, the use of many crack guerilla operations was decided to be launched to install fear within the Pakistani forces inside.
Back in Kolkata, India, a conference of Mukti Bahini sector commanders and members of the Provisional Government with senior Bengali officers were conducted from the 12th to the 17th of July, 1971. The meeting was presided by Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed himself. Some decisions on strategy and organization were created, which included the establishment and organization. It included the establishment and the organization of Mukti Bahini sector troops, forming of 3 Infantry Brigades, structuring the Bangladesh armed forces from the forces headquarters down to the guerilla groups, recruitment and logistics policy, mode of payment to all the ranks, rations and medical facilities, rations and accommodation of martyr’s families, sector boundaries, weapons, equipment, olive combat dress for the regular forces and Gono Bahini, phasing the induction of the Gono Bahini. Also, directives for motivation and psychological warfare for regular soldiers and guerillas, government workers, Bangladeshi refugees in India, people living in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi diaspora was issued. The Provisional Government and the Mukti Bahini sector commanders alongside the Indian army, had decided that a large number of guerillas have to be inducted into Bangladesh to strike at every conceivable area through raids and ambushes, with operations to shut down industries, cutting off electricity supply by blowing off electric sub-stations and poles, trying to stop Pakistanis from exporting anything out to the rest of the world, including finished products, destroy vehicles, railway lines and railway bogies, river crafts and ferries which the Pakistanis used for supply movements and troop movement to be systemically destroyed and after isolating the enemy, the Mukti Bahini guerillas would strike deadly blows on the Pakistani forces.
By the end of June, 1971, 1st, 3rd and the 8th East Bengal Regimental Battalions were moved to Tura in Meghalaya, reorganized and re-equipped, forming the Z-Force Infantry Brigade. Also, the 2nd and the 11th East Bengal Regimental Battalions were moved to Tripura, being reorganized into the S-Force Infantry Brigade. Also, the 4th, 9th and the 10th East Bengal Regimental Battalions were moved and reorganized into the K-Force Infantry Brigade for operations in the Belonia, Feni and Chittagong sector. In August, 1971, 80 Bengali soldiers and officers who defected from Pakistani Artillery Corps were chosen to form the 1 Mujib Field Battery, which was armed with 3.7 inch guns. Also, in October, the No.2 and No.3 Field Batteries for the Mukti Bahini were raised, which were raised with the 105mm Indian artillery guns. Detachments of the Bangladesh Airforce were created by the help of the Indian Airforce and the Bangladesh Navy of gunboats and Naval commandos were created with complete military equipment and training aid given by India itself.
The guerilla training syllabus for the Mukti Bahini fighters consisted of weapons training, field craft, raid/ambushes, commando training, including simple demolitions, using pocket size wireless sets, passing Morse Code messages of at least 6 words per minute. The Indian Research and Analysis Wing had also created another Wing of the Mukti Bahini—the Mujib Bahini, composing of 10000 men. The salaries to Bangladesh regular forces and guerrillas were paid through Operation Jackpot sector commanders. Regular force commanding officers were paid a monthly salary of 500 Indian rupees (INR), while other officers were paid 400 INR. Officer cadet salary was 100 INR, JCO salary was 150 INR, and it was 75 INR for other ranks. Non-Combatants' salary was 70 Pakistan rupees (PKR), which was on par with the Indian army. Other freedom fighters were paid 30 PKR during training and 50 PKR on completion of training. All ranks of regular forces were issued two sets of khaki uniform, other items of soldier's kit and light bedding. Mukti Bahini freedom fighters were issued civilian dress of lungi-kurta, canvas shoes, and other items of soldier's kit. Rations at the Indian Army's scales were issued to all Bangladeshi regular forces and freedom fighters. Tented accommodation was provided to all Bangladeshi forces. On induction inside Bangladesh, they were given two PKR per day as ration allowance. Bangladeshi forces used the transport brought by them when crossing into Indian territory. Local formations also helped them through additional transport on a required basis. Bangladeshi forces were provided rail and road transport facilities like the Indian Army troops whenever they travelled to perform their duties within India.