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Elephants in battle

A war elephant was a military elephant that had been trained and guided by humans. The main purpose of the war elephant was to assault the enemy, break their ranks, and terrorise and terrify them. Elephantry refers to military formations that use elephants to transport troops. [1] In antiquity, war elephants played a crucial role in a number of significant wars, particularly in Ancient India. While they were only used on a limited and irregular basis in ancient China, they were a permanent staple in the armies of historical Southeast Asian kingdoms. They were also used in ancient Persia and the Mediterranean globe by Macedonian troops, Hellenistic Greek nations, the Roman Republic and later Empire, and Carthage in North Africa during classical antiquity. Throughout the Middle Ages, they had a strong presence on the battlefield in several areas. However, when rifles and other gunpowder weapons became more common in early modern combat, their use declined. Following this, war elephants
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Indira Gandhi's victory in the 1971 war.

Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, acted with extraordinary patience and control. She decisively won the 1971 India-Pakistan war, dividing Pakistan into two and creating Bangladesh.

Faced with approximately 10 million East Pakistani refugees during the 1971 India-Pakistan conflict, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi pursued a multi-pronged strategy.

Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, acted with extraordinary patience and control. She decisively won the war, dividing Pakistan into two countries, with Bangladesh accounting for more than 60% of Pakistan's population.

 

The triumph in 1971 was noteworthy in several ways. East Pakistan's native population was antagonistic to the Pakistani Army and civil service, but welcomed Mukti Bahini with open arms.

In India, there was near-unanimous support for Indira Gandhi. For example, Syed Shahabuddin, once regarded as a 'hawk' among Muslim intellectuals, has become a vociferous advocate of Bangladesh's creation. He was a member of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) at the time and afterwards wrote extensively about how 1971 was a watershed year for Indian Muslims.

"After 1971, Indian Muslims realised for the first time that Pakistan offered them no hope, no future, and that Pakistan itself had no future. "That realisation not only put Indian Muslims on the right track but also gave them the courage and determination to face their situation squarely, to stand up and assert themselves," Shahabuddin wrote, adding, "That realisation not only put Indian Muslims on the right track but also gave them the courage and determination to face their situation squarely, to stand up and assert themselves.""

Prior to 1971, Indian Muslims rarely expressed their ideas; it was only after 1971 that they began to do so and became a part of the national mainstream.

Indira Gandhi had granted her defence chiefs considerable autonomy as well as the time and resources to prepare for action. Her sole stipulation was that the fight be quick, with no international repercussions or enlisting the help of others.

 

While the war officially began on December 3, 1971, Indira Gandhi stated in the Lok Sabha on March 27, 1971, "In a critical period like this, I believe the less we as a government say, the better."

 

"A bad action, a wrong remark, might have a completely different consequence than what everyone intends," she said in the Rajya Sabha the next day.

Indira Gandhi wrote letters to world leaders for more than six months, from March to October 1971, informing them of the situation on the Indian border.

 

She went to Moscow and then went on a 21-day tour of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the United States. She attempted to awaken the world's conscience to the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians in East Pakistan and the barbarism of General Tikka Khan.

Indira Gandhi allowed the Awami League to construct a government-in-exile near Calcutta (now Kolkata), but she refused to give it any formal status.

 

"There are some in the country who are attempting to make political capital out of the Bangladesh issue this is no occasion for irresponsible action the government will take any such step [recognition of Bangladesh] only after careful consideration of all aspects of the question," Indira Gandhi said in August 1971, when the Opposition became more vocal in its demand for recognition of Bangladesh.

During the civil war in Pakistan in 1970-71, the country's populous eastern region was ruled by civil and military leaders from the western region, who showed no regard for the Bangla language, customs, or legacy.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League won 169 of Pakistan's 313 parliamentary seats in 1970, but he was refused the position of prime minister. General Yahya Khan, Pakistan's military dictator, detained Mujibur Rahman and declared martial law in East Pakistan.

According to independent researchers, between 3,00,000 and 5,00,000 persons died during this time period. The Bangladeshi government estimates that three million people are affected.

 

According to several academics, the first time rape was used as a weapon of war was during the Bangladesh War of Independence.

 

Over 300,000 Bengali-speaking women were raped, according to one estimate.

 

The Pakistan Army began a barbaric onslaught while the Bangla Liberation Movement waged guerilla warfare under the leadership of the Mukti Bahini, blowing up railway lines and bridges.

Indira Gandhi waited, even as Yahya Khan and Tikka Khan grew irritated. A pre-emptive strike was launched on eight airfields from Srinagar to Barmer on December 3, 1971. This prevented India from having to start a war.

Indira Gandhi was in Calcutta at the time and rushed to Delhi to give a speech to the country. She informed her countrymen that a "War has been thrust on us" in a controlled tone.

 

Indira Gandhi recognised Bangladesh as an independent country three days later.

 

The Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy battled admirably; a Pakistani submarine, Ghazi, was sunk off the coast of Vishakhapatnam, and a surprise attack on Karachi was launched.

 

Even as India glided to a resounding victory, the United States attempted to intervene by sending its Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal. Indira Gandhi exuded self-assurance and tranquilly. While the former Soviet Union sent a fleet from Vladivostok to fight the US armada, China maintained its neutrality.

Pakistan's commander, General Amir Abullah Khan Niazi, surrendered Dacca (Dhaka) on December 16, 13 days after the war began, turning up his service revolver to Indian Lieutenant-General JS Aurora.

 

Indira Gandhi was eager to declare a truce after her victory. She made it obvious to the rest of the world that India's aspirations were not territorial, revengeful, or expansionist in nature. Throughout 1971, she gave military leaders the greatest weight and importance possible, and she did not act in a panic or on the spur of the moment.

 

Indira Gandhi was dubbed 'Abhinav Chandi Durga' by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of the front-ranking Opposition leaders at the time, for defeating Pakistan in the war. Indira Gandhi was given a larger-than-life image because to Atal Bihari Vajpayee's portrayal of her as Durga.

Indira Gandhi reportedly later informed her friend and biographer Pupul Jayakar that she had had some inkling of'supernatural powers throughout the war and even prior to it, having had unusual experiences.'

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