All the ministers and the three army chiefs wanted India’s capture of Lahore but Indira Gandhi called a ceasefire!

New Delhi : Bangladesh has been in the news in recent times due to the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina government, violence and atrocities against Hindus and minorities. Whenever there is mention of those who brought Bangladesh into existence as an independent country, the list will be incomplete without the name of Indira Gandhi. A day before, on October 31, the country celebrated his/her death anniversary. But do you know that Indira Gandhi, who divided Pakistan into two parts in 1972, had backed out from merging Lahore with India. Her entire cabinet and even the chiefs of the three armies wanted the victorious Indian army to capture Lahore but Indira Gandhi was against it. he/she declared a unilateral ceasefire. This story was narrated by none other than an aide of Indira Gandhi and a Congress leader. After the brutal assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, through an article in our associate Times of India, praised the ‘Iron Lady’. Had remembered. Zakaria was a well-known Islamic scholar, author, educationist and Congress MP. In the article, Zakaria had recalled the political journey of Indira Gandhi, the challenges she faced and her achievements.

In the article, he/she has told how Pakistan’s then military dictator Yahya Khan, along with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, committed atrocities in East Pakistan. Then lakhs of people fled to India to save their lives. Zakaria wrote, ‘While grappling with domestic problems, Gandhi faced his/her biggest challenge in the form of more than 10 million refugees, mostly Hindus, from East Pakistan. Due to this, there was a danger of paralyzing the Indian economy.

Rafiq Zakaria further wrote, ‘Military dictator Yahya Khan, with the help of Bhutto, established a reign of terror in East Pakistan, against which there was a rebellion under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. To suppress this, Yahya resorted to genocide against Bengalis and attacks on the neighboring country India. The armed conflict ended with the liberation of East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh.’

Zakaria further wrote in the article, ‘Gandhi did not want to let down West Pakistan and despite the fact that his/her entire cabinet, the chiefs of the army, navy and air force wanted the victorious Indian armed forces to capture Lahore, he/she allowed them to Ignored and ordered a unilateral ceasefire.

The Congress leader had also told in his/her article how during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, America and China had threatened India but Indira Gandhi remained firm like a rock. Zakaria wrote, ‘During the war, both the US and China threatened to retaliate – Nixon even sent the Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal – but Mrs Gandhi remained as firm as a rock. No one could ever let him/her down in any confrontation. his/her best form came out in crisis.

Zakaria further wrote, ‘The breakup of Pakistan was actually his/her greatest achievement; It buried the deadly two-nation theory and strengthened Indian secularism. It also made India the dominant power in South Asia and the subsequent explosion of the nuclear device at Pokhran made the country a member of the six-nation nuclear club.’