AGARTALA, Dec 16 (TIWN): Vijay Diwas was celebrated in Tripura to commemorate the memories of the brave soldiers of the Indian Army who laid down their lives in the Bangladesh Liberation War.

On December 16, 1971, India achieved its victory over Pakistan. To commemorate the memories of those who laid down their lives, a wreath laying ceremony was organised at the War Memorial at post office Chowmuhani in Agartala.

Chief Minister Biplab Deb and other officials paid floral tributes at the war memorial here and the Border Security Force exchanged sweets with their counterparts in the Border Guards of Bangladesh at different places along the India-Bangladesh border.Tripura was the war headquarters of Bangladesh liberation soldiers, and from here they launched guerrilla war against the Pakistani soldiers. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, 10 million men, women and children from then East Pakistan took shelter in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya.The Liberation War, as it is called in Bangladesh, later turned into a full-scale India-Pakistan war, leading to surrenders of thousands of Pakistani soldiers in December 1971. India was the first country to recognize Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict over a duration of about 9 months, putting Bangladesh erstwhile East Pakistan and India against the State of Pakistan. The war started on 26 March 1971 between the State of Pakistan and East Pakistan, India intervened on 3 December 1971. Armed conflict ended on 16 December 1971 and resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh.  The war broke out when army units directed by the State of Pakistan (then controlled by West Pakistan) launched a military operation called Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan against Bengali civilians. On 16 December 1971, the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini defeated the West Pakistani forces deployed in the East.