AGARTALA, Dec 16 (TIWN): Tripura celebrated Vijay Diwas on Wednesday in a grand manner. In various places the Vijay Diwas was observed at Agartala including Bangladesh Asst. High Commissioner’s Office.

Vijay Diwas is commemorated every 16 December in India as it marks its military victory over Pakistan in 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, who were alliance of Bangladesh Mukti Bahini.

Vijay Diwas is 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.

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.

History says that Tripura had six to seven camps in four sectors from where the 'muktijoddhas' (freedom fighters) fought the Pakistani forces in the nine-month-long war in 1971 that led to the creation of Bangladesh, which was earlier East Pakistan. Over 1,600,000 Bangladeshis - a number larger than the state's then total population of 1,500,000 - had taken shelter in Tripura alone.

The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict over 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.  On 16 December 1971, the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini defeated the West Pakistani forces.