Battle of Kushtia

Battle fought during Bangladesh War of Independence

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Battle of Kushtia

Part of Bangladesh Liberation War
| Date| March–April 1971

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Location|

Kushtia, Khulna, Bangladesh

Result|  Bangladeshi victory[1][2]
Territorial
changes|

* Kushtia was captured in April[1][2]
* Provisional Government established base at Mujibnagar[2]

Belligerents
Mukti Bahini|

* Pakistan
* Pakistan Army

Commanders and leaders
Abu Osman Chowdhury|

* Mohammad Ayub (POW)
* Major Shoeb

Units involved
Sector – VIII|  27th Baluch Regiment
Strength
5,000 militiamen and policemen|  147 troops
Casualties and losses
50–70 killed, 500 captured or disarmed|  73 killed and dozens captured

* v
* t
* e

Bangladesh Liberation War

CPB-NAP-BSU resistance

Mukti Bahini resistance

* Searchlight
* Jackpot
* Barisal
* 1st Kamalpur
* 2nd Kamalpur
* Daruin
* Nakshi Border Outpost
* Rangamati-Mahalchari waterway
* Goalhati
* Dhalai Border Outpost
* Garibpur§
* Gazipur§

Sylhet§
* Kushtia
* Ghasipur
* Belonia Bulge

Shiromoni
* Bogra§

Indian intervention

* Cactus-Lilly
* Chengiz Khan
* Jackpot‡
* PNS Ghazi
* Trident
* Python
* Kamalpur
* Basantar
* Boyra

Chamb
* Dhalai
* Hilli‡
* Longewala
* Sylhet‡
* Meghna Heli Bridge
* Tangail
* Shiromoni
* Air War‡
* Naval War

* * *

Bangladesh genocide

* Dhaka University
* Shankharipara
* Jinjira
* Akhira
* Jathibhanga
* Demra
* Chuknagar
* Madhyapara
* Bakhrabad
* Burunga

Systematic events

* Agartala Conspiracy Case
* Killing of intellectuals
* Rape
* Provisional Government
* Refugees in India
* Pakistani Instrument of Surrender

* * *

§ indicates events in the internal resistance movement linked to the Indo-Pakistani War.
‡ indicates events in the Indo-Pakistani War linked to the internal resistance movement in Bangladesh.

The Battle of Kushtia (Bengali: কুষ্টিয়ার যুদ্ধ) was a battle between the Bengali guerrillas including policemen against the Pakistan Army in March and April 1971, The battle was fought by the Mukti Fauj and the 27th Baluch Regiment of the Pakistan Army.

The battle started in late March after the Pakistan Army began Operation Searchlight, when Pakistanis took Kushtia, and later Bengalis started a mass campaign to capture Kushtia.

## Battle

[edit]

13 jeeps and trucks came to a halt outside Kushtia's police station. It was 10:30 on the night, the war broke out. Delta Company of the 27th Baluch Regiment had arrived from its base at Jessore cantonment 60 miles to the south. The 147 men of the company, quickly disarmed some 500 Bengali policemen without meeting any resistance and then occupied four additional key points, the district police headquarters, the government office building, the VHP radio transmitter and the Zilla School for boys. Most of the sleeping townspeople did not realize what had happened until 5:30 a.m., when Jeeploads of soldiers with bullhorns drove through the empty streets announcing that a total curfew was to begin 30 minutes later.[citation needed]

Kushtia remained calm for 48 hours while the curfew was in effect, although seven persons—mostly peasants who arrived in town unaware of what had happened—were shot to death for being found in the streets.[3] The curfew was lifted on the morning of 28 March, and the people of the town began to organize a resistance immediately.[citation needed]

That night, 53 East Pakistani policemen easily overpowered a handful of soldiers at the police station. Then, fanning out to nearby villages with all the .303 Enfield Rifles and ammunition they could carry, the policemen joined forces with 100 college students. The students were teaching guerrilla warfare to local peasants, who were armed only with hatchets, farm tools and bamboo staves. Within two days, the police and students had organized several thousand volunteers and militiamen of the East Pakistan Rifles and laid plans for simultaneous attacks on the five Pakistan Army Positions in Kushtia.[citation needed]

on 31 March, a force of some 5,000 peasants, guerrillas and policemen launched a campaign to capture Kushtia. Thousands of townspeople thronged the streets shouting “Joi Bangla [Victory to Bengal]!” The Pakistani soldiers panicked at the thought of being engulfed by so many thousands of furious Bengalis. “We were very surprised” lamented Naik Subhedar (Senior Sergeant) Mohammed Ayub later, following his capture. “We thought the Bengali forces were about the size of one company like ourselves. We didn’t know everybody was against us.” The Bengali fighters made no suicidal, human-wave assaults at Kushtia as they had in some places. But the steady drumfire of hundreds of rifles had a relentless effect on the soldiers of Delta Company. By noon, the government building and district headquarters all fell. Shortly before dawn the next day, about 75 soldiers made a dash for their jeeps and trucks and roared away in a blaze of gunfire. Two Jeeps were halted almost immediately by surging mobs. The Bengalis pulled out the dozen soldiers and killed them on the spot.[citation needed]

The other vehicles were blocked outside town by fallen-tree barricades and 4-ft ditches dug across the blacktop road. The soldiers shot down about 50 Bengalis before they were overwhelmed and killed by peasants. A few soldiers escaped but were later captured and killed.[citation needed]

Before dawn the next day, the last 13 soldiers in Kushtia went out of the radio building and covered 14 miles on foot, before two Bengali militiamen took them as prisoners and brought them back to the Kushtia District Jail. The 13 were the only known survivors of Delta Company's 147 men. Among the West Pakistani dead was Nassim Waquer, a 29-year-old Punjabi who last January had been appointed assistant deputy commissioner at Kushtia. When a mob found his body, they brought it through the streets of the town for half a mile. The next day, the Pakistan Army dispatched another infantry company from Jessore to stage a counterattack on Kushtia. At Bishakali village, halfway to Kushtia, the new company fell into a booby trap set by Bengali guerrillas. two Jeeps in the nine-vehicle army convoy plunged into a deep pit covered with bamboo and vines.[citation needed]

Seventy-three soldiers were killed on the spot, and dozens of others were chased down and killed.[citation needed]

## See also

[edit]

* Battle of Kamalpur
* Tank Ambush at Kushtia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Pakistan: The Battle of Kushtia". Time. 19 April 1971.
2. ^ a b c "One little town showed how to fight back". The Daily Star. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
3. ^ Alamgir, Mohiuddin; Nandy, Dipan (25 March 2023). "Kushtia's tale of unimaginable brutality". The Daily Star. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

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* t
* e

Kushtia

History|

History of Kushtia • Battle of Kushtia • Tank Ambush at Kushtia • Kushtia Police Lines killing field • Kohinoor Villa

Administration|

Kushtia Model Thana • Kushtia Municipality

Municipal Areas|

Courtpara • Khajanagar • Thanapara • Amlapara • Millpara • Lahini • Shapla Square • Mazampur • Jagati • Chourhas • Big Bazar • Barkhada

Education|

Rabindra Maitree University • Lalon University of Science and Arts • Justice Abu Zafar Siddique University of Science and Technology • Kushtia Medical College • Selima Medical College Hospital • Kushtia Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital • Kushtia Islamia College • Kushtia Government College • Kushtia Government Women's College • Kuwatul Islam Kamil Madrasa • Afsar Uddin Women Fazil Madrasa • Kushtia City College • Gorai Women’s College • Syed Masud Rumi Degree College • Educare Ideal School and College • Collectorate School and College, Kushtia • Kushtia Government Technical School and College • Police Lines School and College • K.S.M. Dhaka Minipara Higher Secondary School • Hasib Dream School and College • Sunup International School and College • Kushtia High School • Kushtia Zilla School • Kushtia Government Girls High School • Sirajul Haque Muslim Secondary School • Dinmoni Secondary School • Jagati Secondary School • Mohini Mohon Bidyapith • Kushtia Nursing Institute • Kushtia Government Polytechnic Institute • Kushtia Technical Training Center • Medical Institute

Religious sites|

Kushtia Central Jame Masjid • Mongolbari Old Jame Masjid • Kuthipara Old Jame Masjid • Gopinath Jeu Temple • St John's Cathedral • Kushtia Central Cemetery • Kushtia Central Eidgah • Church of Bangladesh Diocese of Kushtia

Places of interest|

Kamrul Islam Siddique Municipal Children’s Park • Kushtia Municipal Museum • Kushtia Municipal Building • Zilla Shilpakala Academy • Tagore Lodge • Rojob Ali Khan Chowdhury Building • Lalon Museum • Mausoleum of Lalon Shah • Haripur Bridge

Transport|

N704 • R710 • R745 • R747 • Kushtia Bypass Road • NS Road • Mir Mosharraf Hossain Road • Kushtia Central Bus Terminal • Poradah–Goalundo Ghat line • Jagati railway station • Kushtia Court railway station • Kushtia railway station

Others|

Tiler Khaja • Kushtia's Kulfi Malai • Porimal Theatre • Kushtia Stadium • Kushtia District Swimming Pool • Kushtia General Hospital • Kushtia Chest Disease Hospital • Gorai Canal • Gorai River • Mohini Mill • Kaliganga River • BRB Group • Allah’r Dal • Kushtia District Jail • Kushtia Sugar Mills Ltd. • Kushtia Rural Electrification Board • Kushtia Public Library • Lalon Mela • CRACK International Art Camp • BRB Cable Industries Ltd. • Kiam Metal Industries Ltd. • MRS Industries Ltd.

Newspapers|

The Azizan Nehar • The Kohinoor • The Jagoron • The Hitokori

Sculptures and monuments|

Kushtia Central Shaheed Minar • Gagan Harkara • Palki and Bearers • Bijoy Ullas • Mukti Maitree • Lalon Sculpture • From Autonomy to Independence • Saint's Ektara

Lists|

List of notable people from Kushtia • List of educational institutions in Kushtia • List of tall buildings in Kushtia • List of mosques in Kushtia • List of streets and roads in Kushtia
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