According to the second clause of Bangladesh National Liberation Struggle (Indemnity) Order, 1973, no legal proceeding shall be carried out against the freedom fighters for any act from the 1st day of March, 1971 to the 16th day of December, 1971.
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In the broader historical context of South Asian military structures prior to 1971 — including recruitment, representation, and regional dynamics within armed forces — see this related analysis on whether East Pakistan was systematically excluded from Pakistan’s military establishment: “Was East Pakistan Systematically Excluded from Pakistan’s Armed Forces 1947–1971?”.
Why March 1st, 1971, Marks the Start of Legal Immunity
President Yahya initiated Operation Search Light started on March 25, why does the state of Bangladesh mention March 1st in the act?
Violence Against Non-Bengalis Before Operation Searchlight
Between March 2 and March 26 1971 in East Pakistan, there was killing, burning, looting, ambushing, brickbatting and molestation of non Bengalis by the militants of Awami League.
Some sources put the figure of Biharis and West Pakistanis killed by Awami League militants as 100,000 including 15,000 at Santahar, 10,000 at Chittagong and 2,000 at Mymensing.
Their shopes were gutted, their houses looted, their women folk taken away and raped and bodies mutilated. A whole community had gone berserk. The pent up feelings of virulence against their so called ‘exploiters’ burst out in the open.
Mujib ur Rehman allowed his men to run riots and create conditions which would call for reprisal by the law enforcement agencies which would then give him a chance to cry wolf and ask for foreign assistance.
The Mukti Bahini and the Massacre of Biharis in 1971
American Professor Rudolph Rummel estimates that 150,000 Biharis were massacred by the vengeful victors of Mukti Bahini in a brutal bloodletting in 1971.
Historical Context: Mujibur Rahman’s Role in the 1971 Atrocities
Mujib ur Rehman supported the brutal killings by his own Mukti Bahini.
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