While India marks December 16 as Vijay Diwas to commemorate the defeat of Pakistani forces in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, Dhaka celebrates March 26 as its Independence Day. It precedes the defeat of Pakistani forces by 10 months. So, what’s the history and logic behind it?
On December 16, every year, India celebrates Vijay Diwas to commemorate the victory of the Indian Armed Forces that resulted in the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, and the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. However, across the border in Bangladesh, December 16 is not marked as the Independence Day, but as Victory Day. Bangladesh marks March 26 as its Independence Day. The day is celebrated around 10 months ahead of India’s Vijay Diwas or Bangladesh’s Victory Day.
There is history and reason as to why Bangladesh celebrates its Independence Day on March 26, and not on December 16, the day of the surrender of Pakistani forces that led to the creation of the new nation in 1971.
Indian forces launched military operations in East Pakistan in December 1971, which was part of the Mukti Juddho (the War of Liberation) of Bangladesh.
This is the story behind Bangladesh’s Independence Day. But first, a bit about the road to Liberation.
HOW PAKISTANI EXCESSES TRIGGERED BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR
Despite being more populous and economically productive, East Pakistan, then a province of Pakistan, was treated as a second-class region. It faced the imposition of Urdu, limited representation in the Pakistani Parliament and the armed forces, chronic underinvestment, and the syphoning of its resources to West Pakistan.
Tensions peaked after the 1970 elections, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League won a clear majority in the national polls. This victory entitled Rahman to form the government in Islamabad. Unwilling to accept the mandate, military dictator Yahya Khan launched Operation Searchlight to crush dissent in East Pakistan.
Backed by Razakars and militia groups, the Pakistani Army carried out a brutal crackdown on Awami League leaders, Bengali intellectuals, Hindu religious minorities, and the Mukti Bahini. The violence killed hundreds of thousands and triggered a massive refugee crisis, with around 10 million fleeing to India.
DECLARATION OF BANGLADESH INDEPENDENCE AND THE START OF THE LIBERATION WAR
On March 25, 1971, Pakistani forces began Operation Searchlight, with troops and tanks fanning out across Dhaka, massacring students and intellectuals in Dhaka University, attacking civilians across Dhaka, and crushing any resistance put up by local police and units of the East Bengal Rifles.
In response, on March 26, 1971, just after midnight, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sent a message to his people about Pakistani atrocities in Dhaka, and declared the independence of Bangladesh through a telegram sent to Chittagong just before he was arrested by Pakistani commandos. The telegram said, “This may be my last message. From today, Bangladesh is Independent. I call upon the people of Bangladesh, wherever you might be and with whatever you have, to resist the army of occupation to the last”.
In Chittagong, Mujibur’s message was received by Awami League leader Mohammed Abdul Hannan and defecting Pakistani military officer Major Ziaur Rahman. The declaration was broadcast on the same day by Hannan from a radio station in Chittagong, declaring that, “Today, Bangladesh is a sovereign and an independent country”.
The next day, on March 27, Ziaur also broadcast the proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declaring, “I, Major Ziaur Rahman, on behalf of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People’s Republic of Bangladesh has been established”.
Soon after, the Bangladesh War of Liberation began, and would go on for nine months until Indian military intervention, which lasted more than two weeks, dealt Pakistani forces the final blow. Following that, AAK Niazi, Pakistan’s military commander stationed in Dhaka, signed the instrument of surrender on December 16, 1971.
WHY BANGLADESH MARKS INDEPENDENCE DAY ON MARCH 26
While this is the historical context, there are several other reasons why Bangladesh chose March 26, and not December 16, to commemorate its Independence. The country does celebrate December 16 as its Victory Day, focussing on the victory of the allied Indian-Bangladeshi forces over their Pakistani enemies.
That said, it is also worth noting that on December 16, 2024 and 2025, Dhaka observed the day with relatively muted enthusiasm, following the fall of the regime of PM Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Like in 2024, this year too, there were no special parades in Dhaka to commemorate the day, unlike the ones during the Awami League regime.
By marking March 26 as its Independence Day, Bangladesh asserts that its freedom was not merely the outcome of a military campaign, but because of popular will and sustained civilian resistance. The day, thus, symbolises the moment when sovereignty was claimed by the people themselves.
This idea has been asserted by several Bangladeshi leaders.
“On this day in 1971, the freedom-loving people of this country joined hands and launched an armed struggle against the Pakistani occupying forces to free the motherland from the chains of subjugation,” Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff, General Waker-uz-Zaman, said on March 26 this year.
Similarly, Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin also said, “The emergence of an Independent and sovereign Bangladesh took place with the declaration of independence on March 26, 1971. Then, the final victory was achieved through a long nine-month bloody War of Liberation”.
