Background Guides

UNHSC Historic Security Council SIM

The United Nations Historic Security Council (UNHSC) is a simulation of the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council is an organ of the UN devoted to resolving international conflict and disputes, and maintains peace and security through resolutions and peacekeeper deployments. The Security Council is composed of 15 members. 5 of these are permanent, which are the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France. These 5 members all have veto power, which means that if one of them votes against a resolution, the resolution automatically fails, even if the remaining 14 members pass it. The other 10 members are elected by the UN General Assembly to serve for 2-year terms, with 5 switching every year. This helps to ensure that no temporary member spends too much time on the Council, and allows multiple nations to have their voices heard.

The Security Council calls meetings when the president of the UNSC, which rotates monthly, requests it regarding a specific topic. The UNSC discusses and writes resolutions on the topic at hand. These resolutions are legally binding under international law, and can range from recommendations to member states to peacekeeper deployments in conflict zones. This gives the Council a variety of ways to enforce peace.

Topic background:

The Bangladeshi Liberation War was caused by a series of historical events, stemming back to the Partition of India. The Partition divided British India along religious lines, while ethnicity was largely ignored. In the Muslim state, this caused the formation of the largely Punjabi West Pakistan and the largely Bengali East Pakistan. West Pakistan was less populous than East Pakistan, but had more economic and political power in government. 

The conflict between the two provinces started in March 1948, when Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared Urdu to be the national language of Pakistan, despite estimates showing only 3% of the population in Pakistan being native Urdu speakers. In East Pakistan, this announcement was met with widespread protests, culminating in the 1952 shooting of many peaceful protestors by the police. 2 years later, Pakistan adopted Bengali as one of its state languages.

The conflict between East and West Pakistan didn’t stop there. Despite having a larger population, East Pakistan received significantly less funding, and this was aggravated under Ayub Khan’s military dictatorship. In fact, from 1955 to 1960, spending on East Pakistan was 31.7% of the amount spent on West Pakistan. In fact, this percentage never went above 50% under Pakistani rule. Foreign investments also tended to go to West Pakistan instead of East Pakistan. 

The Armed Forces were also unequal. According to a study from the Library of Congress, Bengali officers made up just 5% of the military, of which the majority were in non-combative roles. This stemmed from the British classification of “martial” and “non-martial” races. Bengalis during British rule were classified as non-martial, and this discrimination continued throughout Pakistani rule.

Bangladesh reflected their outrage through politics. Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman proposed the 6 Points plan, which called for federalism, limited central government, separate currencies, provincial taxes, separate foreign exchange, and military independence.

In 1970, the situation came to a climax. The Awami League, the primary party in East Pakistan, won 167 of the 169 seats in the East, granting them a majority in the 313 seat parliament over West Pakistani parties like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with 86 seats. However, the National Assembly never met, causing unrest in East Pakistan. In January 1971, President Yahya Khan and Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman met, with both sides saying the talks were, “Satisfactory”. However, on returning to West Pakistan, Yahya Khan met with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and multiple generals.

Bhutto visited Dhaka at the end of January to meet with members of other parties. He offered to form a coalition government with the Awami League, which was rejected. This put West Pakistan into fear that the Awami League would institute their 6 points, which they believed would split Pakistan and defeat Islamic unity. Yahya Khan announced an Assembly on March 3, but the plan was significantly harmed when the PPP announced they would not join the assembly unless the Awami League changed their 6 points. On February 28, Bhutto threatened to kill members of the Assembly who preferred meeting in Dhaka over West Pakistan. On March 1, Yahya Khan postponed the Assembly indefinitely. This started the Non -Cooperation Movement of 1971.

On March 1, without encouragement from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a student movement started to protest against the decision. At a press conference, Rahman publicly supported the movement and announced a hartal, or a mass protest against the suspension of the Assembly. Students burned images of the Pakistani flag and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which caused Rahman to urge peaceful protests.

From March 1 to March 25, clashes continued throughout East Pakistan. According to a notice from the federal government, at least 172 people died and 358 people were injured in just the first 6 days of the movement, though the Awami League disputed the number to be much higher. Bengali mobs also targeted Biharis, Muslims from the Indian state of Bihar who had migrated to East Pakistan after the partition, as they generally supported Pakistan in the conflict. On March 8, General Tikka Khan went to Dhaka to accept his new post as military governor of East Pakistan. Pakistan implemented curfews across East Pakistan, and tensions rose until March 25, when Operation Searchlight was carried out.

On March 25, Pakistan launched a military campaign known as Operation Searchlight, with the goal of arresting Bengali political leaders, regaining control of major cities, and to disarm paramilitary groups in East Pakistan. The operation was marred by genocide and mass murder, with hundreds of students being killed at Dhaka University, especially non-muslims. The operation also saw leaders like Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Kamal Hossain being arrested, while the majority of Awami leaders were able to escape to India. Other phases of the operation saw similar atrocities.

At around the same time, on March 26, 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence in a telegram to Major Ziaur Rahman and M. A. Hannan. They then broadcast the telegram to all of Bangladesh, starting the Bangladesh Liberation War. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman reportedly avoided broadcasting it himself due to fears that it could be used as evidence against him as treason.

By the end of the operation, thousands of intellectuals and civilians had been killed. The leader of Pakistan’s eastern command, AAK Niazi, said that by April 10, Pakistan had retained control of Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla, Khulna, and Rangpur, as well as all the airfields and garrisons. The Bengali resistance had been successful in keeping cities such as Mymensingh, Kushtia, Sylhet, and Rajshahi away from Pakistani control, but Pakistan was able to terrorize the common civilians of Bengal.

After Operation Searchlight, any hope for a return to normalcy was gone. Bangladeshi rebels started to receive funding and training from India, as a provisional government was formed on April 10 by escaped Awami League members such as Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam, and MAG Osmani in Mujibnagar. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was appointed President in absentia. 

The immediate goal of the government was to ensure that Bangladesh gained control of its own territory, and this required a military. The provisional government created the Mukti Bahini (Translates to “Freedom Fighters”) to fight in the war, operating on a strategy of guerrilla warfare. On the other hand, Pakistan also needed to gain control of Bangladesh, and consolidate power in the hands of the government.

Both the Mukti Bahini and Pakistan recruited the population of Bangladesh. The Mukti Bahini’s support base stemmed from Bengali nationalists who defected from military and paramilitary groups such as the East Pakistan Rifles, East Pakistan Police, East Pakistan Ansar, and East Bengal Regiment. The Mukti Bahini was also composed of many civilians, with units such as the Mujib Bahini, Kader Bahini, Hemayet Bahini, and Crack Platoon. Most minority groups, such as indigenous groups and Hindus, supported the Mukti Bahini. Pakistan also recruited heavily, creating groups such as the Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams. These groups drew manpower from political groups such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim League, Pakistan Democratic Party, and Nizam-e-Islam, with many Biharis and pro-Pakistan Bengalis joining.

The war also saw many atrocities. It is estimated that eight to ten million people fled from East Pakistan to Indian states such as West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya. India faced difficulty providing shelter, food, and other necessities to the refugees, turning the war into a matter of India’s security as well. However, India did not want to risk an all-out war with Pakistan. Instead, they brought up the topic at global forums such as the United Nations, framing it as a regional issue, while Pakistan claimed it was an internal dispute.

Internationally, major powers decided to pick sides. Archer Blood, the American Consul General to Dhaka, protested against the atrocities and urged the US to support the liberation movement. However, America’s ties to West Pakistan led US leaders such as Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger to support Pakistan’s territorial integrity and opposed intervention. China also sided with Pakistan in the war, seeing it as a counterbalance to India.

The Mukti Bahini also enjoyed international support. In August 1971, India and the Soviet Union signed a treaty that countered the US and China’s support of West Pakistan. Both countries provided military and diplomatic aid to the Mukti Bahini, helping them sustain a long-term guerrilla campaign.

Situation at time of meeting:

On December 1, 1971, the situation was extremely tense. The Mukti Bahini had carried out many successful guerrilla operations in urban areas like Dhaka and Chittagong. Sabotage of power plants, transport routes, and other key infrastructure was becoming commonplace and organized under Operation Jackpot. 

Pakistan was becoming overstretched. Being unable to fight conventionally, they had to resort to paramilitary groups like the Razakars to maintain control through terror tactics, curfews, and military crackdowns, worsening the humanitarian situation.

Regionally, there were many repercussions. India mobilized its armed forces in the case of outbreak of war, raising fears of one. India and Pakistan had multiple border clashes, especially along East Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan were fully prepared for a large-scale conflict, broadening it from an internal issue to a regional one.

Diplomatically, hopes for a ceasefire were dim. International attempts such as Security Council resolutions had little to no effect on the conflict, with permanent members using their veto to shield their allies from resolutions. This led to a diplomatic deadlock, with little agreement being reached by the two sides.

Bibliography:

Bass, Gary J. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.

Bose, Sarmila. Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011.

Government of Bangladesh. Documents on Bangladesh Liberation War. Dhaka: Ministry of Liberation War Affairs.

Government of Pakistan. Report of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission of Inquiry. Islamabad, 1974. Declassified excerpts.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Official Records and Statements on the 1971 Crisis. New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs.

Library of Congress. Pakistan: A Country Study. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.

Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The State of the World’s Refugees: Historical Case Studies. Geneva: UNHCR.

United Nations Security Council. Official Records of the Security Council, 1971. New York: United Nations.

United States Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XI: South Asia Crisis, 1971. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

van Schendel, Willem. A History of Bangladesh. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.