document_title: List of The Fosters characters

question_text: who plays stef's mother on the fosters

question_tokens: who plays stef 's mother on the fosters

text: List of The Fosters characters

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Actor

Character

Seasons

1

2

3

4

5

Main cast

Teri Polo

Stephanie "Stef" Adams Foster

Main

Sherri Saum

Lena Adams Fosters

Main

Jake T. Austin

Jesus Adams Foster

Main

Noah Centineo

Main

Hayden Byerly

Jude Adams Fosters

Main

David Lambert

Brandon Foster

Main

Maia Mitchell

Callie Adams Foster

Main

Danny Nucci

Mike Foster A

Main

Cierra Ramirez

Mariana Adams Foster

Main

text: A  In season 5, Danny Nucci is only credited on the episodes in which Mike appears but still in the opening titles.

text: Main characters[edit]

text: Stef Adams Foster[edit]

text: Stefanie "Stef" Marie Adams Foster (season 1–present) is a police officer. She and Mike Foster, her partner at work, are Brandon's biological parents. They divorced shortly after Stef met Lena and realized she's a lesbian and wanted to be with her. In a flashback in episode 9, when she first met the twins, it is shown that she has a very caring nature despite her tough appearance. At the end of episode 1x10, Stef and Lena are officially married, legally cementing their long-term union of ten years. Stef is very strong and tough, but is also very funny and loving. Callie initially doesn't feel comfortable around her due to her position as a cop, but gradually forms a close bond with her. While Stef likes to act tough around everyone, especially Lena, it is shown that she cares a great deal about her wife and family, although she won't hesitate to discipline her kids if need be.

text: Lena Adams Foster[edit]

text: Lena Elizabeth Adams Foster (season 1–present) is Stef's wife, Brandon's stepmother, and the other children's adoptive/foster mother. While neither she or Stef are really the dominant one in their relationship, Lena has a more motherly nature. She is good with kids and tries often to reason with her kids more so than punish them, despite Stef's usually "quick to act" nature. She is the biracial vice principal of the charter school the kids attend. In episode 8, she and Stef get into a fight about Lena wanting to be married and never discussing it, showing that while she is more a lover than a fighter she will defend herself, but more so around Stef than anyone else. It was Lena who decided to take Callie in after she was released from the juvenile detention center. Lena is very aware of the people around her and takes on the role of caring mother to all of the kids. She is artificially inseminated with co-worker Timothy's sperm, desiring to have a biological child of her own, and finds out she is pregnant shortly afterwards in the season 1 finale. However, in season 2, she is diagnosed with life-threatening preeclampisa and, consequently, loses the baby.

text: Jesus Adams Foster[edit]

text: Jesus Adams Foster "(season 1–present) 16, was one of the twins that Lena and Stef fostered as children and eventually adopted. He is the more laid-back of the twins. He had ADHD, for which he took medication. After a fainting spell caused by his pills in "House and Home", he decided with the suggestion of Mike to join the wrestling team to cope with negative effects of ADHD. He is close with his sister as they were both in the foster care system and he acted as her protector; however their personalities and values clash occasionally, causing many arguments. He even went as far to take the blame for her selling his pills to have money for their birth mom, Ana, who he feels disgust and resentment towards because she chose drugs over him and his sister. He starts dating Mariana's childhood best friend Lexi, in "Consequently" after defending her from a guy. He falls out with his sister in "Quinceanera" when she finds out he's been secretly dating Lexi and feels betrayed by Jesus for doing so. They make up in "The Fall-Out". He has sex with Lexi once in "The Morning After". His relationship with Lexi is on hold when she moves back to Honduras because her grandmother is sick and her family cannot find a way back as they are undocumented immigrants. He eventually moves on from their relationship and falls into a love triangle between wrestling mate Emma and popular girl Hayley.

text: Jude Adams Foster[edit]

text: Jude Adams Foster (season 1–present) is Callie's 13-year-old half brother, who Callie and Brandon rescue from an abusive foster home. He is a quiet child with somewhat more optimistic views on foster homes than Callie, though he has been moved from foster home to foster home along with his sister and been abused as well. Once he is moved into the Fosters' home, he quickly begins to adjust to the new lifestyle and becomes more talkative and energetic. At school, he develops a close friendship with a handsome and kind-hearted boy named Connor, a growing relationship which prompts Jude to begin questioning his sexuality.[6][7] As the series progresses, Jude turns 13 and is subsequently adopted by Lena and Stef, although a technicality regarding Callie's birth certificate prevents her from being adopted along with him. He deals with the emotional impact of Callie becoming close to her biological family, but realizes that she will always be with him no matter what. He later develops a romance with his best friend, Connor, and the two begin dating in the season 2 finale. In the mid-season 3 finale the two admit they love each other for the first time after Connor considers moving to Los Angeles to live with his more accepting mother. Then a little more after that Taylor asked if Jude wanted to go to church then meets a boy named Noah then he asks Jude if he wants to try pot so they are not allowed to see each other.

text: Brandon Foster[edit]

text: Brandon Foster (season 1–present) is the 22-year-old son of Stef and her ex-husband, Mike. He is one of Callie's love interests. He is very talented musically, specifically with the piano, and writes piano pieces which he presents for chances at scholarships. He has been shown to have an unsteady relationship with his father, Mike, due to the fact that Mike is a struggling alcoholic and has disappointed him many times through his childhood and teen years. At the start of Season 1, Brandon has a girlfriend named Talya, but breaks up with her because of his growing feelings for Callie and his annoyance and anger at her harassment and jealousy directed at Callie. For most of the first season, Brandon continues to pursue Callie romantically, even though she warned him that she could be kicked out of the house if they got involved. Brandon continues to make reckless decisions, included violating a restraining order, in order to be with Callie. Ultimately, he accepts that Callie needs a family more than a relationship, and eventually agrees to a mutual break up. He eventually joins a band and begins a relationship with bandmate Lou.

text: Callie Adams Foster[edit]

text: Callie Adams Foster (season 1–present), 17, is one of the Foster family's new foster children. Callie is headstrong and tough as a result of being in the foster system since she was a child, but holds a soft spot for her younger brother Jude. She was sent to Juvie for destroying a car in order to protect him from their foster father's abuse. After she is released from Juvie and placed with the Fosters, Callie and Brandon rescue Jude, who is subsequently fostered by the Foster family as well. Callie has had a hard life— her mother is dead and her father is in jail and she has been abused in many ways in the foster care system. She initially has trouble opening herself up to her new family, but she slowly comes to love and accept them as her "forever" family. Initially, Callie opens up mainly to Brandon, and the two develop a romantic relationship, although it is forbidden by the rules of the foster system, which soon meets a heartbreaking end. Callie also holds an on-again, off-again relationship with a classmate named Wyatt. Unfortunately, after the Fosters decide to adopt Callie and Jude, Callie learns that the man she thought was her father (Donald Jacob) is not. She then pursues to meet her biological father, as well as her half-sister who looks as if she could be her identical twin. In the episode "Lucky" from season 3, she is officially adopted and an "Adams Foster."

text: Mike Foster[edit]

text: Michael "Mike" Foster (season 1–present) is a San Diego police sergeant, Brandon's father, and Stef's ex-husband and ex-police patrol partner. As the series progresses, it is revealed that Mike has a drinking problem, but joins AA to cope with it. A frequent visitor to the Foster household, Mike is familiar with his son's family. Toward the end of the first season, he started dating Dani, who helped him to keep his sobriety. However, he soon discovers that Dani had sex with a drunken Brandon one night and arrests her for statutory rape. Since then, Mike helps Ana come to terms with her addiction and live a clean life.

text: Mariana Adams Foster[edit]

text: Mariana Adams Foster (season 1–present) is Jesus's 16-year-old twin sister. She was fostered as a young child, and eventually adopted, by Lena and Stef. She is very smart and girly, and cares about her appearance very much. She is popular and social, likes to gossip, and speaks Spanish fluently. She is naive when it comes to certain topics - especially her birth mother, but she smartens up about her when finally realizing she was using her for money. She changes herself for guys and friends like in "The Morning After" when she sees that an old friend, Garrett is cute now and writes poetry, she goes to a Poetry Slam with him, and pierces her nose herself for him since he was hanging out with a girl who was dressed much edgier than Mariana. Also, in season 2, she dyes her hair blonde to fit in when making it on a dance team only to overhear the other girls say she only did because she is Latina. However, she eventually gains the confidence in herself to not give in to what other people say and make her feel. Mariana has a thing for the bad boys later on in the seasons and she gets caught up into some trouble. Her ex-boyfriend Nick gets put into a mental hospital because he was hearing voices.

text: Recurring and minor characters[edit]

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Actor

Character

Seasons

1

2

3

4

5

Recurring and Guest cast

Alexandra Barreto

Ana Gutierrez

Recurring

Daffany Clark

Daphne Keene

Recurring

Guest

Gavin MacIntosh

Connor Stevens

Recurring

Guest

Amanda Leighton

Emma Kurtzman

Recurring

Guest

Recurring

Alex Saxon

Wyatt

Recurring

Guest

Guest

Jay Ali

M. Timothy

Recurring

Guest

Marla Sokoloff

Danielle "Dani" Kirkland

Recurring

Rosie O'Donnell

Rita Hendricks

Recurring

Guest

Recurring

Tom Phelan

Cole

Recurring

Guest

Guest

Cherinda Kincherlow

Kiara

Recurring

Guest

Alicia Sixtos

Carmen Cruz

Recurring

Guest

Annamarie Kennoyer

Becka

Recurring

Guest

Reiley McClendon

Vico Cerar

Recurring

Guest

Madisen Beaty

Talya Banks

Recurring

Guest

Bianca A. Santos

Lexi Rivera

Recurring

Guest

April Parker-Jones

Captain Roberts

Recurring

Guest

Anne Winters

Kelsey

Recurring

Julian de la Celle

Zachary Rogers

Recurring

Lorraine Toussaint

Dana Adams

Guest

Annie Potts

Sharon Elkin

Guest

Sam McMurray

Frank Cooper

Recurring

Guest

Adam Kang

Aiden

Guest

Guest

Michael Traynor

Craig

Guest

Guest

Brandon W. Jones

Liam Olmstead

Guest

Michael Patrick McGill

Coach Spears

Guest

Annika Marks

Monte Porter

Recurring

Jordan Rodrigues

Mat Tan

Recurring

Guest

Kerr Smith

Robert Quinn

Recurring

Guest

Ashley Argota

Lucy "Lou" Chan

Recurring

Guest

Bailee Madison

Sophia Quinn

Recurring

Guest

Jack DePew

Jasper Landry

Recurring

Guest

Caitlin Carver

Hayley Heinz

Recurring

Guest

Valerie Dillman

Jill Quinn

Recurring

Guest

Chris Bruno

Adam Stevens

Recurring

Guest

Hannah Kasulka

Kaitlyn Reihl

Recurring

Samantha Logan

Tia Stephens

Recurring

Izabela Vidovic

Taylor Shaw

Guest

Recurring

Marlene Forte

Elena Gutierrez

Guest

Madison Pettis

Daria

Guest

Tony Plana

Victor Gutierrez

Guest

Guest

Judy Kain

Lauren

Guest

Guest

Alberto De Diego

Rafael

Guest

Tom Williamson

AJ Hensdale

Recurring

Brandon Quinn

Gabriel "Gabe" Duncroft

Recurring

Denyse Tontz

Cortney Strathmore

Recurring

Guest

Louis Hunter

Nick Stratos

Recurring

Guest

Chris Warren

Ty Hensdale

Recurring

Guest

Tanner Buchanan

Jack Downey

Recurring

Guest

Keean Johnson

Tony

Recurring

Kelli Williams

Justina Marks

Recurring

Pepi Sonuga

Sally Benton

Recurring

Benjamin and Alexander Freitas

Mason Strathmore

Guest

Recurring

Guest

Mark Totty

Craig Stratos

Guest

Recurring

Guest

Various babies

Isabella Gutierrez

Guest

Anna Grace Barlow

Zoey

Guest

Elliot Fletcher

Aaron Baker

Recurring

Kalama Epstein

Noah

Recurring

Alex Skuby

Joe Gray

Recurring

Guest

Meg DeLacy

Grace Mullen

Guest

Recurring

Jared Ward

Drew Turner

Guest

Recurring

Adam Irigoyen

Kyle Snow

Guest

Mercedes Colon

Margo Velasquez

Guest

Lisseth Chavez

Ximena Sinfuego

Recurring

Reggie Austin

Dean Bayfield

Recurring

Kristen Ariza

Teresa "Tess" Bayfield

Recurring

Christopher Meyer

Logan Bayfield

Recurring

Nandy Martin

Poppy Sinfuego

Recurring

Nick Fink

Shawn

Recurring

Nia Peeples

Susan Mullen

Guest

Abigail Cowan

Eliza

Recurring

Dallas Young

Corey

Recurring

text: Characters[edit]

text:
Annika Marks as Monte Porter (season 2-present), the principal at Anchor Beach Community Charter School. An attractive, personable professional woman, Monte wants to focus on administration, budget and finance, giving Lena control over student curriculum.
Bianca A. Santos as Lexi Rivera (season 1, season 3): Mariana's best friend and Jesus' ex-girlfriend who moves to Honduras in "Honeymoon". She is also an undocumented immigrant.[5]
Jordan Rodrigues as Mat (season 2-present): A guitarist in Lou's band. Mariana has a small crush on him and they soon begin a relationship together.[8]
Alex Saxon as Wyatt (season 1-present): Callie's friend and on-again, off-again boyfriend. In "I Do" Wyatt reveals that his mother is moving him to Indiana to live with his grandmother.[9] He returns in "Metropolis" and resumes his relationship with Callie.
Madisen Beaty as Talya Banks (season 1, season 3): Brandon's girlfriend in the beginning of the series before the two broke up. Brandon broke up with her due to her intense jealousy over Callie. After this, she remains Callie's enemy.
Alexandra Barreto as Ana Gutierrez (season 1-present): Mariana and Jesus' biological mother. She is a drug addict, and repeatedly tries to manipulate Mariana into giving her money to support her addiction. She even suggests that Mariana steal something from her parents in order to obtain more money for herself. Mike helps her to finally become sober and it is later revealed that she is pregnant and hopes to be a better mother than she was to Mariana and Jesus.
April Parker Jones as Captain Roberts (season 1, season 4): Stef and Mike's boss.
Anne Winters as Kelsey (season 1): A girl who is sent to a rehab after having problems with drugs. She is a friend of Mariana's, and after coming back from rehab, becomes her enemy because they both liked the same guy.[10]
Brandon W. Jones as Liam Olmstead (season 1-present): A boy from one of Callie's previous foster homes. Liam raped Callie while she was living with his family as a foster child and lied that she came onto him, resulting in her and Jude being forced out of the home.[11][12]
Justina Machado as Sofía "Sophia" Rivera (season 1): Lexi's protective and religious mother. Despite being religious, she and her husband support the LGBT community.[13]
Carlos Sanz as Ernesto Rivera (season 1): Sofia's husband and Lexi's father.
Gavin MacIntosh as Connor Stevens (season 1-season 3): Jude's classmate, best friend and, later, love interest, who accepts Jude as he is and encourages him to express his true personality. In season two, he informs Jude that his dad thinks Jude is gay and doesn't want him to spend time with Jude anymore because of it. Despite pressure from his dad, the two were able to maintain a friendship together. Later, it's revealed that the two boys kissed while on a school camping trip in their shared tent together, a moment they have ignored ever since. As their friendship continues to evolve, their relationship becomes complicated. In the episode "Now Hear This", they kiss on-screen for the first time and at the end of the next episode, Connor is shot in the foot and, in the next episode, officially comes out to his father and Jude. After finally being able to see Jude, they begin to officially date. In the mid-season 3 finale, Connor decides to move to Los Angeles to live with his mother due to his father's continuing homophobia and inability to accept him. Though both are heartbroken, Connor and Jude agree to maintain a long-distance relationship and profess their love for each other for the first time.
Amanda Leighton as Emma (season 1-present): A girl on Jesus' wrestling team who is known to be independent, semi-bossy and tom-boyish. She is a love interest for Jesus and the two began dating, but broke up due to her bossiness in their relationship.
Julian De La Celle as Zac Rogers (season 1): A boy who worked on the school play with Mariana and was her first boyfriend. They dated until he had to move away to live with his dad when his mother was diagnosed with early on Alzheimer's.
Garrett Clayton as Chase (season 1, season 3): Mariana's former love interest and star of the high school play.
Jay Ali as Timothy (season 1-present): Callie's and Talya's literature teacher. They call him by his first name.[14] He was Stef and Lenas' new baby's biological father before the baby died due to pregnancy complications.
Mary Mouser as Sarah (season 1-2): A foster child in Callie's foster child support group who was staying with Liam and his family. Callie became worried for her safety upon learning Liam was with her. She was then taken out of Liam's home after Callie confessed to Lena and Stef about Liam assaulting her.
Sam McMurray as Frank Cooper (season 1, season 5): Stef's late father, who struggled to accept Stef's relationship with Lena. He dies in "Family Day", deeply affecting Stef who regretted never making amends with him. A vision of Frank appears to Stef in season 5.
Annie Potts as Sharon Elkin (season 1-present): Stef's supportive mother and ex-wife of Frank.
Lorraine Toussaint as Dana Adams (season 1-present): Lena's mother who is oblivious to Lena's biracial struggles. The two have something of a rocky relationship, due to Dana not seeing Lena as a "real" African American woman, but Dana is there for Lena when she needs it.
Stephen Collins/Bruce Davison as Reverend Stuart Adams (season 1-present): Lena's father.
Daffany Clark as Daphne (season 1-present): A girl in Callie's group home who becomes one of her best friends. She has a young daughter who she intends to get back one day.
Rosie O'Donnell as Rita Hendricks (season 1-present): A leader of a group home who befriends Callie.
Tom Phelan as Cole (season 1-present): A transgender boy in Callie's group home.
Cherinda Kincherlow as Kiara (season 1-present): Callie's roommate as well as house sponsor while Callie is at Girls United. She offers Callie advice on how to survive at Girls United.
Marla Sokoloff as Dani (season 1-2): Mike's girlfriend and recovering alcoholic. She wants to help Brandon out in his daily struggles, even supporting his relationship with Callie until she breaks up with him. After she and Mike break up, she ends up having sex with a drunken Brandon. After this, she later gets back together with Mike. Despite trying to convince him to keep their one night stand a secret, Brandon confesses about having sex with her, therefore getting Dani arrested for statutory rape.
Romy Rosemont as Amanda Rogers (season 1): Zac's mother who suffers from Early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Reiley McClendon as Vico (season 1-2): A boy on the wrestling team that brings Brandon in on the fake ID's. After Brandon scares away all of his customers, he seeks revenge by jumping Brandon at night and breaking his hand. He is now attending military school and is on probation.
Caitlin Carver as Hayley Heinz (season 2-present): A dancer with Mariana on the dance team who has a secret relationship with Jesus before being dumped by him.
Kerr Smith as Robert Quinn (season 2-present): Callie's biological father. He grows attached to Callie after getting to know her and, despite promising to hand her over to the Fosters, finds himself unable to give her up. He soon refuses to sign his abandonment papers, devastating Callie.
Bailee Madison as Sophia Quinn (season 2-present): Robert Quinn's other daughter and Callie's biological paternal half-sister, who wants to meet her. They develop a close relationship. In the summer finale, she reveals that when Robert tried to send the adoption papers, she ripped them up and threw them out so Callie couldn't get adopted. After an upset Callie yells at Sophia, calling her a "spoiled little brat", Sophia locks herself in the bathroom in tears.
Ashley Argota as Lou (season 2-present): An attractive singer in whom Brandon takes an interest.[15]


document_title: Bangladesh Liberation War

question_text: who was leading indian army during bangladesh liberation war

question_tokens: who was leading indian army during bangladesh liberation war

root

text: Bangladesh Liberation War

text: Background[edit]

text: Prior to the Partition of British India, the Lahore Resolution initially envisaged separate Muslim-majority states in the eastern and northwestern zones of British India. A proposal for an independent United Bengal was mooted by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1946, but was opposed by the colonial authorities. The East Pakistan Renaissance Society advocated the creation of a sovereign state in eastern British India. Eventually, political negotiations led, in August 1947, to the official birth of two states, Pakistan and India,[20] giving presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus respectively following the departure of the British. The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west with India in between.[21] The western zone was popularly (and for a period, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge.[22] On 25 March 1971, after an election won by an East Pakistani political party (the Awami League) was ignored by the ruling (West Pakistani) establishment, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[23] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment,[24] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.[25] The violent crackdown by Pakistan Army[26] led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971.[27] Most Bengalis threw their support behind this move although Islamists and Biharis opposed this and sided with the Pakistan Army instead.[28] Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war.[27] The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[29][30] flooding into the eastern provinces of India.[31] Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.

tag: p

text: Language controversy[edit]

text: In 1948, Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the federal language of Pakistan.[32][33] However, Urdu was historically prevalent only in the north, central, and western region of the subcontinent; whereas in East Bengal, the native language was Bengali, one of the two most easterly branches of the Indo-European languages.[34] The Bengali-speaking people of Pakistan constituted over 30% of the country's population. The government stand was widely viewed as an attempt to suppress the culture of the eastern wing. The people of East Bengal demanded that their language be given federal status alongside Urdu and English. The Language Movement began in 1948, as civil society protested the removal of the Bengali script from currency and stamps, which were in place since the British Raj. The movement reached its climax in 1952, when on 21 February, the police fired on protesting students and civilians, causing several deaths. The day is revered in Bangladesh as the Language Movement Day. Later, in memory of the deaths in 1952, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day in November 1999.[35]

text: Disparities[edit]

text: Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget.

text:
Year
Spending on West Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees)
Spending on East Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees)
Amount spent on East as percentage of West

1950–55
11,290
5,240
46.4

1955–60
16,550
5,240
31.7

1960–65
33,550
14,040
41.8

1965–70
51,950
21,410
41.2

Total
113,340
45,930
40.5

Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I,
published by the planning commission of Pakistan.

tag: table

text: Bengalis were under-represented in the Pakistan military. Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of overall force by 1965; of these, only a few were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative posts.[36] West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined" unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis; the "Martial races" notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis.[36] Moreover, despite huge defence spending, East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts, purchasing and military support jobs. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis, as only an under-strength infantry division and 15 combat aircraft without tank support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliations during the conflict.[37][38]

text: Religious and cultural differences[edit]

text: The only common bond between the two Pakistani wings was religion. But there were differences even in religious practices. Bengali Muslims tended to be less conservative in religious zeal, and had come to accept their Hindu minority and neighbours despite some communal clashes.[39] Many Bengali Muslims strongly objected to the Islamist paradigm imposed by the Pakistani state.[40] Most members of West Pakistan's ruling elite also belonged to a liberal society, yet understood a common faith as the mobilising factor behind Pakistan's creation and the subsuming of Pakistan's multiple identities into one.[40]

text: Cultural and linguistic differences between the two wings outweighed any religious unity. The Bengalis were very proud of their culture and language which with its Devnagari script and Sanskrit vocabulary was unacceptable to the West Pakistani elite who considered it to smack of Hindu culture.[41]

text: The Bangladeshi liberation struggle against Pakistan was led by secular leaders.[42] With this reality and the feeling of Islamic solidarity in the background, Islamists in East Pakistan viewed Bengali nationalism as unacceptable and instead sided with the Pakistani Army's efforts to crush the Bengali independence movement.[43] Secularists hailed the Bangladeshi victory as the triumph of secular Bengali nationalism over religion-centred Pakistani nationalism.[44]

text: Most of the politically-active ulama of East Pakistan either remained neutral or sided with the Pakistani state, since they perceived the break-up of Pakistan as a loss for Islam.[45]

text: Political differences[edit]

text: Although East Pakistan accounted for a slight majority of the country's population,[46] political power remained in the hands of West Pakistanis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the "One Unit" scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes.

text: After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to devolve to the new President of Pakistan, which replaced the office of Governor General when Pakistan became a republic, and, eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President.

text: The East Pakistanis observed that the West Pakistani establishment would swiftly depose any East Pakistanis elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Their suspicions were further aggravated by the military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis. The situation reached a climax in 1970, when the Bangladesh Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a former Foreign Minister), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.[47] Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for each wing. The proposal elicited outrage in the east wing, already chafing under the other constitutional innovation, the "One Unit scheme". Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dacca to decide the fate of the country. After their discussions yielded no satisfactory results, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nationwide strike. Bhutto feared a civil war, therefore, he sent his trusted companion, Mubashir Hassan.[47] A message was conveyed, and Rahman decided to meet Bhutto.[47] Upon his arrival, Rahman met with Bhutto and both agreed to form a coalition government with Rahman as Premier and Bhutto as President.[47] However, the military was unaware of these developments, and Bhutto increased his pressure on Rahman to reach a decision.[47]

text: On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (soon to be the prime minister) delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider at the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:

text:
The immediate lifting of martial law.
Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.
An inquiry into the loss of life.
Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March.

tag: ul

text: He urged his people to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, "Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our independence." This speech is considered the main event that inspired the nation to fight for its independence. General Tikka Khan was flown into Dacca to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in.

text: Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "government passengers" to Dacca. These "government passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress. MV Swat, a ship of the Pakistan Navy carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harboured in Chittagong Port, but the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship. A unit of East Pakistan Rifles refused to obey commands to fire on the Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny among the Bengali soldiers.

text: Response to the 1970 cyclone[edit]

text: The 1970 Bhola cyclone made landfall on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November, around the same time as a local high tide,[48] killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people. Though the exact death toll is not known, it is considered the deadliest tropical cyclone on record.[49] A week after the landfall, President Khan conceded that his government had made "slips" and "mistakes" in its handling of the relief efforts due to a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.[50]

text: A statement released by eleven political leaders in East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with "gross neglect, callous and utter indifference". They also accused the president of playing down the magnitude of the problem in news coverage.[51] On 19 November, students held a march in Dacca protesting the slowness of the government's response.[52] Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50,000 people on 24 November, where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation.

text: As the conflict between East and West Pakistan developed in March, the Dacca offices of the two government organisations directly involved in relief efforts were closed for at least two weeks, first by a general strike and then by a ban on government work in East Pakistan by the Awami League. With this increase in tension, foreign personnel were evacuated over fears of violence. Relief work continued in the field, but long-term planning was curtailed.[53] This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This was one of the first times that a natural event helped trigger a civil war.[54]

text: Operation Searchlight[edit]

text: A planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army – codenamed Operation Searchlight – started on 25 March to curb the Bengali independence movement[25] by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,[55] within one month. The Pakistani state claimed to justify starting Operation Searchlight on the basis of anti-Bihari violence by Bengalis in early March.[56]

text: Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.[57]

text: The main phase of Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali hands in mid-May. The operation also began the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, which ultimately resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. Bangladeshi media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which vary greatly, from 5,000–35,000 in Dacca, and 200,000–3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole[58], although independent researchers, including the British Medical Journal, have put forward the figure ranging from between 125,000 and 505,000.[59] American political scientist Rudolph Rummel puts total deaths at 1.5 million.[60] The atrocities have been referred to as acts of genocide.[61]

text: According to the Asia Times,[62]

text: At a meeting of the military top brass, Yahya Khan declared: "Kill 3 million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands." Accordingly, on the night of 25 March, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight to "crush" Bengali resistance in which Bengali members of military services were disarmed and killed, students and the intelligentsia systematically liquidated and able-bodied Bengali males just picked up and gunned down.

text: Although the violence focused on the provincial capital, Dacca, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the University of Dacca were particularly targeted. The only Hindu residential hall – Jagannath Hall – was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and an estimated 600 to 700 of its residents were murdered. The Pakistani army denied any cold blooded killings at the university, though the Hamoodur Rahman Commission in Pakistan concluded that overwhelming force was used at the university. This fact, and the massacre at Jagannath Hall and nearby student dormitories of Dacca University, are corroborated by a videotape secretly filmed by Professor Nurul Ula of the East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology, whose residence was directly opposite the student dormitories.[63]

text: The scale of the atrocities was first made clear in the West when Anthony Mascarenhas, a Pakistani journalist who had been sent to the province by the military authorities to write a story favourable to Pakistan's actions, instead fled to the United Kingdom and, on 13 June 1971, published an article in The Sunday Times describing the systematic killings by the military. The BBC wrote: "There is little doubt that Mascarenhas' reportage played its part in ending the war. It helped turn world opinion against Pakistan and encouraged India to play a decisive role", with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself stating that Mascarenhas' article has led her "to prepare the ground for India's armed intervention".[64]

text: Hindu areas suffered particularly heavy blows. By midnight, Dacca was burning, especially the Hindu-dominated eastern part of the city. Time magazine reported on 2 August 1971, "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Pakistani military hatred."[65]

text: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani Army. Yahya Khan appointed Brigadier (later General) Rahimuddin Khan to preside over a special tribunal prosecuting Rahman with multiple charges. The tribunal's sentence was never made public, but Yahya caused the verdict to be held in abeyance in any case. Other Awami League leaders were arrested as well, while a few fled Dacca to avoid arrest. The Awami League was banned by General Yahya Khan.[66]

text: Declaration of independence[edit]

text: The violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces on 25 March 1971 proved the last straw to the efforts to negotiate a settlement. Following these outrages, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official declaration that read:

text: Today Bangladesh is a sovereign and independent country. On Thursday night, West Pakistani armed forces suddenly attacked the police barracks at Razarbagh and the EPR headquarters at Pilkhana in Dacca. Many innocent and unarmed have been killed in Dhaka city and other places of Bangladesh. Violent clashes between E.P.R. and Police on the one hand and the armed forces of Pakistan on the other, are going on. The Bengalis are fighting the enemy with great courage for an independent Bangladesh. May Allah aid us in our fight for freedom. Joy Bangla [May Bangladesh be victorious].

text: Sheikh Mujib also called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message. Rahman was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 at about 1:30 am (as per Radio Pakistan's news on 29 March 1971).

text: A telegram containing the text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration reached some students in Chittagong. The message was translated to Bengali by Dr. Manjula Anwar. The students failed to secure permission from higher authorities to broadcast the message from the nearby Agrabad Station of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. However, the message was read several times by the independent Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro Radio established by some rebel Bangali Radio workers in Kalurghat. Major Ziaur Rahman was requested to provide security of the station and he also read the Declaration on 27 March 1971.[68] Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

text: This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that Independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. At his direction, I have taken the command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalees to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our motherland. Victory is, by the Grace of Allah, ours. Joy Bangla.[69]

text: The Kalurghat Radio Station's transmission capability was limited, but the message was picked up by a Japanese ship in the Bay of Bengal. It was then re-transmitted by Radio Australia[70] and later by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

text: M. A. Hannan, an Awami League leader from Chittagong, is said to have made the first announcement of the declaration of independence over the radio on 26 March 1971.[71]

text: 26 March 1971 is considered the official Independence Day of Bangladesh, and the name Bangladesh was in effect henceforth. In July 1971, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi openly referred to the former East Pakistan as Bangladesh.[72] Some Pakistani and Indian officials continued to use the name "East Pakistan" until 16 December 1971.

text: Liberation war[edit]

text: March–June[edit]

text: At first, resistance was spontaneous and disorganised, and was not expected to be prolonged.[73] However, when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The Mukti Bahini became increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to this underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India. Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganising their forces. They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (who were mostly members of the Muslim League and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time of partition.

text: On 17 April 1971, a provisional government was formed in Meherpur District in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Acting President, Tajuddin Ahmad as Prime Minister, and General Muhammad Ataul Ghani Osmani as Commander-in-Chief, Bangladesh Forces. As fighting grew between the occupation army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini, an estimated 10 million Bengalis sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.[74]

text: June–September[edit]

text: Bangladesh forces command was set up on 11 July, with Col. M. A. G. Osmani as commander-in-chief (C-in-C) with the status of Cabinet Minister, Lt. Col., Abdur Rabb as chief of Staff (COS), Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) and Major A R Chowdhury as Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS).

text: General Osmani had differences of opinion with the Indian leadership regarding the role of the Mukti Bahini in the conflict. Indian leadership initially envisioned Bengali forces to be trained into a small elite guerrilla force of 8,000 members, led by the surviving East Bengal Regiment soldiers operating in small cells around Bangladesh to facilitate the eventual Indian intervention,[75] but with the Bangladesh government in exile, General Osmani favoured a different strategy:[76][77]

text:
Bengali conventional forces would occupy lodgment areas inside Bangladesh and then the Bangladesh government would request international diplomatic recognition and intervention. Initially Mymensingh was picked for this operation, but Gen. Osmani later settled on Sylhet.
Sending the maximum number to guerrillas inside Bangladesh as soon as possible with the following objectives:[78][79]

Increasing Pakistani casualties through raids and ambush.
Cripple economic activity by hitting power stations, railway lines, storage depots and communication networks.
Destroy Pakistan army mobility by blowing up bridges/culverts, fuel depots, trains and river crafts.
The strategic objective was to make the Pakistanis spread their forces inside the province, so attacks could be made on isolated Pakistani detachments.

text: Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors in July,[80] each with a commander chosen from defected officers of the Pakistani army who joined the Mukti Bahini to conduct guerrilla operations and train fighters. Most of their training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with assistance from India. The 10th Sector was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) General M. A. G. Osmani and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C's special force.[81] Three brigades (11 Battalions) were raised for conventional warfare; a large guerrilla force (estimated at 100,000) was trained.[82]

text: Three brigades (eight infantry battalions and three artillery batteries) were put into action between July and September.[83] During June and July, Mukti Bahini had regrouped across the border with Indian aid through Operation Jackpot and began sending 2000–5000 guerrillas across the border,[84] the so-called Monsoon Offensive, which for various reasons (lack of proper training, supply shortage, lack of a proper support network inside Bangladesh) failed to achieve its objectives.[85][86][87] Bengali regular forces also attacked BOPs in Mymensingh, Comilla and Sylhet, but the results were mixed. Pakistani authorities concluded that they had successfully contained the Monsoon Offensive, which proved a near-accurate observation.[88][89]

text: Guerrilla operations, which slackened during the training phase, picked up after August. Economic and military targets in Dacca were attacked. The major success story was Operation Jackpot, in which naval commandos mined and blew up berthed ships in Chittagong, Mongla, Narayanganj and Chandpur on 15 August 1971.[90][91]

text: October–December[edit]

text: Bangladeshi conventional forces attacked border outposts. Kamalpur, Belonia and the Battle of Boyra are a few examples. 90 out of 370 BOPs fell to Bengali forces. Guerrilla attacks intensified, as did Pakistani and Razakar reprisals on civilian populations. Pakistani forces were reinforced by eight battalions from West Pakistan. The Bangladeshi independence fighters even managed to temporarily capture airstrips at Lalmonirhat and Shalutikar.[2] Both of these were used for flying in supplies and arms from India. Pakistan sent another five battalions from West Pakistan as reinforcements.

text: Indian involvement[edit]

text: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had concluded that instead of taking in millions of refugees, it was economical to go to war against Pakistan.[92] As early as 28 April 1971, the Indian Cabinet had asked General Manekshaw (Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee) to “Go into East Pakistan”.[93] Hostile relations in the past between India and Pakistan added to India's decision to intervene in Pakistan's civil war. Resultantly, the Indian government decided to support the creation of a separate state for ethnic Bengalis by supporting the Mukti Bahini. For this, RAW, helped to organise, train and arm these insurgents. Consequently, the Mukti Bahini succeeded in harassing Pakistani military in East Pakistan, thus creating conditions conducive for a full-scale Indian military intervention in early December.[92] Thus, wary of the growing involvement of India[why?], the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a pre-emptive strike on Indian Air Force bases on 3 December 1971. The attack was modelled on the Israeli Air Force's Operation Focus during the Six-Day War, and intended to neutralise the Indian Air Force planes on the ground. The strike was seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression. This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War.

text: As a response to the attack, both India and Pakistan formally acknowledged the "existence of a state of war between the two countries", even though neither government had formally issued a declaration of war.[94]

text: Three Indian corps were involved in the liberation of East Pakistan. They were supported by nearly three brigades of Mukti Bahini fighting alongside them, and many more fighting irregularly. This was far superior to the Pakistani army of three divisions.[95] The Indians quickly overran the country, selectively engaging or bypassing heavily defended strongholds. Pakistani forces were unable to effectively counter the Indian attack, as they had been deployed in small units around the border to counter guerrilla attacks by the Mukti Bahini.[96] Unable to defend Dacca, the Pakistanis surrendered on 16 December 1971.

text: Indian Involvement cont'd: The debate[edit]

text: The debate of Indian involvement in this war has been a source of tension and underlying conflict between India and Bangladesh since the emergence of the war itself. This section examines the role of India in this war by exploring the ways in which India largely contributed to the war and to what extent this aided the Bangladeshis. In exploring the latter, one can see that there are several ways in which India aided Bangladesh. For one, India was largely responsible for building the Mukti Bahini from a group of inexperienced rebel fighters to an army formidable enough to fight against the Pakistani army. When the war first broke out it in 1971, the initial state of the Bengali rebels can be understood from the remark of one Bengali rebel officer, who complained that "No one in the Bangladesh cabinet knows anything about war". [97] This construed the dire situation of the army before India’s intervention. The Mukti Bahini was recounted as being “Without any supplies or assistance”. If a weapon became unserviceable the soldier carrying that weapon became useless, since he could not be given another weapon. There was a complete dearth of a “Modern communication system to be in constant touch with troops in different battle locations”. This is evidenced in that the Mukti Bahini’s position was threatened at Kumira, but the army had received the message three hours late because of the poor communication system. [98] Indira Gandhi’s government escalated its backing for the Bengali uprising from July 1970 onwards. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India at the time, when asked if India stimulated the Liberation War, had candidly said that “If you want to go way back, we helped the Mukti Bahini. So, if you consider it all as beginning with that aid and from that moment, yes- we were the ones to start it.” [99] As the war progressed, the involvement of the Indian Army in this war intensified and with each stage improved Mukti Bahini. Initially, the Indian army was directly ordered to help the Mukti Bahini, involving India’s top generals This is evident in the Indian army’s training and sponsoring of the Bengali rebels who comprised Mukti Bahini, which was badly outnumbered, many bearing only knives and hand grenades, reluctant to attack Pakistani army units. Even the better-armed insurgents were outmatched by Pakistan’s artillery and air force. Durga Prasad Dhar, confidant of Indira Gandhi who was a chief architect of the Indian intervention in the war, aided Bengali exiles in London to purchase weapons in Belgium and ship them to the guerrillas in East Pakistan. [100] The Indian Army was thoroughly enmeshed in the guerilla warfare, as shown by a report to Indira Gandhi's government from an Indian team touring the border states of Assam and Tripura in the early 1970s. Furthermore, India's Border Security Force provided cover when the Bengali rebels attacked towns of Pakistan army positions. Under fire, the guerrillas relied on India's force to provide support or re-supply them with ammunition. The Bengalis, in desperation, used children as soldiers- these children were untrained and inexperienced. However, under the eye of the Indian army, these child soldiers were taken for special and regular military training, and the Indian government planned youth training, consisting of political indoctrination and guerilla warfare. Many of the youth camps were run by India's Border Security Force, with the military training given by the Indian army. To fight an effective riverine campaign, the rebels – accustomed to their homeland of marshes and water-wars, needed to be taught about camouflage and crawling. [101]

text: This is where the debate comes in. On the other side of the argument there is evidence that shows this aid may have not been as adequate as many historians believe. The rebels were simply not getting enough. Furthermore, the guerillas, often fighting with weapons captured from Pakistan desperately wanted more arms and ammunition from India. The rebel officers pleaded for heavy artillery, anti-aircraft rounds, and anti-tank grenades. They required Rifles, mortars, walkie-talkies, field telephone sets, maps, medical kits, binoculars, etc. However, ‘India seemed more worried about the embarrassment that would inevitably follow when Indian weapons were captured during the fighting and thus was hesitant in expediting the deployment of arms to the rebels. [102]

text: The Bengali rebels also questioned Indian supervision. India was unaware and unprepared of the Bangladeshi situation. [103]

text: In a Bangladeshi assessment of the war, a top Awami League leader, MR Chowdhury, lambasted the performance of the Indian army. Chowdhury argued that “Never was such a heroic force neglected so much as the Mukti Fouz. The rebels got only ten rounds of ammunition a day, and this was far from adequate. Officers waited for days to get ammunition for a raid. Senior officers lacked weapons, and most of the rebels were short on rations, uniforms, Pakistani cash (necessary for missions inside East Pakistan), tents, soaps, and shoes." Mr Chowdhury further said: “I have seen our (Mukti Bahini) sector commanders have to roam like beggars to procure medicine from various sources for their ailing men. We were assured that the ‘Friends’ (the Indian army) promised to look after the basic necessities of our (Bengali) men, but the bare truth is that our men never get what they require.” [104]

text: Air and naval war[edit]

text: The Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan, and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. It achieved near-total air supremacy by the end of the first week as the entire Pakistani air contingent in the east, PAF No.14 Squadron, was grounded because of Indian and Bangladesh airstrikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lal Munir Hat and Shamsher Nagar. Sea Hawks from the carrier INS Vikrant also struck Chittagong, Barisal and Cox's Bazar, destroying the eastern wing of the Pakistan Navy and effectively blockading the East Pakistan ports, thereby cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers. The nascent Bangladesh Navy (comprising officers and sailors who defected from the Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably Operation Jackpot.[105]

text: Surrender and aftermath[edit]

text: On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, CO of Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender. At the time of surrender only a few countries had provided diplomatic recognition to the new nation. Over 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces & Bangladesh Liberation forces, making it the largest surrender since World War II,[8][106] although the Pakistani Army had fought gallantly according to Indian Army Chief Sam Manekshaw.[107] Bangladesh sought admission in the UN with most voting in its favour, but China vetoed this as Pakistan was its key ally.[108] The United States, also a key ally of Pakistan, was one of the last nations to accord Bangladesh recognition.[109] To ensure a smooth transition, in 1972 the Simla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan. The treaty ensured that Pakistan recognised the independence of Bangladesh in exchange for the return of the Pakistani PoWs. India treated all the PoWs in strict accordance with the Geneva Convention, rule 1925.[110] It released more than 93,000 Pakistani PoWs in five months.[8] Further, as a gesture of goodwill, nearly 200 soldiers who were sought for war crimes by Bengalis were also pardoned by India. The accord also gave back 13,000 km2 (5,019 sq mi) of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas;[111] most notably Kargil (which would in turn again be the focal point for a war between the two nations in 1999). This was done as a measure of promoting "lasting peace" and was acknowledged by many observers as a sign of maturity by India. However, some in India[112] felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for leniency, arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being overly harsh by Pakistanis.

text: Reaction in West Pakistan to the war[edit]

text: Reaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and civilians alike. Few had expected that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight, and there was also unsettlement over what was perceived as a meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan. Yahya Khan's dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto, who took the opportunity to rise to power. General Niazi, who surrendered along with 93,000 troops, was viewed with suspicion and contempt upon his return to Pakistan. He was shunned and branded a traitor. The war also exposed the shortcomings of Pakistan's declared strategic doctrine that the "defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan".[113][114]

text: Atrocities[edit]

text: During the war there were widespread killings and other atrocities – including the displacement of civilians in Bangladesh (East Pakistan at the time) and widespread violations of human rights began with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971. Members of the Pakistani military and supporting Islamist militias from Jamaat e Islami killed an estimated 300,000[64] to 3,000,000 people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bangladeshi women in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape.[115][116][117] Some Islamic clerics issued fatwas in support of raping Bengali women, especially Hindu women, as they considered the conflict a holy war.[118] During the war, a fatwa in Pakistan declared that the Bengali freedom fighters were Hindus and that their women could be taken as "the booty of war".[119]

text: A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh were murdered, mostly by the Al-Shams and Al-Badr forces,[120] at the instruction of the Pakistani Army.[121] Just two days before the surrender, on 14 December 1971, Pakistan Army and Razakar militia (local collaborators) picked up at least 100 physicians, professors, writers and engineers in Dacca, and murdered them, leaving the dead bodies in a mass grave.[122]

text: Many mass graves have been discovered in Bangladesh.[123] The first night of war on Bengalis, which is documented in telegrams from the American Consulate in Dacca to the United States State Department, saw indiscriminate killings of students of Dacca University and other civilians.[124] Numerous women were tortured, raped and killed during the war; the exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate. The widespread rape of Bangladeshi women led to birth of thousands of war babies.[125][126][127] The Pakistan Army also kept numerous Bengali women as sex-slaves inside the Dacca Cantonment. Most of the girls were captured from Dacca University and private homes.[128] There was significant sectarian violence not only perpetrated and encouraged by the Pakistani army,[129] but also by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengali minorities, especially Biharis.[130] In June 1971, Bihari representatives stated that 500,000 Biharis were killed by Bengalis.[131] R.J. Rummel gives a prudent estimate of 150,000 killed.[132]

text: On 16 December 2002, the George Washington University's National Security Archive published a collection of declassified documents, consisting mostly of communications between US embassy officials and United States Information Service centres in Dacca and India, and officials in Washington, D.C.[124] These documents show that US officials working in diplomatic institutions within Bangladesh used the terms "selective genocide"[133] and "genocide" (see The Blood Telegram) for information on events they had knowledge of at the time. Genocide is the term that is still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper in Bangladesh,[134][135] although in Pakistan, the accusations against Pakistani forces continue to be disputed.

text: Foreign reaction[edit]

text: Following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of independence in March 1971, a worldwide campaign was undertaken by the Provisional Government of Bangladesh to drum up political support for the independence of East Pakistan as well as humanitarian support for the Bengali people.

text: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided extensive diplomatic and political support to the Bangladesh movement. She toured many countries in a bid to create awareness of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis. This effort was to prove vital later during the war, in framing the world's context of the war and to justify military action by India.[138] Also, following Pakistan's defeat, it ensured prompt recognition of the newly independent state of Bangladesh.

text: United Nations[edit]

text: Though the United Nations condemned the human rights violations during and following Operation Searchlight, it failed to defuse the situation politically before the start of the war.

text: Following India's entry into the war, Pakistan, fearing certain defeat, made urgent appeals to the United Nations to intervene and force India to agree to a ceasefire. The UN Security Council assembled on 4 December 1971 to discuss the hostilities in South Asia. After lengthy discussions on 7 December, the United States made a resolution for "immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops". While supported by the majority, the USSR vetoed the resolution twice. In light of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis, the United Kingdom and France abstained on the resolution.[94][139]

text: On 12 December, with Pakistan facing imminent defeat, the United States requested that the Security Council be reconvened. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was rushed to New York City to make the case for a resolution on the cease fire. The council continued deliberations for four days. By the time proposals were finalised, Pakistan's forces in the East had surrendered and the war had ended, making the measures merely academic. Bhutto, frustrated by the failure of the resolution and the inaction of the United Nations, ripped up his speech and left the council.[139]

text: Most UN member nations were quick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence.[138]

text: Bhutan[edit]

text: As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat of the Pakistan Army, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan became the first state in the world to recognise the newly independent country on 6 December 1971.[140] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh visited Bhutan to attend the coronation of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth King of Bhutan in June 1974.

text: US and USSR[edit]

text: The US government stood by its old ally Pakistan[141] both politically and materially. US President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and which he intended to visit in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China. To demonstrate to China the bona fides of the United States as an ally, and in direct violation of the US Congress-imposed sanctions on Pakistan, Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan and routed them through Jordan and Iran,[142] while also encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan. The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the genocidal activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably the Blood telegram.[143]

text: Nixon denied getting involved in the situation, saying that it was an internal matter of Pakistan, but when Pakistan's defeat seemed certain, Nixon sent the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal,[144] a move deemed by the Indians as a nuclear threat. Enterprise arrived on station on 11 December 1971. On 6 and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of ships, armed with nuclear missiles, from Vladivostok; they trailed US Task Force 74 in the Indian Ocean from 18 December until 7 January 1972.[145] [146][147]

text: The Soviet Union supported Bangladesh and Indian armies, as well as the Mukti Bahini during the war, recognising that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals – the United States and China. It gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, the USSR would take countermeasures. This was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean.[148][149]

text: At the end of the war, the Warsaw Pact countries were among the first to recognise Bangladesh. The Soviet Union accorded recognition to Bangladesh on 25 January 1972.[150] The United States delayed recognition for some months, before according it on 8 April 1972.[151]

text: China[edit]

text: As a long-standing ally of Pakistan, the People's Republic of China reacted with alarm to the evolving situation in East Pakistan and the prospect of India invading West Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Believing that just such an Indian attack was imminent, Nixon encouraged China to mobilise its armed forces along its border with India to discourage it. The Chinese did not, however, respond to this encouragement, because unlike the 1962 Sino-Indian War when India was caught entirely unaware, this time the Indian Army was prepared and had deployed eight mountain divisions to the Sino-Indian border to guard against such an eventuality.[94] China instead threw its weight behind demands for an immediate ceasefire.

text: When Bangladesh applied for membership to the United Nations in 1972, China vetoed their application[152] because two United Nations resolutions regarding the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilians had not yet been implemented.[153] China was also among the last countries to recognise independent Bangladesh, refusing to do so until 31 August 1975.[138][152]

text: In popular culture[edit]


document_title: Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award

question_text: has a player on the losing team ever won superbowl mvp

text: Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award

text: Table key[edit]

text:
Table key

#
Denotes player who is still active in NFL

*
Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame[11]

+
Player was on losing team of the Super Bowl

Player (#)
Denotes the number of times the player has won the award.

Year
Each year is linked to an article about that particular NFL season

text: Winners[edit]

text:
Super Bowl Most Valuable Players

Year[a]
Super Bowl
Winner
Team
Position
Ref.

1967
01 !I
Starr, BartBart Starr *
Green Bay Packers
QB01 !Quarterback
[13]

1968
02 !II
Starr, BartBart Starr (2) *
Green Bay Packers
QB02 !Quarterback
[14]

1969
03 !III
Namath, JoeJoe Namath *
New York Jets
QB03 !Quarterback
[15]

1970
04 !IV
Dawson, LenLen Dawson *
Kansas City Chiefs
QB04 !Quarterback
[16]

1971
05 !V
Howley, ChuckChuck Howley +
Dallas Cowboys
LB1 !Linebacker
[9]

1972
06 !VI
Staubach, RogerRoger Staubach *
Dallas Cowboys
QB05 !Quarterback
[17]

1973
07 !VII
Scott, JakeJake Scott
Miami Dolphins
S1 !Safety
[18]

1974
08 !VIII
Csonka, LarryLarry Csonka *
Miami Dolphins
RB1 !Running back
[19]

1975
09 !IX
Harris, FrancoFranco Harris *
Pittsburgh Steelers
RB2 !Running back
[20]

1976
10 !X
Swann, LynnLynn Swann *
Pittsburgh Steelers
WR1 !Wide receiver
[21]

1977
11 !XI
Biletnikoff !Fred Biletnikoff *
Oakland Raiders
WR2 !Wide receiver
[22]

1978
12 !XII
Martin !Harvey Martin[b]
Dallas Cowboys
DE1 !Defensive end
[23]

White !Randy White[b] *
DT1 !Defensive tackle

1979
13 !XIII
Bradshaw 1 !Terry Bradshaw *
Pittsburgh Steelers
QB06 !Quarterback
[24]

1980
14 !XIV
Bradshaw 2 !Terry Bradshaw (2) *
Pittsburgh Steelers
QB07 !Quarterback
[25]

1981
15 !XV
Plunkett !Jim Plunkett
Oakland Raiders
QB08 !Quarterback
[26]

1982
16 !XVI
Montana 1 !Joe Montana *
San Francisco 49ers
QB09 !Quarterback
[27]

1983
17 !XVII
Riggins !John Riggins *
Washington Redskins
RB3 !Running back
[28]

1984
18 !XVIII
Allen !Marcus Allen *
Los Angeles Raiders
RB4 !Running back
[29]

1985
19 !XIX
Montana 2 !Joe Montana (2) *
San Francisco 49ers
QB10 !Quarterback
[30]

1986
20 !XX
Dent !Richard Dent *
Chicago Bears
DE2 !Defensive end
[31]

1987
21 !XXI
Simms !Phil Simms
New York Giants
QB11 !Quarterback
[32]

1988
22 !XXII
Williams !Doug Williams
Washington Redskins
QB12 !Quarterback
[33]

1989
23 !XXIII
Rice !Jerry Rice *
San Francisco 49ers
WR3 !Wide receiver
[34]

1990
24 !XXIV
Montana 3 !Joe Montana (3) *
San Francisco 49ers
QB13 !Quarterback
[35]

1991
25 !XXV
Anderson !Ottis Anderson
New York Giants
RB5 !Running back
[5]

1992
26 !XXVI
Rypien !Mark Rypien
Washington Redskins
QB14 !Quarterback
[36]

1993
27 !XXVII
Aikman !Troy Aikman *
Dallas Cowboys
QB15 !Quarterback
[37]

1994
28 !XXVIII
Smith !Emmitt Smith *
Dallas Cowboys
RB6 !Running back
[38]

1995
29 !XXIX
Young !Steve Young *
San Francisco 49ers
QB16 !Quarterback
[39]

1996
30 !XXX
Brown !Larry Brown
Dallas Cowboys
CB1 !Cornerback
[40]

1997
31 !XXXI
Howard !Desmond Howard
Green Bay Packers
KR1 !Kick returner/
punt returner
[41]

1998
32 !XXXII
Davis !Terrell Davis *
Denver Broncos
RB7 !Running back
[42]

1999
33 !XXXIII
Elway !John Elway *
Denver Broncos
QB17 !Quarterback
[43]

2000
34 !XXXIV
Warner !Kurt Warner *
St. Louis Rams
QB18 !Quarterback
[44]

2001
35 !XXXV
Lewis !Ray Lewis *
Baltimore Ravens
LB2 !Linebacker
[45]

2002
36 !XXXVI
Brady 1 !Tom Brady #
New England Patriots
QB19 !Quarterback
[46]

2003
37 !XXXVII
Jackson !Dexter Jackson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
S2 !Safety
[47]

2004
38 !XXXVIII
Brady !Tom Brady (2) #
New England Patriots
QB20 !Quarterback
[48]

2005
39 !XXXIX
Branch, Deion !Deion Branch
New England Patriots
WR4 !Wide receiver
[49]

2006
40 !XL
Ward !Hines Ward
Pittsburgh Steelers
WR5 !Wide receiver
[50]

2007
41 !XLI
Manning, Peyton !Peyton Manning
Indianapolis Colts
QB21 !Quarterback
[51]

2008
42 !XLII
Manning, Eli !Eli Manning #
New York Giants
QB22 !Quarterback
[52]

2009
43 !XLIII
Holmes, Santonio !Santonio Holmes
Pittsburgh Steelers
WR6 !Wide receiver
[53]

2010
44 !XLIV
Brees, Drew !Drew Brees #
New Orleans Saints
QB23 !Quarterback
[54]

2011
45 !XLV
Rodgers, Aaron !Aaron Rodgers #
Green Bay Packers
QB24 !Quarterback
[55]

2012
46 !XLVI
Manning, Eli !Eli Manning (2) #
New York Giants
QB25 !Quarterback
[56]

2013
47 !XLVII
Flacco, Joe !Joe Flacco #
Baltimore Ravens
QB26 !Quarterback
[57]

2014
48 !XLVIII
Smith, Malcolm !Malcolm Smith #
Seattle Seahawks
LB3 !Linebacker
[58]

2015
49 !XLIX
Brady, Tom !Tom Brady (3) #
New England Patriots
QB27 !Quarterback
[59]

2016
50 !50
Miller, Von !Von Miller #
Denver Broncos
LB4 !Linebacker
[60]

2017
51 !LI
Brady, Tom !Tom Brady (4) #
New England Patriots
QB28 !Quarterback
[61]

2018
52 !LII
Foles, Nick !Nick Foles #
Philadelphia Eagles
QB29 !Quarterback
[7]

text: By team[edit]

text:
Super Bowl MVPs by team

Team
Total

Dallas Cowboys
7[c]

Pittsburgh Steelers
6

New England Patriots
5

San Francisco 49ers
5

Green Bay Packers
4

New York Giants
4

Denver Broncos
3

Oakland–Los Angeles Raiders
3

Washington Redskins
3

Baltimore Ravens
2

Miami Dolphins
2

Chicago Bears
1

Indianapolis Colts
1

Kansas City Chiefs
1

New Orleans Saints
1

New York Jets
1

Philadelphia Eagles
1

Seattle Seahawks
1

St. Louis Rams
1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1

text: By position[edit]

text:
Super Bowl MVPs by position

Position
Total

Quarterback
29

Running back
7

Wide receiver
6

Linebacker
4

Defensive end
2

Safety
2

Cornerback
1

Defensive tackle
1

Kick returner/punt returner
1

text: Multiple winners[edit]

text:
Player
Position
Wins
Super Bowls

Brady, TomTom Brady
Quarterback
4
36 !XXXVI, XXXVIII, XLIX, LI

Montana, JoeJoe Montana
Quarterback
3
16 !XVI, XIX, XXIV

Bradshaw, TerryTerry Bradshaw
Quarterback
2
13 !XIII, XIV

Manning, EliEli Manning
Quarterback
2
42 !XLII, XLVI

Starr, BartBart Starr
Quarterback
2
1 !I, II

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Years listed are the year the Super Bowl was actually played. The game, played in January or February, ends the previous year's NFL season. For example, Super Bowl XLIX, held on February 1, 2015, ended the 2014 season.[12]
^ Jump up to: a b Harvey Martin and Randy White were named co-MVPs of Super Bowl XII, the only Super Bowl with co-MVPs.[23]
Jump up ^ The Cowboys' total includes the co-MVPs of Super Bowl XII as two different recipients. There were 6 Super Bowls where the Cowboys received MVP awards.

tag: ol


document_title: Source of the Danube

question_text: which country is the source of the river danube

text: Source of the Danube

text: Meaning of the Danube[edit]

text: The waters of rivers collect in a barely comprehensible number of headwaters, which gradually merge. The numerous merger points of each greater upstream river build the backbone of this type of drainage system and with that the source of the entire river. The main point or backbone of a river is sometimes defined by further features such as length, drainage area or steady flow direction. For a long time, unique springs which differed in size or the starting point of a certain headwater also had a mythological meaning. This was reflected in holy springs/ water sanctuaries or in the worship of Naiads. This was also the case with the source of the mightiest river in the Roman Empire. The Danube river emanating from the Abnoba mountains was considered to be a river or spring goddess. In contrast to the more mythological role, the hydrological significance of the source of the Danube is uncommonly small. This is because the Danube gives an important part of its water to the Rhine both above and below Tuttlingen. As a consequence, it dries up most time of the year. Near Ulm, in terms of hydrology, the Danube gets a tributary to the Iller which is more water-rich. It even gets surpassed by the Inn.

text: Sources of the Danube[edit]

text: Donaubach spring[edit]

text: The Donaubach rises on the castle grounds near the left corner of the front face of the castle Donaueschingen in a karst spring. This karst spring has an embankment of 15 to 70 l/s and enters into the Brigach after flowing 90 meters belowground. The Brigach and the Breg become the Danube after 1.5 km. The source is one of 22 sources in the area of the junction of Brigach and Berg. All of these sources are fed by both water which trickles away above them and rainfall which trickles away on the karstified downs of a landscape called Baar. Together, the Brigach and the Breg empty out between 400 and 1000 l/s.

text: The Donaubach spring was considered the source of the Danube since the 15th century at least (Hartmann Schedel in his Weltchronik from 1493), but several hints suggest that this might have been true even in Roman times (Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia), in which the river was located in the fringes of the populated areas. The oldest cartographic depiction by Sebastian Münster from 1538 shows the Donaubach spring as a rectangular pool; in 1875, the spring was modelled into a round pool after Adolf Weinbrenner's design. In 1895 the artist Adolf Heer created a group of statues above the pool, depicting “the mother Baar” showing her "daughter", the young Danube, the way. The supposed source of the Danube is a popular tourist attraction, which is however closed until Autumn 2015 due to extensive renovation and restoration.[2]

text: Similar springs on tributary rivers include the Neckar spring, the Enzbrunnen, the Pegnitz spring and the Berkel spring.

text: Origin of the Breg[edit]

text: The spring of the river Breg is situated in the north of Furtwangen next to the St. Martin's Church near the Kolmenhof (restaurant). The Breg is for geographical and hydrological reasons longer and has a bigger water flow than the Brigach which is why its spring is the main origin of the upper Danube. The dominance of the Breg is established by the following data:

text:
Water flow
Drainage basin
Length
Spring height

Brigach
3.37 m3/s
195 km2
40.2 km
940 m

Breg
5.95 m3/s
291.2 km2
45.9 km
1078 m

text: As early as 1847 the following definition can already be found in the Universallexikon des Großherzogtums Baden (Universal Lexicon of the Grand Duchy of Baden): “Danube, the biggest river of Germany, rises at the Martinskapelle in a wild and lonely area of the Black Forest, is called Brege at its origin and forms the river Danube in Donaueschingen where it is unified with the Brigach." (German original: „Donau, der größte Fluß Deutschlands, entspringt bei der Martinskapelle in einer wilden und einsamen Gegend des Schwarzwaldes, heißt am Anfang Brege… und bildet erst in Donaueschingen, wo sie sich mit der Brigach vereinigt, die Donau.“)

text: The identification of the main spring in the uppermost Bregtal (also called Katzensteig) is dependent on a defining convention: Instead of localizing the main spring in Gewann Briglirain (also called Brücklerain) it is, because of length and drainage measurements from the 1950s, localized at the Martinskapelle in Gewann today. This part of the river carries more water and has a bigger drainage but partly trickles away, especially in dry weather conditions, into the rubble at the bottom of the valley. This is no concern for the choice of this part of the river but for the height of the spring as a perennial outflow.

text: Further Sources of the Danube[edit]

text:
The source of Juniperus (German: Juniperusquelle), which is located in the city district Allmendshofen in Donaueschingen, has been called the source of the Danube as well.
In 1719, Vikar Breuninger declared the source of Brigach, into which the Danube flows, as the source of the Danube at the convent of St. Georgen. During some renovation works in 1888/89 at the "Hirzbauernhof (farm)", a sandstone relief, presumptively of Celtic origin at around 100 A.D., was found. The relief depicts animals and heads, which can be interpreted as symbols for Gods. Today, a copy of it can be found at the source of the Danube and is often considered as a sainthood of the Source. Another assumption is that this stone was brought from the region of Western Baar to the "Hirzbauernhof (farm)" because of the way it is shaped (like a deer: in German Hirsch/Hirz).
Because of its high location, the Swiss natural scientist Schleuchzer declared the source of the Inn as the source of the Danube. In a hydrological aspect, the Inn in combination with the Flaz can be indeed considered as part of the Danube main strand, although it might be due to the slightly higher average water flow.

text: Confluence of Brigach and Breg[edit]

text: The river Danube properly begins with the confluence of the two headwater streams Brigach and Breg in the region of Donaueschingen. The river flows on from there into the estuary of the Black Sea, after 2811 km. From the spring of the main river Breg in Furtwagen the distance is 2857 km (rather than 2888 km, as indicated on the information board at the mountain spring).

text: Research and political importance[edit]

text: In 1949 Franz Burgert from Furtwagen argued for the spring near St. Martin’s Church being the origin of the Breg, instead of the spring near Briglirain. This was also underpinned in the 1950s by the investigations of geologist Irma Öhrlein, which were later meticulously continued by Ludwig Öhrlein. The question of what is the spring of the Danube also interested the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, who in 1987 filmed a documentary about the Danube around St. Martin's Church. The discussion about the true spring of the river was also picked up by Claudio Magris in his book "Donau - Biographie eines Flusses aufgegriffen" (engl. "The Danube - Discussion concerning the biography of a river" - not translated into English)

text: For centuries, the two cities Furtwangen and Donaueschingen compete for an official status which declaires their own source as the official source of the Danube. The city Furtwangen is located along the upper river Breg, while the city Donaueschingen is located at the symbolic source of the Danube. At times, the issue even involves the government of Baden-Württemberg. After the city council Donaueschingen intervened in 1981, for example, the Ministry of the Interior in Stuttgart announced that "the source of the Breg is not anymore displayed as the source of the Danube on ministerial maps. The land surveying office was instructed to act accordingly." However, the former minister for agriculture and forestry confirmed in a document addressed to Prof. Öhrlein in 1982: "Getting back to the issue regarding the source of the Danube, I can once again confirm that the so-called source of the Danube in Donaueschingen is certainly not the real source of the river Danube, if analysed with geographical and hydrological criteria. The river Breg can rightly be called the main stream of the Danube."


document_title: Mandi district

question_text: salt mines in himachal pradesh are located at

text: Mandi district

text: History and geography[edit]

text: Mandi district was formed after the merger of Mandi State (Mandi) and Suket State, two princely states on 15 April 1948. This coincided with the formation of the Union territory of Himachal Pradesh. The state attained its full statehood later. Mandi town was named after its resident saint Mandavya Rishi.

text: Mandi is almost at the geographical centre of Himachal, lying along the left bank of the river Beas in the foothills of Shivalik ranges. The town has an altitude of 760 metres (2,495 ft) from the sea level. Comprising the two erstwhile states of Mandi and Suket, Mandi derives its name 'mandi' or 'market' as it was a major trade route from Ladhakh to locations in Punjab such as Hoshiarpur and other places.

text: Here, during the days of yore, the pious rishi, Mandavaya, performed long and severe penance and practised austerities on his body, on the bank of the river Beas, near the present Mandi town. The story indicates the antiquity of this beautiful temple town, surrounded by hills, clad in pines. There is a large plain which has grain fields and orchards, between Mandi and Sundernagar. Known for its temples, Mandi is the home to a number of beautiful carved stone edifices each with an elaborate shikhara, or spire, among them Bhutnath, Trilokinath, Panchvaktra and Shyamakoli at Tarna hill. Also on the hill, there is a new temple dedicated to Tarna Devi, overlooking the valley and giving a panoramic view. The Beas valley is broad near Mandi, and there are a number of striking vales such as those of Uhl and Ran Khad.

text: The fruit tree cover in Mandi is about 15 percent of the total area under fruit tree cover in Himachal Pradesh. Mandi raw silk has acquired wide fame and the rock salt mines at Drang and Guma are special features of the district economy. With abundant deposit of rock salt and limestone, possibilities are being investigated for the existence of magnasite coal and china clay.

text: A transit for visitors to Kullu, Manali, Lahaul and Spiti, Dharamsala, Kangra, etc., it is approachable from Pathankot (215 km or 132 mile), Chandigarh (202 km or 125 miles) and Shimla (158 km or 98 miles). On either side of the road, there are rock hill sides rising perpendicularly to more than 300 metres (1,000 ft).

text: Lakes of Mandi district[edit]

text:
Rewalsar Lake
Prashar Lake
Macchial Lake
Pandoh Dam
Barot
Sundar Nagar
Kamlah Fort
Kamru nag lake

text: Demographics[edit]

text:
Religions in Mandi District

Religion

Percent

Hindus

98.16%

Muslims

0.95%

text: According to the 2011 census Mandi district has a population of 999,518,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Fiji[3] or the US state of Montana.[4] This gives it a ranking of 446th in India (out of a total of 640).[2] The district has a population density of 253 inhabitants per square kilometre (660/sq mi).[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 10.89%.[2] Mandi has a sex ratio of 1012 females for every 1000 males[2] and a literacy rate of 82.81%.[2]

text: Subdivisions[edit]

text: Villages in the district include Janjheli. It is near Kullu-Manali, around 80 km from Bhunter Airport, 90 km from Kullu and 67 km from Mandi. It has thick forests and springs and is a trekking/hiking outpost. Shikari Devi is a tourist spot. It hosts Himachal Cultural Village, an ethnic village highlighting the culture of Himachal Pradesh.[5]

text: General information[edit]

text:
Area: 3950 km2
Population: 901000
Language: Hindi, English, Pahari and Mandyali are understood and spoken by the people engaged in tourism trade.
Tehsils: Mandi, Chachyot, Thunag, Karsog, Kotli, Jogindernagar, Padhar, Ladbhadol, Sundernagar, Sarkaghat, Balh, Aut, Nihari, Sandhol, Dharampur, Baldwara and Baluchowki.
Sub-Tehsils: Pangna, Chattari..
Sub divisions: Mandi Urban, Mandi Rural, Chachyot, Jogindernagar, Padhar, Sarkaghat, Karsog, Janjheli, Balh and Sundernagar.

text: Approach[edit]

text:
Train: The nearest railway stations are Joginder Nagar and Shimla by narrow gauge train, Chandigarh and Kalka by broad gauge train which are connected by regular bus services. The closest railhead is in Kiratpur which 125 kilometers away from Mandi.
Road: Mandi is approachable by road from Shimla, Chandigarh, Pathankot and Delhi. There are regular bus services linking it to the other towns like Manali, Palampur and Dharamshala. Mandi is connected to Chandigarh by National Highway 21. The distance between Mandi and Chandigarh is 200 kilometers. Government buses are available throughout the day to Chandigarh. It takes about 5–6 hours to commute to Chandigarh by bus and around 3–4 hours if a private vehicle is taken. Mandi is connected to Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The distance between Shimla and Mandi is about 147 kilometers and it takes about 5 hours.
Airplane: The nearest airport is at Bhuntar in Kullu District, about 50 km from the district.

text: Places of interest[edit]

text: The historic town of Mandi (800 m) is built along the banks of the river Beas. It has long been an important commercial centre, and the sage Mandvya is said to have meditated here. This one-time capital of the princely state of Mandi is a fast developing town that retains much of its original charm and character. Today, it is a district headquarters. Mandi is renowned for its 81 old stone temples and their enormous range of fine carving. Because of this, it is often called the "Varanasi of the Hills." The town has the remains of old palaces and notable examples of ‘colonial’ architecture. Mandi is the gateway to the Kullu valley and acts as the base for several exciting excursions.

text: Dev Balakameshwar Temple[edit]

text: Himachal Pradesh – ‘the land of gods’, famous by the name ‘devbhoomi’ all over the world. This state is said to be protected and sheltered by the power of numerous local deities. These deities possess some peculiar personality traits and have their own individual entity. Every region in Himachal believes in a distinct deity. All the faith of the local people is vested in these local gods called ‘devta’ in the regional language.Some of the deities and their characteristics that distinguish them from each other are discussed below- Dev Balakameshwar temple is 13 km from Mandi and located in its very heart, Practically synonymous with Mandi located in its very heart Dev Balakameshwar Temple, located in village & po tikkar.

text: Bhootnath Temple[edit]

text: Practically synonymous with Mandi and located in its very heart, Bhootnath Temple is as old as the town itself and dates to the 1520s. In March, the festival of Shivratri is a major event and the Bhootnath Temple is its focus. For an entire week, the town celebrates the arrival of hundreds of local deities on elaborately decorated palanquins.

text: Rewalsar Lake[edit]

text: About 25 km from Mandi, 14 km from Ner Chowk is the Rewalsar lake, famous for its floating islands of reed. It is believed that all seven of them can be moved by prayer or breeze. There are three shrines here, a Buddhist monastery, where elaborate rituals are performed, a Sikh gurudwara and a Hindu temple. It was from this place that the sage Padma Sambhava, a zealous teacher of Buddhism, left as a missionary to preach the doctrine of "the enlightened" in Tibet. Lying in a mountain hollow, the lake is held sacred to all three communities; boating facilities are available. Tourist inn maintained by HPTDC provide accommodation and Indian cuisine.

text: Prashar Lake[edit]

text: Prashar Lake lies 49 km north of Mandi, with a three-storied pagoda-like temple dedicated to the sage Prashar. it was made in 13-14th century by MAHARAJA BANSEN. The temple had title bit tilted due to heavy earthquake and similar to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There are 2 annual fairs at the holy temple respectively in April and June.

text: Joginder Nagar[edit]

text: The large hydro-electric project in Joginder Nagar has an electric trolley takes the visitor up the steep, rocky face of 2,500 metres-high (8,202 ft) mountain and drops sharply on the other side to Barot, where the reservoir is.

text: The railway line goes up to the power station, the water rushing down from the reservoir at Barot in the Uhl river through penstock pipes going down nearly a thousand metres (3,280 ft). For tourists who go up to Barot by the trolley, there is a comfortable rest house of the electricity department. The roads extend beyond to Mandi and passes the Larji gorge to the Kullu valley.

text: Bassi power station is 8 kilometres from Jogindernagar. Next to it is Machhial where fishing is not permitted as it is considered a holy sacred spot. It is a popular as a feeding spot for fish.

text: Ladh-bharol: 25 km from Joginder Nagar very beautiful town, santan datri ma simsa mata mandir in nearby Lad-bharol, 7 km from Ladh-bharol, Nageshwar Mahadev Coudh is near Bharol. The Triveni Mahadev where three rivers Bias, Binwa and one local are meeting with each other. A very ancient Lord shiva temple is there and very scenic beauty of the intersecting of three rivers.[clarification needed]

text: Santan Datri Man Shimsha (Sharda) is at Village Shimashjust on the top of hill of Triveni Mahadev. Childless women pray and sleep inside the temple in Navratras and man blessed them with different fruits indicating boy or girl.

text: Nageshwar Mahadev Kud is in the foothills of village shimash and there is ancient goofa in which lot of natural shivlings. A unique and natural combined shivling of Shiva and Parvati, a unique and natural Sculpture of Nandi Bail and finally a unique and natural shivling with NAG; that is why it is known as Nageshwar Mahadev.

text: Sundar Nagar[edit]

text: Famous for its temples, 26 km from Mandi towards Shimla and at a height of 1,174 metres on the raised edge of a fertile valley, the beautiful town of Sundar Nagar is known for its shady walks amidst towering trees. On top of a hill and visited by thousands of devotees every year, is the Sukhdev Vatika and temple of Mahamaya.

text: The biggest hydro-electric project in all Asia, the Beas-Sutlej project, irrigating nearly one-fourth of the northern plains of India, has brought unprecedented prosperity to Sunder Nagar. The Beas-Sutlej link colony is the biggest colony in Himachal Pradesh.

text: Janjehli[edit]

text: At a distance of 80 km from Mandi, Janjehli is a paradise for hikers, offering treks up to a height of 3,300 metres. All the road is motorable and fun to ride. The road is connected to Karsog which remains open all seasons except some weeks of winter. It takes about 3 hours to reach here from Mandi via Baggi, Chail Chowk and Thunag (Tehsil Headquarters). In the midst of thick forest, forests (15 km from Gohar) is Bajahi. There is a beautiful and well-furnished rest house to stay overnight. From here Janjehli is a scant 20 km away through bridle path. Chindi and Karsog are nice places for meditation. Janlehli is popular for adventure activities like-trekking, night safari, mountneering, skiing etc. At the distance of 10 km from janjehli is the Shikari Mata temple.

text: The temple is all about Goddess "Shikari Devi" and people visits here in masses to accolades for their well being. It is a beautiful and scenic place with mountains which seem to be avoiding each other but the clouds more often get them in touch. Thunag is a beautiful place to visit, despite Tehsil Headquarters it is home to a stunning rest house with glorious location and thick canopy of Deodars, addition to that native land of Sh. Jai Ram Thakur (MLA & Incumbent State Minister). Jarol is beautiful place between Janjehli and Thunag.

text: Barot[edit]

text: Barot is a picnic spot and tourist location in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated 40 km from Jogindernagar and 66 km from Mandi, the district headquarters. The road to Barot branches off at Jogindernagar-Mandi high ways and from Jogindernagar the distance is 40 km. It is sometimes possible to use the trolley from Jogindernagar which reduces the distance to 12 km. The route includes terraced fields and thick cedar forests, rising to Jhatingri at the hilltop. The remains of the summer palace of the former rulers of Mandi are located here.Through the little village of Tikkan, the road carries on to Barot. The town has a range of outdoor activities, including a trout breeding centre from where fish are released into the Uhl. A 30 km section of the river is used for angling.

text: Barot also forms the gateway to the Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary which lies across the Uhl. The sanctuary is home to the monal, black bear and ghoral. Within it are forest rest houses at Thaltuckhod and Silbandhwari. Through woods of cedar and pine a trek route cuts across the sanctuary to Kullu.

text: Kotli[edit]

text: At a distance of 22 km from Mandi (Mandi-Jalandhar NH-70) is a Tehsil of Mandi district. Arnodi "khadd" flows along the tungal valley to meet the river Beas at kun ka tar. Famous temples are Shiv temple Kotli, Racehra dev temple kotli at Racehra hill, Janitri devi Temple at Janitri Hill, Jhagru Dev Temple, Kasla dev and kamrawh dev temple kotli, surgani devi temple, Mahan Dev temple, Tej bahadur singh Temple, tarokda wali devi temple, and Nagni devi temple. Famous fairs are the Saigaloo nar wadi, Mahan Dev, and Janitri Devi.

text: Dharmpur[edit]

text: Dharmpur is mainly famous for its temple. At a distance of 68 kilometers from Mandi on (Mandi-Jalandhar NH-70) Dharmpur is a sub-tehsil of Mandi district. It is mainly famous for temple of Baba Kamlahia, Jalpa Mata and 'Kandhapattan' famous for crematorium are located in Dharmpur sub-division.

text: Sports[edit]

text: The district is home to the Bandy Federation of India[6] which is a member of the IOC recognized[7] Federation of International Bandy. BFI plan to send a team to the 2011 Asian Winter Games. That will be the first time India participates in a bandy competition.

text: Some cultural activities in Mandi Theatre, the theatre artists of Mandi Rakesh Kumar Raku, Inder Raj Indu, Abhishek Kumar, Manjit, Ved kumar, Manish Sharma, Saurav Sharma, Jitender kashyap, Pankaj Dharwal, Amit Patyal, Yash Vidyarthi, Himani sharma, Vicky, and Santosh are theatre artists of Mandi