The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was a war of independence, which resulted in the

secession of East Pakistan from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and established the sovereign
nation of Bangladesh. The war pitted East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan, and lasted
over a duration of nine months. ne of the most violent wars of the !"th centur#, it witnessed
large$scale atrocities, the e%odus of &" million refugees and the displacement of '" million
people.
n &( )ecember &*+&, ,ieutenant -eneral .mir /han 0ia1i, 2 of Pakistan .rmed 3orces
located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of 4urrender. The Instrument of 4urrender was a
written agreement that enabled the surrender of the Pakistan Eastern 2ommand in the Bangladesh
,iberation War, and marked the end of the Indo$Pakistani War of &*+& in the Eastern Theater.
The surrender took place at the Ramna Race 2ourse in )acca on )ecember &(, &*+&. ,ieutenant
-eneral .mir /han 0ia1i and ,ieutenant -eneral 5ag6it 4ingh .urora, 5oint 2ommander of
Indian and Bangladesh 3orces, signed the instrument amid thousands of cheering crowds at the
race course. .ir 2ommodore .. /. /handker, )eput# 2ommander$in$2hief of the Bangladesh
.rmed 3orces, and ,ieutenant -eneral 5 3 R 5acob of the Indian Eastern 2ommand, acted as
witnesses to the surrender. .lso present were 7ice$.dmiral 8ohammad 4hariff, commander of
the Pakistani 0aval Eastern 2ommand and .ir 7ice$8arshal Patrick ). 2allaghan of the Pakistan
.ir 3orce9s Eastern .ir 3orce 2ommand, who signed the agreement. n behalf of Bangladesh,
.ir 2ommodore .. /. /handker acted as witness to the surrender. ,ieutenant -eneral 5acob
Rafael 5acob, 2hief of 4taff of the Indian Eastern 2ommand, along with the other commanders of
Indian naval and air forces, acted as witnesses on behalf of India. .urora accepted the surrender
without a word, while the crowd on the race course started shouting anti$0ia1i and anti$Pakistan
slogans.
The 4urrender of Pakistan .rmed 3orces marked the end of the Bangladesh ,iberation War and
the creation of Bangla )esh :later reduced to a single word;. 8ost <nited 0ations member
nations were =uick to recognise Bangladesh within months of its independence.
The celebration of 7ictor# )a# has taken place since &*+!. The Bangladesh ,iberation War
became a topic of great importance in cinema, literature, histor# lessons at school, the mass
media, and the arts in Bangladesh. The ritual of the celebration graduall# obtained a distinctive
character with a number of similar elements> 8ilitar# Parade b# Bangladesh .rmed 3orces at the
0ational Parade -round, ceremonial meetings, speeches, lectures, receptions and fireworks.
7ictor# )a# in Bangladesh is a 6o#ous celebration in which popular culture pla#s a great role. T7
and radio stations broadcast special programs and patriotic songs. The main streets are decorated
with national flags. )ifferent political parties and socioeconomic organi1ations undertake
programs to mark the da# in a befitting manner, including the pa#ing of respects at 5ati#o 4mriti
4oudho, the national memorial at 4avar near )haka.