By admin 
There have been serious concerns in Bangladesh for the past few days. The protests are against the policy of providing reservation in government jobs to the children of those who fought in the 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
Against this background, why did the war actually take place in 1971? How did it go? How did Bangladesh secede from Pakistan? A lot of people have such questions. Therefore, we are once again presenting this story that gives an eye-catching account of the crucial events of that war.
What happened that day?
The headquarters of the 83rd Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) is located in Tura, Meghalaya. It was March 26, 1971. Virendra Kumar Gaur, deputy commandant of the security force, woke up around 2 am when the phone was ringing.
The in-charge of Mankachar outpost told him that some people from East Pakistan were seeking asylum in India where they had come here.
“I can’t allow this. The BSF does not have the powers to take such decisions. Such a demand has never come before me. I will tell this to higher authorities in the morning. But till then, no one should be allowed to enter the Indian borders,” Gaur told mankachar in-charge.
Within minutes, a similar news was received from Baghmara’s post. An official from Baghmara post said the refugees were saying they were killing people in East Pakistan. As soon as the phone was hung up, a similar news came from Dalu’s outpost. Gaur immediately conveyed the message to his boss DIG Baruawaki in code language. He was told of the growing crisis.
However, there was no response from the DIG as he was fast asleep in the middle of the night. A person at the BSF headquarters woke up the DIG and informed him about what was happening along the border. The DIG told Gaur that the refugees should be allowed to stay inside the Indian border till late at night.
Who knows that the number of refugees is increasing day by day and that number will reach more than one crore. They had to stay on Indian soil for almost a year.
No one could have imagined that the paramilitary force BSF would be so active in Bangladesh’s freedom struggle.