Bengaluru, Oct 22: "It is a matter of pride for all of us that what, at one point of time, Lord Sri Ram and Sri Krishna did in Lanka and Mathura, the same was done by our forces in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday here.
Elaborating the statement, Singh said the 1971 war was one of the few wars which was neither fought to gain control of the land and sky, nor to gain power in any way, but to hand over the power to an able ruler and return.
"This is what Sri Ram and Sri Krishna did, giving reigns of power to able people belonging to the defeated nations," Singh said.
The main objective behind the 1971 Bangladesh war was to protect the dignity of humanity and democracy, he said addressing the IAF conclave as part of the Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations here.
"What could be a better example of the great legacy of India's morality presented by our armies than the 1971 war, that our armies in Dhaka, even after ensuring complete victory, without causing any harm or imposing any kind of political control, handed them power and returned," Singh said.
After the World War II, the world saw the largest military surrender in which more than 93,000 soldiers surrendered simultaneously, he said.
"In just 14 days, Pakistan lost one-third of its army and 1/4th of its air force.
"This war proved to be historic in many ways and scholars and historians later called this war as a classic example of a 'Just War'," he said.
During the war, the Indian government's effort to join hands with the world's big countries and the Friendship Treaty with the Soviet Union also proved to be an important step, Singh said.
"When many powerful countries of the world directly refused to support India, Russia's support came in as a morale booster for the country and it was a great diplomatic achievement," he said.
This move created a framework in which the neighbouring opponents were neutralized and many difficulties in the path were eradicated, Singh said.
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