Who Won the 1971 War Between Bangladesh and Pakistan In 1971 , Bangladesh won the war against Pakistan that resulted in the birth of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan ). On this day 47 years ago, Pakistan lost half its country, its forces in the East, and had to publicly surrender to India. Source: Business Standard The Bangladesh Liberation War [note 1] ( Bengali : মুক্তিযুদ্ধ , pronounced [mukt̪ijud̪d̪ʰə] ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence , or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in what was then East Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide . It resulted in the independence of the People's Republic of Bangladesh . The war began after the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971. It pursued the systema