| Name | Tikka Khan |
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| Caption | General Tikka Khan in his mess dress, PA |
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| Born | July 07, 1915 |
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| Died | March 28, 2002 |
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| Placeofbirth | Rawalpindi, British Punjab State, British Indian Empire |
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| Placeofdeath | Rawalpindi, Punjab province |
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| Placeofburial coordinates | |
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| Nickname | Tikka |
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| Birth name | Mohammad Tikka Khan |
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| Allegiance | |
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| Branch | |
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| Serviceyears | 1940-1976 |
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| Rank | General |
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| Servicenumber | (PA – 124) |
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| Unit | 12th Medium Regiment, Corps of Artillery |
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| Commands | 8th Infantry Division, Rann of Kutch15th Infantry Division, SialkotIV Corps, LahoreEastern Command, DhakaII Corps, MultanChief of Army Staff |
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| Battles | Battle of Rann of KutchBattle of ChawindaIndo-Pakistani War of 1965Indo-Pakistani War of 1971Bangladesh Liberation WarOperation Searchlight |
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| Awards | Hilal-i-Jurat (HJ)Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam (HQA)Sitara-e-Pakistan (SPk) |
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| Laterwork | Politician |
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General Tikka Khan, HJ, HQA, SPk, (
Punjabi, }}; July 7, 1915 - March 28, 2002) was a
4-star general in the
Pakistan Army who was the first
Chief of Army Staff of the
Pakistan Army from 3 March 1972 to 1 March 1976. He was also a military Governor of erstwhile East Pakistan (later,
Bangladesh) and architect of
Operation Searchlight. He was called the
Butcher of Bengal for his ruthlessness against separatists in what became Bangladesh.
Early life and education
General Tikka Khan was born in a Narma Rajput family in the village of Jochha Mamdot in
Kahuta Tehsil near
Rawalpindi, in 1915 (in what was then
British India). He was a graduate of the
Indian Military Academy at
Dehradun, and was commissioned on 22 December 1940.
World War II and British Army Career
He fought in
World War II as part of the
Indian Army. After his return from World War II, Khan was an instructor at the Indian Military Academy at
Dehradun for some time. During the independence, Major Tikka Khan remained in what is now Pakistan, and became an officer in the
Pakistan Army.
Career with Pakistan Army
After Independence, he served in only one Artillery Regiment of Royal Pakistan Artillery, where he raised and commanded the first post partition Medium Regiment of Royal Pakistan Artillery, i.e., 12 Medium Regiment Artillery.
He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1962.
Between the wars
Tikka Khan was promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant-General in August 1969. He was then posted as commander
IV Corps at
Lahore, where he stayed till March 1971. By virtue of
Yahya Khan's martial law, Tikka Khan was also the Martial Law Administrator, Zone A (
West Pakistan). He had replaced Lt Gen
Attiqur Rahman as the MLA and left the post to Lt Gen Bahadur Sher in March 1971. Lahore's Fortess Stadium was constructed under General Tikka Khan's tenure as corps commander.
Tikka Khan left for Dhaka in March 1971, where he was to take charge as the commander of the Eastern Command, Martial Law Administrator, Zone B (East Pakistan), and Governor of East Pakistan.
1965 Pak-India war
Tikka Khan was a
Major-General at that time and was posted at
Sialkot.
1971 Crisis and Bangladesh War
The 1970 elections in East Pakistan and West Pakistan resulted in a situation where
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's
Awami League won 160 of the 162 seats in East Pakistan, whereas
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 81 seats out of 138 in West Pakistan. Although, as the leader of the majority party, Mujib was supposed to be the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, Bhutto was not ready to accept and refused to sit in the National Assembly as opposition party. General Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan, influenced by Bhutto to keep the Bengalis from rising to power, postponed the National Assembly session. Mujib, in a public rally in Dhaka on March 7, called upon the Bengalis to launch movement against the Pakistan regime. In this circumstance, Tikka was sent out to put down the unrest swelling in East Pakistan. Tikka took over Eastern Command (equivalent to a reinforced Corps) on 7 March 1971 after the previous commander Lt Gen
Sahabzada Yaqub Khan resigned. Tikka directed the brutal military crackdown (officially known as
Operation Searchlight) on 25 March with the help of Maj Gen Rao Forman Ali and other Army generals that stunned the Bengalis with gross violence and massive human rights abuse.
He was the leading commander of the II Corps responsible for the defence on the Western front of the War in 1971. After a brief stay in East Pakistan, he was then posted as the first commander II Corps at Multan and commanded through the actual Indo-Pakistan conflict in December 1971.
Post retirement
Tikka Khan’s tenure ended in March 1976, and he was later appointed
Defence Minister by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's July 1977 coup led to the arrest of both Bhutto and General Tikka Khan. Bhutto was executed in 1979, after which General Tikka Khan emerged as one of the leaders of the
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), becoming its Secretary General, during a time when many party stalwarts abandoned it.
General Tikka was imprisoned numerous times for his political activities during the late 1970s and 1980s, until Zia-ul-Haq died in August 1988 in an airplane explosion over Bahawalpur. Despite Tikka's political inclinations, many of Tikka's army proteges such as Sawar Khan, Iqbal Khan and Rahimuddin Khan were promoted to Full General and remained on deferential terms with him. General Tikka Khan was appointed the Governor of Pakistan’s largest province, the Punjab, in December 1988. His tenure as the Governor was cut short by the dismissal of the Benazir Bhutto government in August 1990, after which he retired from active politics.
Later life and death
General Tikka Khan died on March 28, 2002 after several years of illness. He received a state burial with full military honors and his funeral was attended by thousands of people, including the entire top brass of the Pakistan Army. In a message to the General's son, Col. Khalid M. Khan, Benazir Bhutto, who had spent many years campaigning with the General, remembered him as a person who, "rose to the highest offices of this country due to his hard work and respect for the rule of law."
See also
Operation Searchlight
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Sawar Khan
Rahimuddin Khan
Benazir Bhutto
The Blood telegram
References
Further reading
Zaheer, Hasan:
The separation of East Pakistan : The rise and realization of Bengali Muslim nationalism, Oxford University Press, 1994.
Sisson, Richard & Rose, Leo: War and secession : Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh, University of California Press (Berkeley), 1990.
Matinuddin, General Kamal: Tragedy of Errors : East Pakistan Crisis, 1968-1971, Wajidalis, Lahore, Pakistan, 1994.
Salik, Siddiq: Witness to surrender, Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 1977.
External links
Official profile at Pakistan Army website
Tikka Khan Passes Away---DAWN
Article rebutting General A.A.K. Niazi's accusations against General Tikka Khan, by Nasir M. Khan, Pakistan Link, March 30, 2001
A Pakistani Newspaper article summarizing the June 28-29, 2005 South Asia Conference at the State Department
Article mentioning General Tikka Khan's tenure as Chief of Army Staff (1972-1976), A.R. Siddiqui, Dawn, 14 September, 2003.
Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry - 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, Volume-I: Supplementary Report - Top secret, PART III - MILITARY ASPECT, CHAPTER VI.
Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry - 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, Volume-I: Supplementary Report - Top secret, PART IV - SURRENDER IN EAST PAKISTAN, CHAPTER II - Alleged atrocities by the Pakistan Army.
Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry - 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, PART IV - MILITARY ASPECT, Chapter III, The formulation of defence plans.
Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry - 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, Volume-I: Supplementary Report - Top secret, PART IV - SURRENDER IN EAST PAKISTAN, CHAPTER I - The moral aspect.
Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry - 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, PART V: MISCELLANEOUS, CHAPTER VI: Summary and recommendations.
Amin Fahim pays rich tributes to General Tikka Khan, Dawn, 5 April, 2002.
Ayaz Amir Corner, A talent for flogging dead horses, Dawn, December 6, 2002.
General Yahya Khan agreed to withdraw forces, India did not, by Khalid Hasan, Daily Times, July 3, 2005.
Daily Times Editorial: New impartial evidence debunks rape allegations against Pakistan Army, Daily Times, July 2, 2005.
Pakistan Army not involved in 1971 Rapes, by Khalid Hasan, Daily Times, June 30, 2005.
Bring Benazir Back, by Bashir Riaz, July 24, 2001, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) website.
Benazir Bhutto's interview to Rediff.com praising General Tikka Khan's "austere" lifestyle, September 4, 2003.
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Category:1915 births
Category:2002 deaths
Category:Pakistani generals
Category:Governors of Punjab (Pakistan)
Category:Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan
Category:Bangladesh Liberation War
Category:British Indian Army officers
Category:Indian people of World War II
Category:Punjabi people
Category:Pakistani Muslims
Category:Pakistani Sunni Muslims
Category:Governors of East Pakistan
Category:Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Category:Generals of the Bangladesh Liberation War
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