Despite chill in ties, Bangladesh's Mukti Bahini to take part in 1971 war celebrations

The Army's celebrations of Vijay Diwas -- the victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war -- today blended the historical event with its own transformation into a modern-day force using drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and surveillance for battle. 

Separately, despite the tense India-Bangladesh ties, almost 20 veterans of the 'Mukti Bahini’ (freedom fighters) from Bangladesh arrived at Kolkata to be part of celebrations being hosted tomorrow.

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi today hosted an 'at home' on eve of Vijay Diwas where the Army showcased the latest on tactical surveillance, drones and AI in modern day warfare.

The event also showcased a Pakistan army drone that was brought down during Operation Sindoor (May 7-10). The Turkish origin drone was launched from Lahore with a 10-kg payload and sent to target the Indian S-400 air defence missile system at Adampur near Jalandhar. The drone was shot down by the Army’s L-70 weapon system just near Amritsar, preventing any damage. 

Post the skirmish with Pakistan, the Army’s war-fighting architecture has undergone an upgrade. The Army’s drone-based battle system has been operationalised. All 385 infantry battalions of the Army now have a specialised drone unit called ‘Ashni’. 

Today the Army showed how these ‘Ashni’ units will operate with drone-AI based fighting tools.

This includes an AI-based satellite imagery analysis system. An IIT Delhi-incubated startup is doing it. Another system is called the ‘Agentic AI-in-a-Box’. It is an operating system designed for communication in hostile environment. It provides logistics automation, predictive, analytics and multilingual voice commands, along with enterprise-grade security.

The Army’s own ‘Ekam AI’ delivers mission-grade intelligence, automation and decision support across the defence ecosystem. Another equipment is a drone forensics tool – ‘skynet-intel’ -- which provides a dedicated capability to extract and analyse mission data from enemy’s recovered drones, retrieving telemetry, GPS tracks, mission logs, sensor files and even encrypted or partially damaged data. 

Last month, the Army validated the ‘Ashni’ platoon that consists of specially trained personnel in each battalion. These units employ multi-domain drone tactics, including surveillance, target acquisition, battlefield manoeuvre, and electronic warfare, enhancing the Army's lethality and survivability.

Meanwhile, despite the strained India-Bangladesh ties, Mukti Jodhas who formed the ‘Mukti Bahini’ have come to Kolkata as ties with the Indian Army run deep. 

The Mukti Bahini seamlessly integrated into Army operations in 1971, providing critical intelligence, exceptional operational coordination and logistical assistance, culminating in the comprehensive defeat of Pakistani forces. The Pakistan army surrendered on December 16,1971 and the new country of Bangladesh was formed. 

Since August last year, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled from Dhaka and landed in New Delhi, the interim government in that country has accused India of trying interfere in elections and of shielding Hasina. Ties have been frosty and the growing cooperation between the Pakistan army and Bangladesh army has added a layer of uncertainty.