924 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ ৩৮৯ পাকিস্তান ভারতের ওপর পূর্ণাঙ্গ দি ষ্টেটসম্যান ৪ ডিসেম্বর, ১৯৭১ যুদ্ধ চাপিয়ে দিয়েছেঃ প্রধানমন্ত্রী THE STATESMAN, DECEMBER 4, 1971 PAKISTAN HAS LAUNCHED A FULL-SCALE WAR ON INDIA WE MUST BE PREPARED FOR A LONG PERIOD OF SACRIFICE : MRS. GANDHH New Delhi, December. 3. The Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi told the nation tonight that Pakistan had launched a full-scale war on India. In a broadcast shortly after midnight Mrs. Gandhi said "At 5-30 p.m. today Pakistan launched a full-scale war against us," reports PTI. Mrs. Gandhi said "We have no option but to put our country on a war footing." Mrs. Gandhi said emergency has been declared throughout the country and "every step is being taken and we are prepared for all eventualities." She said We must be prepared for a long period of hardship and sacrifice. Mrs. Gandhi declared that" wanton and unprovoked aggression of Pakistan would be decisively and timely repelled". Aggression must be met and the people of India will meet it with fortitude with discipline and the utmost unity". Today the war in Bangladesh had become a war on India, she said. The Prime Minister declared "Peace cannot last if we cannot guard our freedom our democracy and our way of life. So, today we fight not merely for territorial integrity but for the basic ideals which have given strength to this country and on which alone we can progress to a better future." The Prime Minister in her broadcast to the nation said, "I am speaking to you at a moment of great peril to our country and our people. Some hours ago soon after 5-30 p.m. on Friday Pakistan launched a full-scale war against us. The Pakistan Air Force suddenly struck at our airfields in Amritsar, Pathankot, Srinagar, Avantipur, Uttarlai, Jodhpur, Ambala and Agra. They opened fire at our defensive positions in Sulemanki, Khem Karan, Poonch and other sectors. Earlier addressing nearly a million people at Calcutta's Brigade Parade Ground the Prime Minister exposed the role of some foreign countries in the development of the Indo-Pakistani conflict and reiterated India's determination to defend its national interest at any cost, says our reporters. Mrs. Gandhi, reminded the Powers which had a sneaking sympathy for Pakistan that "India is not what it was before independence or even what it was five years ago. The
