Revolution, Military Personnel and the War of Liberation in Bangladesh
Revolution, Military Personnel and the War of Liberation in Bangladesh

Author: Oli Ahmad

Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing

Published: 2010-09

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9783838393421

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The book reveals a crucial part of Bangladesh history, which the author calls "The Missing Link" focusing on the period of 26 March- 17 April 1971, and the pre-1971 dynamic factors that led to the birth of a new state Bangladesh. In addition to analyzing the role of political leaders during 1970-71, the book focuses on the role of Bengali military officers in the Pakistan Army in initiating the War of Liberation in 1971. The 1970 post-election negotiation between the political leaders of East and W. Pakistan was used as a ploy to strengthen W. Pakistani military strength in E. Pakistan. The Bengali political leaders prepared the people of E. Pakistan for autonomy, but at the critical moment they faltered. That is when the Bengali military officers, who were deeply motivated by nationalistic aspirations, stepped in to fill the void in political leadership. The author looks into why the Bengali officers in the Pakistan Army were motivated to take the crucial decision to revolt, and how did they continue the war till 17 April 1971 when the Bangladesh Government-in-exile was formed.

A History of Bangladesh
A History of Bangladesh

Author: Willem van Schendel

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-07-02

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 1108620337

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Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's state-of-the-art history navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that created modern Bangladesh through ecological disaster, colonialism, partition, a war of independence and cultural renewal. In this revised and updated edition, Van Schendel offers a fascinating and highly readable account of life in Bangladesh over the last two millennia. Based on the latest academic research and covering the numerous historical developments of the 2010s, he provides an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people. A perfect survey for travellers, expats, students and scholars alike.

Bullets of '71
Bullets of '71

Author: Dr. Nuran Nabi

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2010-08-27

Total Pages: 501

ISBN-13: 1452043833

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Bullets of `71: A Freedom Fighter's Story details Dr. Nuran Nabi's experience growing up in rural Bangladesh and living through the tumultuous episodes of the Bangladesh liberation movement and the liberation war. This is the true story of how a frail young man developed into a politically conscious student activist before transforming into a heroic freedom fighter in the Bangladesh Liberation War. Throughout Dr. Nabi's narrative, the untold stories of the Bangladesh Liberation War unfold. The sacrifices and heroic actions captured through Dr. Nabi's words define more than his accomplishments, they define his entire generation. The Bangladesh Liberation War was a people's war. Men and women, young and old, students, farmers, bureaucrats, laborers, political activists, and defected Bengali soldiers of the Pakistani military, all joined the liberation war. Bullets of `71 is their story. The Bangladesh liberation war was bloody. Three million people were killed, thousands of women were raped, and ten million people were forced to become refugees. However, this story transcends the events of the war. It explores the political backdrop amongst China, the United States, the Soviet Union, and India. Dr. Nabi effectively illustrates how the selfish decisions of a few world leaders led to millions of crimes perpetrated against humanity. But among all the pages in this book none are more candid and horrific than those that cover the atrocities committed by the Pakistani military. Although the Bangladesh genocide unfolded during the nine months of the liberation war, Dr. Nabi thoughtfully separates these stories to remind us of why he and his fellow freedom fighters fought. Bullets of `71: A Freedom Fighter's Story is the most authentic account of the events that transpired in 1971 Bangladesh. It is a captivating story that captures the elements of the universal struggle for freedom.

The Blood Telegram
The Blood Telegram

Author: Gary J. Bass

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2013-09-24

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 0385350473

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A riveting history—the first full account—of the involvement of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the 1971 atrocities in Bangladesh that led to war between India and Pakistan, shaped the fate of Asia, and left in their wake a host of major strategic consequences for the world today. Giving an astonishing inside view of how the White House really works in a crisis, The Blood Telegram is an unprecedented chronicle of a pivotal but little-known chapter of the Cold War. Gary J. Bass shows how Nixon and Kissinger supported Pakistan’s military dictatorship as it brutally quashed the results of a historic free election. The Pakistani army launched a crackdown on what was then East Pakistan (today an independent Bangladesh), killing hundreds of thousands of people and sending ten million refugees fleeing to India—one of the worst humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Nixon and Kissinger, unswayed by detailed warnings of genocide from American diplomats witnessing the bloodshed, stood behind Pakistan’s military rulers. Driven not just by Cold War realpolitik but by a bitter personal dislike of India and its leader Indira Gandhi, Nixon and Kissinger actively helped the Pakistani government even as it careened toward a devastating war against India. They silenced American officials who dared to speak up, secretly encouraged China to mass troops on the Indian border, and illegally supplied weapons to the Pakistani military—an overlooked scandal that presages Watergate. Drawing on previously unheard White House tapes, recently declassified documents, and extensive interviews with White House staffers and Indian military leaders, The Blood Telegram tells this thrilling, shadowy story in full. Bringing us into the drama of a crisis exploding into war, Bass follows reporters, consuls, and guerrilla warriors on the ground—from the desperate refugee camps to the most secretive conversations in the Oval Office. Bass makes clear how the United States’ embrace of the military dictatorship in Islamabad would mold Asia’s destiny for decades, and confronts for the first time Nixon and Kissinger’s hidden role in a tragedy that was far bloodier than Bosnia. This is a revelatory, compulsively readable work of politics, personalities, military confrontation, and Cold War brinksmanship.

Dead Reckoning
Dead Reckoning

Author: Sarmila Bose

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2012-08-07

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9350094266

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This ground-breaking book chronicles the 1971 war in South Asia by reconstituting the memories of those on opposing sides of the conflict. 1971 was marked by a bitter civil war within Pakistan and war between India and Pakistan, backed respectively by the Soviet Union and the United States. It was fought over the territory of East Pakistan, which seceded to become Bangladesh. Through a detailed investigation of events on the ground, Sarmila Bose contextualises and humanises the war while analysing what the events reveal about the nature of the conflict itself. The story of 1971 has so far been dominated by the narrative of the victorious side. All parties to the war are still largely imprisoned by wartime partisan mythologies. Bose reconstructs events via interviews conducted in Bangladesh and Pakistan, published and unpublished reminiscences in Bengali and English of participants on all sides, official documents, foreign media reports and other sources. Her book challenges assumptions about the nature of the conflict, and exposes the ways in which the 1971 war is still playing out in the region.

Between the Great Divide
Between the Great Divide

Author: Anam Zakaria

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2018-08-07

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 9352779487

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Seventy years ago, as India and Pakistan gained their independence, the region of Jammu & Kashmir also found itself divided, with parts of the territory administered by Pakistan ever since. Located by the volatile Line of Control and caught in the middle of artillery barrages from both ends, Pakistan-administered Kashmir was until over a decade ago one of the most closed-off territories of the world. In a first book of its kind, award-winning Pakistani writer Anam Zakaria travels through Pakistan-administered Kashmir to hear its people - their sufferings, hopes and aspirations. She talks to women and children living near the Line of Control, bearing the brunt of ceasefire violations; journalists and writers braving all odds to document events in remote areas; political and military representatives championing the cause of Kashmir; former militants still committed to the cause; nationalists struggling for a united independent Kashmir; and refugees yearning to reunite with their families on the other side. In the process, Zakaria breaks the silence surrounding a people who are often ignored in discussions on the present and future of Jammu & Kashmir even though they are important stakeholders in what happens in the region. What she unearths during her deeply empathetic journeys is critical to understanding the Kashmir conflict and will surprise and enlighten Indians and Pakistanis alike.

Independence Movements and Their Aftermath
Independence Movements and Their Aftermath

Author: Jon B. Alterman

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2018-11-23

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1442280816

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This volume explores the varied outcomes that self-determination movements around the world have achieved, and in particular seeks to understand what factors promote better outcomes and what factors promote worse ones. Rather than focusing on the metric of achieving independence, the project evaluates the quality of societies after independence, including such elements as economic strength and political resilience, and it analyzes what factors contribute to different outcomes. The study finds that the single most determinative factor in the success of any independence movement is frequently beyond the control of such a movement, often relating to the global and historical contexts in which the movement finds itself. However, a whole host of factors are within the control of such a movement, but movements do not always seek to act on many of them. Activists become so convinced in the justness of the independence cause that they do not focus on actions that would contribute to greater success after independence.