1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh by Srinath Raghavan

1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh Reviews

• 
  David Corleto-Bales

  Having lived in Korea, I'm used to the concept of a smaller country being pushed around by larger neighbors, and the story of Bangladesh's independence is a story such as this; by 1971, "East Pakistan" had begun an effort to separate itself from "West Pakistan", Pakistan having been created in 1947 incorporating two sections of the Indian subcontinent that were predominantly Muslim, carving them away from British India upon independence in order to avoid domination by the Hindus in the Indian behemoth. Long the second fiddle to West Pakistan, Bangladesh was created by dividing the old Indian state of Bengal into two parts, one in India and one in Pakistan. A devastating cyclone in 1970 killed 200,000 people and Pakistan's government did little. Encouraged by the example of student movements throughout the world coming out of the 1960s, Bengali students demonstrated and provoked a violent crackdown by Pakistan's military which attempted to maintain control.
  
  Other countries had a huge amount of say whether or not East Pakistan broke away from West Pakistan, including Pakistan's rival, India, the Soviet Union, eager to court India's favor, China, who mostly backed Pakistan and was rivaled with the Soviets, and especially the United States, whose Nixon Administration "tilted" toward Pakistan for reasons of "realpolitik" (the thaw with China) and deranged reasons, (Nixon disliked Indira Gandhi and the Indians) and believed Pakistan's drunken military dictator Yahya Khan was a "man of destiny;" (he wasn't.) Numerous parts of the book have excerpts from Nixon's tapes that show Kissinger and Nixon plotting with each other and Kissinger feeding Nixon's paranoia. Even Canada had a say in the whole affair, reluctant to back Bangladesh independence because of its own "separatist" issues. Ultimately, after millions were displaced as refugees and hundreds of thousands of people were murdered in Bangladesh by Pakistan's military, India and Pakistan went to war again, and Bangladesh achieved independence. A thoroughly researched, complicated and somewhat dreary but fascinating look at how the most simple thing can become manipulated by other countries for their own benefit.
• 
  Tariq Mahmood

  The most comprehensive objective study of the creation of Bangladesh I have come across which reads like a thriller. Srinath has managed to tackle a super emotional event in a very rational way, answering all of the lingering questions about the fatal encounter between India and Pakistan in 1971.
  
  Why didn't China step in and help its 'friend' Pakistan?
  Why should Bhutto considered to be the real founding father of Bangladesh?
  What was America's role in the whole affair?
  How did India get away with this huge transgression of invading a sovereign country?
  And why did Bhutto tear down the Polish proposal in his very emotive and much televised UN speech?
  And finally, can any Pakistani government trust ever trust Indian government after its machinations in 1971?
  
  
  I would highly recommend this book to all fans of Indian, Bengali and Pakistani history as well as students of International relations.
• 
  Aditya Kulkarni

  One of the notions that most people have about the 1971 Bangaladesh Liberation War was localised to the Indian subcontinent and it involved a bitter conflict between the two arch-rivals India and Pakistan. Although it is known that India and Pakistan back then were allies of the two superpowers, the USSR and the USA, the involvement of other nations in what was most definitely a conflict of global importance, is relatively unknown.
  
  Also, the manner in which Indian armed forces were able to obtain a quick victory and enforce the surrender of Pakistan has made us believe that the war was inevitable. However, through his meticulous research and outstanding narration, the author, Srinath Raghavan makes one understand the truly global context of the Bangladesh Liberation War and also questions the "inevitability" of the whole conflict.
  
  The book doesn't divulge into the military details of the war as such, if that is what you are expecting. Rather, it provides a strategic overview of the global context and acts as a curtain raiser for the conflict and analyses the outcome of what was perhaps India's most significant military and diplomatic victory in post independent era. 1971 was strategically significant year in which India totally emerged as the dominant power in the subcontinent and Pakistan lost the race between the two nations which had become independent in 1947. This book acts as an excellent curtain raiser to the whole scenario.
• 
  Neeleisch G

  I have read articles written on the subject of 1971 India Pakistan War from multiple sources. But, this book by Srinath Raghavan takes you smartly through the narrow Political paths of New Delhi, Islamabad and Dhaka via Washington DC, Moscow, London and Beijing to its final destination : the creation of Bangladesh.
  
  Very well researched, highly recommended to all the readers who are into the History/War genre.
  
  Keep reading, keep reviewing 📚📖
• 
  Pradeep E

  Srinath Raghavan's scholarly account of Bangladesh's creation gives a detailed view of the origins of the conflict, the diplomatic back channels, intense parleys and lobbying that took place in the background as the new country was born. It is rich in the behind the scene details, but chooses to skim the actual physical battle on the ground.
• 
  Conrad Barwa

  A key book by one of India's leading, if not the most talented, military historians; this volume examines the geo-political considerations and contexts that were at play in the run-up to the creation of Bangladesh. IT destroys a number of myths both on the Indian and Pakistani sides and also shows how poorly the Nixon White House understood events in South Asia and were misguided, even by their own standards and for their own aims, in their policies towards the region as the Bangladesh crisis unfolded. Also very good on the internal tensions within the Bangladesh nationalist movement particularly between the civilian Awami League leadership and the military senior officers, which goes some way in explaining the military coup that happened later in that country and the extended periods of military rule.
• 
  Siddharth

  A wide-angled, expertly narrated strategic history of the creation of Bangladesh.
• 
  Krishnanunni

  I've been fascinated by the Bangladesh Liberation war for the longest time. One of the reasons for this is because it coincides with my Birthday; Yahya Khan initiated his genocide on the 25th of March.
  
  The second reason is that I've felt that the Bangladesh genocide is never discussed in mainstream media as much as it ought to be. I understand why that is the case. It was a genocide- committed by a majority against a minority. It is a historical event that can be used by certain power groups to propagate their narrative.
  
  Mr Raghavan's book isn't just a narrative of how the events unfolded - for that, I would recommend another book I am reading in parallel— the Blood Telegram. Instead, this book puts forth the idea that :
  a) the sequence of events wasn't exactly inevitable.
  b) It wasn't just a Liberation war/Indo-Pakistan war. It was a conflict in which players from across the globe were actively involved
  
  Of course, the historical currents and power relationships that existed at that point in time in our world played a huge role, but there were always points where history could have taken a different course altogether- and there were people who were responsible for these course changes.
  
  The book is extremely well researched and insightful. Surely a must-read for anybody interested in India's history.
  
  
• 
  Irfan Sharif

  Interesting foray into modern-day diplomacy, questions of sovereignty, political posturing, statesmanship, and how global actors came to stage in what was arguably a watershed moment in the Cold War. It's a more global view of the 1971 conflict (the title says as much), and understandably very little of it is focused on the on-ground experience (which I was originally looking for), but it still made for an decent read. It's pretty thorough, so can be a bit dry at times (perhaps not uncommon for this genre), but decent none the less.
• 
  Alex

  As far as political science books go, highly recommend this one! It does a wonderful job of breaking down the various facets/causes of the Bangladeshi independence movement and the humanitarian crisis that resulted from it. The book takes a thematic approach that is roughly in chronological order, so each chapter feels isolated (read, digestible/manageable) while still being relevant to the overall message of the book.
  
  If you have any interest in the subject, def a good read!
• 
  Savyasachee

  A very well written book, it reads like a very longform article. It's very well sourced, which adds to its conclusions and logic, which are simply laid and well-mapped out. I'd recommend this to everyone convinced about the invincibility of Indira Gandhi during those crucial months and the inevitability of India's win over Pakistan, because this book does make you think twice about all that. While it doesn't go into the operational details of the war at all, the book does manage to go through some important political aspects of the crisis and the diplomacy, both up front and behind-the-scenes.
• 
  Rohit

  Raghavan's interpretation of how global geopolitics played a far more important than recognised (in academic circles) part in the creation of Bangladesh out of the then East Pakistan. An important work and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the history of South Asia and how Cold War between the two great superpowers actually played out in other countries and shaped our world today.
• 
  Tom Nixon

  I listened to an interview with Srinath Raghavan a few months back on the podcast The Seen and The Unseen and when they talked about this book and it seemed like a must-read to me, so when I got some birthday cash to spend a couple of months back, I ran down a copy on Amazon and snagged a copy to see if it lived up to the hype of the interview and you know what? It absolutely did.
  
  
  
  (Mild Tangent Time: Why the sudden interest in the geopolitics and history of South Asia? Well, to be honest, it's about a potential future. I don't know if I'll ever go back to get the PHD, but since my Master's Thesis focused so much on the politics of South Asia, it makes sense- at least to me, to keep expanding my knowledge base in the area, just in case.)
  
  
  
  So, let's talk about 1971.
  
  
  
  What I know about 1971 mainly comes the biography of Indira Gandhi (by Katherine Frank) I've got kicking around on the bookshelf. There, 1971 is portrayed as Indira Gandhi at the height of her powers- her greatest victory which helped her assume full control of the Congress Party. It changed the geopolitics of South Asia: no longer was there a West Pakistan and an East Pakistan- there was a new nation of Bangladesh.
  
  
  
  What Raghavan illustrates, however is just how complex the crisis actually was and how the independence of Bangladesh wasn't inevitable at all. Compromise on the part of West Pakistan could have short circuited the crsis at multiple points along the way to out and out war. The complexities of Pakistani politics are fascinating to delve into: the military wasn't about to hand power over to a civilian government lead by the Awami League. The West Pakistan politicians weren't about to hand over power to the Awami League either. But, as Bhutto's behavior throughout the crisis showed- they weren't about to pass up an opportunity to weaken the army's hold over West Pakistan's institutions either.
  
  
  
  Provoking the political crisis, in turn, provoked an economic crisis as the Bangladeshis shut down jute production which in turn deepened the economic crisis into a liquidity crisis- West Pakistan was literally running out of money. (You could also argue that without major political reforms at this point, the entire concept of West-East Pakistan was unsustainable- which proved to be the case.)
  
  
  
  The United States was more concerned about keeping West Pakistan happy so they could keep an open door to China- Kissinger was working on opening China right as this crisis was emerging. Neither he nor Nixon were fans of the Indians or Indira Gandhi- though Raghavan points out that Nixon/Kissinger were making more out of this crisis than they needed too- worrying about a wider Cold War conflict when, behind the scenes, it turned out the Soviet Union was doing just about everything it could to encourage India not to let this crisis spill out of control into a war.
  
  
  
  India, for their part were initially content to sit back and watch- until the Pakistani's army campaign in Bangladesh touched off a massive refugee crisis. From there, their biggest concern- other than how they were going to handle the refugee crisis, was China, oddly enough. China had it's fingers in some Maoist organizations in Bangladesh and had been supporting the Naxalites in the region, so India was rightly worried that if they didn't do something, China would get a foothold next door- or at the very least, an ideologically friendly neighbor. But the conundrum for India seems to have been the question of how much they could do. They didn't want to do too much and risk touching off a Chinese intervention. (The interesting thing is that Pakistan and the United States had much the same read, though the latter was convinced that India was going to use the independence of Bangladesh to wipe Pakistan off the map entirely and open a conflict on the Western front, when there is scant evidence to suggest that India was interested in that fact. China, for their part, was kind of preoccupied with both it's conflict with the Soviet Union and it's own messy internal politics at the time.)
  
  
  
  Raghavan's point with this book is to illustrate how truly global the crisis of 1971 actually was. He more than proves his thesis over the course of this book and demonstrates how right down to the final days of the war, the conflict was global in nature. India actually hurried up to grab Dhaka to end things unconditionally once Nixon deployed the 7th Fleet into the Bay of Bengal. The seeds of Bangladesh's instability were also sown in the midst of this conflict, as distrust between the freedom fighters and the army and the government would eventually result in a military coup a few years after independence.
  
  
  
  Overall: A fascinating, in-depth look at the complexities of the Crisis of 1971, this book deserves all that praise that it gets. The research is meticulous. It's well organized. It states it's thesis and more than proves it. And if you're looking to learn more about the post-independence politics of South Asia, this is a book you can't afford to miss. My Grade: **** out of ****
• 
  Riley

  One of a number of books I read about the Bangladesh's war for independence, and perhaps the most comprehensive.
• 
  Sumallya Mukhopadhyay

  1971, A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh, Srinath Raghavan
  
  The spectre of 1947 Partition haunts the geopolitical reality in South Asia. Like an unfinished chapter, it resuscitates time and again as counterfactual claims of nationalistic aspirations dominant the historiography of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Srinath Raghavan’s book “1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh” moves beyond the perspective of memory, identity and violence that scholars have mostly focused on in studies concerning the creation of Bangladesh to seriously engage with the various trends in global politics which shaped the outcome. The breakup of united Pakistan is not a foreordained fact; instead, decolonisation, the Cold War, nascent globalisation interacted with one another in such a fashion that it eventually resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. Raghavan highlights the diplomatic relationship between various nation-states by carefully distancing himself from the political developments in East Pakistan, India and West Pakistan. Had 8 to 10 million refugees not crossed over to India from East Pakistan, would India get involved in the crisis? Nixon and Kissinger’s unconditional support to Yahya Khan prompted the Soviet Union to strike a deal with India. China adopted a very ambiguous approach dampening the spirit of West Pakistan. Moreover, the widespread diffusion of the Sixties’ counterculture created transnational humanitarianism. Pandit Ravi Shankar and George Harrison organised the Concert for Bangladesh on 1st August 1971 at Maddison Square Garden New York that featured Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, among others (p. 143). Ginsberg wrote the poem “September on Jessore Road” on 14 November 1971 (p. 146). Anthony Mascarenhas article ‘Genocide’ published in Sunday Times on 13 June 1971 went a long way to channelize public opinion towards Bangladesh.
  The strength of the book is also its weakness. While Raghavan quotes diplomatic letters, conversations and exchanges, it becomes extremely tedious for the reader to properly follow the narration. However, the archival work done to substantiate the arguments is exemplary. Written in a very frank, readable language, anyone interested in South Asian politics and history should really like the book.
  
• 
  Chase Parsley

  "1971", by Srinath Raghavan, is an exhaustive account of Bangladesh's independence struggle. Both positively and negatively, it overwhelmingly focuses on diplomatic and political history. In the acknowledgement section, Raghavan says that he toiled for over 7 years, sifting through archives and evidence from India, Russia, China, Pakistan, the USA, Britain, and more! As a result, there is a huge amount of ambassador/diplomat discussion throughout. Although this all sounds impressive, it is a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it is very entertaining but other times you just wish it would get to the point. I wish more energy was devoted to the movement for the common people, the cultural divides, and the personalities of the many characters. Also, this is pretty advanced political history- it helps to go into this book with some understanding of South Asia beforehand.
  
  The research is 5/5 stars, but I have to give it 3/5 stars due to its dryness at times. I liked the first part (prologue/background of the conflict), the part about NGOs and public pressure (Beatle George Harrison put on a huge concert to increase awareness), and the epilogue (what if? scenarios, closing thoughts) the best, and Raghavan selected some damning yet entertaining quotes from many leaders/politicians (US President Nixon being one). For anyone who is really interested in the subcontinent's history, this is an impressive case study. Raghavan makes the case that this event could have gone many different ways, and it is an instructive study of an independence movement.
• 
  Gautam Pai

  This books gives a very comprehensive and detailed account of the political history of the
  Bangladesh Liberation War. I especially liked the analytical approach of the author in exploring various non-trivial factors: the self interests of the world powers, the economics of both India and Pakistan at that time, as well as the internal political dynamics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh that greatly influenced events in the lead up to the war and eventually its final outcome. I found it to be a very non-judgemental and scholarly account, where the author has very nicely put together a lot of details, recorded conversations and facts into a coherent story that explains the events around 1971. Importantly, I found the tone of the book to be very balanced and does not resort to a jingoistic view of events, that usually leads to distorting the narrative towards one side. This book makes for a great intellectual analysis of political decisions involved in that eventful year.
• 
  Sukrut Joshi

  Srinath Raghavan has compiled methodically the causes leading to the 1971 Bangladesh War. He has researched thoroughly the prevalent global situation and India's political, economic and military position at the start of 1971. This book details the efforts made by India to avoid a war with Bangladesh at the same time India also built its war machine without letting the guard down. A nicely researched book gives insights on how the US could have used its influence on Pakistan to avoid the war but did not do so.
• 
  Abhineet Singh

  A fascinating account of the history of the creation of og Bangladesh. The author very neatly sews in the global narrative which led to this pivotal change in South Asia. The level of research is impressive, which can be seen from the author's confidence in trying to shed light on a number of counterfactual situations related to the crisis. The role of global hegemons like the US, USSR, and China is well played in this event.
  
  A good read if you are interested in the history of the subcontinent.
• 
  বি.এম. পারভেজ রানা

  [No Spoiler]
  
  What happened in 1971, was that happened by any chance or It was preplanned?
  Was that really against the Pakistani vs Bengali?
  Or there was a involvement of some country as well?
  I know the question made you think that It might have a chance to involve some other country or person I guess. But what really happened between East Pakistan and West Pakistan. What actually made the eastern province of United pakistan think that If they'd get the independence then they can lead an Independent country all by themselves? All by their GDP they can provide the food amongst themselves? Was that a choice of East Pakistanis or It was necessary to be free from all the chain that has been conducted by the West Pakistanis?
  
  The book has determined all thatz answer so broadly that sometimes I got fascinated!
  
  ★ Synopsis:
  
  The book started from 1965 when there was a war between India and pakistan. The twelve part of the book described how the Pakistanis fight each other and made two separate or independent country from an United country.
  The book also shown that what was the scenario of world politics when the two major country of asia was fighting for their rights. The author of the book said that many indians thought that the war between east and west Pakistan was another war of India and Pakistan. Even In 2022 there are so many indian people who believes this thing is true.
  
  
  The book was divided in 10 part with prologue and epilogue. I want to describe some major part of this book briefly so that you'll understand why this book is a gem.
  
  • The Turning point:
  
  It was the first part of this book though I escaped the prologue because there was nothing important to describe. The author Srinath Raghavan showed a very important part of the 1971 war. In that part he showed that why the eastern province of United Pakistan started to think that the west pakistan is dominating them. Where East Pakistan was the major source of the GDP of Pakistan. He described the economic charts as well. And there was some student protest that made the people of east Pakistan turn against the western one.
  
  • Breakdown:
  
  In that part you'll see the election of 1970. The victory of Awami League against Martial Law. There will be so thrill to know that in December when some general visited Dhaka one of them said to his fellow that "don't worry.... we will not allow those black bastards to rule over us" (P.G- 35)
  In that part It was shown that the six-point program was taken seriously by the authorities of west Pakistan after the election. The planning of Operation Searchlight and arrest of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
  
  • The Neighbor
  
  In that part author Raghavan described the position of neighbors of east Pakistan. It's the India. How the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) helped the Liberation Army. And how Indira Gandhi took the refugees through the border.
  
  • The Grand Strategies:
  
  In that part it was shown that how the world behaved when the war began! And the betrayal of United States and china. And the cold war was happening between the politicians!
  
  • The Reluctant Russians:
  
  The Russians demand was the main point of this part. United State and China was out of it and they didn’t want the Pakistan should be separated but Soviet Union wanted. Basically author described the role of Russian politician's plan about the south asian countries!
  
  • Poster Child and Pariah:
  
  The Author meant this part as a broadcast of the 1971 genocide that was holding by the Pakistan's army. A Pakistani journalists who went to Afghanistan and broadcast the genocide that was happening in Bangladesh! Before that nobody was talking about the genocide, everyone was mentioning the situation as a tragedy or something else. In this part author mentioned those news paper and media who covered the whole situation properly.
  
  • Strange Victory:
  
  In that part It was described that how the small province of United Pakistan won the war. With the help of neighbors the war finally ended. With so many bloodshed and struck bengali people found a name. The part was particularly the surrender of west Pakistan. Starting from 6 december to 16 december the whole situation of pakistan has shown in this part.
  
  
  
  ★ Reaction after reading:
  
  I never imagined that I'll get a book like creation of Bangladesh from an Indian author. At the same time I was so sad that nobody has described like this before, even some special people admitted that. I was finding a proper historical book based on Liberation War and I found this one from 'Bisswa sahitto kendro'.
  Thanks to them to providing this kind of content.
  I got so many details about the Liberation War. Such as Which country was the culprit or who was really our friend.
  I got so many answer that wasn’t answered!
  
  ★ Conclusion:
  
  I always thought that the Liberation War didn’t just happen in 1971, It was the final scenario of 1952. I admit It actually was 1947 after the declaration of separation between India and Pakistan. The western Pakistani always dominated us. But It was just thought of mine but Author Raghavan proved me that my thought was actually right. The west Pakistan always taken east Pakistan as a hostile of their country.
  The writing was so smooth that I felt like reading a thriller book.
  
  I highly recommend this book to those person who wants to know the real history of Liberation war and the creation of Bangladesh. And also the world politics in 1971!
  
  
  Book: 1971 A Global History of the creation of Bangladesh.
  Writer: Srinath Raghavan.
  Publishers: Harvard University Press
• 
  Sanjay Banerjee

  The author situates the context of the break-up of Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh in the wider international context of the period, viz, decolonization, the Cold War and incipient globalization. Well-researched and drawing upon further documents that have been declassified in the various countries with passage of time, the book adds to one’s insight into the creation of Bangladesh and, in my view, should be a ‘must read’ for those interested in the sub-continent’s history and politics as well as international affairs.
• 
  Deepak Panyam

  A good read.
• 
  Udhay Sankar

  Fascinating account of the power dynamics of the times! Real politik that makes fiction seem dull!