The West and the Birth of Bangladesh

The West and the Birth of Bangladesh
Author: Richard Pilkington
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2021-08-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0774862009

In 1971, authorities in Islamabad perpetrated mass atrocities in East Pakistan in an attempt to thwart a struggle for autonomy by terrorizing the local population into submission. The West and the Birth of Bangladesh explores the decision-making processes and ethical debates in Washington, Ottawa, and London during the crucial first few months of the crisis. US president Richard Nixon and his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, favoured appeasement of Islamabad. The Canadian government was unwilling to hazard bilateral ties with Pakistan. Under public pressure, only the UK showed somewhat greater willingness to coerce Islamabad into ending its oppressive actions. Richard Pilkington analyzes the interplay of US, Canadian, and British responses toward East Pakistan, and the available policy options. This insightful book reveals how, even as human rights movements began to emerge in the West, blinkered government actors there remained too preoccupied with protecting national interests to take firm action during the crisis.

A History of Bangladesh

A History of Bangladesh
Author: Willem van Schendel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 459
Release: 2020-07-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108620337

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.

Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh

Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh
Author: Yasmin Saikia
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2011-08-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822350386

Bangladeshi women recall the sexualized violence of the war of 1971, fought between India and what was then East and West Pakistan.

1971

1971
Author: Srinath Raghavan
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674731298

The war of 1971 that created Bangladesh was the most significant geopolitical event in the Indian subcontinent since partition in 1947. It tilted the balance of power between India and Pakistan steeply in favor of India. Srinath Raghavan contends that the crisis and its cast of characters can be understood only in a wider international context.

Birth of Bangladesh

Birth of Bangladesh
Author: Kanakasabapathy Pandyan
Publisher: Notion Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2022-01-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 168586791X

In 1971, the day after the Pakistan army surrendered to Indian army in Dhaka, four of us classmates at IIM Calcutta crossed over into Bangladesh. We travelled to Dhaka and returned after a week, traveling by train, bus, military jeep, fishing boat, bullock cart, but mainly our feet. In our interaction with people of the newly liberated Bangladesh, we experienced the full spectrum from being felicitated to being threatened. We were garlanded and served with fresh coconuts; we were also prodded in the back with bayonets in the middle of the night. Those experiences took us through a wide range of emotions – elation, grief, fear, happiness and relief. This book captures the emotional roller coaster ride that we, as youngsters, experienced at the birth of a nation. We relate our experiences as vividly as we had lived through them fifty years ago. The picture on the front cover has been taken by Mr. Manabendranath Mandal. It is being used with his permission.

A History of Bangladesh

A History of Bangladesh
Author: Willem van Schendel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2009-02-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521679749

Bangladesh is a new name for an old land whose history is little known to the wider world. A country chiefly famous in the West for media images of poverty, underdevelopment, and natural disasters, Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's history reveals the country's vibrant, colourful past and its diverse culture as it navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that have created modern Bangladesh. The story begins with the early geological history of the delta which has decisively shaped Bangladesh society. The narrative then moves chronologically through the era of colonial rule, the partition of Bengal, the war with Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh as an independent state. In so doing, it reveals the forces that have made Bangladesh what it is today. This is an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people.

The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh

The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh
Author: Archer K. Blood
Publisher: University Press Limited, Bangladesh
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2002
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

An account of political events prior to the creation of Bangladesh; covers the 1970-1971 period.

Conflict and Diplomacy

Conflict and Diplomacy
Author: Jaswant Singh
Publisher:
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2008
Genre: Bangladesh
ISBN: 9788129113351

Conflict and Diplomacy: East Pakistan Becomes Bangladesh delineates East Bengal s long, complicated, and agonising journey from being an integral part of India to East Pakistan, finally to Bangladesh. This reordering of human lives tightly compressed in time inevitably culminated in trauma, generating several new geo-political stress lines of enormous power in the subcontinent. The authors, Jaswant Singh and Maj. S.P. Bhatia, lead the readers along this twisted and torturous path of the birth of Bangladesh under Indian midwifery, intrigued by West Pakistani and the US diplomacy. The declassified US documents provide revealingly informative aspects of the US diplomacy during this challenging period. The excerpts of diplomatic exchanges between Delhi Washington Dhaka, Dhaka Washington, Islamabad Washington, and the off-guard internal conversations of the political and diplomatic string pullers are sure to fascinate and interest the readers.

War and Secession

War and Secession
Author: Richard Sisson
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2023-04-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520912039

A decade after the 1971 wars in South Asia, the principal decisionmakers were still uncertain why wars so clearly unwanted had occurred. The authors reconstruct the complex decisionmaking process attending the break-up of Pakistan and the subsequent war between India and Pakistan. Much of their data derive from interviews conducted with principal players in each of the countries immediately involved-Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh-including Indira Gandhi and leaders of the Awami League in Bangladesh. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990. A decade after the 1971 wars in South Asia, the principal decisionmakers were still uncertain why wars so clearly unwanted had occurred. The authors reconstruct the complex decisionmaking process attending the break-up of Pakistan and the subsequent war b

Challenge the Strong Wind

Challenge the Strong Wind
Author: David Webster
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2020-03-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0774863005

In 1975, Indonesian forces overran East Timor, just days after it declared independence from Portugal. Canadian officials knew the invasion was coming and endorsed Indonesian rule in the ensuing occupation. Challenge the Strong Wind recounts the evolution of Canadian government policy toward East Timor from 1975 to its 1999 independence vote. During this time, Canadian civil society groups and NGOs worked in support of Timorese independence activists by promoting an alternative Canadian foreign policy that focused on self-determination and human rights. After following the lead of key pro-Indonesian allies in the 1970s and ’80s, Ottawa eventually yielded to pressure from these NGOs and pushed like-minded countries to join it in supporting Timorese self-rule. David Webster draws on previously untapped government and non-government archival sources to demonstrate that a clear-eyed view of international history must include both state and non-state perspectives. The East Timor conflict serves as a model of multilevel dialogue, citizen diplomacy, and novel approaches to resolving complex disputes.