India and the Bangladesh Liberation War
India and the Bangladesh Liberation War
Chandrashekhar Dasgupta
- Language: English
- Print Length: 328 Pages
- ISBN-10: 9789353458621
- ISBN-13: 978-9353458621
India and Bangladesh achieved a historic victory in the 1971 war. Yet fifty years later, important questions remain about India’s aims and policy in the war. Did India have a plan to break up Pakistan? When and why did it involve itself with the Bangladesh freedom struggle? When did India decide to prepare for military action? Why was no other country prepared to support the cause of an independent Bangladesh? How was India able to counter the US–China–Pakistan axis that emerged dramatically midway through the liberation struggle? How did India persuade the Soviet Union to shed its initial reluctance to support the liberation war? Did India ‘win the war but lose the peace’ by signing the Simla Agreement?
Drawing on previously unexplored Indian records, eminent diplomat and historian Chandrashekhar Dasgupta dispels many myths as he sheds fascinating new light on these and other questions. Deeply researched over eighteen years, this authoritative, lucid and compellingly narrated book also reveals why and how India fashioned an overarching grand strategy, employing every instrument of national power – political, diplomatic, economic and military – to help the Bangladesh freedom fighters speedily liberate their country.
India and Bangladesh achieved a historic victory in the 1971 war. Yet fifty years later, important questions remain about India’s aims and policy in the war. Did India have a plan to break up Pakistan? When and why did it involve itself with the Bangladesh freedom struggle? When did India decide to prepare for military action? Why was no other country prepared to support the cause of an independent Bangladesh? How was India able to counter the US–China–Pakistan axis that emerged dramatically midway through the liberation struggle? How did India persuade the Soviet Union to shed its initial reluctance to support the liberation war? Did India ‘win the war but lose the peace’ by signing the Simla Agreement?
Drawing on previously unexplored Indian records, eminent diplomat and historian Chandrashekhar Dasgupta dispels many myths as he sheds fascinating new light on these and other questions. Deeply researched over eighteen years, this authoritative, lucid and compellingly narrated book also reveals why and how India fashioned an overarching grand strategy, employing every instrument of national power – political, diplomatic, economic and military – to help the Bangladesh freedom fighters speedily liberate their country.
Author Bios:
Chandrashekhar Dasgupta served in the Indian Foreign Service from 1962 to 2000. He was ambassador to China (1993–96) and the European Union (1996–2000), and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. He was elected to serve on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for three successive terms from 2007 to 2018.
Dasgupta was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008. His publications include War and Diplomacy in Kashmir, 1947–48 and numerous articles on Indian diplomatic history, climate change and sustainable development.
Chandrashekhar Dasgupta served in the Indian Foreign Service from 1962 to 2000. He was ambassador to China (1993–96) and the European Union (1996–2000), and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. He was elected to serve on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for three successive terms from 2007 to 2018.
Dasgupta was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008. His publications include War and Diplomacy in Kashmir, 1947–48 and numerous articles on Indian diplomatic history, climate change and sustainable development.
