Event Details:

Title: 'Opportunity of the Century': India and the Liberation of Bangladesh

Abstract:
This year commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh. The year 1971's geostrategic significance for the Indian subcontinent rivals that of 1947 when British India was divided into India and Pakistan. While the roots of Bangladesh's secession from Pakistan lay firmly within the Pakistani polity, India's political support for the Bangladesh freedom movement and its military intervention were crucial for the liberation of Bangladesh. Although humanitarian considerations, especially the influx of close to ten million refugees into India, played a role in India's decision, the major factors determining the decision to intervene militarily in the Bangladesh crisis were political and strategic in character. This presentation by a close observer of the events of 1971 will analyze these factors as well as the decision-making process that led to India midwifing the birth of Bangladesh.

Mohammed Ayoob
University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations
Michigan State University

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