Opportunity of the Century': India and the Liberation of Bangladesh
Fri, November 5, 2021 9:00 AM at Online (Zoom)
Speaker: Mohammed Ayoob, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan StateUniversity; columnist for the National Interest (Washington DC), the Hindu (India), and The Strategist (Australia).
This year commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh. The year 1971's geostrategicsignificance 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 supportfor 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 rolein India's decision, the major factors determining the decision to intervene militarily in the Bangladesh crisis werepolitical and strategic in character. This presentation by a close observer of the events of 1971 will analyze thesefactors as well as the decision-making process that led to India midwifing the birth of Bangladesh.