The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 1: Land of Broken Maps

Conflicted: A History Podcast

Zach Cornwell

Education, History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 610 Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2024

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In March 1971, the nation of Pakistan was split apart by a vicious civil war, eventually culminating in the creation of a new state: Bangladesh. In this first episode of a multi-part series, we trace the origins of the conflict and introduce the key historical figures involved. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty. Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation. Chang, Jung. Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. Gewen, Barry. The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and his World. Hiro, Dilip. The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan. Hitchens, Christopher. The Trial of Henry Kissinger. Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future. Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan. James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. Jayakar, Pupul. Indira Gandhi: A Biography. Khosa, Faisal. The Making of Martyrs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. K.S. Nair. December In Dacca Keay, John. India: A History. Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound. Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. Rose, Leo. Sisson, Richard. War and Secession. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. Saikia, Yasmin. Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh. Schendel, Willem van. A History of Bangladesh. Schwartz, Thomas Alan. Henry Kissinger and American Power. Sengupta, Nitish. Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal. Tudda, Chris. A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969-1972. Walsh, Declan. The Nine Lives of Pakistan. Zakaria, Anam. 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Conflicted, the history podcast where we talk about the struggles that shaped us, the tough questions that they pose, and why we should care about any of it.
0:11.3	Conflicted is a member of the Evergreen podcast network, and as always, I'm your host, Zach Cornwell.
0:16.8	Before we jump into the show today, I'd like to take a moment to briefly acknowledge an important milestone we've reached here on Conflicted.
0:23.3	It's hard to believe, but today's episode is the 50th episode of the show.
0:27.4	I started the podcast about five years ago in September 2019, and in that time, I have been absolutely blown away by the kindness, warmth, and passionate feedback I've received from all of you
0:37.9	all over the world. So, to listeners new and old, near and far, from the bottom of my heart,
0:43.5	thank you. Your encouragement, support, and constructive feedback is what keeps this train
0:48.0	chugging along. I really, truly am grateful. So here's to you, and to many, many more episodes
0:53.8	have conflicted. As long as y'all keep listening, I'll keep making them. So here's to you, and to many, many more episodes of conflicted. As long as you all keep
0:55.7	listening, I'll keep making them. So now with that bit of housekeeping out of the way, we can get
0:59.7	down to business and jump right into the good stuff. You are listening to the first episode in a brand-new
1:04.8	multi-part series on a topic that sits right at the intersection of two of my absolute favorite
1:09.7	historical subjects,
1:15.5	the Indian subcontinent, and the Cold War. Today, we're going to be talking about something called the 1971 Bangladesh War. Sometimes it's called the Bangladesh Liberation War,
1:21.2	or the Third Indo-Pakistani War. Now, truth be told, this is a story that's not very well known
1:26.7	outside of South Asia.
1:28.1	Hell, even in South Asia, you'd be hard pressed to find a version of it that isn't drenched
1:32.1	in nationalist revisionism or riddled with strategic omissions.
1:35.7	But I have to say, when you patch it all together, it is one of the most captivating,
1:39.6	densely layered, and frankly complex topics we've ever covered on this show.
1:44.0	At its most basic level,
1:45.6	this is a story of how, in 1971, the nation of Pakistan imploded in a vicious, irreconcilable
	...

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