The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 5: Thank God, They’ve Attacked Us

Conflicted: A History Podcast

Zach Cornwell

Society & Culture, Education, History

4.8 • 610 Ratings

🗓️ 20 December 2024

⏱️ 139 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On December 3rd, 1971, India and Pakistan go to war on two fronts, battling for the future of Bangladesh. In the East, the Indian army races against time, hoping to capture Dacca and force a Pakistani surrender before the United Nations can demand a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger unleash a fusillade of diplomatic pressure to frighten a defiant Indira Gandhi into compliance. After months of imprisonment, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman learns what has happened to his country. The war ends, and a new era begins. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. 2013. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty. 2020. Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation. 2022. Chang, Jung. Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. 2005. Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. 2001. Gewen, Barry. The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and his World. 2020. Hiro, Dilip. The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan. 2015. Hitchens, Christopher. The Trial of Henry Kissinger. 2001. Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future. 2023. Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan. 2014. James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. 1997. Jayakar, Pupul. Indira Gandhi: A Biography. 1975. Khosa, Faisal. The Making of Martyrs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. 2021. K.S. Nair. December In Dacca. 2022. Keay, John. India: A History. 2000. Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound. 2015. Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. 2013. Rose, Leo. Sisson, Richard. War and Secession. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. 1990. Saikia, Yasmin. Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh. 2011. Schanberg, Sydney.”He Tells Full Story of Arrest and Detention.” New York Times Jan 1972 Schendel, Willem van. A History of Bangladesh. 2009. Schwartz, Thomas Alan. Henry Kissinger and American Power. 2020. Sengupta, Nitish. Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal. 2011. Siddiqi, A. R. Yahya Khan: The Rise and Fall of a Soldier. 2020. Tudda, Chris. A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969-1972. 2012. Walsh, Declan. The Nine Lives of Pakistan. 2020. Zakaria, Anam. 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. 2019. 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
0:04.7	shaped us, the tough questions that they pose, and why we should care about any of it.
0:09.1	Conflicted is a member of the Evergreen Podcast Network, and as always, I'm your host,
0:13.5	Zach Cornwell. You are listening to the fifth and final episode of a multi-part series on
0:18.7	the 1971 Bangladesh War. Well, it's hard to believe, but
0:22.8	we made it. After a long and arduous journey, we have reached the climax of our story. But before
0:28.1	we close the book on Bangladesh, I want to take a moment to say, thank you. Not only for your
0:32.8	words of encouragement and your kind, lovely messages, but also for your patience. I know that the weight
0:38.4	has been long between episodes. In an era of instant streaming and binge listening, I totally
0:43.2	understand how frustrating that can be. Unfortunately, that's as fast as I can physically and mentally
0:48.4	make them. Sometimes I do wish I could just clone myself and have the other guy do all the boring
0:52.7	stuff, but let's be honest, he'd probably just try to replace me and take over my life, so for now you'll have to
0:57.7	settle for just me. But in all seriousness, I really do appreciate your patience, and I hope the
1:02.6	weight has been worth it. This series has meant a lot to me, and with any luck, it's meant something to
1:06.9	you too. But enough hemming, hawing, and hand-wringing, let's once again hop in our
1:11.0	time machines and return to the Bengal Delta, 50 long years ago. Last time, in part four,
1:17.4	Kassaspelli, we examined the rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the summer of 1971.
1:23.8	By that time, it was clear that the two nations were on a path to war, and last episode we charted every morbid milestone.
1:30.6	It's often a fact of life that you don't always get along with your neighbors.
1:34.2	Sometimes they play loud music or let their dog poop on your lawn, and sometimes they drive 10 million sick, starving refugees into your backyard.
1:42.7	That was the problem facing India in the summer of 1971.
1:46.0	In the wake of President Yahya Khan's merciless crackdown on East Pakistan, Operation Searchlight,
	...

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