Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh, offers a strategic analysis of the evolution of the Indian Army and the various wars fought by the Indian Defence Forces since independence of the country. He lists the causes and effects of the Indo-China War of 1962; he also talks exclusively about the formation of Bangladesh and the contribution made by the Indian Army in that regard; he informs the reader about the 1965 war with Pakistan and analyses its repercussions; and most importantly, he highlights the primal points that the Army has to be aware of in the future. This book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the full-length study of the campaign that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Written authoritatively with the inside knowledge of the developments, both in the field and at the Army Headquarters, it makes a professional appraisal of leadership, strategy and tactics. The second part of the study of independent India at war cuts a broad swatch including the hostilities on the western border with Pakistan in the 1971 war. It assesses military strategy in relation to the previous wars with Pakistan and China, describes the evolution of the three wings of the defence services from the time of their inception, evaluates their various roles in 1971, and pinpoints the weaknesses inherent in the present set-up in relation to the functions the services are called upon to fulfill to ensure the protection of national interest. In the third and final part on India’s wars since independence, a frank appraisal of the lessons that they teach and the questions that they raise in relation to the problem of building a credible and meaningful defence system for the country are dealt with.

Study by an Indian Army officer on the basis of his personal experiences.

Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's state-of-the-art history navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that created modern Bangladesh through ecological disaster, colonialism, partition, a war of independence and cultural renewal. In this revised and updated edition, Van Schendel offers a fascinating and highly readable account of life in Bangladesh over the last two millennia. Based on the latest academic research and covering the numerous historical developments of the 2010s, he provides an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people. A perfect survey for travellers, expats, students and scholars alike.

India’s armed forces play a key role in protecting the country and occupy a special place in the Indian people’s hearts, yet standard accounts of contemporary Indian history rarely have a military dimension. In India’s Wars, serving Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam seeks to rectify that oversight by giving India’s military exploits their rightful place in history. Subramaniam begins India’s Wars with a frank call to reinvigorate the study of military history as part of Indian history more generally. Part II surveys the development of the India’s army, navy, and air force from the early years of the modern era to 1971. In Parts III and IV, Subramaniam considers conflicts from 1947 to 1962 as well as conflicts with China in 1962 and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. Part V concludes by assessing these conflicts through the lens of India’s ancient strategist, Kautilya, who is revered in India as much as Sun Tzu is in China. Not merely a wide-ranging historical narrative of India’s military performance in battle, India’s Wars also offers a strategic, operational, and human perspective on the wars fought by independent India’s armed forces. Subramaniam highlights possible ways to improve the synergy between the three services, and argues in favor of the declassification of historical material pertaining to national security. The author also examines the overall state of civil-military relations in India, leadership within the Indian armed forces, as well as training, capability building, and other vitally important issues of concern to citizens, the government, and the armed forces. This objective and critical analysis provides policy cues for the reinvigoration of the armed forces as a critical tool of statecraft and diplomacy. Readers will come away from India’s Wars with a greater understanding of the international environment of war and conflict in modern India. Laced with veterans’ intense experiences in combat operations, and deeply researched and passionately written, it unfolds with surprising ease and offers a fresh perspective on independent India’s history.

Bangladeshi women recall the sexualized violence of the war of 1971, fought between India and what was then East and West Pakistan.

This ground-breaking book chronicles the 1971 war in South Asia by reconstituting the memories of those on opposing sides of the conflict. 1971 was marked by a bitter civil war within Pakistan and war between India and Pakistan, backed respectively by the Soviet Union and the United States. It was fought over the territory of East Pakistan, which seceded to become Bangladesh. Through a detailed investigation of events on the ground, Sarmila Bose contextualises and humanises the war while analysing what the events reveal about the nature of the conflict itself. The story of 1971 has so far been dominated by the narrative of the victorious side. All parties to the war are still largely imprisoned by wartime partisan mythologies. Bose reconstructs events via interviews conducted in Bangladesh and Pakistan, published and unpublished reminiscences in Bengali and English of participants on all sides, official documents, foreign media reports and other sources. Her book challenges assumptions about the nature of the conflict, and exposes the ways in which the 1971 war is still playing out in the region.

The study provides an in-depth, up-to-date, and scholarly analysis of the liberation war and the Sheikh Mujib Regime of Bangladesh. Situating the emergence of Bangladesh in the broader historical context of the partition of British India in 1947, the study re-examines: a) how Mujib successfully galvanized the legitimate grievances of Bangladeshi people during the united Pakistan period (1947–71) and how a highly successful guerilla warfare of Bangladeshi people led to dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 with crucial military and political support from neighboring India; (b) how in the post-liberation Bangladesh the Mujib regime toyed with contradictory political ideologies of democracy and socialism, and eventually ended up with a one-party monolithic rule; (c) how in the economic sphere the Mujib regime vacillated between petty bourgeoisie and socialist inclinations by half-heartedly pursuing socialization of agriculture and nationalization of industries, which resulted in plundering of the economy and plunging of millions of people in famine and near-famine situations; (d) how in 1975 the assassination of Mujib and collapse of his ill-fated regime, that failed to deliver both economically and politically, evoked little sympathy from the masses; and (e) how the trial of the killers of Mujib after 21 years of his death, and the trial of the collaborators of the liberation war after four decades of the country’s liberation war, orchestrated by Sheikh Hasina government, keep the nation’s political discourse still sharply divided.

Study by an Indian Army officer on the basis of his personal experiences.

This book critically examines the politico-military strategy of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. What began as a power struggle and cultural conflict between West and East Pakistan, later compelled India to intervene—an intervention that decisively shaped and influenced the geo-politics of the region and the global order. This volume is a systematic study of the situation of events, operational art and tactics, cold war politics, international reactions, and their impact on the formulation of the national grand strategy of all three nations. The book discusses various key themes such as the creation of Pakistan and events leading to its secession, the military geography of East Pakistan, state of armed forces of India and Pakistan and India’s humanitarian intervention, the role of Mukti Bahini, and the ambiguous stance of the United Nations in the war. The book offers an appraisal of the performances of the opposing forces and reflects on the inevitability of war and its outcome. It also gives an overview of the state formation of the three nations, encompassing the defining moments of the modern history of these South Asian countries and highlighting the socio-economic progress they have made half a century after the liberation war. A compelling treatise in the history of politico-military strategy, this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, partition studies, modern history, military history, South Asian studies, international security, defence and strategic studies, language politics, Islamic history, and refugee and diaspora studies. It will also appeal to general readers interested in the histories of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.