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Radio War Nerd #282 — 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, Part I (Patreon)

Published:
2021-05-31 23:02:48
Edited:
2021-06-01 15:21:18
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

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Content

Guest: The Fakir

Recorded: May 29, 2021

This is the 50th anniversary of the forgotten genocide in Bangladesh in 1971 , carried out by the US-backed dictator of Pakistan to crush Bangladesh's popular democratic autonomy movement back when Bangladesh was a province of Pakistan known as "East Pakistan." Previous RWN guest "The Fakir" joins us to walk us through the political background of West Pakistan vs East Pakistan: the Partition, Pakistan's suppression of Bengali language, the impact of the global 1968 student movement on Pakistani politics, and the rise of three key players in the events of 1971: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Yahya Khan, and the leader of Bangladesh's independence movement, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We end this episode with Operation Searchlight, the start of the genocide and ethnic cleansing in the spring of 1971.

Maps:

*Partition

*West Pakistan, India, East Pakistan

*Political map of East Pakistan-India-Pakistan

Listen to The Fakir's two-part series on the Rise & Fall of the Maratha Empire: RWN EP #220, EP #224. 

Books:

1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh, by Srinath Raghavan

The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and the Forgotten Genocide, by Gary Bass

"The Prophet's Hair" by Salman Rushdie

*     *     *

Interlude music by Brendon Anderegg. Check out his group Mountains here.

Buy John Dolan's book "The War Nerd Iliad" and his audiobook "Pleasant Hell". 

Check out the new Radio War Nerd Merch store here!

Total time: 1:35:22

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here 

Files

Comments

Ander Pierce

Wishing your wife a swift recovery Mr. Ames!

orc

Based and banglapilled

David Andrews

Excellent episode. This war gets zero attention in the west.

Neil Manich

Great episode and great guest. Honestly just desperate for anything you guys can give me on this region. I’m criminally ignorant here.

Mark Ames

thank you! the antibiotics worked!

Jimothy Realname

It's too bad "Operation Searchlight" is already taken by a genocide, because it's a good name

Aditya V

Just now completed listening to this excellent episode. As usual, I listened to the RWN episode while driving to go for a walk! Regarding the 4 naxal leaders that went to Beijing in the late 1960s, it is true they got an audience with Mao, but there is no evidence or reference that says they received military training in China. In fact one of those leaders explicitly refuted such an allegation (see below link). I believe him because the Naxals of the late 1960s and early 1970s were total novices when it came to fighting. They simply were not a match for the Police. The current crop of Naxals whose leaders are mostly from my State are a different and tougher breed, but they are all self-taught through experience of decades. LTTE may have provided some weapons training as they were weapons suppliers. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/4Gl6KhTJk8vaxYMws4akbN/Indian-Maoists-and-the-overseas-connection.html

Aditya V

Thanks for the reference. I see that Raghavan refers to later recruits going to that military school, not the 4 leaders that met Mao. Even so I think we need more evidence than Nixon, Kissinger conversation.

Lauren Giniger

Incredible ep kudos RWN. This history has always been a big ❓ for me. I have been reading up on the Mexico City earthquake in 1985. Would you consider doing an ep? The federal and city response was absent and tens of thousands of people self-organized themselves as disaster response. The quake had a transformative effect on MX society, one of exemplary solidarity and a deepened movement toward democracy. although the terremoto wasnt a hot war, military units rolled in days afterward. Allegations of serving the needs of commercial property owners against the needs of the affected, and too convenient demolitions in order to undercount dead. Privatization shenanigans... Same shit in 2017. Could be another great episode.