Abstract

The authoritative account provides an excellent overview of reflections on Indo-Pakistan 1971 war through theories of war and peace. He is of the view divergences of East Pakistan began to surface with West Pakistan soon after independence, when a group of students protested the Quaid-i-Azam’s speech in Dacca in 1948, making Urdu the national language. Two years later in 1950, the East Pakistan Muslim League asked for maximum autonomy. Then in 1954, after elections in East Pakistan, the United Front, which won with overwhelming majority, asked for a complete autonomy according to the Pakistan Resolution. A West Pakistan dominated central government’s manipulation to deny power to the elected majority in East Pakistan added to the accumulating grievances. Delays in constitution-making and holding national elections exacerbated East Pakistan’s sense of deprivation.