Britain at the Birth of Bangladesh
BRITAIN AT THE BIRTH OF BANGLADESH Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Angela L. Debnath University College London 2012 2 ABSTRACT British intelligence reports from 1971 describe how Pakistan suffered acute instability after central government forces attempted to quash the East Pakistan nationalist movement, sparking guerrilla resistance, massive refugee flight and extensive social disorder. Much of the British media, political opposition and public sided with the nationalists, accusing government forces of violating human rights, and even of genocide. The British government, in contrast, declared it would not interfere in a civil war with ‘hideous atrocities…being committed on both sides’. While intent on neutrality and non-interference, officials continued deliberating on how to react to the crisis as it evolved. British responses, which extended to aid and bilateral diplomacy, were thus shaped by a number of contextual factors—particularly the nature of intelligence reports from the region, public and parliamentary pressure, Cold War geopolitical constraints and, as expected, strategic calculations of Britain’s interests on the subcontinent. The British position, of course, was not entirely spontaneous nor did it always relate directly to the crisis, but more generally to the post-war context in which the Heath government functioned. Reflecting both self-interest and genuine concern, British responses to the East Pakistan crisis that ultimately led to the birth of Bangladesh, provide insights into a markedly under-researched episode of nationalist conflict in a former British colony. They reveal the complex challenges that the multi-layered violence posed to external observers, and in doing so, undermine the widespread tendency to cast the violence exclusively as either civil war or genocide.
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