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Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.), Vol. 63(1), 2018, pp. 135-138 Book Review Major General Md. Sarwar Hossain BSP, SGP, ndc, hdmc, psc, PhD, 1971: Resistance, Resilience and Redemption, Published by Bangla Academy, Dhaka 2018, Pages: 490, Price: Tk. 1500, ISBN: 984-07-5707-5 The 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh has drawn the attention of scholars across the globe. Books and research articles have delved deep into the events of that fateful year and shed new insights on the conflict, genocide, sexual violence and the humanitarian tragedy which accompanied the war. In spite of a rich outpouring of literature of different aspects of the conflict, a lacuna existed on the tactical and operational aspects of the war until now. Major General Md Sarwar Hossain’s book 1971: Resistance, Resilience and Redemption is a valuable contribution in filling up this gap. The book has made a tremendous effort to narrate the history of the Liberation War—strategy of resistance by Bengali servicemen, irregular forces and general people; and discuss the blend of conventional and guerrilla war tactics in overall war effort. The book is the product of intense scholarly work, a doctoral research undertaken in the Department of History, University of Dhaka. In author’s own words, this book focuses on “the growth and strategies of Bangladesh forces, its impact on the overall outcome of the war” (p. xvii) in offering a researched account of the 1971 Liberation War to the readers. Among many academic and popular literature on the Liberation War of Bangladesh, a few provide such a rare opportunity to read the strategic account of the event with operational strategies of the actors and tactics of employment of forces. In this regard, it may appear to someone as a technocratic piece of scholarship targeting the specific audience of military and security. Nevertheless, anyone would enjoy reading 136 Niloy Ranjan Biswas this book as the author has done a proper judgment with the subject matter by blending political rationale behind strategic decisions in the context of the war. The author has mixed his long years of service in Bangladesh Armed Forces with his academic knowledge of doing a research in the discipline of history to frame the narratives of the war, which offer a politico-strategic flavour for both informed and general readers of home and abroad. This book is organized into ten chapters. The first chapter offers a background of the Liberation War by analyzing political, cultural, religious, linguistic, economic and geographical factors of the region. The discussion is extended from pre-British era to draw inferences on the reasons for coming to the stage of 1971. The chapter offers a succinct and a very clear picture of political instability and draws inferences on the democratic deficit in the then Pakistan. It, therefore, sets a political backdrop for the rest of the book. The second chapter introduces geographical attributes of the then East Pakistan and military disposition at the pre-1971 phase. It discusses the position of Pakistani security forces in different geographical parts of the country. In addition to the empirical information, the author posits Bangladesh’s geographical depth in a favour of fighting guerilla warfare, unlike what Mao Zedong has suggested in his writings on revolutionary war. Bangladeshi forces and citizens had to fight with uniformed forces three times bigger than the peacetime force of Pakistan. Chapter three describes the patterns of initial resistance offered by the members of the armed forces who defected from the Pakistani military establishment and other security forces. It has carefully described the geographical division of the country and the responsibility of the newly formed armed forces, their leadership, force strength, and tactics. The discussion cites interesting examples of civil-military cooperation to build resistance against the Pakistani forces. This chapter sheds light on the fact that this initial resistance had been very crucial to win the war, as the author claimed: “if there were no initial resistance war, probably the spark of the political movement animated by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would have prematurely fallen” (p. 119). In chapter four, the author describes the factors of the evolution of Bangladesh’s armed forces. Building up a uniformed force was not an easy task during the turmoil of warfare. It was a few senior officers and a significant number of mid and junior- level officers who constitute the tactical and strategic positions to form the forces to fight the war. The author also discusses India’s cautiously cooperative role in extending its support for the organizing of the forces in Bangladesh. The chapter also highlights the necessity of building a mixed force of regular and irregular/guerilla warriors. Chapter five discusses the formation of different sectors and operational brigades across the country in 1971. Furthermore, it has detailed out the strength of Book review 137 the sectors and brigades. Two small sections of this chapter highlight the evolution of Bangladesh Navy and Air Force as the products of a multi-dimensional warfare. Chapter six highlights a crucial factor, i.e., the existence of irregular forces of the 1971 Liberation War. The author discusses both internal and external causes of the emergence of various ‘indigenous forces’ and the necessity of a central control from the then Government-in-exile. Among others, informative discussion on Mujib Bahini, Kaderia Bahini, Mirza Abdul Latif Bahini, Afsar Battalion, and Hemayat Bahini will attract the attention of the readers. Chapter seven begins with a significant theoretical discussion on the ideas of liberation war and unconventional/ guerilla warfare. It has further discussed the reasons for mixing conventional and unconventional forms of war. The latter part of the chapter contextualizes these ideas in the context of Bangladesh’s Liberation War. The example of the “Crack Platoon” is noteworthy who “asymmetrically fought their adversaries gaining advantage through creating imbalance” (p. 216). This chapter also describes the patterns of unconventional war engagements in different regions of the country. The author argues that the role of irregular forces is a threat multiplier and both auxiliary and unconventional groups worked hard and side by side to fight against the adversaries of Pakistan. In chapter eight, the author analyzes the role and effectiveness of Bangladeshi forces in achieving the final victory in the Liberation War. This is acknowledged that the indicators to measure effectiveness are subjective and they depend on the context. Chapter nine describes Pakistan plan and allied offensive in details. A region-based discussion constitutes a better understanding of the comparative aspects of the disposition of Indian forces along with Bangladesh forces in the battlegrounds. The author also highlights certain cases of allied offensive that are very instrumental and mobile. This chapter also discusses the challenges for both Pakistani and Indo- Bangladesh allied forces. It highlights difficulties the major rivers posed for allied forces’ mobility. However, the author’s explanation in this chapter clearly depicts how strategic superiority of the allied forces defeated the Pakistani force that could not get an opportunity to retreat or to defend Dhaka in the very final days of the war. Finally, in the concluding chapter of the book, the author discusses the major findings of his analysis with the political and strategic lessons learned in this process. He sheds light on major relevant factors related to the Liberation War, such as Pakistan’s use of force for resolving political issues, the political consciousness of the Bengali people, so on and so forth. In addition, the author has also discussed the role of national and international media in projecting the war, particularly the plight of the people in front of the global mass. The chapter concludes showing how the 138 Niloy Ranjan Biswas great political and military leadership and strategy made it possible to defeat a dominant military force in 1971. This scholarly write-up has used legible, colourful and superior quality graphs in most of the chapters to support its arguments. The sources of primary information and its position in the book have made it unique. Moreover, the book contains more than 125 pages of annexure with valuable primary information. This will draw the attention of the readers who would like to continue further academic research on the subject matter. This book is therefore highly recommended to the researchers and practitioners of multiple disciplines—strategic and war studies, genocide studies, and peace and conflict studies. Furthermore, anyone who has keen interests in the modern history of Bangladesh and South Asia should be interested to read the book to enhance her knowledge of the time period. As a doctoral research work, this book would have been enriched by primary data collected from a set of significant key informant interviews. This would also serve the purpose of triangulation of primary data that are already used in this study. Nevertheless, it has maintained the authenticity of data collected from recognized primary sources. Unlike many writers of the 1971 War, who have predominantly narrated their personal accounts of the Liberation War, the author of this book has objectively analyzed various factors and presented his arguments in a very structured way for the readers. This book, therefore, will be a trailblazer for many emerging academics who may be inspired for a mixed method academic endeavour—a blend of structured primary data and un-or-semi-structured personal experience—to reflect on various facets of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. Niloy Ranjan Biswas* * Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka. .

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