Genocide, ethical imperatives and the strategic significance of asymmetric power: India’s diplomatic and military interventions in the Bangladesh Liberation War (Indo-Pakistan War of 1971)

• Autorzy: Bose Rudrajit

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.35467/sdq/146060

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

This paper seeks to understand if the political, legal and ethical imperatives of a humanitarian war justified Indian military intervention in East Pakistan. It examines the asymmetric, dynamic national power equations that shaped the Bangladesh Liberation War and the genocide that preceded the conflict. At the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, this conflict was a key flashpoint in South Asia. This research was undertaken through a qualitative literature review with the help of declassified archival documents and media from numerous national archives and government databases across the world. Aided by emerging insights, perspectives and research, this paper seeks to evolve, extend and expand our existing understanding of events as they unfolded within the overall matrix of this conflict. The results show that India’s ability to align its foreign policy and media narratives to its military objectives while adroitly managing big power rivalry holds lessons for how smaller states might compel strategic concessions from big powers and global institutions. This requires them to navigate both the asymmetry of national power and the asymmetry of attention during a conflict to secure their interests. In conclusion, recent times have seen an increasing trend for major global powers and alliances to declare war in the name of humanitarianism. The political and ethical imperatives of a humanitarian war in 1971 dovetailed seamlessly with larger Indian strategic goals and was one of the catalysts for the eventual unanimous adoption in 2005 of the global political commitment known as Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in the United Nations.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

foreign policy; genocide; India; religion; United Nations; war

• Wydawca: Akademia Sztuki Wojennej
• Czasopismo: Security and Defence Quarterly
• Rocznik: 2022
• Tom: Vol. 38, No. 2
• Strony: 31--50
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 50 poz., tab.

Twórcy

autor

Bose Rudrajit

• Global Design, UID, Karnavati University, A907, Uvarsad-Gandhinagar, 382422, Gandhinagar, India

• https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9243-070X

Bibliografia

• 1. AP Archives (no date) Interview with Indian Foreign Minister Swaran Singh in London. Synd 11-12-71. www.youtube.com (online) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 2. Bass G.J. (2014) The blood telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a forgotten genocide. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
• 3. BBC (2008) 1971 Bangladeshi liberation war. Indira Gandhi’s BBC interview. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 4. Bose S. (2011) ‘The question of genocide and the quest for justice in the 1971 war’, Journal of Genocide Research, 13(4), pp. 393–419. doi: 10.1080/14623528.2011.625750.
• 5. Chari P. (2012) ‘Defence reforms after 1962: Much ado about nothing’, Journal of Defence Studies, 6(4), pp. 171–188. Available at: https://idsa.in/system/files/jds_6_4_PRChari.pdf (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 6. Congressional Record (1971) Proceedings of Congress and General Congressional Publications, Volume 117, Part 29, 117, p. 37930. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/conten... GPO-CRECB-1971-pt29-3-1.pdf (Accessed: June 19 2021).
• 7. Cordera S. (2015) ‘India’s response to the 1971 East Pakistan crisis: Hidden and open reasons for intervention’, Journal of Genocide Research, 17(1), pp. 45–62. doi: 10.1080/14623528.2015.991207.
• 8. Department of State (2001) Foreign relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E-7, documents on South Asia, 1969–1972. Document 134, Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. 2001-2009.state.gov. Available at: https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e7txt/50133.htm (Accessed: 27 July 2021).
• 9. Department of State (2005) Foreign relations of the United States, 1969-1976, volume XI, South Asia crisis, 1971. Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. 2001-2009.state.gov. Available at: https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/... (Accessed: 27 July 2021).
• 10. Dring S. (1971) ‘Tanks crush revolt in Pakistan’, The Daily Telegraph, London, 30 March. Available at: https://songramernotebook.com/... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 11. Dummett M. (2011) Bangladesh war: The article that changed history. BBC News, 16 December. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 12. Gerlach C. (2010) Extremely violent societies: mass violence in the twentieth-century world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 138–152.
• 13. Halarnkar S. (2000) ‘Secret inquiry into Pakistan’s debacle in 1971 war held army atrocities, widespread corruption as prime reasons for defeat in East Pakistan’, India Today. Available at: https://www.indiatoday.in/maga... (Accessed: 24 December 2021).
• 14. India Today Digital (2014) ‘Henry Kissinger memoirs: Agony of the Bangladesh war’, India Today. Available at: https://www.indiatoday.in/maga... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 15. JFK Library (1962) National Security Action Memoranda (NSAM): NSAM 209, Actions on South Asia. Available at: https://www.jfklibrary.org/ass... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 16. Khan F.M. (1973) Pakistan’s crisis in leadership. Islamabad, Pakistan: National Book Foundation, pp. 276–291.
• 17. Kissinger H.A. (1979) White House years. Kissinger. Boston. MA: Little, Brown and Co.
• 18. Krishnan R. (2019) ‘Sri Lanka’s Faustian bargain with Pakistan: Exit LTTE, enter ISI’, Business Today. Available at: https://www.businesstoday.in/o... (Accessed: 24 December 2021).
• 19. Kuisong Y. (2000) ‘The Sino-Soviet border clash of 1969: From Zhenbao Island to Sino-American rapprochement’, Cold War History, 1(1), pp. 21–52. doi: 10.1080/713999906.
• 20. Lüthi L.M. (2012) ‘Restoring chaos to history: Sino-Soviet-American relations, 1969’, The China Quarterly, 210, pp. 378–397. doi: 10.1017/S030574101200046X.
• 21. Mack A. (1975) ‘Why big nations lose small wars: The politics of asymmetric conflict’, World Politics, 27(02), pp. 175–200. doi: 10.2307/2009880.
• 22. Mahanty J.N. (1983) ‘China and the emergence of Bangladesh: Role of great power global perceptions’, India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 39(2), pp. 137–158. doi: 10.1177/097492848303900202.
• 23. Malhotra I. (2014) ‘Rear view: Tours and treaties’, The Indian Express. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/arti... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 24. Maochun Yu M. (2021) The Lin Biao incident and the People’s Liberation Army of Purges. Stanford: CA: Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Available at: https://www.hoover.org/researc... (Accessed: 9 December 2021).
• 25. Marwah O. (1979) ‘India’s military intervention in East Pakistan, 1971–1972’, Modern Asian Studies, 13(4), pp. 549–580. doi: 10.1017/S0026749X00008465.
• 26. Mascarenhas A. (1971a) ‘Genocide’, The Sunday Times, 13 June. Available at: https://www.genocidemuseumbd.o... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 27. Mascarenhas A. (1971b) ‘Genocide’, The Sunday Times (London), 13 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 28. Ministry of External Affairs, India (1971) Treaty of peace, friendship and co-operation. mea.gov.in. Available at: https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-d... (Accessed: 4 June 2021).
• 29. Nanda V.P. (1972) ‘A critique of the United Nations inaction in the Bangladesh crisis’, 49(1) Denv. L.J, 53, pp. 1–17. Available at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3395&context=dlr (Accessed: 5 July. 2021).
• 30. National Security Archive (NSA) (2002a) The tilt: The US and the South Asian crisis of 1971. Available at: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSA... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 31. National Security Archive (NSA) (2002b) The tilt: The US and the South Asian crisis of 1971. Electronic briefing book No. 79, nsarchive2.gwu.edu. Available at: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSA... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 32. Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) (1972) CO, USS Enterprise, Task Force 74, 1972. Command history, p. 6. Available at: https://www.history.navy.mil/c... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 33. Noorani A.G. (2018). Brajesh Mishra & Mao’s smile. Frontline. Available at: https://frontline.thehindu.com... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 34. Onyebadi U., Hossain M.D. and Aucoin J. (2017) Music as a platform for political communication. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, an imprint of IGI Global, pp. 149–166. doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1986-7.
• 35. O’sullivan K. (2021). The NGO moment : the globalisation of compassion from Biafra to Live Aid. Cambridge, United Kingdom; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, p. 48.
• 36. Prasad S.N. and Thapliyal U.P. (2014) The India-Pakistan war of 1971: A history. Dehra Dun, India: Natraj Publishers (on Behalf of Ministry of Defence, Government of India).
• 37. Raghavan S. (2013) 1971: A global history of the creation of Bangladesh. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• 38. Rahman H. (2007) Hamoodur Rahman commission of inquiry into the 1971 India-Pakistan war: Supplementary report. Rockville, MD: Arc Manor, pp. 6–66.
• 39. Ramesh J. (2019) Intertwined lives: P.N. Haksar and Indira Gandhi. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
• 40. Silverman R.J. (2015) ‘The blood telegram – President’s views’, The Foreign Service Journal. Available at: https://afsa.org/blood-telegra... (Accessed: 6 July 2021).
• 41. Sisson R. and Rose L.E. (1992) War and secession: Pakistan, India, and the creation of Bangladesh. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, pp. 122–217.
• 42. Standing India (2016) Soviet veto to block cease fire bid in Indo-Pak 1971 war. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 43. UK House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Committee (2012) Written evidence from Sujit Sen. Available at: https://publications.parliamen... (Accessed: 24 December 2021).
• 44. United Nations (1971a) 1606th meeting of Security Council – Part 1. UN audiovisual library. Available at: https://www.unmultimedia.org/a... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 45. United Nations (1971b) 1611th Meeting of Security Council. UN audiovisual library. Available at: https://www.unmultimedia.org/a... (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
• 46. United Nations (2015) United Nations Security Council meeting discussing war between India and Pakistan. Synd 13-12-71. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 47. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2000) The State of the World’s Refugees: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• 48. Upadhyaya P. (1990) Non-aligned states and India’s international conflicts. New Delhi, India: South Asian Publishers.
• 49. Video Diary (2016) ‘Bangladesh genocide 1971’, BBC report (online). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (Accessed: 3 July 2021).
• 50. Yunus M. (2011) Bhutto and the breakup of Pakistan. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press.