The 50 anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation takes place on December 16. Much has been written about the Indian role and Delhi’s assistance to the Mukti Bahini. 

Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, who served in India’s mission in Bangladesh soon after liberation, has provided a riveting, insider account of Delhi’s preparations for a free Bangladesh – by no means an agreed goal within the Indian establishment in the early part of March 1971 – in his new book “India and the Bangladesh Liberation War”. 

But the Pakistani massacre in Dhaka on March 25 and subsequent attacks by the Pakistani Army in East Bengal convinced everyone in the Indian establishment that Bangladesh was an idea whose time had come. 

 Guest: Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, who was India’s ambassador to China (1993-1996) and the European Union (1996-2000). 

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu