Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #decemberindacca

Most recents (2)

18: More damaging were fantastical Western reports describing “Soviet officers strutting the streets of New Delhi”, a phrase & notion that damaged India-US relations well into the 21st century. Some anti-Soviet ayatollahs may not yet be entirely past that notion today … /19 Image
19: Two weeks before, @TIME had run a cover + 9-page article on East Pakistan, with 4 photo pages. This was journalism at its best: clear-eyed, & willing to hold government to account. The US knew what was happening; it was reported on by their own journals of record … /20 ImageImageImage
20: On the treaty, both @srinathraghava3 & Chandraskekhar Dasgupta have written on the differences between New Delhi’s & Moscow’s objectives from the treaty. India needed a P5 ally, for the forthcoming battles at the UN; the USSR saw a counter to the US-China alignment … 21 ImageImage
Read 54 tweets
In July 1971, 51 yrs ago, US then-NSA Kissinger secretly visited Communist China, then without diplomatic relations. Nine months later Indian PM Indira Gandhi signed a treaty of Friendship with brand-new Bangladesh PM Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. What connects these two events? .../2 ImageImage
2: The answer is the #BangladeshLiberationWar 1971. Arguably the war - & the horrific holocaust in East Pakistan, starting with the notorious Operation Searchlight - would not have happened but for the US-China outreach.

More in forthcoming tweets, & in my book #DecemberInDacca Image
3: Pakistan was, in July 1971, facilitating US-Communist China rapprochement. Nixon & Kissinger needed CMA Yahya Khan (pic 1), & did nothing to stop the Pak Army's crackdown (pic 2), which sent a record refugee wave into India (pic 3) ... /4

More forthcoming #DecemberInDacca ImageImageImageImage
Read 16 tweets

Related hashtags

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!