American Response to Bangladesh Liberation War

Contents: Preface. I. The story of Bangladesh liberation war effort in USA: 1. A general account of activism in USA in 1971. II. Background documents, situation reports, analyses of problems: 2. Introduction to the documents and reports. 3. Documents on why Bangladesh. 4. Documents on Pakistani atrocities-genocide. 5. Documents on economic situation in Pakistan and aid squeeze. 6. Documents on specter of famine and disease. 7. Documents on threat of subcontinental war and inter-state relations. 8. Documents on economic prospects of Bangladesh. 9. Documents on US policy and its critique. III. Action in United States Congress: 10. Commentary on Congressional action. 11. Selection of statements made in the Congress. IV. Contributions from some participants in the Bangladesh liberation movement in USA: 12. Individual contributions and contributors. 13. Reminiscences. 14. Reflections. Index.

"On the Silver jubilee of Bangladesh liberation war this is a documentary chronicle of the American response to the great crisis in South Asia. Arranged in four parts it begins with a narrative by the editor and his wife on how the Bengalis in the USA reacted to the war and how the US and other citizens in the USA, the media, the US Congress and the executive responded to the crisis. In the second part a selection of documents produced in the USA at the time on various facets and issues of the liberation war are reproduced. They cover seven topics, viz., why Bangladesh, Pakistani atrocities, economic situation in war-ravaged Bangladesh, spectre of famine and disease, threat of a subcontinental war, economic prospects of Bangladesh, and the US policy relating to the crisis. Part three is devoted to action in the US Congress on the crisis and it also contains 45 selected statements out of a total of 210 made by senators and representatives on the floor. These two parts clearly bring out the great impact in USA of the Bangladesh liberation war. They also provide materials for a judgment on the response of all branches of the US society and government to the liberation war. The final part contains contributions in the form of recollections and reflections from selected American and Bengali participants, intimately associated with the Bangladesh liberation war effort in the USA." (jacket)

[A.M.A. Muhith's book include Bangladesh: Emergence of a Nation.]