This book analyses the human dimension during and after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.
The chapters investigate questions of belonging and being an alien, civil rights and ethnic demands, and broader issues of citizenship and statelessness. The analysis centres around the situation of those who crossed into the Indian side of the border during the Liberation War, the Bengali speaking population who chose Pakistan as their country after the birth of Bangladesh, and stranded Pakistani or Bihari Muslims living in Bangladesh. The book addresses three key questions: how do the modern nation-states of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh categorize citizens based on the narratives of 1971; how the acceptance of certain groups as part of the Indian citizenry affected its concept of belonging; and, after 1971, how do Pakistan and Bangladesh define who is part of their citizenry, and how do so-called aliens negotiate their identity in national debates.
A timely contribution to the subject of forced migration, citizenship and identities in South Asia, edited by three academics with Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage, this book will be of interest to a variety of academics studying the history, politics and sociology of South Asia.
Introduction Part I. The Liberation War, Refugees and Citizenship in
India
Chapter
1. Illegal Migrants in Assam and West Bengal: The
Socio-Politics of NRC and CAA;
Chapter
2. Immigrants, Evacuees or
Citizens-1971 Migrants in Search of Identity Part II. The Significance of
1971 in Bangladesh: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Chapter
3.
Biharis in Bangladesh: Organized Elimination and Marginalization of a
Community;
Chapter
4. Women in War Zones: Rapes at the time of Bangladesh
Liberation War;
Chapter
5. Nation-Building Policies and Ethnic Conflict in
Bangladesh;
Chapter
6. Neoliberal or quasi-colonial: A critique on higher
education in contemporary Bangladesh Part III. Nationality and Identity of
the Stranded Communities (Bengalis and Bihari) in Pakistan
Chapter
7. What
Does It Means to Be a Bengali in Pakistan?
Chapter
8. The Opposing Narratives
on Repatriation, Resettlement, and Citizenship of Bihari Muslims in Pakistan
after the 1971 War;
Chapter
9. The Dismemberment of East Pakistan and Media
Narratives; Index
Amit Ranjan is a Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. His edited book Migration, Memories and the Unfinished Partition (2024) is published by Routledge.
Taj Hashmi is a retired Professor of History and Security Studies. He is the author of a number of books, including Pakistan as a Peasant Utopia (Routledge, 2019).
Mazhar Abbas is a Lecturer in History at Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan.
