The Last Days of United Pakistan

by G.W. Choudhury

The disintegration of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 is the sad story of the Pakistan army generals, the misconceived role as ‘guardian angles’ of national interest. After twelve years of dictatorship their plan to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people was a dismal failure and resulted in the break-up of Pakistan. The main reason for the failure to transfer power to the elected majority was the stark insincerity of General Yahya Khan, his cohorts, and the abetment of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan People’s party. Together they connived not to submit to the will of the people reflected in the results of the 1970 general elections held in Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan were left with no other choice than to fight for their liberation against the war machine of Pakistan. From his unique personal experience, the late Professor Choudhury described and analyzed the internal and external developments from the day of resignation of Ayub Khan in March 1969 to the fall of Dhaka, and the Liberation of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.

Contents:

1.The Rise of Bengali Sub-Nationalism: Conflict of the “Three Rs” / 2.The Fall of Ayub: a Personal Account / 3. Yahya Begins Anew / 4. The Abortive Scheme for the Transfer of Power / 5. The First and Last General Election / 6.Tripartite Political Negotiations before Confrontation / 7. The Decca Dialogue, March 16-24, 1971 / 8.The Civil War / 9. Dismemberment of Pakistan, 1971: Its International Implications / 10. End of an Era

Genres: History, War, Pakistan

239 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Asif Akash · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book reveals a lot about the political developments in East and West Pakistan at the then time of 1965 to 1971. The writer had the opportunity to work closely with President Ayub Khan as well as President Yahya Khan since he was in their cabinet and that enabled him to lucidly describe their actions and the related contexts on which their actions were based. He didn't deny the fact that East Pakistan was seriously exploited by their counterpart in the west but he failed to appreciate the magnitude of the frustration of the mass East Pakistanis. After reading his book, I'd rather say that the writer's ideological devotion towards the unity of Pakistan was so strong that the economic and political exploitation of East Pakistan did not get the proper focus in his writings. Even the genocide of 1971 in Bangladesh did not get the importance in his writing which it deserves. I felt sometimes that the writer somewhat tried to justify the actions of the military regime under Yahya and the atrocities of the Pakistan Army that took place in cold blood from March to December 1971. The writer possesses a large amount of hatred against India as well as Sheikh Mujib. He always treated the Six Point Program as a veiled scheme of secession and never appreciated the fact that this was of course the charter of economic and political emancipation of the Bengalis living in East Pakistan. It can easily be sensed from his writing that he always treated Sheikh Mujib as an 'Indian Agent' instead of the ‘Leader’ of the province East Pakistan on who 75 million people relied on without any question.

There is no reservation regarding the writer’s scholarship and talent in constitutional matters; yet in my opinion, on reading the book, he was more of a Pakistani rather than a Bengali or Bangladeshi whatever. But he was born in East Bengal in 1926. However, this book is of course relevant to those who have immense interest in knowing the political history of Pakistan for the period of 1965 to 1971. However, I would request the readers not to jump to any conclusion about anything after reading this book. Political history should be read with an open mind. After only reading a series of books, articles, research papers written by scholars from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and from the rest of the world can only enable you to form an objective opinion regarding the history of Pakistan in that particular period.

[S M Shahrukh · Rating 1 out of 5]

G W Choudhury, an Islamist and a life-long believer in a 'United Pakistan', brazenly shows his bias for Pakistan even after what went on in East Bengal, his home province, March 25, 1971, onwards. In spite of being a scholar and a researcher of repute, he has used subterfuge to shade General Yahya Khan's atrocities, while his attack on Sheikh Mujib and the Bengali intelligentsia for seeking secession is relentless. His anti-India rhetoric is tiresome, at times.

A mendacious telling of 'history', this is a book written by a Pakistan-lover who is willing to believe that after the 1970 elections, the 'ruling elite', wholly belonging to West Pakistan, would have started 'loving' Bengalis.

He was rightly declared a traitor after the birth of Bangladesh, in my opinion, at least, while others may differ in present-day Bangladesh.

[Zahedul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sheds light on the views from the 'other side'. Although the author is a Bengali, he had been a part of the Ayub khan led government and subsequently the Yahya Khan government in the sixties, initially as an adviser and then a cabinet member. Although his sympathies lie with Pakistan, his views are candid providing a very up close look at the flow of events leading up to the violent civil war and consequent break up of East Pakistan into Bangladesh. You might not agree with everything he says, but you'll definitely get to learn interesting nuggets of information on Bangladesh's liberation war.

[Riaz Ujjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A balance account of secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan. Author witnessed the events closely being part of the two cabinest.

[Tahir Khattak · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engrossing account supported by concurrent analysis of the unfortunate events that ultimately led to the dismemberment of Pakistan. The author being an ethnic Bengali and professionally a cabinet member during the peak tension days of 1967-71 must be given the credit of impartiality as he calls a spade a spade. A emphatic 5 star to this highly underrated book.