Bangladesh's liberation war was a regional affair, but eventually it became a global affair because it took place during the height of the cold war, when many global powers took sides with the warring parties. Bangladesh received continuous moral support from India and the Soviet Union, while Pakistan received support from the United States and China.

1. Liberation War of 1971
The Role of International Communities/Big Powers

2. Abstract

3. Bangladesh’s liberation war, although fought primarily by the
Bangladeshis, eventually turned out to be a regional as well as global
war, forcing most states of the South Asian region and many states
much beyond South Asia, particularly the ‘global super powers’ of the
‘Cold War era’, to take side with the warring parties. Bangladesh
received continuous moral support from India since the beginning of
the Liberation War. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India during
that time, was able to secure support from the Soviet Union, The
United Kingdom and France to ensure that there would be no
directives in favour of Pakistan in the United Nations Security
Council. In contrast, Pakistan received support from the United States
and China. The United States provided ammunition while China
provided moral advocacy. In spite of the protection and
encouragement from the United States, Pakistan did not have high
chances of winning the war because of the Soviet Union which played
against the efforts of the United States during the war.

4. Introduction

5. Since the independence of the Indian Subcontinent, the
entire landmass was being divided into two major parts
where the Muslim dominated region Pakistan had two
constituent parts of its own. Bangladesh which used to be
known as East Pakistan was oppressed by West Pakistan
from every single perspective starting from the language
issues up to the economic, social and most importantly
the political perspective was a salient one to take into
consideration. During the nine months of blood-shedding
battle which started on the 26th March of 1971, the roles
of the foreign actors were very significant and it must be
taken into consideration.
India, the Soviet Union, China, USA were one of the
major key players who had a direct stake in this war and
their roles were quite different as in the field of
International Relations, every state actor always do want
to serve their own interest while taking any steps that can
have a global impact.

6. Methodology

7. The two super powers that dominated a largely bipolar
world until the early 1990s played a significant role in the
liberation war of Bangladesh. One is the Soviet Union
and other one is the USA. One the other hand the United
Nations was inactive to stop genocide in Bangladesh. The
people of Bangladesh fought for their liberation at the
height of the cold war. The neighboring country, India has
played a significant role in favour of Bangladesh during
liberation war. When Pakistani declared war against India
in 22 November 1971, India directly involved in the
Liberation War.

8. India
The role of India was very friendly right from the
beginning of the Liberation War of Bangladesh and India
supported Bangladesh from every point of view because
they also had their clear stake in this.
India gave shelter to more than 1 million war refugees
who lost everything during this war time and all they
wanted to save their lives by crossing the border. Indian
government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
played their charismatic role by taking care of this
humiliated bunch of people by ensuring them food,
accommodation, medical assistance and India spent 700
million US dollar just to look after this entire population
who were subjected to all sorts of decays by the West
Pakistan. Indira Gandhi went to visit Moscow to get the
support of the Soviet Union in the United Nations
Security Council and we got to see the result later. When
UNSC was trying to look for the ceasefire option by the
influence of other actors, the Soviet Union gave their veto
in that decision and so India could make a joint and all
scaled classified attack against the Pakistan Army.

9. Soviet Union
Soviet Union supported Bangladesh wholeheartedly
and they used their veto power consecutively three
times in the United Nations Security Council which
made the way easier for Bangladesh to reach her
ever desired goal, “Independence”.
In some stages of this Liberation War, the Soviet
Union even declared the war as the “NATIONAL
WAR”. The Soviet Foreign Minister during the time
of war, Andrei Gromyko said to Rogers who was the
Foreign Secretary of the USA,” The matter of East
Pakistan is not an internal matter of Pakistan
anymore. It has become a global issue.”
The Liberation War of Bangladesh got international
recognition and support because of the diplomatic
initiatives taken by Soviet Union.

10. Bhutan
As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat
of the Pakistan Army, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan
became the first state in the world to recognise the newly
independent country on 6 December 1971. Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh
visited Bhutan to attend the coronation of Jigme Singye
Wangchuck, the fourth King of Bhutan in June 1974.

11. China
The role of China was very much questionable as they
were trying to help Pakistan because of their self-interest
to ensure their stronghold in South Asia which Pakistan
could help them to get established.
China was trying to portray this war as the internal matter
of Pakistan where the whole world was supporting
Bangladesh as Pakistan was inhumane and they were
committing a mass genocide by killing millions of people.
China could have played a better role instead of helping
Pakistan in these heinous activities.

12. USA
The United States of America didn’t play any praise-
worthy role during the Liberation War period as they did
not want to make their bilateral relationship with Pakistan
bad because of this issue.The USA treated this war as the
internal matter of Pakistan and they were secretly helping
Pakistan financially and logistically. They raised the
proposal of the ceasefire in East Pakistan on the 4th
December of 1971 which was done to save Pakistan from
getting defeated.
The United States of America even sent their 7th Naval
Fleet in the Indian Ocean to save Pakistan but that fleet
could not get the scope to enter into the Bay of Bengal
because the Soviet Union also sent two task forces for
tackling the situation.The USA played some positive roles
too by giving financial aid to India for taking care of the
refugees that came from Bangladesh. The President of the
United States of America, Richard Nixon granted 250
million dollars for the people who took shelter in the West
Bengal, Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura region as the war
refugees.

13. The Concert for Bangladesh
The Concert for Bangladesh was a pair of benefit
concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George
Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The
shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Sunday, 1
August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York
City, to raise international awareness of, and fund
relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the
Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide.

14. Literature Review

15. An Internal Matter tells the story of the many
activists in America who supported the campaign
for Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. Shifting
attention away from diplomatic figures, this work
draws upon new evidence and interviews with
participants to highlight the ordinary people who
challenged the Nixon administration’s pro-Pakistan
stance. From the shores of Manpura and the streets
of Dhaka to American living rooms and the halls of
Congress, this book injects a valuable dose of social
history into international conversations about the
war’s legacies. In doing so, it offers a powerful new
vision for international and global studies of the
Liberation War: a people’s history of the mukti
sangram abroad.
An Internal Matter
Samuel Jaffe

16. The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh is an account of the
emergence of Bangladesh seen through the eyes of a
sympathetic American diplomat based in Dhaka during
the gathering of the storm in 1970 leading to the War of
Liberation in 1971. Archer Blood glorifies the
independence struggle of Bangladesh as a
"Transformation of seemingly forlorn Dream into a
bright shining Reality". The book reflects a deep
commitment to freedom on the part of the author and
reads like an epitaph for the martyrs of struggle of the
Bengali people. In 24 chapters the author chronicles the
events of 1971 as he and the staff of the United States
Mission in Dhaka saw them unfold.
The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh
Archer K. Blood

17. Findings
(According to Liberation War Museum)

18. The Liberation War Museum is a museum at Agargaon
in Dhaka, [1] the capital of Bangladesh, which
commemorates the Bangladesh Liberation War that led
to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan. The
galleries begin with coverage of the early history of
Bangladesh and the Indian independence movement
against British Raj in Bengal. Several galleries highlight
the building sectional conflict between West Pakistan
and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), the rise of Bengali
nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the
events of 1971, when the postponement by Pakistan's
military ruler Gen.
The coverage of the war continues to India's support for
the Mukti Bahini and its subsequent direct intervention
with the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971,
which led to the surrender of all Pakistani forces in
Bangladesh on 16 December 1971

19. Learning from our families and relatives

20. We heard a number of story about our liberation war from
my uncle as he us a freedom fighter, he shared me many
incredible experiences. When I asked him about the role
of international communities/big powers during the
liberation war he said about many things for example,
India, which was led by Indira Gandhi, provided
substantial diplomatic, economic and military support to
Bangladeshi nationalists. British, Indian and American
musicians organised the world's first benefit concert in
New York City to support the Bangladeshi
people.similarly, The Soviet Union supported Indian
actions in aiding the war of independence, and after the
war the Soviet Navy sent a floating workshop to
Bangladesh for clearing Pakistani mines from the
Chittagong and Chalna harbours

21. Conclusion

22. The story of Bangladesh’s birth is that of pride and pain,
of valor and sacrifice, of blood and tears. No people have
sacrificed so much for freedom, for dignity. Our war of
liberation was the climax of an epic struggle of our
people for freedom against the thousand years of
oppression by colonial rulers.However, The role of super
powers in the war of liberation brought to bold relief the
reality of international politics during the early 1970s.
Each of the two super powers played its part in
accordance with its own national, regional and global
interests.
Bangladesh, as a part of Pakistan, was a geopolitical
rarity with its own cogent reasons for successful
separation from a post colonial polity. In addition, it was
a land struggling for independence at a time when global
politics was undergoing strategic shifts. Involvement of
the superpowers, positive or negative, resulted in the
emergence of Bangladesh as an independent and
sovereign state.

23. Thank You