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Indo-Pak 1971 war – if it had not happened

By Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay Fri, Dec 02, 2011 2:14AM UTC View Comments

On Saturday, December 3 it will be 40 years since the India-Pakistan war of 1971 began with air raids by Pakistan on several Indian air fields. The 14-day war concluded on December 16 – a day still celebrated in India for being one of the rare real ‘victories’ in Independent India’s 64 years of history....

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They don’t make fifth columns like they used to

By Ahsan Butt Tue, Aug 09, 2011 10:55AM UTC View Comments

This cake could be sent by our enemies. It could have a bomb hidden in it. Be careful.

I was reading Ejaz Haider’s latest column on the violence against Hazaras in Balochistan when I came across this bit: In June this year, about 170 people from the Hazara community were invited by the Iranian government to attend the death anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini. “They were feted by the Iranian government. We don’t know...

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Blast from the past: Radio Pakistan’s awesome uploads

By Ahsan Butt Tue, Jul 26, 2011 3:29AM UTC View Comments

A couple of people such as @shahidsaeed and @takhalus directed me to Radio Pakistan’s YouTube channel, which appears to be just getting off the ground. Let me start by saying how awesome a venture this is. Seriously, massive kudos to the people at Radio Pakistan. These uploads are not just super useful for scholars and...

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Hey, did you know the 1971 war was actually a reaffirmation of the Two-Nation theory?

By Ahsan Butt Thu, Jun 23, 2011 1:14AM UTC View Comments

I was reading K.M. Arif’s Khaki Shadows for research purposes (thanks Shahid, for the tip), and came across this brilliant passage. Mr. Arif was a career military man and this is what he had to say about 1971: India invested in the creation of Bangladesh to promote her own national interest. The amputation of East...

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Excerpt of the day: Zulfi Bhutto on Mujib

By Ahsan Butt Wed, May 11, 2011 3:19AM UTC View Comments

This is drawn from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s The Great Tragedy, which was Bhutto’s take on the 1971 civil war (published in 1971). Pay particular attention to the question of how much of himself Bhutto saw in Mujib. I find the stuff about being a “Messiah”, a fashionable socialist, a hateful rhetorician, and a captivating public...

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