Ravi Rikhye

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 - Volume 3 is a highly authoritative and richly illustrated account of the war during which Bangladesh was born as an independent state. This volume details the offensives and counteroffensives on the south-western section of the India-Pakistan border.

In 1947, India and Pakistan were partitioned by their former colonial ruler, Great Britain, leaving unresolved the issue of Kashmir. This triggered wars between the new states in 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and a continuing insurgency/counterinsurgency.

Late in the afternoon of 3 December 1971, in an attempt to distract New Delhi from developments in its eastern wing, Pakistan initiated hostilities with India by flying a series of air strikes against the forward air bases of the Indian Air force. Thus began the ‘official’ part of the India-Pakistan War of 1971, a bitter conventional war of the highest intensity in the history of the two countries since their independence.

During the following weeks, a series of pitched battles took place as the two parties began exchanging blows almost everywhere along their 2,000-kilometre long mutual borders. By 16 December, and rather suddenly, the conflict was over: once East Pakistan had been overrun by India, Islamabad had no incentive to continue fighting a war it could not possibly win.

Through the extensive use of official records and participant recollections, rare photography and authentic color profiles, Ravi Rikhye tells the captivating story of the biggest military conflict fought between India and Pakistan to date, and the war that resulted in the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation.

The third volume of The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 examines the events on the battlefields of the south-western border area between India and Pakistan and is extensively illustrated with photographs and includes specially commissioned color artworks.