War and Secession

A decade after the 1971 wars in South Asia, the principal decisionmakers were still uncertain why wars so clearly unwanted had occurred. The authors reconstruct the complex decisionmaking process attending the break-up of Pakistan and the subsequent war between India and Pakistan. Much of their data derive from interviews conducted with principal players in each of the countries immediately involved-Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh-including Indira Gandhi and leaders of the Awami League in Bangladesh.

Richard Sisson is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. Leo Rose is Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Preface 
List of Abbreviations 
1. Prologue and Overview 
2. Pakistani Politics: Image and Legacy 
Regionalism, Political Fragmentation, and Distrust 
Populism and the Demise of the Ayub Regime 
Designing the Transfer of Power 
The Two Election Campaigns, 1970 
3· Indo-Pakistani Relations: Image and Legacy 
Indo-Pakistani Relations, 1947-1970 
A Legacy of Misperception 
The International Dimension 
Strategies of Coping and Exploiting 
4· A Culture of Distrust 
Testing and Preparation for Negotiation 
Political Fears and Strategies of Polarization 
Preparation for Military Action 
5· Crisis Bargaining 
Reaction and Redeployment 
The Government's Concession 
Stratagems in the West 
A New Context 
6. Constitutional Consensus and Civil War 
Preliminary Talks between Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujib 
Toward a Constitutional Settlement 
The Ascendancy of the Army 
7· The Indian Response 
The Foreign Policy Decision-Making Process in India, 1971 
From Concern to Crisis 
8. Pakistan, 25 March-October 1971 
The "Military Solution According to Plan" 
After the Crisis 
Toward a Political Settlement 
Elections as a Measure of Support 
9· India and the Prelude to War, June-October 1971 
The Refugee Issue and Domestic Politics 
India and the Bangladesh Government in Exile 
Mobilizing International Support 
Differences with the United States 
The Soviet Role from New Delhi's Perspective 
India and the Other "Concerned" Powers 
10. War: India 
Military Tactics 
The Campaign 
International Reaction 
11. War: Pakistan 
Obsession with India 
A Strategy of Constraint 
The War That Wouldn't Happen 
The Decision on War 
The Decision to Surrender 
The Transfer of Power 
12. Soviet, Chinese, and American Policies in the 1971 Crisis 
The Soviet Union 
China 
The United States 
13· Interpretations 
Negotiation and Civil War 
International Conflict, War, and Secession
Notes 
Participants Interviewed 
Select Bibliography 
Index