In 1971 war, Soviet Union not only kept USA at bay but also China, leading to a mainly India Pakistan war which India easily won and liberated Bangladesh
Calling the U.S.’s bluff in 1971, https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/calling-the-uss-bluff-in-1971/article30341831.ece
The above article gives fascinating details of the geopolitics involved in India's 1971 war with Pakistan that liberated Bangladesh. Note that India fought and won the war but did not get into any empire stuff as it withdrew and Bangladesh elected its own political leaders. That is really a great noble thing that India did. Even if I, an Indian, am saying it, that is the plain and simple truth.
But that would not have been possible unless the Soviet Union had kept at bay not only USA under President Nixon assisted by National Security Advisor Kissinger (USA had sent its Seventh Fleet into Bay of Bengal to intimidate India but Soviet Union sent its warships too to neutralize that threat), but also China! I had not known about or noted this China angle to the 1971 war. The article states that by December 1971 (when war broke out), USA had got close to China with Pakistan acting as an intermediary. USA (then led by Nixon-Kissinger) tried to prod Chinese leaders to attack India in a bid to further intimidate India (beyond USA Seventh Fleet presence in Bay of Bengal). But China then led by Mao Zedong did not want to offend the Soviet Union - Soviet Union had a treaty with India then. Soviet Union leaders also reassured India that they would intervene militarily if China attacked India.
With USA and China held back by Soviet Union, the war was mainly between India and Pakistan with some fighting against Pakistan by Bangladesh freedom fighters. Pakistan was no match for Indian military power and its then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) military command surrendered to India in Dacca (Dhaka) on 16th Dec. 1971 in just 13 days after the war started. This led to the formation of an independent country, Bangladesh.
As an Indian, I will always remember with gratitude, the help & support rendered by Soviet Union to India during this war and also over decades during peacetime. So I am a firm supporter of India being a good friend of the Russian Federation today, and in the foreseeable future. India's growing friendship with USA which in later years & decades has had a different and more positive attitude to India than what Nixon-Kissinger had in 1971, and which friendship also I fully support, must not be at the cost of India's time-tested and many decades old friendship with the former Soviet Union and Russian Federation today.
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1971 War: How the US tried to corner India, https://www.rediff.com/news/2006/dec/26claude.htm, 26th Dec. 2006 shares some vital information about 1971 war from a document released by the Office of the Historian at the US State Department.
The above article gives fascinating details of the geopolitics involved in India's 1971 war with Pakistan that liberated Bangladesh. Note that India fought and won the war but did not get into any empire stuff as it withdrew and Bangladesh elected its own political leaders. That is really a great noble thing that India did. Even if I, an Indian, am saying it, that is the plain and simple truth.
But that would not have been possible unless the Soviet Union had kept at bay not only USA under President Nixon assisted by National Security Advisor Kissinger (USA had sent its Seventh Fleet into Bay of Bengal to intimidate India but Soviet Union sent its warships too to neutralize that threat), but also China! I had not known about or noted this China angle to the 1971 war. The article states that by December 1971 (when war broke out), USA had got close to China with Pakistan acting as an intermediary. USA (then led by Nixon-Kissinger) tried to prod Chinese leaders to attack India in a bid to further intimidate India (beyond USA Seventh Fleet presence in Bay of Bengal). But China then led by Mao Zedong did not want to offend the Soviet Union - Soviet Union had a treaty with India then. Soviet Union leaders also reassured India that they would intervene militarily if China attacked India.
With USA and China held back by Soviet Union, the war was mainly between India and Pakistan with some fighting against Pakistan by Bangladesh freedom fighters. Pakistan was no match for Indian military power and its then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) military command surrendered to India in Dacca (Dhaka) on 16th Dec. 1971 in just 13 days after the war started. This led to the formation of an independent country, Bangladesh.
As an Indian, I will always remember with gratitude, the help & support rendered by Soviet Union to India during this war and also over decades during peacetime. So I am a firm supporter of India being a good friend of the Russian Federation today, and in the foreseeable future. India's growing friendship with USA which in later years & decades has had a different and more positive attitude to India than what Nixon-Kissinger had in 1971, and which friendship also I fully support, must not be at the cost of India's time-tested and many decades old friendship with the former Soviet Union and Russian Federation today.
================
1971 War: How the US tried to corner India, https://www.rediff.com/news/2006/dec/26claude.htm, 26th Dec. 2006 shares some vital information about 1971 war from a document released by the Office of the Historian at the US State Department.
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