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U.S. feared India would intervene in Bangladesh after coup

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U.S. feared India would intervene in Bangladesh after coup


U.S. feared India would intervene in Bangladesh after coup - The Hindu

R. K. RADHAKRISHNAN

Soon after the 1975 coup in Bangladesh when President Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was assassinated , the United States believed that India would make a militarily intervention.

Fresh evidence of the U.S.’ concern has surfaced in diplomatic cables obtained and made public by WikiLeaks recently.

The communications provide fascinating details about Washington’s nervousness.

On November 27, 1975, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote to U.S. Ambassador to India William B. Saxbe “recommending” that he meet Foreign Minister [Y.B.] Chavan because “the situation demands immediate attention in New Delhi,” despite the fact that a high-level U.S.-India meeting was scheduled in Washington DC for later that month.

Saxbe was to convey the U.S. “fear that mutual Indian and Bgd [Bangladesh] misperceptions of each other’s intentions might create a dynamic of events that led to consequences neither country really desired. The USG continues to believe that India shares our view that it would be extremely detrimental to the prospects for stability and peace in the subcontinent, and would set in motion unpredictable chain reaction, if external powers were to intervene in the internal affairs of Bangladesh,” Kissinger’s wrote to the Ambassador (1975STATE281302_b, secret).

Concurring with the U.S. Embassy’s assessment that “Indians remain in the posture of watching the situation carefully on the ground but have not yet decided to act,” Kissinger said the U.S. believed “it is essential, while we may still have some ability to influence situation to convey to the GoI at a senior level the sense of Bengalee [Bangladesh’s] concerns, just as we have raised Indian concerns with the Bgd [Bangladesh].”

From intelligence documents archived in the State Department, it is known that a joint memorandum by the CIA, the Defence Intelligence Bureau, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the State Department concluded that Indian military intervention “cannot be ruled out.”

U.S. persuades Iran

Washington was so convinced of India’s intentions that it persuaded Iran, then under the pro-American Shah, to dissuade New Delhi from any such action, and even actively sought the opinion of the Soviet Union, which would have stood by India.

U.S. Ambassador to Iran (who was a former CIA Director) Richard Helms after meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Ali Khalatbary noted (1975TEHRAN11543_b, secret dated November 27, 1975): “Khalatbary responded that GoI [Government of Iran] was equally concerned about events in Bangladesh and possibility of Indian intervention... Ambassador urged Iran [to] weigh in with Delhi and Dacca to help defuse situation. When Khalatbary expressed doubts about influence Iran enjoyed in Delhi ambassador encouraged him not to underestimate important role Iran can play in this matter.”

In Moscow, U.S. Ambassador Walter J. Stoessel met Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Nikolay Firyubin and inferred that “the soviets are less concerned about preventing possible Indian intervention than they are that it succeed decisively if undertaken (1975MOSCOW18221_b, secret dated Dec. 20).”

“Firyubin... left no doubt that from Moscow’s standpoint the question of regional stability, and by extension the prevention of a substantial increase in PRC [People’s Republic of China] influence in the area, were more important... I would not conclude from this that the Soviets are encouraging the Indians, but from Firyubin’s presentation it can be infer[r]ed that they might not do much to discourage them either.”

He added: “To my question about current Indian attitudes, he said that the Indians had been satisfied with the bilateral talks, but ‘only god knows’ what the future will bring.”

U.S. fears were fed by Bangladeshi officials: “During conversation at a reception January 3, an officer of Bangladesh deputy high commission told me, in response to my question about how relations are going between Bangladesh and India, that Indians are harboring and training Bangladesh opposition personalities and force,” said a cable from the American consulate in Calcutta (1976CALCUT00023_b, secret).

“Source was visibly nervous about imparting the foregoing and moved on quickly after having done so,” the cable dated January 5, 1976 said. Bangladesh also sought the U.S. help. In response, Kissinger, in a cable to the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, said: “We will continue to be sympathetic to Bangladesh’s needs and concerns (1975STATE265069_b, secret).”

INDIAN DENIALS

For their part, Indian officials denied any movement of troops to the Bangladesh front (1976NEWDE000693_b, confidential, dated January 14, 1976): “Indians, at every opportunity, have been telling visitors here that it is slanderous to say that Indian troops have been augmented along the Bangladesh border [Prime Minister] Mrs. Gandhi having made this point to Senator [Codel] McGovern most recently Jan. 9,” it said, referring to a Congressman’s visit to India and Bangladesh to ascertain the ground situation.

Indian High Commissioner Samar Sen also “scoffed at reports that India had acted in any way that threatened” Bangladesh (1976DACCA00272_b, confidential), notes a cable from the U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh at that time, Davis Eugene Boster.
 
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When AL came to power this time around, India is practically running sensitive issues like war crimes tribunal via AL gov:which so far I know has not been questioned by the US authority. USA wants to keep good relationship with India because of China.they will not jeopardize that for BDs sake.
 
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We don't need US' permission for it.

Anyways, Our Dalals are doing great job there, so i see no reason to Intervene.

Wish BD posters would take note of this Q.

They forever feel that India is already intervening.

@thirdeye sir check the claim of your own countrymen.


above all i was talking about military intervention which was feared by US
 
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We don't need US' permission for it.

Anyways, Our Dalals are doing great job there, so i see no reason to Intervene.

When are we buying Khaleda bibi again, I believe we haven't sent her and BNP any cash packets for a long time? :coffee: Now we have the cash to afford both AL and BNP- we should capitalize so as to ensure good and brotherly relations between the two countries. :angel:
 
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@thirdeye sir check the claim of your own countrymen.


above all i was talking about military intervention which was feared by US

BD is too big to be intervened by anybody militarily. India is too weak and Maldives are the better candidate for that kind of adventure.

When are we buying Khaleda bibi again, I believe we haven't sent her and BNP any cash packets for a long time? :coffee: Now we have the cash to afford both AL and BNP- we should capitalize so as to ensure good and brotherly relations between the two countries. :angel:

Why do you speak on behalf of your master aka India who itself colonized the whole NE?
 
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When are we buying Khaleda bibi again, I believe we haven't sent her and BNP any cash packets for a long time? :coffee: Now we have the cash to afford both AL and BNP- we should capitalize so as to ensure good and brotherly relations between the two countries. :angel:

Do you have any money to pay to BD ?
 
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BD is too big to be intervened by anybody militarily. India is too weak and Maldives are the better candidate for that kind of adventure.



Why do you speak on behalf of your master aka India who itself colonized the whole NE?

India as my master...you mean my nation..yup..colonization is an old proclivity of ours..tai toh amra BD ta ke dhore colonize korchi!:hitwall:

Do you have any money to pay to BD ?

We've bought AL already according to most of the BD posters here..so apparently despite still having 30% of our population BPL- we have the money. :coffee: Must have come from all the pious people we've robbed. :hitwall:
 
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When are we buying Khaleda bibi again, I believe we haven't sent her and BNP any cash packets for a long time? :coffee: Now we have the cash to afford both AL and BNP- we should capitalize so as to ensure good and brotherly relations between the two countries. :angel:

So unfortunate for rural Indian ppl.the country who can not provide food,shelter,drinking water,medical facility for millions of its uneducated,underdeveloped ppl spend millions of dollars on arms and advanced facility only for handful of ppl living in urban areas.
 
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Whats US view now? will it allow India to intervene in BD affairs?

nah..we did that in 1971,and thats it..we don't interfere every now and again.we've our back channels in case of any emergency.there are reports that India assisted Hasina during BDR mutiny..we'll help them secretly,but not with military intervention.our foreign policy doesn't support that(except some extraordinary circumstances)..read this...

Hasina sought int'l help after mutiny | Priyo News

but we're going to be blamed anyhow..while everybody knows who were behind BDR mutiny,but our little jamati chief blamed us(RAW :hang2:) for that,after their active support to the coup went to drain and coup failed..

Bangladeshi Islamists blame India for BDR mutiny | StratPost

i think you can see the same attitude in some members of this section too.. :lol: blaiming RAW for everything,even for democratically elected govt by themselves.. :hitwall:
 
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So unfortunate for rural Indian ppl.the country who can not provide food,shelter,drinking water,medical facility for millions of its uneducated,underdeveloped ppl spend millions of dollars on arms and advanced facility only for handful of ppl living in urban areas.

India spends far more on its poor than Bangladesh (both a a %age of its GDP as well as in absolute terms) . Bangladesh is FAR poorer than India.

Don't mistake a greater publicity on our ills as somehow making them greater than yours, our country is poor, but not as poor as you.
 
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So unfortunate for rural Indian ppl.the country who can not provide food,shelter,drinking water,medical facility for millions of its uneducated,underdeveloped ppl spend millions of dollars on arms and advanced facility only for handful of ppl living in urban areas.

True isn't it, that's why I asked @Spring Onion as to why everyone in BD feels that AL is our proxy there or at least our "dalals"- after all to do that we'd have to give them money no? At least a few million given BD's size and importance, a few million which we can hardly afford since as I mentioned 30% of our population is BPL- not according to our government which will quote the 27% figure but according to the WB- MORE accurate that way. That translates to 400 million poor people out of 1.2 billion- sheta thekeo only 300 million log ra amar moton resources ar amenities enjoy korte pare. Aye shob kotha janar poreo log ra bole je amra AL ke support ar finance kori. :hitwall:
 
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