The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Volume 2

In 1947, India and Pakistan were partitioned by their former colonial ruler, Great Britain. A job that should have taken ten-years was done in a few months. Britain, drained by two world wars in 40-years no longer had the will or the money to guide the subcontinent to a peaceful partition by consensus. More importantly, the subcontinent was impatient for Britain’s departure. The British left in haste, leaving unresolved the issue of Kashmir. This triggered a number of wars between the new states: 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and a continuing insurgency/counterinsurgency that began in 1987. Two other potential wars were narrowly averted in 1987-88 and 2001-02, and a further limited war was fought in 1999. Since the basic issue remains unresolved, the next war may be only a matter of time. 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