The latest attempt to smear #Churchill again, esp. with responsibility for the #Bengal Famine, is ironically Euro-centric. This smear strips Indians, Bengalis, and Japanese of agency, and perpetuates ignorance of post- #WWII #Bengali history.

#India #Bangladesh #Pakistan

1/11

In 1971, one of the largest and most brutal conflicts of the #ColdWar took place: Operation Searchlight, the #Bangladeshi Liberation War, and the third Indo- #Pakistani War. What began as an attempt to prevent the independence of then-East Pakistan, devolved into #genocide.

2/11

The US turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed in East Pakistan, because Pakistan was a partner against #Communism ; India was non-aligned and had good relations with the #Soviet Union. George H.W. Bush defended Pakistan at the UN and blamed the violence on India.

3/11

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say: in 1971, Pakistan lost ~55% of its population and ~45% of its GDP to Bangladeshi independence, and suffered its worst defeat at the hands of India.

4/11

I contend that 1971 informed Pakistan's subsequent domestic Islamization campaign, development of nuclear weapons, policy toward #Afghanistan , and relations with the #AlQaeda and the #Taliban . What happened in 1971 should be a study priority over using 1943 as a smear.

5/11

Pakistan is very ethnically-diverse. No single ethnic group forms a majority, and all of the major ethnic groups have significant minorities in neighboring countries i.e. 25% of #Punjabis , 30% of #Pashtuns , and 32% of #Balochis live in India, Afghanistan, or #Iran .

6/11

Ethnic self-determination is a major centrifugal force. What unites these diverse peoples is authoritarian rule from #Islamabad and Pakistan's brand of conservative #Sunni Islam. Yet India has over 170 million #Muslims , and Pakistan's other neighbors are Muslim.

7/11

So too is Bangladesh, meaning that there is always the worry that #Balochistan or #Pashtunistan will emerge. Even if these emerged in Iran or Afghanistan - as sovereign or autonomous - they would pose a direct threat to Pakistan's unitary and territorial integrity.

8/ 11

Which brings us to the Taliban. The Taliban are a rather ingenious way of perverting Pashtun demands for self-determination into #Islamism , and of focusing that social and political energy outward - against Afghanistan, the Soviet Union, the US, NATO.

9/11

Nearly 50 years after the last partition, Pakistan cannot afford peace in Afghanistan due to the risk of further partition. Despite the US war against the Taliban, it cannot afford such a partition either due to the risk of "loose #nukes " or "Yugoslavia with nukes".

10/11

Unfortunately for US and UK military personnel serving in Afghanistan, their mission and safety are secondary to #nuclear security and non-proliferation. Naturally, #Washington will never admit this. Only major change in Pakistan will end this stalemate.

11/11

CC @1NRSmith