I've been fascinated by the Bangladesh Liberation war for the longest time. One of the reasons for this is because it coincides with my Birthday; Yahya Khan initiated his genocide on the 25th of March.

The second reason is that I've felt that the Bangladesh genocide is never discussed in mainstream media as much as it ought to be. I understand why that is the case. It was a genocide- committed by a majority against a minority. It is a historical event that can be used by certain power groups to propagate their narrative.

Mr Raghavan's book isn't just a narrative of how the events unfolded - for that, I would recommend another book I am reading in parallel— the Blood Telegram. Instead, this book puts forth the idea that :
a) the sequence of events wasn't exactly inevitable.
b) It wasn't just a Liberation war/Indo-Pakistan war. It was a conflict in which players from across the globe were actively involved

Of course, the historical currents and power relationships that existed at that point in time in our world played a huge role, but there were always points where history could have taken a different course altogether- and there were people who were responsible for these course changes.

The book is extremely well researched and insightful. Surely a must-read for anybody interested in India's history.