In one of the darkest chapters of the subcontinent's history, Pakistan Army unleashed Operation Searchlight - a planned pogrom of terror and violence unleashed on a section of its own population. The people of East Pakistan took refuge in India in millions, and the stage was set for an epic showdown.

Sources -

Official History of the 1971 India Pakistan War - MoD History Division

De-classified CIA and US State Department Documents

A Stranger in my own Country - Maj General Khadim Hussain Raja

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto - Six Steps to Summit - Kamaleshwar Sinha

The Betrayal of East Pakistan -- Lt Gen A.A.K. Niazi

Through the 1971 Crisis- An Eyewitness Account by a Soldier - Hakeen Arshad Qureshi

We've Learnt Nothing from History - Air Marshal Asghanr Khan

The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide - Gary J Bass

The collision course set by Pakistan's historic 1970 elections, where a massive democratic verdict was violently rejected by the West Pakistan. A devastating cyclone and cynical political manoeuvring led to the eventual launch of the brutal 'Operation Searchlight'.

This episode uncovers how a nation was torn apart by its own leaders.

Sources -

Official History of the 1971 India Pakistan War -- History Division

Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan - Lt Gen Gul Hasan Khan

Pakistan’s Foreign Policy 1947-2019 - Abdul Sattar

A Stranger in my own Country - Maj General Khadim Hussain Raja

Memories & Reflections Of A Pakistani Diplomat - Sulltan Muhammad Khan

India-Pakistan in War & Peace - JN Dixit

We've Learnt Nothing from History - Asghanr Khan

The Struggle for Pakistan - Ayesha Jalal

Bhutto - a political biography - Salmaan Taseer

In the first of several episodes covering the 1971 India Pakistan War, we look at the key personalities who shaped the destinies of their respective countries through this conflict.

Sources -

A History of the Pakistan Army - Brian Cloughley

Official History of the 1971 India Pakistan War - History Division Ministry of Defence

The origins of war in South Asia- Indo-Pakistani conflicts - Sumit Ganguly

Interview with History - Oriana Fallaci

Declassified CIA and US State Department Document