BANGLADESH: After the Massacre

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Last week, however, the new government of Bangladesh let it be known that the country would continue to be called the "People's Republic" after all. The reason for the quick about-face may have been the displeasure of India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Having gone to war in 1971 on behalf of Bangladesh in its struggle against Pakistan, India would be unlikely to tolerate any strong new relationship between the two countries that were formerly known as West and East Pakistan.

Apparently, the officers who overthrew Mujib timed their coup for Aug. 15, the anniversary of Indian independence. They figured that the New Delhi government would be preoccupied that day—"a sort of Yom Kippur War situation," as a Western diplomat put it. The coup was over so quickly that New Delhi had no time to respond militarily. Later, however, when New Delhi warned that it could not "remain unaffected by these political developments in a neighboring country," the new rulers of Bangladesh appealed to India for "friendship and cooperation."

Most Western diplomats believe that Bangladesh's troubles are far from over. Khondakar is not yet a strong enough figure to rule the country effectively, and fighting could break out among the various military groups at any time. More ominous still is the possibility that if fighting should break out, Indira Gandhi might be tempted to send her army across the border, as she did so successfully in December 1971.