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● Active Series South Asia & Bangladesh 🇧🇩 1971
📋 New series — first publications in progress 📝 Reports · Op-Eds · Briefs 🔬 Ongoing research

Genesis of a Republic

The 1971 Liberation War, the genocide that preceded independence, and the founding constitutional principles Bangladesh was built on — the historical record everything else in this program measures against.

What This Series Covers

Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War was not just a war of independence — it was a founding choice about what kind of country Bangladesh would be: secular, democratic, and accountable to its own people. This series documents that founding record in detail.

We cover the genocide and war crimes committed in 1971, the individuals and organizations implicated, and the constitutional principles the new republic was built on. This is the historical baseline the rest of this program's work — on the republic's rise, its present crisis, and its potential future — measures against.

Living memory and commemoration are part of this series too: how 1971 is remembered, taught, and contested in Bangladesh today.

Key Questions This Series Addresses

  • What actually happened during the 1971 Liberation War and genocide?
  • Which individuals and organizations bear documented responsibility?
  • What founding constitutional principles did the 1971 republic commit to?
  • How has the memory of 1971 been preserved, contested, or instrumentalized since?
  • What accountability mechanisms exist for 1971-era war crimes?

Publications

All Publications
First publications in this series are in progress. Check back soon, or see the South Asia & Bangladesh program overview for what's already live.

External Resources

Curated external sources that inform this series. We do not endorse all views represented.

Historical Record

Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh

Primary documentation and archives on the 1971 war.

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Human Rights

Human Rights Watch — Bangladesh

Documented cases and investigative reports on rights conditions.

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International Report

Freedom House — Bangladesh Country Report

Annual assessment of political rights and civil liberties.

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