ABSTRACT
Indian administrators were particularly fearful that the guerrillas would try to recruit supporters amongst the Bangladeshi refugees and cause further political turmoil. As most of Bangladesh is a riverine delta, the marshy terrain provides natural obstacles to any invasion force. The last war between India and Pakistan is commonly thought to have begun on December 3, 1971, with a Pakistani air attack on a number of military bases in India's north-western region. On a strictly bilateral basis, the Soviets might have ultimately recognized India's determined support of the Mukti Bahini and its consequent success at destabilizing the Pakistani regime. Intervening factors aspects of Pakistani domestic politics that influenced the conflict on the subcontinent were also important. The developments in Pakistan, the regime's response to those developments, and its disastrous consequences provided India with both a challenge and an opportunity. A number of important consequences stemmed from the last Indo-Pakistani war.
