• Caltech

• ENG 101

 Summary of ‘The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh’ Rafid A. Ahmed School of General Education EMB101: Emergence of Bangladesh Md. Istiaque Hossain Molla July 8, 2022 2 ‘The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh’ is a celebrated memoir by former American diplomat Archer Kent Blood, famous for his ‘Blood Telegram’, referring to the gruesome monstrosities perpetrated upon innocent and unarmed Bengalis during the Liberation War period in 1971. The book accounts for some of the unspecified as well as profoundly classified factual events that most of the readers were entirely unacquainted with. It was first issued in the year 2002 under the University Press Limited publications, right after the author obtained the then recently declassified documents from the State Department. Throughout the first 50 pages, Blood covers his fantastic biography from his very first introduction to East Pakistan back in 1960 to the brief comprehension of the Six Points Movement initiated by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his political party Awami League. At the beginning of the plot, we can see Archer Blood was first introduced to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) back in June 1960 when he was appointed as the Deputy Principal Officer and Political Officer at the American Consul General situated in Dacca. Before being appointed in Dacca, he had adequate experience in Europe, especially in Greece and West Germany, and in Algiers where he worked for the Foreign Service. He also operated as a Desk Officer for Cyprus in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (NEA). From there as well as listening to the tales of the British Raj, Blood had a neat interest in South Asian affairs. Hence, he was offered two choices for his future assignments; Madras or Dacca. Blood chose the latter and settled there in 1960 with his family of four. Blood gave a broad and remarkable description of Dacca city and East Pakistan in general during the 60s, where he talked about nature and the surroundings, how the days went by regularly, how lively and peaceful the social life was back in the days, how sports and entertainment revitalise their Dacca experience and so on. He also talked about the privileges he earned working for the American Consul General, for instance