logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2021
9m 7s

On the front line in Bangladesh

Bbc World Service
About this episode

When Bangladesh fought for independence from Pakistan, thousands of Pakistani troops were sent to fight in what was then called East Pakistan. In 1971, Shujaat Latif was sent to the town of Jassore where he fought, and then surrendered. He spent two and a half years as a prisoner-of-war. Hear his story.

Photo: Indian army soldiers fire on Pakistani positions, December 15th 1971. Credit: AFP/Getty Images.

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Today
The cellist who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau
In 1943, the cellist, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. She expected to be killed in the gas chambers but survived because she was recruited to play in an orchestra set up by the women prisoners. In 2015, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch told Sim ... Show More
10m 16s
Apr 27
The world's first perfume archive
On 26 April 1990, the world's first perfume archive opened in Versailles, France.The idea behind L'Osmothèque was to create a collection of scents and preserve their memory.Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena was one of the team who created it.He speaks to Jen Dale about how L'Osmothèque ... Show More
10m 6s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2021
The birth of Bangladesh
<p>A special edition on the Bangladesh War of Independence, which ended 50 years ago in December 1971. The conflict killed hundreds of thousands of people and redrew the political map of South Asia. The programme features first-hand accounts from leading activists and politicians ... Show More
50 m
Dec 2020
The birth of Bangladesh
<p>How Pakistan's first democratic elections in 1970 led to war, the break up of Pakistan and the creation of a new country, Bangladesh. Also Gibraltar under Spanish blockade plus refugees from Namibia’s war of independence, Britain’s first reality TV family and Bing Crosby’s Whi ... Show More
54m 4s
Dec 2011
Boundaries Of Blood: Part Two
Shahzeb Jillani explains how the 1971 war over Bangladesh shaped modern Pakistan. 
23m 30s
Jun 2017
The Six Day War 1967
Soldiers from both sides on the battle for Jerusalem; plus Robert Kennedy's assassination, the child who fought slavery in Pakistan, and the cousin of Anne Frank Photo:Israeli forces advancing in the Sinai desert during the Six-Day War, June 1967. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton A ... Show More
50m 21s
Apr 2022
Algeria's War of Independence
<p>Sixty years after Algeria's independence from France, first-hand accounts of a traumatic 'birth of a nation': a female Algerian bomber who was part of the battle for Algiers; how the French military responded with brutal tactics; a massacre on the streets of Paris; and reprisa ... Show More
53m 57s
Aug 2025
283. Partition: East Pakistan Becomes Bangladesh (Part 6)
How did Bangladesh separate from Pakistan in 1971? When did India and Pakistan go from sharing intelligence to being at the brink of nuclear war? Why did George Harrison from the Beatles organise a concert for Bangladesh? William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dalrymple, ... Show More
54m 53s
May 2025
Sur le front (On the frontlines)
La BBC a passé un mois en Birmanie, où de jeunes médecins, enseignants et combattants alimentent la révolution contre la junte militaire au pouvoir depuis des cachettes dans la jungle et sur les lignes de front. Traduction :The BBC spent a month inside Myanmar, where young medics ... Show More
4m 12s