The emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 after a nine-month long liberation war against Pakistani forces was the culmination of a long-standing movement for provincial autonomy by the people of East Bengal that had started almost immediately after the creation of Pakistan in 1947. East Bengal’s sense of deprivation was the raison d’être of this movement. Bengali demands for autonomy coincided with the establishment of closer US-Pakistan relations in the early 1950s and American activities in the subcontinent had considerable bearing on the trajectory this movement followed.
From Autonomy to Independence underscores the point that American policymakers, while aware of East Pakistan’s dissatisfaction with West Pakistan-based central ruling elite, were influenced by Pakistan government’s propaganda that portrayed Bengali autonomy movement as Communist-inspired, petrified as they were of growing Soviet influence in the region. They thus viewed Bengali autonomy movement with certain disdain and suspicion, identifying US interests with a strong central government dominated by pro-American ruling elites. 
This book argues that American policy proved detrimental to the growth of democracy in Pakistan as well as the cause of East Bengal’s autonomy, for Bengali aspirations could be fulfilled only in a democratic system of government. It traces the fascinating journey of East Bengal emerging as an independent nation of Bangladesh despite Washington’s continued support for the ruling oligarchy in Pakistan.