"You Can't Go to War Over Refugees": The Bangladesh War of 1971 and the International Refugee Regime.

This article analyzes the 1971 refugee crisis triggered by the mass exodus of approximately ten million Bengali refugees from East Pakistan into India, which escalated into the Bangladesh War and led to the creation of Bangladesh. It highlights India’s adherence to the principle of non-refoulement—refusing to forcibly return refugees despite not being a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention—while emphasizing the temporality of refugee stay and the urgent need for repatriation. The study draws on archival research to explore how the crisis exposed tensions within the global refugee regime, particularly between humanitarian obligations and state sovereignty, and underscores the limited international political response that left India to pursue unilateral action. The article situates the 1971 crisis as a pivotal yet understudied case that continues to inform contemporary challenges in refugee governance, including the complexities of safe return, local integration, and responsibility-sharing among states.