Much of the scholarship on Bangladesh’s founding places it within a narrative of repetition. It either repeats the partitions of 1905 or 1947 or the creation of India and Pakistan as postcolonial states. This paper argues instead for the novelty of Bangladesh’s creation against the postcolonial state, suggesting that it opened up a new history at the global level in which decolonisation was replaced by civil war as the founding narrative for new states.

India and Pakistan will celebrate their 74th Independence Day this year. Both the countries have come far from their situation on the eve of independence, in terms of infrastructure, economy, globalization and overall development. Yet, the ghost of horrendous partition continues to haunt both nations, with the relationship between India and Pakistan still strained after more than half a century. It is finally time to understand the totality of partition to overcome these differences and come to terms with the past.