Indira Gandhi’s Letter to President Nixon, December 1971
Below is an English‑language transcription of the declassified letter Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent to President Richard Nixon in December 1971, requesting U.S. intervention to prevent Pakistani aggression. This letter appears in the U.S. Office of the Historian / FRUS archive sources.
Mr President,
Despite the continued defiance by the rulers of Pakistan of the most elementary facts of life, we would still have tried our hardest to restrain the mounting pressure as we had for nine long months, and war could have been prevented had the rulers of Pakistan not launched a massive attack on us by bombing our airfields in Amritsar, Pathankot, Srinagar, Avantipur, Utterlai, Jodhpur, Ambala and Agra in broad daylight on December 3, 1971…
The tragic war… could have been averted if during the nine months prior to Pakistan’s attack… the great leaders of the world had paid some attention to the fact of revolt, tried to see the reality… and sought genuine reconciliation. I wrote letters… undertook a tour in quest of peace… only to find that while there was sympathy for the refugees, the underlying crisis was ignored.
War could also have been avoided if… the power and influence of all the States—and above all the United States—had got Sheikh Mujibur Rahman released. Our earnest plea that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman should be released, or at least be allowed contact… was not considered practical.
Mr President, may I ask you in all sincerity: Was the release or even secret negotiations with…the one person—Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—more disastrous than the waging of a war?
The fact is Pakistan’s rulers went ahead believing they had free rein, because no one—not even the United States—would take a public stance that while a State’s integrity is sacrosanct, human rights and liberty are equally inviolable.
We seek nothing for ourselves—not territory of East or West Pakistan. We want lasting peace. But will Pakistan give up its perpetual hostility over Kashmir? We and my father have offered pacts of non‑aggression—Pakistan always rejected them.
Mr President, we are deeply hurt by insinuations that it was we who precipitated this crisis… but we waited nine months for a political settlement. Even when Dr. Kissinger came in August 1971, I emphasized the importance of a timely political accommodation. Yet no settlement framework was offered.
It is my earnest hope that—with your knowledge and understanding of human affairs—you, as President of the United States, reflecting the aspirations of the American people, will at least let me know where precisely we have gone wrong before your representatives deal with us in such harsh terms.
With regards and best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Indira Gandhi
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