Bangladesh Liberation War

0- BD war buttons

In 1971, Mary Frances Dunham (MFD) was among a large number of Americans who gathered from all over the country in support of the Bangladesh Liberation War. In Washington, DC they led a successful grassroots lobby to educate Congress on the atrocities of the war and the need to stop US military support to West Pakistan.  Most of MFD’s archives of this time have been donated to the Bangladesh Liberation War Museum in Dhaka.

MFD’s letter to the First Lady, Pat Nixon, May 24, 1971

Response to MFD  from the First Lady, Pat Nixon, June 30, 1971

MFD’s letter to President Nixon, July 14, 1971

Response to MFD from President Nixon, September 24, 1971

Group At Award Ceremony

In the fall of 2013 MFD was was recognized by the Bangladesh government for her contribution to the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Because MFD could not attend the ceremony honoring Bangladesh’s foreign friends herself, she prepared this statement for the event.

MFD's daughter, Katherine and grandson Nick attended the event in her place and received honors given to both herself and to Daniel Dunham.

In October, 1971 MFD wrote this letter to the editor at the New York Times criticizing US government policy in support of West Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

MFD wrote this letter to the New Yorker in Oct. 2013 about Pankaj Mishra’s reviews of  two books that had recently been published about Bangladesh’s liberation movement.

This is one of a number of letters MFD wrote to journals in the USA and abroad to emphasize the significance of the support in the USA for the Bangladesh Liberation war.

MFD made this video statement to stand in her place at the the ceremony honoring the foreign friends of Bangladesh, Oct. 2013.

This is a video interview with Katherine about the work her parents did to support the Bangladesh Liberation war from the USA in 1971.

In this excerpt, Jaffe pays tribute to MFD’s role in the grass routes movement in the USA to support the Bangladesh Liberation War

3 thoughts on “Bangladesh Liberation War”

  1. Akku Chowdury

    Salute to Mary Frances for her passion and understanding of our fight for emancipation! May your birthday inspire us to fight for others right and humanity! As a freedom fighter it’s an honor and inspiration for me to have been connected to her! Thanks to Ambassador Riva Ganguly, a friend with indian Foreign Service who connected us! #joi71 #joiManush

  2. shirley lindenbaum

    I remember many things about our days in Bangladesh. Dinners on the lawn of the Dhaka house stand out. Dan’s ditties were a constant source of delight. One stands out. It began with…”Keep your left hand out of the dal..” Francis will no doubt remember more. Shirley

  3. Pingback: Letter to Mary Francis Dunham – Bengal to Bangladesh: The Letter Trail

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