The legacy of Henry Kissinger in Bangladesh

Kissinger used to be the US National Security Adviser and Secretary of State, under Nixon and Ford administrations. As the top decision maker in foreign policy, Kissinger was a huge fan of realpolitik. That is diplomacy based on  practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions. He dealt freely with dictators and democratic principles and international human rights law took a backseat to achieving immediate results.

Bangladeshis are never fond when they remember his name. Under Kissinger's guidance, the United States government supported Pakistan in the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. Kissinger was particularly concerned about the expansion of Soviet influence in South Asia.
There are a number of comments for which Kissinger came under fire. He described the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as a "bitch" and the Indians as "bastards". But the most famous quote is of him dismissing the idea of an independent Bangladesh by saying, “the place is and always will be a basket case.”

It is the basket case comment still resonates in the minds of Bangladeshis and, since the Liberation everything that goes wrong in the country (including the murder of Sheik Mujibur, the father of the nation) is being attributed to the CIA. To this day, one of the most worst terms used in Bangladesh politics is America dalal, or American lackey.