Fwd: Thu, May 28 at 12 p.m.: Ilyas Chattha, Citizens to Traitors: Bengali Internment in Pakistan
12 views
Skip to first unread message
Undergrad Advising Global Studies
May 19, 2026, 4:05:20 PM (5 days ago) May 19
to opport...@global.ucsb.edu
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky <vhtro...@ucsb.edu>
Date: Mon, May 18, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Subject: Thu, May 28 at 12 p.m.: Ilyas Chattha, Citizens to Traitors: Bengali Internment in Pakistan
Date: Mon, May 18, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Subject: Thu, May 28 at 12 p.m.: Ilyas Chattha, Citizens to Traitors: Bengali Internment in Pakistan
Dear all,
The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War is most often remembered for the violence in East Pakistan and the international crisis over Pakistani prisoners of war held in India. Far less visible, however, is the parallel story of thousands of Bengalis who were rounded up in West Pakistan and confined in nearly fifty internment camps between 1971 and 1974. These internees—ranging from senior officials and military officers to ordinary civilians—were abruptly recast from citizens into traitors. This talk examines how suspicion of treason redefined citizenship, fractured belonging, and legitimized extrajudicial punishment through mass internment. Foregrounding this forgotten episode, it reveals how the postcolonial state transforms citizens into enemies in moments of political rupture.
Dr. Ilyas Chattha is an Associate Professor of History at Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan. He is the author of Citizens to Traitors: Bengali Internment in Pakistan, 1971–1974 (Cambridge, 2025); The Punjab Borderland: Mobility, Materiality and Militancy, 1947–1987 (Cambridge, 2022); and Partition and Locality: Violence, Migration and Development in Gujranwala and Sialkot, 1947–1961 (Oxford, 2012). His upcoming work is on the evacuee and enemy property in South Asia.
Please join us for the talk by Prof. Ilyas Chattha about his recent book, Citizens to Traitors: Bengali Internment in Pakistan, 1971–1974 (Cambridge University Press, 2025), which will be held next Thursday, May 28, at 12:00–1:30 p.m. in Annenberg Conference Room, SSMS 4315.
Dr. Ilyas Chattha is an Associate Professor of History at Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan. He is the author of Citizens to Traitors: Bengali Internment in Pakistan, 1971–1974 (Cambridge, 2025); The Punjab Borderland: Mobility, Materiality and Militancy, 1947–1987 (Cambridge, 2022); and Partition and Locality: Violence, Migration and Development in Gujranwala and Sialkot, 1947–1961 (Oxford, 2012). His upcoming work is on the evacuee and enemy property in South Asia.
The talk is organized by the UCSB Migration Initiative.
Kind wishes,
Dr. Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky
Associate Professor of Global Studies
Faculty Coordinator, Migration Initiative
Associate Director, Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies
Global Studies Undergraduate Advising Team
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages