East Pakistan's secessionist war against West Pakistani military rule created ten million refugees fleeing genocide and famine, overwhelming Indian border states and triggering humanitarian emergency. Conflict stemmed from economic exploitation of Bengali majority whose jute exports subsidized western development while receiving minimal investment. Independence established Bangladesh as nation born from economic grievance and cultural assertion.

Shamsur Rahman and Al Mahmud composed liberation poetry that fused nationalist sentiment with critiques of internal class oppression persisting after independence. Refugee experiences shaped diasporic Bangladeshi literature exploring displacement, memory, and divided belonging across borders. War's economic dimensions informed postcolonial poetry questioning whether political sovereignty delivered promised material justice.