What should have been the sound of democracy rising was drowned by the marching boots of the army. And from that day on, Pakistan walked a path where guns overruled votes and religious decrees often spoke louder than its Constitution.
India and Pakistan stepped into independence carrying the same wounds, but they chose different paths.
Pakistan took over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, as reported by its state media.
Dhaka has become the center of an unfolding geopolitical subplot, one that many in India, and possibly even within Bangladesh, are watching with growing concern.