The novel, Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry is set in the city of Mumbai, India, during the year 1971. The book explores the journey of a Parsi man from name Gustad Noble and his relationships with others as he goes through difficult times in his life. The book not only talks about Gustad's personal journey, but also explores the political context of that period. The battle between India and West Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War which helped East Pakistan to form its own sovereign state, the corrupt socialist government of Indira Gandhi and the fascist Shiv Sena regime led by their ethnocentric leader Bal Thackeray influenced the background of the novel. growing tensions between East Pakistan and West Pakistan during 1971. After winning the 1970 elections, East Pakistan wanted to establish its own country and separate from Pakistan. West Pakistan responded to this with “Operation Searchlight” which started the Bangladesh Liberation War (Malieckal, 77). The aim of Operation Searchlight was the extermination of all Bengalis. Dinshawji comments on this genocide when he says, “Bloody butchers, slaughtering left and right” (76). 3 million Bengalis died and 10 million decided to take refuge in India (Malieckal, 75-76). To pay for all these refugees, India introduced a refugee relief tax which made people's lives more difficult. India entered the war after being bombed by West Pakistani military aircraft. In the novel, Gustad covers his windows with black paper and builds an air raid shelter under his bed to keep his family safe during the war (347). After 13 days of fighting, the Indo-Pakistani war ended with Pakistan's surrender and the Bengalis establishing their own nation. The Indo-Pakistan War helped the Bengalis establish a sovereign state. The distribution of racist pamphlets against minorities exposed the chauvinistic and fascist regime of Shiv Sena. Indira Gandhi's corrupt government, socialist regime and her controversial scandals like disbursement of government money to her son's company and the Nagarwala scandal of 1971 were also revealed. All these political events influenced the background of the novel and life daily life of the characters. .Works Cited Malieckal, Bindu. THE BANGLADESHI GENOCIDE IN ROHINTON MISTRY'S A SUCH JOURNEY 28.2 (2008): 75-88. December 2008. Web. 12 November 2013. Mistry, Rohinton. Such a long journey. New York: Knopf, 1991. Print.Rajagopal, Krishnadas. "Nagarwala case: Mystery returns after three decades." - Indian express. Np, 21 December 2008. Web. 25 November. 2013.