Pak Studies Lec-43,44

REVIEW

Kashmir Issue

SEPRATION OF EAST PAKISTAN

In order to understand the reasons behind the separation of East Pakistan, We have to move back to history. The
problems faced by them, how these problems emerged and became so complex that results in the separation of
East Pakistan. Geography always plays an important role in its politics
Factors:

I. PSYCHE TO REVOLT
1) Bengal being in far eastern part of India always remained problem for the central govt.
2) The people of NWFP do not easily compromise with the invaders, they used to go on the
mountains and put resistance to them.
3) The people of Punjab were more compromising due to their geography and put minimum
resistance to the rulers.
4) The people of Ganges were more civilized and so more coward hence no resistance was put by
them to the invaders/rulers.
5) As we cross Ganges, Bengal is a land of Mashie Rivers, these people have been worst to control
by the non Bengalis from the known history.
6) The Bengalis were always used to create problems for the central Govt in Delhi, even in the
Muslim period of rule.
7) It is the psyche of Bengalis to revolt against the Govt.

II. CULTURAL NATURALISM

1) Bengal was first to be conquered by the British. The impact of British was much more than other
areas of India, so they have developed a sense of Nationalism as depicted by the literature of 19th
century.
2) The British changed the script from Persian to Nagri script. The Bengalis were cut from Persian
literature especially Sufi literature.
3) The Bengalis feel a sense of pride in their culture and civilization referred to Cultural
Nationalism. The Bengalis were very sensitive towards their culture, language and traditions.
Bengalis used to learn two languages Bengali and English. This culture was very much different
from culture of India and very much different from that of West Pakistan.
4) In these circumstances Pakistan came into being.
5) Up till 1946 it was not decided that whether there will be a single state or multiple states. After
the elections of 1946, it was decided that there will be only one state.
6) After the 3rd June plan, a group was of the view there should be three states i.e. Pakistan, India
and Bengal. Quaid-e-Azam agreed with the view but Nehru refused to accept it.
7) We should try to strengthen the relations with the Bengalis but what was done was opposite and
sad resulted in the separation of Bengal.
III. ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY
1) The first factor was the role of bureaucracy.
2) There was minimum number of Bengali Muslim Officers in the ICS. At the time of partition all
the Hindu and British officers left, leaving behind a vacuum of power. Naturally this vacuum has
to be filled a number of Govt officers belonging to the Muslim minority provinces migrated to
East Pakistan. A number of officers particularly from Punjab also posted in Bengal.
3) People think that they have been ruled by foreigners without knowing the fact that there were no
Bengali officers available. The sense emerged that we did not get independence as before
Officers were British now the officers are out sliders.
4) Nothing was wrong up till now but the attitude of these officers was not good with the Bengalis.
It is of two reasons:
a. These people were trained by the British, and officers were told to remain way from
common man. Civil lines were areas built for the residence of high ranked bureaucrats.
b. Secondly the racial discrimination
5) This attitude ultimately led to the separation of East Pakistan. Same attitude was not confined to
Bengal but also prevails in the Punjab.
6) Actually the problem was with the system. Due to this a gulf was created b/w the officers and the
common man and here was lack of communication b/w masses and bureaucrats. Same the case
with army.
7) British declared Bengalis as non-martial race and were not allowed to be recruited in army. There
were hardly few Bengalis in the army at the time of independence. These factors gave the initial
cracks in the unity of Pakistan.
8) The distance b/w East and West Pakistan was 1000 miles and there was hostile India b/w them.
9) In 1948, an education conference was held in Karachi. In that a resolution was passed that Urdu
will be the national language of Pakistan. Urdu was considered to be the language of Muslims. As
a reaction of that a few professors and small number of students of Dhaka University staged a
protest. They of the view that there should be 2 national languages i.e. Urdu and Bengali.
Gradually this issue became complex and also few members of provisional assembly also joined
them. Demonstrations started in Dhaka for declaration of Bengali as the national language.
10) This was taken as the law and order situation and demonstrations were suppressed through brute
force.
11) It became so critical that Govt requested Quaid to visit Dhaka. He went there and addressed a
public meeting at Pulton Ground and also addressed to the faculty and students of Dhaka Uni. He
declared that Pakistani nation is one so here will be only one national language however Bengali
is to declared as the official language in East Pakistan. People got calmed due to Quaid’s
Personality and the reasonable solution given by him.
12) The main strength of ruling elite was English. If Bengali became the official language they have
to learn Bengali, so English continues to the official language of the Bengal. The issue re
emerged and was tried to suppress through force, the processions were fired and few people were
shot dead.
13) The source of Forex was cotton and Jute. The portion of jute was more than cotton. The Bengalis
have a perception that the Forex earned by them is used for the development of West Pakistan.
14) The economic policies focus industrial development more in West as compared to East Pakistan.
 15) Dhaka University was the center of all the activities. A few faculty members were given
scholarship and were sent to Harvard. After completing their PHD they came back and tried to
prove that Bengalis are economically exploited by the West Pakistan on the scientific bases using
Facts and Figures.
16) The basic problems of the masses were not solved. The problem is with the system, we have to
change the system not the individuals.

IV. POLITICAL FACTORS:

1) The first factor was the role of Islam in Pakistan. There were quite a number of Hindu MNA’s
from Bengal, they still believe in the Congress’s stand of Territorial Nationalism, Secularism, and
other Western Concepts.
2) All the Bengali Muslim Members voted in Favor of Objectives Resolution.
3) The members selected from Congress were not living in Bengal, they were living in Calcutta and
their loyalty was questionable. They had soft hearts with the India and were completing the
agenda of Congress. They tried to exploit every situation to weak Pakistan; they were supported
by Hindu teachers.
4) The majority of the teachers in the East Pakistan were Hindus; they were again completing the
agenda of Indian Govt. These teachers were responsible in creating so called “Awareness” that
Bengalis are being exploited by the West Pakistan. Students always played an important role in
movements.
5) The issue of Provincial Autonomy divided the politician of both parts a part.
6) The issue of division seats of National Assembly was solved by the principle of Parity.
7) A part from all issues the politicians were able to create consensus and the constitution of 1956
was made. Up to 1956, the Bengali Politicians were very active in the national politics.
8) The differences were solved through discussions, compromises and dialogues. But in the Era of
Martial Law of Ayub Khan, the Presidential System and Basic Democrats. A perception emerged
that people only from West Pakistan could only be elected for major institutions in the Govt.
9) Senior Politicians were sidelined and new group was emerged, in order to get benefits from the
Govt.
10) Maulvi Tameez ud Din case is a Classical Example. This was the first visible crack in the unity of
Pakistan. In the presidential elections of 1964, Ayub Khan defeated Fatima Jinnah.
11) In 1965 war the East Pakistan was left helplessly and China threatened India not to intervene in
East Pakistan. They start thinking that if their defense is to be done by foreign people than what is
there in the United Pakistan.
12) Sheikh Mujeeb Ur Rehman emerged as a leader of Bengalis. Anti Ayub movement started in
Pakistan. Ayub Khan was forced to resign, he broke his own constitution and he did not hand
over the powers to the speaker (a Bengali), he asked Yayha Khan to take over. This made the gulf
more widened as the Bengalis thought that Ayub Khan did not want to transfer powers to a
Bengali. This further strengthened their fears that they have no sharing in the power in the future.
13) The new elections were held under the LFO issued by Yayha Khan. Awami League won all the
seats from the East Pakistan and emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly.
Yayha Khan must have invited Sheikh Mujeeb as he did in the beginning but later on he was
forced by the West Pakistani politicians to nullify his decision. Z A Bhutto was among the most
prominent of them and he gave a suggestion of two Prime Ministers of Pakistan.
 14) The biggest blunder was the decision to take a military action in East Pakistan resulted in a revolt
in East Pakistan. A civil war started there and resulted in the separation of East Pakistan. One of
the biggest tragedies in the history of entire Muslim Ummah.

V. INTERVENTION OF INDIA:
1) After learning a lesson from 1965, India decided to exploit the internal situation of Pakistan.
2) The soft corner was Bengalis who were not contented and have issue some were genuine and
some were just perceptions. India started supporting the politicians like Sheikh Mujeeb who were
at a strict attitude towards the Federation.
3) After some time, Sheikh Mujeeb was asked to send his volunteers to India for military training.
An army was made in this way by the name “Mukti Bahni”. During the days when Mujeeb was in
jail, his number two fled to Calcutta and formed a Govt called Govt in Exile.
4) Finally when India looked that Pakistan will ultimately able to crush the revolt. The Indian army
physically entered East Pakistan and defeated the Pakistan Army. Separation of East Pakistan was
a tragedy and the major responsibility is on the Pakistanis themselves whether East and West
Pakistan.