[Last Name] 1

malik shah pasand kasi

Ma’am Saadia Sumbal

23152

Q critically analyzes the reasons for the separation of East

Pakistan in 1971.
March 16, 1971, was a black and unforgettable day in the history of Pakistan. When The gorilla
Mukti Bhani under the patronage of the Indian army waged a rebellious war against the Pakistan
army. The Bangladesh we see today is the result of the liberation war of 1971 and the result of
the atrocities done by the west Pakistan military and bureaucratic ruling elite. To understand the
tragic incident of the 1971 war, we need to realize some untold realities which led to the
dismemberment of Pakistan. The Pakistani ruling elite did the: social, cultural, linguistic,
political, and economic exploitation of the majority of improvised Bengalis.
East India company conquest Bengal in 1757, and the rest of the subcontinent in the 1880s. This
Means Bengal was the prey of British colonialism years before the remaining subcontinent. After
the partition of 1947 the Muslims of East Pakistan hoped that in the new Muslim state, Pakistan,
they would finally achieve a better standard of life. Given their inferiority to Hindu landlords
Bengali Muslims were looking forward to the west Pakistan government ensuring their
fundamental rights. But unfortunately, events didn’t unfold as the Bengali people hoped. The
west Pakistan government proved even more discriminatory towards the people of East Pakistan
in all spheres of life: social, political, and economic.

CAUSES OF SEPARATION OF EAST BENGAL

1. The Geographical and Socio-Cultural Differences
 [Last Name] 2

The two wings of the newly established state were set apart by one thousand miles of enemy
territory. Both air and maritime contact could be blockaded by India at any time. Mostly, there
was no connection between the people of East and West Pakistan. this Geographical separation
gave rise to other differences i.e., racial identity, language, habits of life, and culture. East
Pakistan was only one-seventh of the total area of the country, but its population exceeded the
total population of all other provinces and states of West Pakistan. Instead, they were fully
ignored by the west Pakistan ruling elite in all the affairs and business of the state.

2. The Language and Cultural Issues

The language tussle was the first which deteriorated the relations between the two wings. The
issue has its roots before the partition when in 1939 all Indian Muslim league sessions in
Lucknow proposed Urdu as the language of Muslims of India and the official language of the
Muslim league. The Bengali Language Movement started almost immediately after
independence, demanding that Bengali should be the medium of instruction, the language of the
courts, administration, and mass communication in East Pakistan. They also demanded that it
should be one of the state languages of Pakistan along with Urdu.
On 11 March 1948, a student demonstration in favor of the Bengali language was beaten and a
large number of students were arrested. Jinnah’s announcement during his visit to Dacca in
March 1948 that the language of the province could be Bengali, but the state language of
Pakistan was going to be Urdu which result in violent protests and demonstrations. After the
formation of Pakistan, the western wing considered themselves superior to the eastern wing,
because they considered the Muslims of the Eastern wing subordinate due to their social and
cultural interactions and similarities with Hindus. The west Pakistani government remained
insensitive to the cultural sentiment of the East Pakistani people. The west Pakistan government
did not pay any attention to the language predominated in east Pakistan, Bengali. The number of
Bengali speakers was higher in comparison with the number of Urdu speakers. Urdu was the
language of the elite, spoken only by 7 % of the people in Pakistan. In contrast, Bengali was
spoken by 56% of Pakistan. All these socio, economic and political factors became the cause of
the dismemberment of Pakistan

3. Economic Disparity and Exploitation of the Eastern Wing

 [Last Name] 3

The Bengalis’ most serious complaint was of what they called the “Economic exploitation” of
east Pakistan by the Pakistan central government. The most serious challenge to the viability of
United Pakistan was the economic disparity between east and west Pakistan. The bulk of the
country’s revenue was spent in west Pakistan because the federal capital was there. Moreover, a
high percentage of the budget was spent on defense, which was all concentrated in West
Pakistan.
Apart from the political hegemony of west Pakistan ruling elite they also dominated the
economic sector of both wings, east and west Pakistan. East Pakistan faced severe economic
exploitation and the relationship between the two wings was similar to the ruthless economic
abuse of the British colonial power over the sub-continent. Like the British, the West Pakistan
government profited from the eastern wing but did not invest adequately in its development.
Even though the population of West Pakistan was smaller than that of east Pakistan. After the
partition, a major share of the national budget, 75%, was spent on West Pakistan. East Pakistan
was deprived of its share in the economic and political sphere which led to the growth of Bengali
nationalism. A political situation was created in which the majority group from east Pakistan felt
dominated by a minority group of west Pakistan. Economically it was also felt that East Pakistan
was deliberately kept backward. These political and economic discriminations created a sense of
deprivation in East Pakistan.

4. Disparity in Civil Services and Armed Forces

The government’s headquarters were established in West Pakistan. The Bengalis were very
poorly represented in the civil service and the Army. Moreover, the civil and military officials
from West Pakistan stationed in East Pakistan considered the Bengali Muslims inferior converts
from lower caste Hindus. In 1970, about 85 percent of the armed forces belonged to Punjab
whereas the majority of the population was in East Pakistan. Some claim that this disparity was
not intentional on the part of the West Pakistan-dominated ruling elite but a result of the legacy
of British rule during which the Punjabis were preferred in the armed forces due to their marshal
spirit and willingness to join military service. However, there was no justification for the
disparity in the bureaucracy. As the Bengalis did not have adequate representation in the armed
forces and the bureaucracy, they always opposed the military rule and never trusted these two
players in the body politic of Pakistan. Bengalis had hardly any role in national affairs. Every
 [Last Name] 4

vital decision, whether it related to political or defense or economic or diplomatic matters, was in
the final analysis made by the ruling elite, composed of west Pakistan civil and military officers.
Bengalis’ sub-nationalism was on the other hand the product of several unfortunate accidental
factors connected with the internal political development in Pakistan in the 1950s and 1960s,
particularly after the eclipse of the democratic process of the country. Which denied the Bengalis
their due share in the political process. It created a situation in which the majority felt dominated
by an elite from west Pakistan.

5. Bhutto’s willingness for power.

Shakir Lakhani in his article “Udhar tum, Idhar hum” when Bhutto pushed Bangladesh to
the edge of Pakistan, published in Express Tribune has enlightened the political issues faced
after the 1970 election. In his view, Pakistan could have remained United if Bhutto had accepted
Sheikh Mujeeb Rehman as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, which was his legal right as his party
had won the 1970 Elections. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, whose party had won only Punjab and Sindh
did not agree to recognize Mujeeb Rehman as the prime minister of the country. He also
steadfastly refused to attend the National assembly session which was to be held in Dhaka. He
was so arrogant that he threatened to break the legs of his elected party members if they dared to
go to Dhaka. He knew that he could never be the prime minister of a United Pakistan. So he said
“Udhar tum, Idhar ham” ( you rule in East Pakistan, we will rule in the west)
Bhutto claimed that Mujeeb Rehman’s demands for maximum anatomy called the Six points
would weaken the country. When President Yahya khan called Mujeeb Rehman the further
prime minister of the country, Bhutto was incensed. He questioned how a man was touted as the
prime minister. Despite his claims, there are indications that Mujeeb Rehman did not want the
breakup of the country. After his release from jail in 1969, he said
“We are in the majority, why should we secede”

6. The Military Action and the Fall of Dacca.

 [Last Name] 5

one main cause of the disintegration of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh on December
16, 1971, was military atrocities committed by the Pakistan army against the unarmed Bengalis.
The Pakistan Army’s brutal actions, which began on the midnight of March 25, 1971, can never
be justified and forgotten in any way. The Army’s murderous campaign in which thousands of
innocent people including women, the old and sick, and even children were brutally murdered
and thousands of the women were rapped while millions fled from their homes to take shelter in
the remote places of India. The exact figure of death and destruction will probably never be
known accurately. Mujeeb had talked of “three million” killed, while the Pakistan government
tried to estimate the figure in thousands.
The Article “1971 war: the story of India’s victory, Pakistan surrender, Bangladesh
freedom” published in a news Agency ‘Business Standard’ has brought the Indian military
intervention into the discussion.
December 16 is a significant day for India and its neighbors Bangladesh and Pakistan. On that
day Pakistan lost half of its country, and its forces in the east Pakistan had to surrender to the
Indian army. Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi along with his 93000 troops signed the
Instrument of surrender to Indian Lt Gen Arijit Aurora. It is considered to be the largest military
surrender after world war II. The war started when Pakistan launched an air strike on 11 Indian
airbases. India quickly responded to Pakistan Army’s movement in the west and captured around
15,010 km of Pakistan territory. The Indian army brought the Pakistani army to its knees, took
93000 Pakistani soldiers as prisoners, and gave 75 million people of Bangladesh their
independence. As the Pakistani atrocities increased at that time Indian prime minister Indira
Gandhi decided to act against Pakistan and at the same time give refuge to civilians from the
other side of the border. She ordered that time Army chief, General Sam Manekshaw to launch a
war against Pakistan. Following the order, the Indian military launched a full-scale war against
Pakistan. The war lasted for just 13 days and is one of the shortest wars in history. The military
confrontation between India and Pakistan occurred from 3 December 1971 to the fall of Dhaka
on 16 December 1971. General A K Niazi signed the Instrument of surrender on 16 December
1971 in Dhaka, marking the formation of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh. On
August 2, 1972, India and Pakistan signed the Shimla Agreement under which India agreed to
release all the 93000 Pakistani prisoners of war.
 [Last Name] 6

Conclusion.

From the above discussion, it is shown that Bengali nationalism which resulted in the birth of
Bangladesh, emerged from the very beginning after the inception of Pakistan, due to
discriminatory policies of west Pakistan. East Pakistan was deprived of its share in the economic
and political sphere which led to the growth of Bangali nationalism. A political situation was
created in which the majority group from east Pakistan felt dominated by a minority group of
west Pakistan. Economically it was also felt that East Pakistan was deliberately kept backward.
These political and economic discriminations created a sense of deprivation in East Pakistan. The
use of force against the unarmed Bengalis left a bad impression on the people of East Pakistan.
At this juncture when India used force in East Pakistan against the Pakistan army. It was helped
and supported by Mukti Bahani, thus Pakistan lost the war and Bangladesh was created.
However, the Indian military directly intervened and used armed against the Pakistan army but
the Pakistani military atrocities and genocide of unarmed Bengalis can never be forgotten and
justified in any way. During the nine months long the Bangladesh war for liberation, members of
the Pakistani military and supporting Islamist militants from Jamaat-e-Islami killed between
200,000 and 3,000,000 people and rapped between 200,000 to 400,000 Bengali women.
The Hamood-Ur-Rehman commission report is the best conclusion of this tragic incident.
Hamood-ur-Rehman commission (known as the war inquiry commission) was a judicial inquiry
commission that assessed Pakistan’s political-military involvement in East Pakistan from 1947 to
1971. The commission interviewed more than 200 people’s testimonies in its report, which was
heavily censored in Pakistan. 11 out of 12 copies of the Hamood ur Rehman commission report
were destroyed. The government kept it a secret full all these years and it was in 2000 that the
report was declassified by Pakistan after some of its parts were leaked by an Indian newspaper.
Among the other shocking revelations, the report found that thousands of Bengalis (both
civilians and soldiers) were killed. Banks in East Pakistan were looted, and senior officers were
being entertained by women as the troops were under attack by the Indian forces. The report’s
recommendations to hold public trials and court Martial of top officials were never implemented.

Bibliography
 [Last Name] 7

G.W. CHAUDHARY “THE LAST DAYS OF UNITED PAKISTAN” Oxford university press.
Printed in Pakistan at mucid packages, Karachi. Published by Oxford university press, 1993.

Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 Author(s): Amit Ranjan

Source: India Quarterly, Vol, 72, No. 2 (June 2016)
Published by: Sage publications, Ltd

Shakir Lakhani: Udhar tum, Idhar hum, when Bhutto pushed Bangladesh to the edge of Pakistan.
Published by: Express Tribune, December 17, 2018.

Article “1971 liberation war, Birth of Bangladesh and compression with president day Pakistan”
Published by: European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) April 2017.

Article.
Asfandyar Khan “The splitting of East Pakistan from West Pakistan in 1971:The role of
India” South Asian Times, published on February 7, 2020.

Dr. Jayantha Kumar, Dr. Auni-su-zzaman, professor sandpit, Dr

Sisir Gupta, Mrs. T. Karki and Mr. Saval k Chatterji “PROFILE OF BANGLADESH” published
in 1972 by C.L.S., MADRAS press
[Last Name] 8
[Last Name] 9