During the Partition of India, Pakistan , as a country, gained independence on 14 August 1947 following the end of British rule over South Asian countries. The division was made based on religion. Pakistan was created out of huge Muslim majority territories in the West and East, and India was created out of the vast Hindu majority regions in the centre. The Western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) called West Pakistan and the Eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh ) was called East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. The capital of Pakistan was established in Karachi in West Pakistan and then moved to Islamabad in 1958.
Economic exploitation
West Pakistan (consisting of four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province) dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget than the more populous East.
Year Spending on West Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Spending on East Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of West
1950/51-54/55 1,129 524 46.4
1955/56-59/60 1,655 524 31.7
1960/61-64/65 3,355 1,404 41.8
1965/66-69/70 5,195 2,141 41.2
Total 11,334 4,593 40.5
Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970-75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan
Between 1948 and 1960, East Pakistan produced 70% of all of
Pakistan
's exports, while it only received 25% of import earnings. In 1948 (shortly after independence from
Britain
),
East Pakistan
had 11 textile mills while the West had 9. In 1971, the number of textile mills in the West had grown to 150 while that in the East had only gone up to 26. Furthermore, 2.6 billion dollars' (in 1971 exchange rates) worth of resources were transferred over time from East Pakistan to
West Pakistan
. It was widely felt in East Pakistan that much of the income generated by the east was diverted towards fighting wars in Kashmir.
Political differences
Although East Pakistan was the majority province in terms of population, political power remained firmly in the hands of West Pakistanis, specifically the Punjabis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the scheme of "One Unit", where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes. Ironically, after the East broke away to form Bangladesh, the Punjab insisted that politics in the rump West Pakistan now be decided on the basis of a straightforward vote, since Punjabis were more numerous than the other groups, such as Sindhis, Pathans, or Balochs. After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, political power began to be concentrated in the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President. East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy were elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, they were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings. Finally, when Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won a clear majority in the elections of 1970, the West Pakistan establishment refused to allow Mujib to form a government. This finally convinced the East that they would never get their rightful political rights in a joint Pakistan and that independence was the only way out.
Language controversy
Close ties existed between East Pakistan and West Bengal, one of the Indian states bordering Bangladesh , as both were composed mostly of Bengalis. West Pakistan viewed East Pakistani links with India unfavourably as relations between India and Pakistan had been very poor since independence. In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared in Dhaka (then usually spelt Dacca in English) that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the sole official language for all of Pakistan]. This proved highly controversial, since Urdu was a language that was only spoken in the West by Muhajir and in the East by Biharis. The majority groups in West Pakistan spoke Punjabi and Sindhi, while Bangla was spoken by the majority of East Pakistanis. The language controversy eventually reached a point where East Pakistan revolted. Several students and civilians lost their lives in a police crackdown on February 21, 1952. The day is revered in Bangladesh and in West Bengal as the Language Martyrs' Day. Later, in memory of the 1952 killings, UNESCO declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day. The deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.
Impact of the tropical cyclone
The already tense situation was further aggravated by a tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan in 1970. It was a particularly devastating year as the deadliest cyclone on record — the 1970 Bhola cyclone — struck Bangladesh claiming nearly half a million lives. The apathy of West Pakistan leadership and its failure in responding quickly was a further platform for the Awami League, that capitalised on this tragedy. The Pakistan Army failed to do relief work of any significance to alleviate the problem, which further antagonised the already estranged Bengali populace.
Political climax
The political prelude to the war included several factors. Due to the differences between the two states, a nascent separatist movement developed in East Pakistan . Any such movements were sharply limited, especially when martial law was in force between 1958 and 1962 (under General Ayub Khan) and between 1969 and 1972 (under General Yahya Khan). These military rulers were of West Pakistani origin and continued to favour West Pakistan in terms of economic advantages.
The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections winning 160 of the 162 seats allotted for East Pakistan, and a majority of the 300 total seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the right to form a government. However, the leader of Pakistan People's Party, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed a notion of two Prime Ministers. Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nation-wide strike.
(Collected.. will give the writer name if i find it again)
Comments
the reason of the war 1971
Years before the war
During the Partition of India, Pakistan , as a country, gained independence on 14 August 1947 following the end of British rule over South Asian countries. The division was made based on religion. Pakistan was created out of huge Muslim majority territories in the West and East, and India was created out of the vast Hindu majority regions in the centre. The Western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) called West Pakistan and the Eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh ) was called East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. The capital of Pakistan was established in Karachi in West Pakistan and then moved to Islamabad in 1958.
Economic exploitation
West Pakistan (consisting of four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province) dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget than the more populous East.
Year Spending on West Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Spending on East Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of West
1950/51-54/55 1,129 524 46.4
1955/56-59/60 1,655 524 31.7
1960/61-64/65 3,355 1,404 41.8
1965/66-69/70 5,195 2,141 41.2
Total 11,334 4,593 40.5
Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970-75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan
Between 1948 and 1960, East Pakistan produced 70% of all of
Pakistan
's exports, while it only received 25% of import earnings. In 1948 (shortly after independence from
Britain
),
East Pakistan
had 11 textile mills while the West had 9. In 1971, the number of textile mills in the West had grown to 150 while that in the East had only gone up to 26. Furthermore, 2.6 billion dollars' (in 1971 exchange rates) worth of resources were transferred over time from East Pakistan to
West Pakistan
. It was widely felt in East Pakistan that much of the income generated by the east was diverted towards fighting wars in Kashmir.
Political differences
Although East Pakistan was the majority province in terms of population, political power remained firmly in the hands of West Pakistanis, specifically the Punjabis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the scheme of "One Unit", where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wing's votes. Ironically, after the East broke away to form Bangladesh, the Punjab insisted that politics in the rump West Pakistan now be decided on the basis of a straightforward vote, since Punjabis were more numerous than the other groups, such as Sindhis, Pathans, or Balochs. After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, political power began to be concentrated in the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President. East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy were elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, they were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings. Finally, when Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won a clear majority in the elections of 1970, the West Pakistan establishment refused to allow Mujib to form a government. This finally convinced the East that they would never get their rightful political rights in a joint Pakistan and that independence was the only way out.
Language controversy
Close ties existed between East Pakistan and West Bengal, one of the Indian states bordering Bangladesh , as both were composed mostly of Bengalis. West Pakistan viewed East Pakistani links with India unfavourably as relations between India and Pakistan had been very poor since independence. In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared in Dhaka (then usually spelt Dacca in English) that "Urdu, and only Urdu" would be the sole official language for all of Pakistan]. This proved highly controversial, since Urdu was a language that was only spoken in the West by Muhajir and in the East by Biharis. The majority groups in West Pakistan spoke Punjabi and Sindhi, while Bangla was spoken by the majority of East Pakistanis. The language controversy eventually reached a point where East Pakistan revolted. Several students and civilians lost their lives in a police crackdown on February 21, 1952. The day is revered in Bangladesh and in West Bengal as the Language Martyrs' Day. Later, in memory of the 1952 killings, UNESCO declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day. The deaths led to bitter feelings among East Pakistanis, and they were a major factor in the push for independence.
Impact of the tropical cyclone
The already tense situation was further aggravated by a tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan in 1970. It was a particularly devastating year as the deadliest cyclone on record — the 1970 Bhola cyclone — struck Bangladesh claiming nearly half a million lives. The apathy of West Pakistan leadership and its failure in responding quickly was a further platform for the Awami League, that capitalised on this tragedy. The Pakistan Army failed to do relief work of any significance to alleviate the problem, which further antagonised the already estranged Bengali populace.
Political climax
The political prelude to the war included several factors. Due to the differences between the two states, a nascent separatist movement developed in East Pakistan . Any such movements were sharply limited, especially when martial law was in force between 1958 and 1962 (under General Ayub Khan) and between 1969 and 1972 (under General Yahya Khan). These military rulers were of West Pakistani origin and continued to favour West Pakistan in terms of economic advantages.
The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections winning 160 of the 162 seats allotted for East Pakistan, and a majority of the 300 total seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the right to form a government. However, the leader of Pakistan People's Party, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed a notion of two Prime Ministers. Bhutto also refused to accept Rahman's Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nation-wide strike.
(Collected.. will give the writer name if i find it again)