Causes of Separation of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) | Indo-Pakistan History | For CSS, PMS and Other competitive Exams
An In-depth Analysis of the Causes
In 1971, Pakistan, as a nation, suffered the most
terrible shock in its entire history when it lost its eastern wing due to
reasons that are well known but yet not very well understood. The separation of
East Pakistan is, undoubtedly, the most tragic episode in the political history
of Pakistan. It not only exposed the failure of our efforts on national
integration but also manifested the institutional poverty of the political
system. Unfortunately, it has, previously, been analyzed through narrow-minded
approaches which revolve around the whims of certain personalities whose views
have been further inculcated in the minds of the next generations through
textbooks. Therefore, there is a dire need to analyze this whole episode from a
much broader perspective.
1. Historical Structural Reasons
i. Overdeveloped state structure
This theory has been propounded by Hamza Alvi who
censures the dominance of military-bureaucratic oligarchy in Pakistan’s state
structure. The theory highlights the structural roots of the dominance of
non-political forces in the state system which is embedded in colonial
legacies. The perpetuation of this over-developed state structure obstructed
the prevalence of civilian supremacy. Moreover, it encouraged state
authoritarianism that further widened the gulf between the two federating
units. It also consolidated the dominance of a strong center which was
reinforced under military rule. K.K. Aziz argued, “Only a loose federation
might have sustained. West Pakistan tried to contain Bengalis under a very strong
authoritative structure, as they were being colonized.”
2. East-West Differences
i. Geographical distances
While analyzing the causes of the separation of East
Pakistan, we cannot ignore the fact that there was a distance of 1000 miles
(1600 kilometers) between the Eastern and Western wings of the country. Hostile India was separating the two wings.
ii. Linguistic differences
The first landmine planted by the Hindus to shatter
the national unity was the issue of linguistic difference. Indians had
organized demonstrations in support of Bengalis even during the life of
Quaid-e-Azam but their conspiracies failed. In March 1948, the Quaid advised the Bengalis to adopt Bengali as the language of the province but to
keep Urdu as the national language. But this issue remained unresolved and,
thus, got complicated over the years due to the incompetence of leaders. East
Pakistan witnessed several Awami League-sponsored riots. In one instance,
Section 144 was imposed in Dhaka to curtail those riots but the members of
the left-oriented Youth League and students defied the restrictive orders.
Ultimately, the central leadership accepted Bengali as a second national
language but it was too late a measure.
iii. Differences in social structure
West Pakistan had a dominant share in military and
bureaucracy while Hindus in East Pakistan dominated the economy and government
jobs. East Pakistan’s social structure was heavily dominated by non-Muslim
forces that had an inclination towards India.
iv. Demographic differences
There existed a demographic difference between the
two wings. East Pakistan constituted 56 percent of the total population of
the new state while West Pakistan hosted the remaining 44 percent.
v. Cultural differences
The people of East Pakistan were radically different
from their counterparts in West Pakistan in several cultural traits. There
was hardly any interaction between them. Moreover, Pakistan's army almost wholly
consisted of f the Punjabi-Pashtun population who could not understand the dynamics
of the Eastern wing.
3. General Reasons
i. Intra-regional economic disparities
Before the partition of India, the Muslims of East
Bengal generally believed that their economic hardships and miseries were due
to the Hindu landlords and industrialists, who exploited the resources of their
land. After the partition, it was hoped that Bengali Muslims would be able to
utilize their own resources but, unfortunately, that did not happen. Moreover,
East Pakistan could not benefit from the rapid industrialization of the
country.
ii. Political containment of Bengalis
In the initial years of Pakistan, it was believed
that a strong Muslim League was essential for the construction of the country.
But the assertion turned out to be wrong because a progressive group of Maulana
Bhashani and Ataur Rehman broke away from Muslim League and set up the Awami
League. The League became very active and enjoyed a better status in East
Pakistan than Muslim League. The fall of the Khawaja Nazim-ud-Din government also
sowed the seeds of discord.
iii. General Ayyub’s prolonged
military rule
The Bengalis could never reconcile themselves to an
army-controlled system because of their negligent share in the armed forces.
The era of Ayyub Khan curbed the freedom of expression. Bengalis’ opposition
to martial law was expressed in extremist slogans. Some Bengali politicians
sponsored and encouraged underground organizations like the East Pakistan
Liberty Party which circulated posters and leaflets making demands ranging from
autonomy to independence. The atmosphere and the system created by martial law
negated the impact of some of Ayyub’s measures that had benefitted East
Pakistan.
iv. Disastrous consequences of One
Unit policy
The ruling elites of West Pakistan were in search of
a mechanism to neutralize the Bengalis’ role in the political system of
Pakistan. This goal was achieved through the creation of One Unit. According to
this formula, 56 percent representation of East Bengal was brought to 50
percent – at par with West Pakistan. But due to this issue, the aspect of
provincial autonomy remained on the back burner.
v. Political scenario in East Pakistan
In 1954, the leadership of the East Pakistan Muslim
League lost elections and United Front leaders, who were all hungry for power,
began making every possible attempt to win the support of the Hindu members of
the assembly. For this purpose, the attitude towards national politics adopted
by them was exactly in line with the wishes and desires of the Hindus. Both
groups became more energetic and more enthusiastic in their separatist zeal.
vi. Bureaucracy
With the creation of Pakistan, the high-ranking
civil servants gained immense influence and power. During British rule, the
bureaucracy was meant for enforcing the will of the government by all means,
fair and foul. After the inception of Pakistan, these bureaucratic trends,
unfortunately, became stronger. Moreover, Bengalis’ representation in Civil
Services was very poor. In August 1947, there was only one Bengali among the
eighty civil servants who opted for Pakistan and constituted the civil services
of Pakistan.
Bengalis’ under-representation in other government
services, except the Foreign Service, was equally conspicuous. The non-Bengali
civil servants dominated the East Pakistan services so much so that there was
not a single Bengali holding a key position in the Dhaka secretariat.
vii. Unresolved issue of provincial
autonomy
Yahya Khan was not serious about the implementation of the
Legal Framework Order (LFO) which he had announced before the 1970
elections. In the hope of becoming a future president, he accorded preferential
treatment to certain politicians. He revived unnecessary debates over the
already decided and agreed-upon matters and thus made the situation even more
precarious and critical. There were talks of partitioning the country in the
name of provincial autonomy and provincial prejudices were deliberately
stirred. Elections were won by regional parties – The people’s Party of Mr. Bhutto
emerged as the largest party in Punjab and Sindh whereas, in Baluchistan and the
NWFP, Qayyum League, The National Awami Party, and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam
achieved success. But all these parties were confined only to West Pakistan and
had no popularity in East Pakistan. The Awami League of Sheikh Mujib won a
resounding victory in East Pakistan but it was non-existent in West Pakistan.
Before the elections, Maulana Maudoodi had warned that if regional parties
emerged as winners, even the military would not be able to hold the country
together.
4. Immediate political factors
i. Military action
The military action that began on 25th March
continued till the fall of Dhaka. Yahya Khan and his military commanders
present in Dhaka took the final decision, endorsed by Bhutto, for launching a
military action. The insurgency erupted that drew support from several
quarters. A bulk of Bengali police also sided with insurgents and there were
militant groups backed by India which was their main supplier of arms and ammunition.
On March 23, 1971, the Awami League marked a
Republic day by slaughtering the West Pakistanis and Bihari Muslims at several places — they were burnt alive and even women and children were not spared.
The Bangladeshi flag was hoisted, instead of the Pakistani flag. A plan was
prepared to declare the independence of Bangladesh on the night between March
24th and 25th. Then Yahya Khan nominated Tikka Khan as the governor of East
Pakistan but his administration was totally unaware of the true situation prevailing
in the province.
The military operations failed to control the situation.
It instead brought press restrictions and censorship. The martial law
administration expelled all foreign journalists and even the local journalists
also were disillusioned by the wrong information.
ii. Indian invasion
Pakistan was in no position to fight an all-out war with India. Geographically, East Pakistan was surrounded by India and the sea. The Pakistani defense planners believed in its indefensibility and formulated a defense policy that stipulated that it could be defended from West Pakistan. This policy contributed to a virtual exclusion of the Bengalis from the armed forces. When India invaded, Pakistani troops were without air protection, and despite demonstrating courage, they had to surrender. Finally, on 16th December 1971, India recognized Bangladesh and in retaliation, Pakistan cut off diplomatic relations between the two countries.
CONSEQUENCES
OF WAR.
Defeat in the war brought disgrace for Yahya and for
the Army. On 20 December Yahya resigned as President and was replaced by Bhutto.
On 21 December 1971, the Republic of Bangladesh was officially declared and two
weeks later Bhutto released Mujeeb from Prison. He returned to Bangladesh,
where on 10 January 1972 he became the country’s first Prime Minister.