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The Separation Of East Pakistan: SocioEconomic Factors

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Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies

Available online at www.ajms.co.in

Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2014

ISSN: 2321-8819
The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors
Ghulam Mustafa1 and Adil Nawaz2
1

Ghulam Mustafa, Ph.D Scholar, Graduate School of International Studies,

Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea.
2
Adil Nawaz, Ph.D Scholar, Graduate School Of International Studies, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea

Abstract: Pakistani is facing a serious threat to the future of the Federation these days. The separation
movements have been started in Baluchistan, Sindh and others area of Pakistan like was before 1971 when the
people of Eastern region of Pakistan (at that time East Pakistan now Bangladesh) stood against the Islamabad
under the leadership of Sheikh MujiburRehman. Awami league won 160 seats out of 300 and had a simple
majority but the establishment and the elite of West Region of Pakistan did not accept the reality. Sheikh
MujiburRehman deserved to be the legitimate Prime Minister of Pakistan but the elite of West Pakistan did not
hand over the government office to Bengali Leader. The separation movement started in East Pakistan and the
Pakistan Elite tried to suppress the separation movement by hook and crook but failed to unite the country and
Pakistan was divided in 1971. The Pakistani elite cannot learn the lesson from the history and now Pakistan is
on the brink of division again. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the factors which led to the
division of Pakistan in 1971. Because of our discrimination towards the Bengalis, we ended up losing half of our
country. Let's at least stop discriminating now, and save the half that is left behind.
Key words:East Pakistan, Separation movement, Bengali, MujiburRehman, Ayub khan, six point.
On August 14, 1947, British India was
divided into two sovereign states of India and
Pakistan on the basis that the Hindus and the
Muslims are two separate nations, because of
religo-political, socio-economic and cultural
differences. The leaders of Muslim League realized
that in undivided independent India, dominated by
the Hindu majority, it would be impossible to
safeguard the economic, political and cultural
rights of the Indian Muslim community. The
Muslims of the subcontinent under the brilliant
leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah and the Muslim League started a movement
for the freedom of the Indian Muslim. Therefore
the struggle of the Indian Muslims was crowned
with success and the British yielded to the Muslim
League demand and the sub-continent was divided
into two states, India and Pakistan. The British
Viceroy Lord Louise Mountbatten transferred
powers to the Muslim League leaders on 14
August, 1947.
Pakistan at the time of creation was a
geographical absurdity. It was divided into two parts
or wings separated by more than 1000 miles of
Indian Territory. Besides, this long distance,
number of other differences between the two wings
made the task of nation building problematic. The
population of East Pakistan was culturally uniform
and the most of the people in eastern wing spoke
Bengali language. Contrary to West Pakistan there
were different minorities, Christian, Hindu, Sikh
and Parsi, no untouchable. However this did not
become a hurdle in the creation of a uniform
cultural pattern throughout East Pakistan.

Moreover, West Pakistan, on the other hand, was

populated by four main ethnic groups namely, the
Punjabis, the Pushtoons, the Sindhis, the Baluchis,
Urdu speaking Muhajirs and many minor linguistic
communities, speaking their distinct native
languages .(Subrata Roy Chaudhry, 1972)
The political leadership in West Pakistan came
from mainly the Feudal class and in East Pakistan it
consisted of middle class educated people like
lawyers, teachers and retired government
officials.(Mushtaq Ahmad, 1970). In this complex
situation, such factors as shared faith of Islam and
common fear of Hindu domination could serve as
cementing force for the integration of both the
wings of Pakistan. However, these two unifying
factors could have been effective only in the
presence of a strong institutional infrastructure,
which Pakistan lacked at that time. An effective
institutional infrastructure could be built only with
great political wisdom, shrewdness, and patience.
Unfortunately, this did not happen in the history of
Pakistan. Such unifying factor as the feelings of
Islamic solidarity and the fear of Indian domination
could neutralize a host of socio-economic and
political factors, creating alienation between the
two wings only for the time being. In order to keep
the two wings together it was essential that both
should have sincerely practiced the principles of
Islamic brotherhood, which they professed.(S.M.
Burke and LawrenceZairing, 1990). Sadly, this did
not happen and in 1970, the centrifugal political
forces succeeded in mobilizing the people of the
Eastern wing against the policies of Central
Government mainly coming from Western wing,
45

The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors

culminating in the separation of East Pakistan and

the emergence of a new state- Bangladesh in 1971.
The first signs of the resentments among the East
Bengalis appear in March 1948 on the issue of
language. East Pakistan, where majority of the
people spoke Bengali language, considered Urdu as
an imposed language. The people of East Bengal
were disappointed when in March 1948, during his
only post-independence visit to Dhaka, the
provincial capital of East Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and
its first Governor General, categorically declared:
Let me make it very clear to you
that the State Language of
Pakistan is going to be Urdu and
no other Language. Anyone who
tries to mislead you is really the
enemy of Pakistan. (Jamilud
Din Ahmad, 1964)
Four years later on February 21, 1952, police
opened fire on a demonstration in favor of Bengali
language. According to the findings of an inquiry
by the Dhaka High Court, nine people were killed
including some students of Dhaka University.
(Tariq Rehman, 2003). This was a crucial point.
The coercive power of state had shed the blood of
the Bengalis. The deaths were seen as martyrdom
and became the most potent symbol of resistance to
West Pakistan. Later, a monument called the
"Shaheed Minar" (The Martyrs Tower) was built
to honor their martyrdom. Thereafter, February 21,
was regularly observed as "Bengali Language Day"
throughout East Pakistan with great enthusiasm.
Thus the movement for Bengali language and its
suppression by the central government was the
first major issue that gave rise to the Bengali
identity and created a sense of cultural deprivation
in the people of East Pakistan.
The lack of participation in power structure of the
country made the East Pakistanis to believe that
they
had
been
deprived
of
their
legitimateright.This factor not only alienatedthem
from Central Government but also from the Muslim
League, which was the only national level political
party at that time.
In the first post- independence elections of Pakistan
were held in Eastern wing in 1954. Seven years
after the creation of Pakistan the Muslim League
won only 10 seats. While the alliance of local East
Pakistani parties called United Front (Jugtu Front
in Bengali) got a landslide victory. The political
parties of East Pakistan won 227 seats out of 236
Muslim seats. Even the Communists won 5 seats.
The Muslim League, which was the ruling party,
won only 10 seats out of 309. (TanweerAkram)
Instead of accepting the mandate of people, the
central governments managed a split within the

alliance of East Pakistani parties and FazlulHaq was

installed as Chief Minister of East Pakistan. Soon
afterwards, he visited Calcutta, and made an
emotional speech about the unity of Bengal.
(Robert Jackson, 1975). Consequently, he was
dismissed from the office. This action further
estranged the people of East Pakistan and
encouraged regionalism there.
A number of controversies relating to constitution
making and the demand for regional autonomy
were the other factors, which caused political
divergence between the eastern and western wings.
As for as constitution-making was concerned, the
differences between the provinces revolved around
four points:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Quantum of representation of the each

wing in the federal legislature
Distribution of power between the
Centre and provinces
National language
System of electorate. (SafdarMehmood,
1984)

These differences were so sharp that the

Constituent Assembly could not frame the
constitution for Pakistan till 1956.In the
Constitution of 1956, these differences were
successfully resolved by the Constituent Assembly
consisting of eighty members equally divided
between the two wings. The constitution provided
for a federal system based on principle of parity
between East and West Pakistan. A uni-cameral
legislature consisted of equal number of members
from the both parts of Pakistan. Provincial
autonomy was granted to the provinces.
Accommodating the demand of the eastern wing,
more subjects were included
in
the
provinciallist. Urdu and Bengali both were made
the national languages of Pakistan. The question of
joint or separate elections was left to be decided by
the two Provincial Assemblies. (Hamid khan,
2005)
The agreement achieved by the political leaders of
East and West Pakistani on vital issues was the
greatest success in the history of the constitutionmaking of Pakistan. It was then expected that the
implementation of the constitution would provide
the country with much needed political stability.
Nevertheless, it did not happen in this way. The
undue interference of Governor General
IskanadarMirza in the country's politics and
hispersonal involvement in bringing about the
collapse of different governments proved to be fatal
for the democratic process and paved the way for
the martial law.
On October 7, 1958 General Muhammad Ayub
Khan , Chief of Army Staff, supported by
IskandarMirza, the President of Pakistan , imposed
martial law
throughout the country. Later, he

Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(5) December, 2013

46

The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors

forced IskandarMirza to resign from his office of

president. After coming to power, General
Muhammad Ayub Khan dissolved the national and
provincial assemblies, banned political parties, and
abrogated the 1956 Constitution, which was made
after a struggle of nine years. Then he introduced
his own political system called
Basic
Democracy. In 1964, according to Basic
Democracy Order 1959, 80,000 persons (40,000
from each wing or province) were to be elected on
the basis of adult-franchise. Approximately 1,000
voters were to elect one Basic Democrat. One of the
basic functions of the Basic Democrats was to
provide legitimacy to Ayub Khans military
dictatorship by electing him as the President of
Pakistan. It was done on February 7, 1960 through a
referendum. On the next day General Ayub Khan
took oath as the elected President of Pakistan.
After securing the legitimacy for his government,
President General Ayub Khan gave the new
constitution on the country in 1962. According to
this constitution, the President and members of the
national and provincial assemblies were to be
elected through the Basic Democracy for a term
of five years. The constitution created a highly
centralized political system with vertical power
linkage. The structural distribution of power
favored the Centre and the presidency. The
governors as made by the President, and were
answerable only to him.(RounaqJahan, 1972). Such
a highly centralized political structure was
naturally against the expectations of the East
Pakistanis who longed for Federal Parliamentary
Government with full regional autonomy.
Moreover, General Ayub Khan did not provided
opportunity to the politicians who had mass-support
in East Pakistan to participate in the party less
national assembly elections of 1962 by banning all
political parties and disqualifying many popular
politicians. In these elections, the politicians who
were elected from East Pakistan were generally
second-echelon political leaders. (RounaqJahan,
1972)
The appointment of Monem Khan as East
Pakistan's Governor by Ayub Khan in October 1962
and the repressive measures adopted by him to
suppress the opposition parties added to the
feelings of popular mistrust in East Pakistan
against the central government. Monem Khan was
appointed as governor because of his complete
loyalty and subordination to President Ayub Khan.
His principle objective was to build the political
support for the government of President General
Ayub Khan.
Monem Khan reversed the policy of reconciliation,
moderation, and accommodation with the East
Pakistani opposition followed by the former
Governor Azam Khan. The administration ofMonem
Khan frequently harassed and persecuted the

leaders and workers of opposition parties. During

the elections campaign of 1964-65, all opposition
parties in East Pakistan complained that the
government has arrested more than five hundred of
their political activists. During his tenure, press was
tightly controlled, student strikes were severely
dealt with and police was frequently called in to put
down demonstrations. Police, violatinguniversity
autonomy, entered the university hostels and
arrested students. Such a repressive policies of
Monem Khan further alienated the political leaders
and people of East Pakistan not only from the
regime of General Ayub Khan but also from West
Pakistan because Ayub Khan was considered as the
promoter of the interests of Western wing only.
(RounaqJahan, 1972)
Unlike 1962 elections, political parties were
allowed to take part in the 1965 presidential
elections. Miss Fatima Jinnah, was nominated as
the leader of the Combined Opposition Group
(COP). She had mass support, particularly in the
East Pakistan. Nevertheless, Ayub Khan was
elected as president in spite of widespread
opposition to him, especially in East Pakistan. This
embittered the feelings of frustration in East
Pakistan.
The 1965 Indo-Pak War further aggravatedthe
feelings of alienation in East Pakistan. The East
Pakistanis felt that they were left nearly defenseless
against India and the most of the Pakistani army
was deployed to defend the western wing.
Along with these aspects "economic disparity was
also one of the most important factors, which
paved the way for the dismemberment of Pakistan.
During his rule President General Ayub Khan,
achieved "economic boom", but in this so-called
boom, West Pakistan left East Pakistan far behind
in the "economic development". According to
various estimates, during 1959-60 per capita
income in West Pakistan was 32 percent higher
than it was in East Pakistan. By 1969-70 this
disparity rose to 61 percent. (Hassan Askari Rizvi, 1981)
Thus aftermathof the 1965 war coupled withthe
socio-economic backwardness of East Pakistan
provided a favorable opportunity to Sheikh Mujibur-Rehman to come up with his six-point formula.
The six-point formula mostly reflected the concept
of "two-economies", and later it became the main
plank of the Bangladesh movement and finally
turned out to be the beginning of the end of the
relationship.
Mujib's six-point formula envisaged a very weak
Centre in which Provincial assemblies were
mainsource of power. This formula denied the
Centre to levy taxes, even on defense, an area
otherwise under the sole authority of Centre.
According to observers it was nothing but a veiled
scheme of secession. (G. W. Chaudhry, 1973)

Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(5) December, 2013

47

The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors

The Government of Ayub Khan gave full coverage

to Sheikh Mujib'ssix-point formula, expecting that it
would ultimatelygo against Mujib-ur-Rehman.
The publicity was given through the government
owned press in which he was termed as secessionist
and an "Indian agent". In the meantime, Mujib-urRehman was arrested. All these events contributed to
his popularity.
In January 1968, the Central Government
announced that it had discovered a plot in
December 1967 to make East Pakistanan
independent state. It was announced that details of
this plot were finalized in Agartala, a border town
in India, in collaboration with Indian army
authorities. Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman, who at
that time was in custody, was also included in the
case. His inclusion politicized the case. The
hearing of the case continued till February
1969.But later the tribunal was revoked because of
political reasons. Instead of destroying Sheikh
Mujib-ur-Rehmans
image,
the
Agartala
Conspiracy Case further added to his popularity.
By thattime, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the Chairman of
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had emerged as a
popular leader in West Pakistan. He started a
campaign against President Ayub Khans regime,
creating intense dislikeagainst him among the
people. President Ayub Khan could not
maintaincontrol over government because of his
il1 healthand ever increasing public agitations in
Pakistan. He tried to work out some consensus
with the opposition by calling a round table
conference of the mainstreampoliticians including
Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman after the withdrawal of
Agartala Conspiracy Case against him. However,
President Ayub Khan's efforts of reaching at a
consensus with the opposition leaders failed badly.
(Robert Jackson, 1975)
The law and order scene in Pakistan became grave
and Ayub's government lost control of the
deteriorating situation. President Ayub Khan
resigned and handed over power to another General
Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, the Commanderin-Chief of Pakistan Army. President General Yahya
Khan lacked political acumen. He took charge of
the country at the most difficult time in the history
of Pakistan.After coming to power, Yahya Khan
adopted
a
policy
of
concession
and
accommodation. He did not ban political parties
and announced in his speech on November 28, 1969
that elections would be held on October 5, 1970. In
his speech, he accepted one of the main demands
ofEast Pakistani politicians regarding "one man one
vote". It means that parliamentary representation
should be based on the ratio of population and not
on parity basis between the two wings. This act
gave East Pakistan a permanent upper hand in the
parliament by givinghim 162 seats out of the 300
seats of the National Assembly. President General
Yahya Khan also dissolved One Unit in West

Pakistan and restored four provinces namely Sindh,

Baluchistan, Punjab and North West Frontier
Province (NWFP). (Craig Baxter, 1971)
President General Yahya Khan also fulfilled another
demand of eastern wing about increasing funds
allocations that was frequently advanced by the
politicians of East Pakistan in the 1960s. The final
allocationunder the Fourth Five Years Plan, as
approved by the 29th National Economic Council
was as follow.
Table

East Pakistan.

West Pakistan

Total
(crore
Rs)
4,900

Public
2940 (60%) 1960 (40%)
Sector
Private
3000 (39%)
1600 (61%)
2,600
Sector
Total
3,940(52.5%) 3,560(47.5%) 7,500
Source: G.W. Chaudhry, The Last Days of United
Pakistan, London, 1973, p. 63.
President Yahya Khan accepted various demand of
East Pakistani leaders hoping that if the East
Bengalis were given their due shares in economic
and political fields, the secessionist tendencies in
East Pakistan would be neutralized.
In order to control the secessionist tendencies in East
Pakistan, President General Yahya Khan
promulgated the Legal Framework Order on March
28, 1970. It determined the limits of provincial
autonomy. According to one of its provision the
territorial integrity and national solidarity of Pakistan
shall be respected and there shall be a federation in
which the provinces shall have maximum autonomy
but the federal government shall also have adequate
powers to discharge itsresponsibilities in relation to
external and internal affairs and to preserve the
independence and integrity of the country. (Robert
Jackson, 1975)
Afterthe restoration of political activity, Sheikh
Mujibs campaigned vehemently for his six point
formula.During his election campaign, the spirit of
the Legal Framework Order of 1970, was
completely distorted. President Yahya Khan not
only remained irresponsive to this but also took no
step to win the confidence of other political forces
in East Pakistan, like National Awami Party of
Maulana Abdul Hamid Bhashani, which proved to
be fatal for Pakistan in coming days. (G.W.
Chaudhry, 1973)
In the meantime, a number of factors added to the
landslide
victory
of
Sheikh
Mujib-urRehrnansAwami League. The disaster unleashed by
the flood and the cyclone at the last stage of elections
campaign in August, 1970 and incompetence of the
administration to cope with the situation gave
powerful support to Sheikh Mujib'sallegations

Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(5) December, 2013

48

The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors

about the indifferent attitude of the central

governmenttowards the suffering of East Pakistani
people.After the cyclone disaster, Mujib became
more vocal. He harshly criticized the central
government for apathetic attitude and asked the
people to vote for his six-point program.
New Delhi strongly supported Sheikh Mujibs
election campaign based on six-point program. His
demand for maximum autonomy was seen on the
right line from India's point of view.Indian keen
interest and support for Mujib'sprogramme is
manifestedby the voting pattern of the Hindu
community of Bangladesh, which had historical and
cultural links w i t h India. According to the
announcement of the election commission, 57 per
cent of the total enrolled votes actually participated
in the polls and the Awami League secured 75 per
cent of the casted votes.In other words, the Awami
League secured 42 per cent of the total registered
votes, out of which the Hindus constituted 15 per
cent of the total and it is believed that they all
voted for Awami League. The Awami League
secured only 17 per cent of the Muslim votes in East
Pakistan. (SafdarMehmood, 1984)
Mujib-ur-Rehman got a landslide victory in East
Pakistan capturing 160 seats out of the 162 seats of
East Pakistan in the National Assembly but none
in West Pakistan. While Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto captured 85 seats of
the 138 seats of the West Pakistanin the National
Assembly, mostly in Punjab and Sind. (Craig
Baxter, 1971).Results of elections complicated
chances of any compromise between the Awami
League and Pakistan Peoples Party. Both were
restricted to either of the wings of Pakistanand
neitherhad a single seat in the other wing. This
created obvious situation of confrontation
between the two-parts, where contending parties
stood face to face each other.
After getting a landslide victory in the elections,
Sheikh
Mujib-ur-Rehman
adopted
an
uncompromising attitude about his six points.
Contrary to his pledges, he declared:
1 warmly thanks the people for
having given ahistorical verdict
in favor of our six point
programme. We pledge to
implement this verdict. There can
be no constitution except one
which is based on six-point
programme.
(Subrata
Roy
Chaudhry, 1972)
In West Pakistan, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of
Zulfiqar All Bhutto, supported by Qayyum Muslim
League, also adopted a stiff attitude.Z.A.Bhutto,
who had remained irresponsive to the six-point
formula during his electioncampaign, started
criticizing the formula. He said that it would
jeopardize the integrity of the country. Z.A. Bhutto

claimed that he was the sole representative of

West Pakistan and could not be deprived of sharing
power.
President General Yahya Khan and Z.A. Bhutto
held
talks
with
Sheikh
Mujib-urRehmanrespectivelyon January 12 and January 27,
1971, but couldnot get any clear response from him
about the modification of his six-point formula.
Because of Mujib'srepeateddemands, Yahya Khan
announced on February 13 that the National
Assembly should meet in Dhaka on March 3,
1971.Z.A. Bhutto's reaction to this statement was
quite uncompromising. He declared that unless
there was an understanding between Awami
League and PPP on the future constitution,
Assembly would not be allowed to meet. He
threatened
a
march
from
Khyber
to
Karachi.Qayyum Muslim League led by Khan
Abdul Qayyum Khan, which had captured nine
seats in the elections, also supported Bhutto. Khan
Abdul Qayyum Khan announced on February 9,
1971 at Peshawar that his party would not attend
the National Assembly Meeting. (Keesing's
Contemporary Archives, 1971-72)
The attitude of Z.A. Bhutto and Qayyum Khan and
some army officers forced President Yahya to
postpone the session ofNational Assembly. The
message was broadcast on March 1, 1971.
Pakistanhad to pay a heavyprice for this illadviseddecision on the partof President
YahyaKhan. Next day violent protests and
demonstrations were organized by the Awami
League throughout Dhaka leadingto shooting and
killing.Thousands of people were surrounded and
killed in cold blood, women were raped and
children were molested. (SadiqSaliq, 1986).
President General YahyaKhan on March 15
visited Dhaka to hold negotiations withMujib-urRehman, situation in Bengal was worst. The
Awami League denied the authority of President
General Yahya's Government and had the defacto
control of East Pakistan. Mujib-ur-Rahman had
absolute control over Radio, Television and Press,
which were asked to give extensive coverage to his
views. The East Bengal Regiment, the East Pakistan
Rifles and the Police force of the Provincial
Government in East Pakistan were ready to obey
the orders of Mujib-ur-Rehman and not of the central
government.
On the day of arrival of President General Yahya
Khan, Mujib-ur-Rahman issued a highly
provocative and uncompromising statement. He
said that:

Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(5) December, 2013

The spirit of freedom in

Bangladesh
cannot
be
extinguished. The struggle shall
continue with renewed vigour
until the goal of emancipation is

49

The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors

realized. (G. W. Chaudhry,

1973)
The first round of Dhaka negotiations between
Yahya Khan and Mujib-ur-Rehman started on
March 16 1971. Mujib-ur-Rehmanarrived in the
President House in a car with a symbol of
Bangladesh pasted onto it. During the parleys,
Yahya Khan made earnest pleas to Mujib-urRahman to avoid the path of confrontation and
showed his willingness to incorporate most of the
fundamentalsof Mujib's six-points in the future
constitutionof the country.
Mujib-ur-Rehmanemphasized on the approval of
these demands:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Immediate withdrawal of martiallaw

Return of troops to barracks
An inquiry into the killing which had
taken place in East Pakistan
Transfer of power to the elected
representatives of the people. (Subrata
Roy Chaudhry, 1972)

President Yahya gave an undertaking to Mujib-urRahman that the scheme would be accepted if Z.A
Bhutto did not raise any objection to it. Bhutto,
who at that time was in Karachi, had already
conveyed the message to Yahya that if any
decision was reached by passing the PPP, it would
not work. (SadiqSaliq, 1978)
Z.A.Bhutto and his principal aides arrived in
Dhaka on March 21, 1971. They raised a number of
objections to the Mujib's proposed scheme. Bhutto
rejected the proposal of two committees of East
and West Pakistan on the ground that it contained
the seeds of two Pakistan. Moreover, he said that if
the transfer of power was affectedand martiallaw
was lifted without approval of the National
Assembly, it would create a legalvacuum and the
proclamation would be without legal validity.He
also suggested that any constitution must be
approved by a majority of the members of the
National
Assembly
from
each
wing.
(SafdarMehmood, 1976)
The Awami League observed March 23, 1971 as
the "Resistance Day". The new Bangladesh flag
was formallyunfurled and it replaced the Pakistani
flag on all of the Governmental and privatebuildings.
Mujib-ur-Rehman took the saluteof new Paramilitary
force. This activity continued on March 24 and 25,
while President Yahya Khan, still in Dhaka, was
trying his utmost to find some political solution
with the Awami League and PPP to avert the
danger of secession.Having failed to achieve
political solution, Yahya Khan decided to come
back. On March 25, he left Dhaka for West
Pakistan. Next day in his speech to the nation, he
denounced Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, banned
political activitiesand the AwamiLeague. He said:

"In view of the grave situation that

exists in the country, I have decided to
ban all
political activities in the
country. As far as The Awami League,
it is completely banned as a political
party. I have also decided to impose
complete censorship. Martial law
regulations will very shortly be issued
in pursuance of this decision.
(Keesings Contemporary Archives,
1971-72)
The army action was taken on the night of 25-26
March. The main clash took place between the
West Pakistan garison, armed forces of East
Pakistan regiments, the East Pakistan rifles and the
border guards. Most of the army action was
directed against this secessionist forces.Mujib-urRehman was arrested that night. Law and order was
restored in Dhaka by the action of one night only,
but army had to face the heavy resistance in other
districts like Rajshahi, Chittagong and Pabna by the
MuktiBahini forces. It was not until the end of
April that the Pakistan army was able to regain
control of the various districts and areas of East
Bengal. (G.W. Chaudhry, 1973)
India launched offensive against East Pakistan on
November, 22 1971 and it took just 25 days to the
outnumbered, well equipped and well organized
Indian forces to achieve victory over ill equipped
and unorganized Pakistani Armed Forces, which
eventually surrendered on December 16, 1971 and
thus
Bangladesh
became
a
reality.
(SafdarMehmood, 1984)
Conclusion
The above analysis shows that Bengali nationalism,
whichculminatedinto the dismemberment of
Pakistan, emerged in 1950s and 1960's due to the
discriminatory policies of non-representative
persons dominating the Central Government of
Pakistan. East Pakistan was deprivedof its due share
in political and economic realms and this led to the
growth of Bengali nationalism. A political
situation was created in which the majority group
from East Pakistan felt itself dominated by a
minority group of West Pakistan. Economically, it
was also felt that East Pakistanis were deliberately
kept backward. The allocation of resources by the
central governmentfor East Pakistan was
comparatively lower to that of West Pakistan. These
political and economic differences created a sense
of deprivation in East Pakistan, which was
exploited by Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman. The use of
force caused many casualties and it left a bad
impression on the people of East Pakistan and was
deprived of their support. At this juncture, when
India used force in East Pakistan, it was helped and
backed by the Awami League forces and thus
Pakistan lost the war.

Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(5) December, 2013

50

The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors

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