Understanding The Factors That Tore Pakistan Apart In 1971

Just 24 years after its birth, Pakistan suffered the most tragic and horrific shock of its short history when the eastern wing of the country became the independent country of Bangladesh. East Pakistan was lost due to reasons known to all but understood by only a few. Bengali grievances had their roots in the history of the country and today some of the very fundamental questions about the reasons for this national tragedy continue to trouble the minds of historians, analysts and intellectuals. It is still being debated as to whether the emergence of Bangladesh was due to the failure of the political leadership, the political ambitions of the army high command or an international conspiracy. Many factors, such as the geographical and socio-cultural difference between the two wings, the language issue, economic disparity and exploitation of East-Pakistan, disparity in recruitment to the civil services and armed forces, differences over constitution making, the degeneration of the Muslim League and the rise of regional Bengali parties, and the political grievances and alienation of East Pakistan, were responsible for the process of decay that finally resulted in the loss of East Pakistan and the dismemberment of the country.

From the very beginning, the three main spheres where there was a difference of opinion between the two wings were the language issue, differences on-constitution making and economic disparity. The language issue was resolved in the mid-1950s, but no agreement could be reached on constitutional and economic issues.

Pakistan appeared on the map of the world as something of a geographical anomaly. The two wings of the country were separated by more than a thousand miles of hostile territory and this strange geographical position was in fact a grave threat to the unity and integrity of the country. With the exception of religion and a common struggle against British colonial rule, there was nothing common between the two wings of the country. Pakistan lacked everything needed to unite a country – culture, language or social setup. East Pakistan was only 15% of the total land area but its population was more than all the provinces of West Pakistan. The leadership in West Pakistan mainly came from the landlords and in the eastern wing from professionals like lawyers, teachers and retired government officials. The people in the eastern wing were, therefore, more conscious about political matters and well aware of their rights compared to the people in the western wing, who had been living in a society dominated by feudal lords and tribal chiefs. Education was more widespread in the eastern wing and the middle class was strong and assertive. The Bengali language movement started almost immediately after independence, and demanded that Bengali should be the medium of instruction, language of the courts, administration and mass communication in East Pakistan, and it was also demanded that Bengali should be one of the state languages of Pakistan.

The quota for Bengali recruitment in the armed forces was also doubled. It was a step in the right direction, but it came too late

The most serious and glaring point of contention between the two wings was the question of economic disparity between them. The eastern wing was cruelly and ruthlessly exploited by the leadership of West Pakistan. East Pakistan was deprived of its legitimate share in the economic benefits, development funds and foreign aid. The bulk of the revenue was spent in West Pakistan and the biggest percentage of the budget was spent on defense. East Pakistan earned most of the country’s foreign exchange by the export of jute – and most of it was spent on the industrialisation of West Pakistan. East Pakistan provided 60% of the total revenue compared to 40% by West Pakistan, but it received only 25% for its expenditure and 75% was spent in West Pakistan.

Bengalis had a very poor representation in the civil services and the armed forces. The civil and military officials of West Pakistan posted in the eastern wing often considered the Bengalis as ‘inferior’ and ‘converts from Hinduism.’ In 1970, about 85 % of the armed forces belonged to the western wing. The Bengalis had a very poor representation in the civil services inspite of a much higher literacy rate in East Pakistan, but they always opposed the role of the army in politics. To add salt to the wounds of the Bengalis, the works of the most celebrated Bengali poet Tagore were banned in educational institutions and the national media for the simple fact that he was a Hindu. The disparity in the civil services and armed forces was rapidly disappearing because in 1966, Ayub Khan had allocated 60 percent of the vacancies to East Pakistan. In 1965, the East Pakistan CSP officers constituted 34 percent of the total strength of the civil services, but by 1969, their share had risen to 40.8 percent.

Yahya Khan, in order to give some share to the Bengalis in the top positions of the administration, made six Bengali CSP officers ‘Central Secretaries,’ and gave directions to all the ministries that whenever a senior post became vacant, Bengali candidates should be accorded priority “even if this meant disregarding of the principle of seniority.” The quota for Bengali recruitment in the armed forces was also doubled. It was a step in the right direction, but it came too late. It should have been taken in the early 1960s when Bengali nationalism was still in a nascent stage.

The controversy over constitution-making started as early as 12 March 1949, when the Objectives Resolution was adopted, and a Basic Principles Committee was constituted to report on the main principles on which the constitution was to be framed. Bengali leaders raised objections to some points of the Objective Resolution and the interim report of the Basic Principles Committee, which they thought would lead to a unitary central government, which would make East Pakistan a colony of West Pakistan. After the failure of the first Constituent Assembly, the second Constituent Assembly gave the country its first constitution on 29 February, 1956, which provided for a unicameral legislature with parity of representation between the East and the West wings.

Bengali was accepted as one of the state’s languages. However, East Pakistan was not satisfied with the parity principle. The demand for more provincial autonomy still persisted and it finally culminated in the Six-Point program of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The 1970 general elections, held on the principle of ‘one man, one vote,’ resulted in a land slide win for the Awami League led by the charismatic Bengali nationalist Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In this election, the Awami League won 167 out of 313 seats in the National Assembly and emerged as the largest single party in the country Z.A. Bhutto and his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) managed only 81 seats all in West Pakistan. Awami League lost only two seats in East Pakistan: one to Nur Ul Amin of the Muslim League and one to Raja Tridiv Roy of the Chakma tribe of Chittagong. By all canons of fair play, law and justice, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman should have been allowed to form the new government and become the Prime Minister. But instead, Operation Searchlight was unleashed on the Bengalis leading to civil war, the indignity of surrender to the Indian army and the emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign independent country.