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Why did East Pakistan separated from West Pakistan?

Causes of separation of east Pakistan, The main Reasons for separation of east Pakistan

The Causes/ Reasons for the Separation of East Pakistan

Why was East Pakistan separated?

East Pakistan was separated from West Pakistan in 1971 as a result of a number of factors, including linguistic, cultural, and political differences. The Bengali-speaking people of East Pakistan felt that they were not being treated fairly by the government and military, which were dominated by the Punjabi-speaking elite of West Pakistan. In addition, East Pakistan was economically disadvantaged compared to West Pakistan, and the two regions had very different cultural and social norms.

The tensions between East and West Pakistan came to a head in 1971, when the East Pakistani political party, the Awami League, won a majority of seats in the national parliament but was denied the right to form a government. This led to widespread protests and civil unrest in East Pakistan, and the situation was exacerbated by a severe cyclone that struck the region in November 1970.

In response to the unrest, the government of West Pakistan launched a military crackdown against the people of East Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians. This led to the formation of the Bengali nationalist movement, which called for the independence of East Pakistan. In December 1971, the East Pakistani military, aided by the Indian military, declared independence and established the country of Bangladesh.

Pakistan came into being on 14 August 1947. Pakistan had two parts: East Pakistan and West Pakistan until 1971 when East Pakistan got independence and became Bangla Desh. The following are the causes of the fall of East Pakistan.

  1. Geographical Location of East Pakistan: Geographically Pakistan was very unique in history. It was, perhaps, the only country in the world consisting of two parts divided by the 1600 km hostile territory. India, which never accepted the creation of Pakistan as an independent Muslim state took advantage of this territorial gap and created misunderstandings between the people of East & West Pakistan.

  2. Different Social Structure: People of East & West Pakistan belonged to different social systems and they could not develop an understanding with each other. Officers of East Pakistan were more friendly towards people whereas, the officers from West Pakistan had a different attitude towards the people of East Pakistan. This created a sense of hatred against West Pakistan.

  3. Martial Laws: Until 1971, Pakistan remained under Martial law most of the time. People were deprived of their basic rights and democracy was out of binding in the country.

  4. Language Issue: The people of East Pakistan opposed the govt. policy on language issues. People protested against the govt. policy and many Bengali students lost their lives in these protests.

  5. Issue of Provincial Autonomy: East Pakistan wanted to complete provincial autonomy. The govt. of Pakistan did not accept this demand. The people of East Pakistan considered it a violation of the constitution.

  6. Economic Deprivation: Economically, the people of East Pakistan were kept backward. Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rehman, a leader of the Awami League, demanded a separate economic system for East Pakistan. He proposed a six-point agenda for the Awami League, which was turned down by the Government.

  7. Role of the International Community: Both, the Soviet Union and America were in favor of the disintegration of Pakistan. The Soviet Union openly supported India’s attack on East Pakistan. Whereas, America did not fulfill her promise to support Pakistan.
  8. Elections of 1970: General elections were held in the country in 1970 in which Awami League, the political party of East Pakistan, gained a majority. The military junta of Gen Yahya Khan refused to hand over the govt. to Shaikh Mujib-ur –Rehman. Awami League started a mass demonstration and the situation reached the point of no return.

  9. Military Action in Pakistan: After the elections of 1970 law and order situation became very critical in East Pakistan. No one tried to find out a political solution to the problem. The govt. decided to suppress the Awami League and a military operation began in East Pakistan. Most of the leaders of the Awami League fled to India.

  10. India’s Attack: India took advantage of the situation and attacked East Pakistan on December 03, 1971. The ‘Mukti Bahni’ supported them, which was the military wing of the Awami League. Due to the poor management of the military junta of West Pakistan, the Pakistani army surrendered before the Indian army on December 16, 1971. On the same day, East Pakistan got independence from West Pakistan and became Bangladesh.

Conclusion:

Minor misunderstandings between East and West Pakistan led to major conflicts. The lack of loyal leadership further aggravated the situation and no political solution was experimented with to end the crisis. Thad had brought an end to the united Pakistan and Pakistan was disintegrated.


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Separation of east Pakistan 1971
The disparity between east and west Pakistan

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