Q1:The separation of East
Pakistan was due to many reasons but most important were political crisis and
unjustice.Explain the statement and also discuss the causes of fall of Dhaka.
A
brief introduction:
Islamic Republic of Pakistan came into being on 14 Aug. 1947
as the biggest Islamic state of the world. Pakistan comprised of two parts at
that time i.e. East Pakistan (presently Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (present
Pakistan). But unfortunately Pakistan lost this honor of being the biggest
Islamic state of the world on 16 Dec 1971 with the loss of East Pakistan.
History:
These were some of the important facts about new born
Pakistan in 1947.in 1947 Pakistan had a population of 740000 and it was divided
in two big parts geographically.
Element East Pakistan West Pakistan
Population 4, 20, 63,000 (about 56 %) 3, 37, 79,000 (about 44%)
Area 55,000 square miles
3,10,000 square miles
Important crops Rice,
Jute, Tea Pineapple, Coconut Cotton, Tobacco, Wheat, Corn
Major languages Bangla
Urdu, Sindhi, Pashto, Punjabi etc.
Reasons
for fall of Dhaka:
There are so many reasons, so many factors involved in this
sad and tragic incident, here we will throw light on some following reasons;
Forgotten
Islamic ideology:
Pakistan was the only ideological country that was formed on
an ideology. This ideology, the ideology of Islam played a vital role in
Pakistan movement and it was the only force that helped Muslims of sub
continent to achieve their homeland in such a short period of time. But
unfortunately after the formation of Pakistan this bond of brotherhood continuously
went downward and no serious steps were taken to increase bond of love between
the people of two parts of the country.
Geographical
and cultural differences:
While evaluating the reasons of fall of Dhaka a historian
can not ignore this bitter reality that both parts of country had a distance of
about 1000 miles between them and a cunning enemy India was laying between the
two parts. Apart from that people living in both part s of Pakistanwere very
much different from each other in their life style .poor people of East Pakistanwere
different in their way of living form the people of west Pakistan.
Theirdressing, their food everything was different and moreover there was no
connection between the two parts of the country, people from
WestPakistanusually ridiculed and made fun of the living standards of east
Pakistanis. This was one of the main reasons of the hatred between two parts of
country.
Role
of Bureaucracy:
From the very first day after the formation of Pakistan
bureaucracy gained unreasonable power in the country. Bureaucracy was most
powerful in English reign and it kept its previous practice of doing whatever
it wanted to do in new Pakistan as well. They practiced their powers with so
much cleverness that some of them reached very important posts for example
Malik Ghulam Mohammad and Sikandar Mirza who never contested any election
became the head of the state. They practice their powers in such a way that even
Quaid-E-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnahcouldn’t have used them.
Unfortunately majority of CSP class was from Punjab and
Bengal had a very limited membership in this class, due to which they were
fascinated by this propagandathat people from Punjab are treating us as a their
colony.
Discrimination
in military and civil bureaucracy in joint Pakistan:
Military:
Designation East Pakistan West Pakistan
Lieutenant General 0 3
Major General 0 20
Brigadier 1 34
Colonel 1 49
Major 10
590
Navy officers
7 593
Air force officers 40 640
Civil
bureaucracy:
Designation East Pakistan West Pakistan
Secretary 0 19
Joint Secretary 3 38
Deputy Secretary 10 123
Under Secretary 38 510
Influence
of Hindus in East Pakistan:
In East Pakistan Hindus
were not only dominant in economy but also in government jobs. Lawyers and
think tanks were also from Hindus, they were affiliated with Indian national
congress and migrated to Pakistan and always created disturbance according to
the wishes of our enemy India. They had never accepted the formation of
Pakistan from heart. This 4 % population of Hindus in Bengal was working day
and night to cut Bengal from Pakistan ad ultimately they succeeded.
Role
of Hindu teachers in East Pakistan:
Unfortunately Bengali
Muslims were lagging behind in education and majority of school and college
teachers in Bengal was from Hindus who tried their best to urge the youth of
Bengal to revolt against the ideology of Pakistan and guided them to fight for
their “freedom” from Pakistan.
Lack
of national leadership:
One of the major
reasons for Pakistan’s deplorable condition in these 65 years is that Pakistan
lacked in a sincere and true leadership after Quid-e-AzamMuhammad ali Jinnah.
This deficiency of national leadership also played its part in fall of Dhaka.
The Muslim league leaders had failed badly. They were unaware of the problems
of public and there co ordination with each other was zero. This in difference
of leaders of Muslim league towards Bengali people left really bad effects on
the sensitive public of Bengal.
Economic
conditions of East Pakistan:
East Pakistan was
always less developed and it always lagged behind as far as economic condition
was concerned. Before partition people from Bengal used to think that Hindus
industrialist was the main reason of their economic backwardness but
unfortunately after patrician no serious step was could be taken to eradicate
smuggling from east Bengal. There was a huge difference between per capital
income and the general economic standards of east and West Pakistan and there
was no effort made to bridge this gape as well. As a result east Bengal
remained economically backward and selfish elements converted in inferiority
complex of east Bengalis into hatred against the west Pakistanis.
Provincial
Prejudice:
Ideally speaking
Pakistan should have formed its constitution with in one or two years after its
coming into being, So that all the emotion of national unity which were present
at that time could have been maintained. But unfortunately we could not even
decide the basic principles and rules for our country in 1st nine years which
created provincial prejudice and so many other miss understandings between two
parts of the country. This provincial prejudice played a vital rule in
Pakistan’s disintegration.
President
Ayub’ martial law:
Ayub khan’s so called
firm government closed down all those safety valves which helped the
politicians to be aware of the critical situation of EastPakistanpermanent
state of emergency in the country always supported beauracracy which always
suppressed the public. This gave birth to the gutter politics and created
hatred in hearts of the public of EastPakistan.
Language
differences:
The first ever attack
on the national unity of Pakistan was the language conflict which permanently
divided Pakistan in two parts this problem arouse in 1948 for the first time
when Quaid-E-Azam wasalivebut at that time this issue did not take that much
importance, but after Quaid E Azam this issue again arose and this time there
was no national leader who could handle this problem. The conflict was simple.
Bengali was the language of 56 % of Pakistani population and they logically and
justifiably wanted Bangla to be the national language but official always
insisted on having Urdu and only Urdu as national language which was spoken
only by 12% of Pakistani population. Ultimately both Bengali and Urdu were
taken as national languages but the damage now had been done.
Formation
of one unit:
In beginning Pakistan
had four provinces, Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Bengal, but population in these
provinces was not balanced. More than half of the total population lived in one
province and always demanded for their share in National Assembly and Senate on
the basis of population and this was one of the biggest obstacles in the
formation of a constitution as well. Law makers resolved this issue by combing
all the provinces of West Pakistan in one big unit and declaring it half of the
country on 14 Oct. 1955. Now Pakistan had only two provinces east and
WestPakistan. But Bengalis never accepted this decision as they were deprived of
their due right of representation in assemblies by this formation.
Six
points of Sheikh Mujeeb U rehman:
Sheikh Mujeeb Ur Rehman
was the only recognized leader of East Pakistan at the time of disintegration
of Pakistan he was one of the main characters involved in fall of Dhaka. He
presented his controversial six points in 1966; these six points played a vital
role in separation of Bengal,
First enunciated on
February 12, 1966, the six points are as below:
1. The Constitution
should provide for a Federation of Pakistan in the true sense on the basis of
the Lahore Resolution and for a parliamentary form of government based on the
supremacy of a directly elected legislature on the basis of universal adult
franchise.
2. The Federal
Government shall deal with only two subjects; Defense and Foreign Affairs. All
residuary subjects will be vested in the federating states.
3. There should be
either two separate, freely convertible currencies for the two Wings, or one
currency with two separate reserve banks to prevent inter-Wing flight of
capital.
4. The power of
taxation and revenue collection shall be vested in the federating units. The
Federal Government will receive a share to meet its financial obligations.
5. Economic disparities
between the two Wings shall disappear through a series of economic, fiscal, and
legal reforms.
6. A militia or
paramilitary force must be created in East Pakistan, which at present has no
defense of it own.
Basically he suggested
for a confederation in the cover of provincial autonomy and started propagating
against the federation of Pakistan and ultimately broke it.
Agartala
conspiracy:
In Dec 1967 a
conspiracy of kidnapping and killing of GeneralAyubwas reveled after some days
another conspiracy was caught. This was the Agartala conspiracy. According to
government reports India’s first secretaryOjha and some leaders ofAwami League
were planning to disintegrate Bengal from Pakistan and for that purpose they
were holding talks on bringing the ammunition in Bengal.in this accusation sheikh
Mujeeb was arrested but unfortunately its effects came really bad as Mujeeb
became hero of the Bengalis and later on he was released.
Bhutto,
Mujeeb and Yahya triangle:
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,
sheikh Mujeeb Ur Rehman, and General Yahya, this triangle undoubtedly is the
biggest factor in fall of Dhaka. Pakistan could have been united today if these
three had thought of national interest and not of their own personal interests.
Yahya wanted to remain president and for that he was ready to do anything,
Bhutto wanted his share in government by giving the concept of second largest
party and Mujeeb also showed rigidity in his attitude, and thisresulted in the
fall of Dhaka.
Military
operation of Takka Khan:
When Yahya khan showed
hesitation in calling the assembly for its first meeting after elections,
unrest and frustration arose in East Pakistan but instead of talking it out
Yahya ordered for a military operation, general Takka khan conducted the
notorious operation and thousands of innocent people were killed, this really
added to the hatred of Bengali people.
High
jacking of Ganga plane:
India knew that East
Pakistan is at the distance of 1000 miles from West Pakistan so they started
planning against Pakistan. Indiaplayed a clever trick and got on of its planes
high jacked by its own agentsand made it land on Pakistani soil. Later on they
accused Pakistan for itshigh jacking and banned all Pakistani planes to fly
over Indian air way, by doing this they practically cut off West Pakistan from
East Pakistan.
Flood
in East Pakistan:
As stated earlier
Bengal was a damp area where more than 88 inches average rains were recorded
annually, it was common for Bengal to face huge floods and thunderstorms. A
huge flood hit Bengal in 1970 as well. It could have been a blessing in
disguise if Pakistani rulers had helped out the poor Bengalis at that time the
hatred could have been minimized a lot but they showed their conventional
indifference and it proved fatal ultimately. 5 lac people died and it ruined
Pakistan’s unity as well.
Elections
of 1970:
In 1970 Pakistan
observed the only fair elections of its history. Awami league won in East
Pakistan and Pakistan People’s Party in West Pakistan. But no party could win
even a single seat from other part of country. This fair election was
indigestible for Pakistani public and transfer of poor could not be made.
Ultimately the rope was broken in this cat fight and Pakistan was divided.
Continuous
Indian intervention:
India has been the biggest
enemy of Pakistan from day 1. it has never accepted Pakistan and always tried
to destabilize Pakistan, it played the most important role in Pakistan ‘loss of
Bengal, it kept its continuous intervention in East Pakistan, sometimes by its
agents and Mukti Bahini and sometimes by its paid members in the national
assembly ofPakistan. India always used this weakness of ours to exploit the
Kashmir issue and ultimately defeated Pakistan in 1971.
Indian
attack on East Pakistan:
After weakening
Pakistan in every field when India felt that now Pakistan is weak enough to be
defeated, it attacked Pakistan directly on 24th Nov. 1971. Pakistan army
resisted this attack for a month or so but it was very difficult for army to
fight without air support and its public. UltimatelyPakistan armyin spite of
recording great gestures of bravery surrendered on 16 Dec 1971 and was defeated
at the hands of Indian army.
Role
of foreign super powers:
If we look at the
political scenario of that time we feel that USA and USSR in order to cover
china wanted Pakistan to be cut short. For this purpose they found East
Pakistan the best possible way to be cut away from Pakistan and American
ambassador Joseph Farland seemedreally busy at that time with Pakistan issue,
America also refused to give Pakistan the ammunition or any kind of support in
spite of being itsally.
Pakistan’s
emotional attitude in Security Council session:
Even after all these
factors there was a possibility that the war could have been resolved according
to the resolutions of UNO and we could have avoided the embarrassment of
surrendering before India but Pakistan’s emotional attitude in UNO proved to be
the last nail in the coffin and we lost more than half of our country on 17 Dec
1971.
After
war effects of war of 1971:
1.
We practically lost 55% of our country
2.
Over 90 thousand Pakistani military and civil
personals were imprisoned.
3.
New stories of tyranny over Bengalis were
written.
4.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto came to power in
remaining Pakistan.
5.
A commission under supervision of Chief
Justice of Pakistan justice Hamood Urehman was formed to investigate the
factors involved in fall of Dhaka, but its report could never have been
published.
6.
There was a huge wave of disappointment and
tension among Pakistanis as no one could believe that we had lost the war as
well as half of our country.
7.
On 2nd July 1972 Pakistan lost another
war, this time on table buy signing Simla Pact.
Simla
pact:
These were the points
included in Simla pact;
I.
That the principles and purposes off the
Charter of the United Nations shall govern the relations between the countries;
II.
That the two countries are resolved to
settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by
any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them. Pending the final
settlement of any of the problems between the two countries, neither side shall
unilaterally alter the situation nor shall both prevent the organization,
assistance or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful
and harmonious relations.
III.
That the pre-requisite for
reconciliation, good-neighborliness and durable peace between them is a
commitment by both countries to peaceful co-existence, respect for each other's
territorial integrity and sovereignty and non-interference in each other's
internal affairs, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit;
IV.
That the basic issues and causes of
conflict which have bedeviled the relations between the two countries of the
last twenty-five years shall be resolved by peaceful means;
V.
That they shall always respect each
other's national unity, territorial integrity, political independence and
sovereign equality;
VI.
That in accordance with the Charter of
the United Nations, they shall refrain from the threat or use of force against
the territorial integrity or political independence of each other;
VII.
Both Governments will take all steps
within their power to prevent hostile propaganda directed against each other.
VIII.
Both countries will encourage the
dissemination of such information as would promote the development of friendly
relations between them;
IX.
In order progressively to restore and
normalize relations between the two countries step by step, it was agreed that;
X.
Steps shall be taken to resume
communications, postal, telegraphic, sea, land including border posts, and air
links including over flights;
XI.
Appropriate steps shall be taken to
promote travel facilities for the nationals of the other country;
XII.
Trade and co-operation in economic and
other agreed fields will be resumed as far as possible;
XIII.
Exchange in the fields of science and
culture will be promoted.
In this connection
delegations from the two countries will meet from time to time to work out the
necessary details.
In
order to initiate the process of the establishment of durable peace, both
Governments agree that:
I.
Indian and Pakistani forces shall be
withdrawn to their side of the international border;
II.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the line of
control resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971 shall be respected
by both sides without prejudice to the recognized position of either side.
Neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual
differences and legal interpretations. Both sides further undertake to refrain
from the threat of the use of force in violation of this line;
III.
The withdrawals shall commence upon
entry into force of this Agreement and shall be completed within a period of
thirty days thereof.
IV.
This Agreement will be subject to
ratification by both countries in accordance with their respective constitutional
procedures, and will come into force with effect from the date on which the
Instruments of Ratification are exchanged.
V.
Both Governments agree that their
respective Heads will meet again at a mutually convenient time in the future
and that, in the meanwhile, the representatives of the two sides will meet to
discuss further the modalities and arrangements for the establishment of a
durable peace and normalization of relations, including the questions of
repatriation of prisoners of war and civilian internees, a final settlement of
Jammu and Kashmir and the resumption of diplomatic relations.
Timeline
of fall of Dhaka:
Event Year
Linguistic violence 1952
Elections in East
Pakistan 1954
Formation of one unit
14 Oct. 1955
First martial law 7 Oct. 1958
Mujeeb Urehman’s six
points
1966
Agartala conspiracy Dec 1967
End of One Unit 1st April 1970
Legal
Framework Order(L.F.O) 29 mar 1970
Flood in East Pakistan Aug 1970
General Elections Dec 1970
Takka Khans’s operation
26 mar 1971
High jacking of Ganga
Plane
30 Jan 1971
“Dhaka is a butcher
house” (Bhutto) 18 Feb. 1971
Important
characters involved in fall of Dhaka:
·
General Ayub Khan Chief Martial Law Administrator, President of Pakistan 1962-69,
Chief of Army Staff
·
General Yahya Khan Chief Martial Law Administrator, President of
Pakistan 1969-71, Chief of Army Staff
·
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto A feudal lord from Sindh, founder of
Peoples party ,Prime Minister of Pakistan 1973-77
·
Sheikh Mujeeb Urehman Head of Awami League, Bangladesh’s first
President and then Prime Minister
·
General Takka Khan Military Governor of East Pakistan ,
conducted the notorious military operation in East Pakistan
·
General A.K Niazi Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator, Chief Commanding
Officer of East Pakistan
·
General Jagjit Singh Aroura Indian Chief Commanding officer of Eastern
zone
·
Indra Gandhi Only daughter of JawaharLaaal Nehru, Prime Minister of India
1966-1977 and again in 1980-84
Conclusion:
·
16 December 1971 is so far the darkest
and most hurting day of our history
·
Have we learnt any lesson from this
tragic incident?
·
God Forbid if we are moving towards
another fall? Fall of Quetta?
·
There is only one point in this critical
evaluation that Bengal was not separated from us, we separated it with our own
“hard work
Political
Dynamics in Ancient Bengal (326 B.C. TO 1204 A.D.)
The earliest historical
reference to organized political life in the Bangladesh region is usually
traced to the writings on Alexander’s invasion of India in 326 B.C. The
evidence from various sources refers to the rise and fall of a large number of
principalities in the region. There are two schools of opinion regarding the
political evolution of ancient Bengal:-
• According to one school, the
Bangladesh region in the ancient period was an integral part of mighty empires
in north India. These historians maintain Gangaridai and Prasioi empires were
succeeded by the Mauryas (4th to 2nd century B.C.), the Guptas (4th-5th century
A.D.), the empire of Sasanka (7th century A.D.), the Pala Empire (750-1162
A.D.), and the Senas (1162-1223 A.D.).
• The revisionist historians maintain
that epigraphic evidence suggests that only some of the areas, which now
constitute Bangladesh, were occasionally incorporated in the larger empires of
South Asia. In their view, political fragmentation and not empire was the
historical destiny of Bangladesh region in the ancient times. Inscriptions
attest to the existence of a succession of independent kingdoms in southern and
eastern Bengal. These local kingdoms included the realms of Vainyagupta (6th
century), the Faridpur kings (6th century), the Bhadra dynasty (circa 600-650 A
D), Khadaga dynasty (circa 650-700 AD), Natha and Rata dynasty (750-800 A D),
the rulers of Harikela (circa 800-900), Chandra dynasty (circa 900-1045 A D),
Varman dynasty (circa 1080-1150 A D), and Pattikera dynasty (circa 1000-1100 A
D).
The weakness of social,
political and economic institutions provided a suitable environment for freedom
of religion. Throughout history, small kingdoms blossomed and withered like
wild flowers in this region.
Political
Events of 1971
The military,
bureaucracy, and business, all West Pakistani-dominated, were shocked at the
results because they faced the prospect that the central government’s power
would be passed away to the Bengalis, if the Awami League were allowed to shape
the constitution and form a government. The results of the election gave the
Awami League the possibility of framing the constitution according to its
6-point program. The election put the Pakistani ruling elite in such a position
that, if it allowed the democratic process to continue, then it would be unable
to stop the Awami League from framing a constitution that would protect the
Bengali interests.
The month of December
passed and yet there was no sign of the calling of the assembly.
On the 3rd of January
1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called a mammoth public meeting in which he
administered an oath to the persons who had been elected to the national and
provincial assemblies by which they swore allegiance to the party’s programme
for provincial autonomy. Between the election results and this meeting
apparently no effort was made by General Yahya khan to bring the leaders
together for consultations, though later when he made such efforts the Sheikh
adopted hard attitude.
By and large most of
the parties in the west did openly oppose the six points programme. It has been
alleged that Pakistan people’s party alone did not. On the 7th of January 1971
with this background General Yahya went to East Pakistan. The evidence suggest
that at this stage the presidential team did not have a copy of the six points
programme and no serious efforts were done to convince Sheikh on his six
points. Accordingly the meeting was held. Mujib presented his six pints and
asked General Yahya: -
“Sir you know what the
six points programme is, please tell me what objections you have to this
programme.”
General Yahya said that
he himself had nothing against the programme but the west Pakistanis does have
some problems. However, the meeting ended with the reference from General Yahya
to the Sheikh as his future prime minister.
From Dacca the
president came to Karachi and on 17th January 1971 went o Larkana to pay a
visit to Mr. Bhutto. After this visit Mr. Bhutto went with some other members
of his party to Dacca where he met the Sheikh on the 27th of January 1971. Mr.
Bhutto returned from Dacca really having failed in his mission.
Mr. Bhutto met General
Yahya at Rawalpindi on the 11th February 1971, and reported to him the result
of the discussions After this meeting, General Yahya announced that the
assembly will met on the 3rd of march 1971.
On the 15th of
February, Mr. Bhutto called a press conference in Peshawar and said that the
date has come as total surprise to him. On the 21st February, a convention of
the party took an oath to abide by the party decision not to attend the
assembly on the 3rd of March 1971.
On the 22nd of February
1971, the president convened a meeting of the governors and martial law
administrators at, which were present also, some high ranking military and
civilian officers. He gave a review of current situation and the stand of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It is also a fact that the president took the decision
to postpone the national assembly as early as the 22nd February.
On the 1st of March
General Yahya announced the postponement of the national assembly meeting. The
East Pakistanis reacted violently to the postponement and the immediate results
were the violent demonstrations and disturbances in Dacca. The army was called
to cope with this situation. Also, on that day Yahya named General Tikka Khan,
as East Pakistan’s military governor.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
on the 7th of March 1971 announced a weeklong programme to continue
non-cooperation movement starting on March 2nd.
General Yahya reached
Dacca on 15th march and met Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the same date. The
proposals of Sheikh were:-
• Martial Law is lifted.
• National Assembly will start
functioning both as a Constituent assembly and the legislature.
• Power transferred both at national
and provincial levels.
The second and third
rounds were held on the 17th and 21st of March 1971 respectively. Mr. Bhutto on
an invitation from Dacca on the 19th reached Dacca on the afternoon of the 21st
and met the president. The next three days were occupied with discussions of
president aides with the Pakistan People’s Party and the Awami League
separately.
On the 23rd March 1971,
General Yahya summoned a conference of the leaders at Dacca for the 10th.
Again, Mujib refused to attend and there after General Yahya fixed the 25th for
the meeting of the assembly. Bengalis following Mujib’s lead defiantly
celebrated “Resistance Day” in East Pakistan instead of the traditional
all-Pakistan “Republic Day.” The new flag of Bangladesh was hoisted on all
government and private buildings.
On the 24th and 25th
march, Mr. Bhutto met the president to discuss the proposals of Awami League.
On the evening of the 25th the Pakistan’s People’s Party was informed about the
final proposals of Awami League. At about midnight between the 25th and 26th
Dacca was awakened to the nose of gunfire; military crackdown has started.
General Yahya had already left Dacca.
On the 28th June 1971,
General Yahya made a broad cast to the nation again in which he spoke with
sorrow of the recent happenings and emphasized once again that his aim had been
to restore democracy in the country.
Unfortunately due to
the preplanned rebellious act of the Awami League situation as existed
immediately after the military action was as follows:-
• Major portion of the territory of
East Pakistan was in rebels hands.
• Civil servants were also actively
associated with Awami League. A large fled to India or had left their work place.
• Communications had been badly
disrupted due to sabotage by the rebels.
• Educational Institutions were the
main centers of agitation and resistance.
• It was difficult to apply normal laws
of the country.
