Why did Bangladesh separate from Pakistan? If it is what made you come here, then be confident that you are in the right place.
It is much better to talk about Bangladesh separation from Pakistan in view of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan).
It is because, after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, Pakistan was a nation that comprised of two wings, the East and the West as mentioned above.
It was later that after the liberation of Bangladesh, it was no more called East Pakistan
Before getting into the reasons for the liberation of Bangladesh, let’s start from the very beginning”
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Bangladesh on World Map |
What is Bangladesh?
It is a densely populated country in South Asia that before separation from Pakistan was said to be its eastern wing. It was named the People’s Republic Of Bangladesh because the name refers to the ‘People Of Bengal‘ or the ‘Country Of Bengal’.
Bangladesh is the worlds 8th most populous country in the world because of its massive population of 163 million!
Moreover, Bangladesh is a country whose national language is Bengali and has an interesting past if viewed objectively.
Brief History Of Bangladesh 1947 onwards:
Khawaja Nizamuddin (Governor General Of Pakistan, 1948) and Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy (Prime Minister Of Pakistan, 1956) were the few personalities from West Pakistan that worked tirelessly for the well-being of Bangladesh. However, problems between the two wings of Pakistan gradually grew. Among these, a few are:
- East Pakistan wanted Bengali to be the national language while those of West accepted Jinnah’s view of Urdu as the official language.
- East Pakistan wanted a greater number of seats in the national assembly on the basis of its 10% higher population but West Pakistan granted equal seats to them.
- East Pakistan’s demand for provincial autonomy was neglected.
- East Pakistan was given less importance in terms of that its export earnings were used in the development of the West. Therefore differences arose.
Reasons For The Creation Of Bangladesh:
- The economic problems were a major reason. There were very few industries in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) and thus Bangladesh had a very weak industrial base. Moreover, this industrial base was furthered damaged by natural calamities such as floods and cyclones and problems started arising.
- There were certain political factors as well. Bangladesh had a higher population as compared to West Pakistan. Therefore it demanded a higher number of seats than the West. When this demand was turned down by the West, people of East Pakistan were enraged
- Furthermore, the 1970 elections is also a significant reason for the creation of Bangladesh. Awami League was a political party of East Pakistan under Mujeeb Ul Rehman. The Awami League’s victory caused a massive constitutional crisis.
- Lastly, the misgovernance in Bangladesh was also a reason. East Pakistan was constantly damaged by floods and cyclones. However, the Pakistani government failed to provide timely relief facilities to the residents. However, the Indian government did so. All these created a sense of separatism and thus the final nail the coffin was drawn, East Pakistan announced it to the Republic Of Bangladesh.
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South Asia Map |
Brief Detail on Indo-Pak War, 1971:
India announced the second Indo-Pak war in 1971 when the tensions in Bangladesh were on a height. Pakistan had lost its support from its eastern wing. This is because Bangladesh rejected to support Pakistan in the war. President, General Yahya Khan quickly dispatched troops to East Pakistan but India did not allow Pakistans aircraft to pass through India.
The result was a horrible defeat of Pakistan and 93,000 Pakistani troops were taken as prisoners by India. Shortly afterwards, Bangladesh was liberated!
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Bangladesh Flag. |
Conclusion:
With this, almost the entire topic of the liberation of Bangladesh is covered. We tried to our utmost to provide you with a well-investigated and factual article.
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