Causes of Separation of East and West Pakistan

The separation of eastern hemisphere Pakistan was a great setback to Pakistan. By 1970, sen sentencents for home(a) unity had weakened in east well-nigh Pakistan to the extent that uniform conflict between the two Wings dramatic on the whole(prenominal)y erupted into secure deal polite disorder. This tragically resulted in the brutal and violent amputation of Pakistans einsteiniumern Wing. The Bangladesh sacque War was a South Asian cont differencefare of independence in 1971 which established the sovereign nation of Bangladesh.The war pitted east Pakistan and India against western Pakistan, and lasted over a duration of nine months. Popular attention has, thusly far, focused on the Pakistani armys action against the Bengalis, or on the India-Pakistan war. provided, eastmost Pakistan in 1971 was simultaneously a battleground for few anformer(a)(prenominal) different kinds of violent conflict that included militant rebellion, mob violence, array crackdown on a civil ian population, urban terrorism to full-scale war between India and Pakistan. It witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 one million million refugees and the displacement of 30 million people.Begali nationalists declared independence (March 26, 1971). The Pakistani Army attempted to restore realise in eastern hemisphere Pakistan and committed terrible atrocities. Indian soldiery entered the war and quickly surpassed the Pakistani Army. The Pakistanis conceded defeat (December 16, 1971). President Yahya caravanserai resIgned. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over Pakistan and recognized Bangladesh as an independent country.Causes which led to the civil war 1971Geographically Divided NationTensions between East and West Pakistan existed from the creation of Pakistan (1947). Pakistan was an queer creation wIth the two vocalisations, East and West Pakistan separated by to a greater extent than 1,000 miles. The two parts of Pakistan shared few cultural and social traditions separate than Islam.The fusion of east and west on the basis of Islam led to the thwarting of Bengali nationalism. The lack of common bonds was accentuated when disposalal figures in the West seized control of the new republic, dominating both political and economic power. The phalanx governments which gave miniscule attention to political demands in East Pakistan only promoted discord. As a result, the resentment in East Pakistan gradually grew.Awami LeagueThe Awami League was founded as a an opposition party in East Pakistan soon afterward Pakistani independence (1949). The League has a moderately socialist ideology as was general in the new independent countries emerging from European compound empires. Cofounder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assumed leadership a few years later (1953). Disturbed by the dominate role of West Pakistan leasers, Rahman demanded a more(prenominal) equitable distri only whenion of power (1966). His plan called for a federation of East and West Pakis tan which would have given EastPakistan a level of autonomy.Elections 1970The first antiauthoritarian elections in Pakistan were held in 1970 with the Awami League winning with a substantial majority. However Yahya caravanserai banned the Awami League and declared martial law after talks on sharing power failed. Bhutto was famously heard maxim break the legs if any member of Peoples Party attend the inaugural seance at the National Assembly. Fearing on capitalization on West Pakistan, West-Pakistanis fears of East Pakistani separatist, and Bhutto demanded to form a coalition with Mujib.Both Mujib and Bhutto were agreed upon the coalition government, with Bhutto as President and Mujib as Prime minister. The Military government and familiar Yahya caravansary was kept unaware of such of these developings. Both Bhutto and Mujib continued a political pressure on Khans military government. Pressured by his own military government, General Yahya Khan postponed the inaugural session, and ordered to arrest Mujib and put Bhutto on crime syndicate arrest.Bengali Language MovementIn 1948, the Government of the Dominion of Pakistan ordained Urdu as the sole national language, sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass discontent with the new law, the government outlawed public meetings and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political activists defied the law and organised a protest on twenty-first February 1952.The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day. The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest led by the Awami Muslim League, later renamed the Awami League. after(prenominal) years of conflict, the central government relented and granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956, which was too late to diminish the the hatefulness East Pakistanis had for Urdu speakers.Non Bengali MuslimsNon-Bengali Muslims from the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who had migrated to East Pakistan (East Bengal) after the partition of India were collectively referred to as Biharis by the Bengalis. Pro-liberation Bengalis assumed these non-Bengalis to be in favour of unite Pakistan. But a significant minority of Bengalis, including the religious parties, was also for unity.In addition, many Bengalis who voted for Sheikh Mujib out of a long-standing sense of alienation and a swear for provincial autonomy, may not have been in favour of forthwith secession. The profound polarisation of politics reached even into individual Bengali families, dividing some of them horizontally for example the father, who had experienced the creation of Pakistan, binded united Pakistan, age the son, swayed by the oratory of Sheikh Mujib, joined the fight for an independent Bangladesh.Shifting of the CapitalThe conclusiveness of shifting of the capital city from Karachi to Islamabad was perhaps a good step taken in the regime of President Ayyub Khan (1960) unlessit hit the East Pakistanis like a bullet. The Bengalis said that massive development was taking place in West Pakistan and it was being financed from the money that belonged to East Pakistan entirely.Biased Nature of West PakistanInspite of the repeated protest by the East Pakistanis, they were discriminated in the appointments in the jobs. The development funds were not given to them honestly. The East Pakistanis develop a colonial attitude towards the Bengalis.Causes of the defeat in east pakistanOperation SearchlightA intend military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army codenamed Operation Searchlight started on 25 March to curb the Bengali nationalist movement by taking control of the major cities on 26 March, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military, at heart one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from East Pakistan.The main phase o f Operation Searchlight finish with the fall of the last major town in Bengali detainment in mid-May. The operation also began the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities. These systematic killings served only to enrage the Bengalis, which at last resulted in the secession of East Pakistan later in the same year. The world(prenominal) media and reference books in English have published casualty figures which sidetrack greatly, from 5,00035,000 in Dhaka, and 200,0003,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole, and the atrocities have been referred to as acts of genocide.Mukti BahiniIndian Secret science Services formed an Anti Pakistan Wing East Pakistan named as Mukti Bahini pith Freedom fighters or Liberation Army, which actively participated in persuading Population of East Pakistan to demand for a separate country. The Pakistan Army launched military operations against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, and armed personnel after sundown on March 25, 1971.In response, Bangladesh declar ed independence and Bengali military and paramilitary personnel, as well ascivilians, started spontaneous resistance against the aggression. This was the formation of the Mukti Bahini. The armed forces as well as the paramilitary and civilian forces who fought alongside them for the liberation of Bangladesh are referred to as the Mukti Bahini.Involvement of IndiaWary of the suppuration involvement of India, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a preemptive strike on Indian Air Force bases on 3 December 1971. The fight was modelled on the Israeli Air Forces Operation Focus during the Six-Day War, and intended to counteract the Indian Air Force planes on the ground. The strike was seen by India as an open act of unprovoked aggression. This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War.As a response to the attack, both India and Pakistan formally acknowledged the existence of a state of war between the two countries, even though neither government had formally issued a Declar ation of War.Third Indian-Pakistani War, December 1971Indo-Pakistani relations deteriorated yet again. This time the civil war in East Pakistan was the principal cause. After Pakistani air strikes, Indian troops entered the war (December 1971). India invaded East Pakistan in part in response to the charges of atrocities and the wave of refugees entering India. Pakisdtan conducted air raids on Indian air ports and airfields. Indians Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, addressed the nation by radio and proclaimed that the the Pakistani war against Bangladesh has become one against their homeland. The Indians quickly defeated the Pakistani Army.Military CausesWest Pakistanis had poor equipment and an insufficient number of aircrafts which made it easier for the Indians to defeat the west Pakistanis. The 14 F-86s that were stationed in Dhaka had no night time flying capability. Their military weakness also became one of the strongest reason for failing in 1971 war.The air and naval warThe Indian Air Force carried out several sorties against Pakistan, and within a week, IAF aircraft dominated the skies of East Pakistan. It achieved near-total air supremacy by the end of the first week as the entire Pakistani air dependant upon(p) in the east, PAF No.14 Squadron, was grounded because of Indian and Bangladesh air strikes at Tejgaon, Kurmitolla, Lal Munir Hat and Shamsher Nagar.Sea Hawks from INS Vikrant also infatuated Chittagong, Barisal and Coxs Bazar, destroying the eastern wing of the Pakistan Navy and effectively blockading the East Pakistan ports, thitherby cutting off any escape routes for the stranded Pakistani soldiers. The emerging Bangladesh Navy (comprising officers and sailors who defected from the Pakistani Navy) aided the Indians in the marine warfare, carrying out attacks, most notably Operation Jackpot.Islolation from the entire worldNeither America nor China was willing to support the Pakistanis because both thought that in East Pakistan there was a favourite uprising of the people and both would not have suppressed it.Existential fearBack then, the Pakistani army was accused of forming militia groups to do its bidding in East Pakistan. This existential fear of a bigger, hostile India is central to Pakistans security paradigm. In 1971 this fear was reinforced by the crucial role India played in the break up of Pakistan. For India, the situation became serious when nearly 10 million Bengali refugees crossed the border into its territory. There was a humanitarian crisis, but also an opportunity to cut Pakistan down to size.Aftermath and rescueThe Pakistani army surrendered at Dhaka (December 16, 1971). More than 90,000 Pakistanis, mostly West Pakistanis, became Indian prisoners of war. President Yahya Khan resigned.Bangladesh and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over Pakistan. The surrender led to the disintegration of East and West Pakistan and the insane asylum of Bangladesh. After 25 years, the East Pakistanis declared themselves independent and renamed their Province as Bangladesh.The final reaction of the nationReaction to the defeat and dismemberment of half the nation was a shocking loss to top military and civilians alike. No one had judge that they would lose the formal war in under a fortnight, and there was also unsettlement over what was perceived as a meek surrender of the army in East Pakistan. Yahya Khans dictatorship collapsed and gave way to Bhutto, who took the opportunity to parent to power.General Niazi, who surrendered along with 93,000 troops, was viewed with suspicion and contempt upon his return to Pakistan. He was shunned and branded a traitor. The war also exposed the shortcomings of Pakistans declared strategic doctrine that the self-denial of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan.Pakistan also failed to gather global support, and found itself fighting a lone battle with only the the States providing any external help. This further embittered the Pakistanis, who had faced the worst m ilitary defeat of an army in decades.Pakistan finally recognized Bangladesh at the Islamic multitude in Lahore on February 22, 1974.