Liberation War of 1971

Underlying causes
• There are many reasons which played a role in the ultimate liberation
war of 1971. These factors can be broadly classified into the
following:

• Social inequality
• Economic Inequality
• Bengali Nationalism
• Political conflicts
Social Inequality
There was rampant discriminations between East and West
Pakistan on the societal level:
• Most of the high administrative positions were occupied by the West
Pakistanis:
West Pakistan East Pakistan Total Posts
19 0 19 Secretary
38 03 41 Joint Secretary
130 03 133 Deputy Secretary
138 58 196 Foreign Ambassadors
510 38 548 Section Officer

Source: Govt. Report of 1958 (Bangladesh Studies: MOU)

• Huge discrimination was prevailing in the area of education facility:
West Pakistan East Pakistan Grade
04 02 University
04 01 Medical College
5244 2217 Primary School
Social Inequality
• Disparity was also there in case of employment. Most of the high posts
were held by them and the minimal jobs were also distributed unevenly
among the general population. Look at the following table:

West Pakistan East Pakistan Type of Job Year

326 186 Civil Service of Pakistan
141 86 Pakistan Tax Service
76 40 Customs & Service
36 20 Railway Accounts Service 1967-68
95 44 Audit & Accounts
50 18 Military Accounts
128 82 Police Service of Pakistan
49 19 Central Information
Source: Budget Discussion in the National Assembly of Pakistan, June 18, 1968
Economic Inequality
• East Pakistan was the major contributor of export earnings for
Pakistan. It generated significant export revenue and local tax revenue.

• However, these export revenues were mainly used for the

development of West Pakistan. Consequently, West Pakistan enjoyed
much higher GDP per capita, income per capita, industrialization,
lower unemployment rate etc. compared to East Pakistan.

• These economic inequality aggrieved East Pakistani people.

 Political Background
• Different Political factors contributed mostly to the emergence of
Bangladesh as an Independent State:
1) Absence of any Constitution:
• No Constitution was formulated until 1956.
• Many issues remained unsettled because of its absence: like-how to run the state? What
are the rights of the citizens? How to constitute the govt.? And what is the type of the
govt?).
• After 09 years in 23 March 1956, an unsolicited and incomplete constitution was
formulated which was not fulfilling everyone’s demands.
• After only 2.5 years, that Constitutional Assembly was dismissed by General Iskander
Mirja and declared State of Emergency.
• The Constitution made by General Ayub in 1962 was termed as ‘Constitutional Autocracy’
and rejected by East Pakistanis.
• As a result, General Upsurge was there in 1969 and he handed over power to General
Yahya Khan in 25 March 1969.
Political Background
2) Absence of any nation-wide singular political party:
1) There was no national singular political party accepted and supported by people across the two
divides.
2) Muslim League represented mostly the people of West Pakistan except a few supporters in the
East while Awami League represented only the people of East Pakistan without any base in the
West.
3) It became clear in the 1970 general election
4) Thus there was almost no scope to settle the disputes between the East and the West through
mutual negotiation.
3) Language Movement:
5) The first conflict between the East and the West ensured due to idea of nationalization of state
language.
6) The problem started when the subsequent state authorities declared that Urdu should be state
language of the whole Pakistan
7) Urdu was a language spoken by only a meagre 6% of people while ignoring the language of 54.6%
people.
8) The protest culminated in students-police conflicts in the streets of Dhaka in 21 February 1952 leaving
huge blood-shed.
Political Background
4) Election of 1954: The 1954 election in which United front won is a landmark
political event in the history of Pakistan. It was a clear cut manifestation of
the Bengali Nationalism that erupted in the scene in the 1952 language
movement. The central governments decision to break the local government
formed by united front increased the urge for autonomy in the Bengali
people.

5) India-Pakistan war of 1965:

• During this war, the whole of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) was unsecured and vulnerable to the
attacks of India while the military security was tightened for West Pakistan.
• In most of the cases, the East Pakistanis were totally disconnected from the central administration.
• This exacerbated the feeling of “them” and “us” between East Pakistani and West Pakistani people.
 Political Background
6) Historical Six Points Movement: The historical six point movement given
by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1966 is known as the charter
of independence of Bangladesh. The six point movement was a manifesto
claiming greater autonomy for East Pakistan. The rejection of the six point
movement and subsequent “Agartala Conspiracy” against Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman buoyed the Bengali nationalism movement.

7) 11 point movement & Mass Upsurge of 1969: The 11 point movement led
by the students of East Pakistan got massive support from the general
people and peasants of East Pakistan. The subsequent mass upsurge of
1969 resulted in the resignation of Ayub Khan and withdrawal of Agartala
Conspiracy case. This was a major victory for the Bengali Nationalist
movement.
 Political Background
8) Post 1970 Election drama: The refusal of West Pakistani leaders to swiftly transfer
power to the elected representatives of Pakistan was a major political setback. This
cemented the idea among East Pakistani people that West Pakistan will never allow
equal rights and power to East Pakistan.

9) Operation Searchlight: This was the final nail in the coffin. The atrocities committed
by the Pakistan army against the unarmed Bangladeshi people on the night of 25 th
march, 1971 resulted in the commencement of the armed liberation movement. The
proclamation of Independence was made and Bangladesh was born on 26 th March,
1971.
 Liberation War of 1971:Facts
• The liberation war commenced on 26th March, 1971 with the proclamation of
independece.

• The provisional Mujibnagar government was formed on 17 april, 1971 and it

moved to Calcultta as a government in exile. This government had Syed Nazrul
Islam as the acting president and Tajuddin Ahmed as the prime minister.

• Mukti Bahini was formed comprising Bengali Army officers, police officers,
students, general people etc. East Pakistan was segregated into 11 sectors and
guerilla warfare was fought under the command of General Osmani.
Liberation War of 1971:Facts
• The government in exile engaged in diplomacy to gather support from
international countries for Bangladesh. India, under the leadership of
Indira Gandhi, supported Bangladesh. It provided shelter to millions of
Bangladeshi Refugees. It provided funding, weapons and military training
to Bangladesh freedom fighters.

• Diplomatic tussle ensued. Pakistan severely restricted freedom of press

and ensured media black out. As a result, many in the outside world were
unaware of the atrocities committed by Pakistani forces in East Pakistan.
Pakistan also garnered the support of America. This prompted Russia, the
cold war enemy of America, to support Bangladesh.
Liberation War of 1971
• The war stretched out much longer than Pakistani military initially planned. By
September-October, the Mukti Bahini severely damaged Pakistani occupied territories.

• On 3rd December, 1971 Pakistan made a pre-emptive air strike on India in its northern
area. This promted India to directly participate in the war. Indian Army entered east
Pakistan and a coalition was formed between the Indian army and Mukti Bahini.

• Pakistan soon realized that it would suffer a defeat in this war and tried to negotiate a
“ceasefire” through the United Nations. However, this attempted “cease fire” was
prevented and Pakistan ultimately surrendered on 16th December, 1971 resulting in a
free, unoccupied People’s republic of Bangladesh.