Events Leading to the War of 1971
India was under British rule for about two hundred years. India’s freedom struggle reached its pinnacle during 1930-40. In the face of growing opposition, the British announced in the Lahore Resolution that India would be split into three parts – two parts with a Muslim majority population and a third part with the remaining area. However, during the final independence disclosure in 1947, two countries were born – Pakistan with a Muslim majority and India with a Hindu majority. However, the geographic boundary of Pakistan was such that it was divided into two parts – East and West Pakistan, two thousand kilometers apart with India in between. That distance between the two parts never lessened – it only grew in all respects which finally led to the tearing apart in 1971.
East and West Pakistan were not only separated geographically, they were isolated culturally and linguistically as well. The only thing that they had in common was their common faith in Islam. During Pakistan’s birth, the East had a population of forty million as opposed to the West having just half. One would then naturally expect that the East would have major representation in the government and administration. The reality was something different. In each of the government departments – education, defense, commerce, the West had 80 – 90 % of the share. 75% of the national budget was earmarked for the West while the revenue from the East was more than 62% of the Nation’s GDP. . [1]
1. Iqbal, Muhammed J. The History of the Freedom Fight. Dhaka: Freedom Enterprises, 2008. Print.