An assignment on

“Geopolitical Emergence of Bangladesh”

Course Name: Bangladesh: Human Geography and Environment (GETH-307)

Submitted To, Submitted By,

Md. Faruk Hossain Nishat Tasnim Sumaya

Assistant Professor Class Roll: 33

Department of Geography and Environment Session: 2019-20 (3rd year)

University of Dhaka Department of Geography and Environment

University of Dhaka
 Geopolitical Emergence of Bangladesh

Legacy of British rule (1700–1947):

During the Moghul era (16th to 18th century), the European arose in powers and began exploring
the world. The East India Company, founded in Britain, was a symbol of this growing trade and
power. The British acquired dominance in the Bengal as the Mughal Empire weakened. The
Company gained power by occupying the space created by the unstable relationship between the
Nawab and strong local authorities such as zamindars, merchants, and bankers. The East India
Company became the main political authority in Bangla in 1757, following a battle in the town
of Plassey between forces headed by British soldier Robert Clive and the Mughal Nawab Sirj-ud-
Dawlah.

In contrast to the Mughal Empire, the British East India Company's strategy was to ‘not just
collecting but maximizing the revenue’ (Desai et al., 2009). The East India Company's tax
revenue system was oppressive which severely increased the poverty of the ordinary people
during their most difficult times. The Company was corrupted and failed to establish institutions
that would facilitate economic development and good governance in the region (Braithwaite et
al., 2018).

British state authority gradually replaced the capitalist power of the East India Company in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries because of institutionalizing violence and damaging economic
development system and immense corruption in great India. British state began building some
magnificent institutions such as courts, an education system and a national bureaucracy that had
constructive and positive contributions to the formation of modern India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh.

Pakistani ruling (1947-1971):

In the early 1900s to the mid-1940s, the British Empire failed to handle the large and diverse
India due to various circumstances including world wars, increased international economic
competition, and internal changes in England, as well as the fact that Indians became better
educated), leading to the end of British rule and the partition of British India into two separate
countries, India and Pakistan in 1947. The struggles of Bengali nation began shortly after
Pakistan achieved independence, with two separate regions known as West Pakistan and East
Pakistan (today's Pakistan and Bangladesh). In the early years after Partition, Pakistan refused to
accept Bengali as a state language of Pakistan, economic disparity between the two parts, the
hegemony ruling of the West Pakistani elite over Pakistan, martial law, and a disrespectful
attitude toward Bengali culture and the Bengali population strained the relationship between the
two parts.
Economic Disparity (Bangladesh aspect)

Economic mistreatment of East Bengal was one of the reasons that contributed to Pakistan's
breakdown in 1971, resulting in the formation of Bangladesh (Bhatia 1979). Discriminatory
distribution of government budgets between provinces undoubtedly resulted in significant
inequalities in infrastructure development, which, in turn, resulted in significant economic
disparities

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP): East Bengal's GDP was higher than West Pakistan's at
the time of partition. However, the Bengali economy declined as a result of the West Pakistani
rulers' economic exploitation and colonialism of East Bengal. In 1949-50, the East Pakistani
GDP was 13,130 million rupees, while the West Pakistani GDP was 11,830 million rupees. By
1968-69, the East Pakistani economy was faltering at 20,670 million rupees, while the West
Pakistani economy was on the uprising at 27,744 million rupees (Ahmed, 1998).

Uneven distribution of revenue: For years, cash crops like as jute and tea were exported, and
the revenues were almost entirely swallowed by West Pakistan, while East Pakistan received a
considerably lower proportion of government investments. In 1960, the Eastern Wing
contributed for around 70% of Pakistan's export profits (Stephenson, 1968), but their standard of
life remained lower.

Job opportunities: Though East Pakistan contained a majority of the country’s population, most
of the country's high ranking government officials and military officers were from the west.
Statistically, Bengali held only 15% of the government administrative posts and 10% of the
Army, where the number of Bengali officers was very lower.

Infrastructure development: The leadership of West Pakistan were not enthusiastic about
developmental projects in East Pakistan. In 1948, the East had 11 textile mills while the West
had just 9, but by 1971, the East had 26 mills compared to 150 in the west. Even projects like the
Kaptai Dam and the Karnaphuli Paper Mills, generated opposition to the government, since the
Dam flooded the houses and farmlands of Chakma tribais who were never paid.

Foreign aid: Western Pakistan used to consume five times of foreign aid compare to East
Pakistan before the ‘War of Liberation’. In November 1970, when a cyclone and subsequent
floods devastated East Pakistan, the foreign aid was sent specifically to help the victims of the
cyclone was ultimately misappropriated and never saw its way across to the East.

Educational Resources and facilities: In 1947, East Pakistan had double the number of scholars
compare to the West wing. However, In the West the number had risen 30 times by 1967,
whereas in the East, it had only increased 5 times. During that time, the number of schools and
colleges in the East also decreased. Out of 16 research and development centers, 13 were located
in the West. The bulk of scholarships and training grants was went to West Pakistanis because
they were advertised too late to apply in the East.
War of Liberation:

East Pakistan has long been irritated by West Pakistan's economic and political domination. In
1952, the first tension developed between the two wings over the subject of Bangla become
national language. It was one of the fundamental movements for the development of
independence movement. Then In 1970, West Pakistan's response to the cyclone in East Pakistan
reflected the public acceptance of political and economic discrimination of one province against
the other. Later in the same year, the denial of an opportunity to form a government, despite
Awami-League winning the majority of seats was the beginning of the end of united Pakistan.
The crisis start forming when the government postponement the assembly of 3 March, 1971,
which was further accelerated by Rahman's non-co-operation movement and the growing
demand in East Pakistan for independence.

In March 1971, the authorities of West Pakistan put on a show of diplomacy to resolve those
political issues, however they were secretly preparing for a military solution. On March 25,
1971, Pakistani forces surged into Dhaka and began executing Bengali leaders and political
activists. The name of the mission was 'Operation Searchlight'. The following day, Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman was charged for traitorous activities. Before the arrest, he wrote a brief
declaration of independence which was then broadcasted all over the country.

On April 17, 1971, the Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed at Mujibnagar and
moved to Calcutta as a government in exile which played an important role in leading the nine-
month Liberation War and mobilizing international opinion and support.

Bengali members of the Pakistani civil, military and diplomatic corps defected to the
Bangladeshi provisional government. The Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence was
proclaimed by members of the Mukti Bahini—the national liberation army formed by Bengali
military, paramilitary and civilians, led by General M. A. G. Osmani. Mukti Bahini divided the
battle zone into eleven sections. A large guerrilla force operated within Bangladesh targeted
Pakistani installations through raids, surprise attacks, and destruction of West Pakistani-
controlled sea ports, power plants, factories, railways, and warehouses. The Bangladesh Forces
conducted a brave and massive guerilla battle against Pakistani forces.

India joined the war on 3 December 1971, after Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on
North India. The subsequent Indo-Pakistani War and the rapid advance of the Allied Forces of
Bangladesh and India, Pakistan surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December, 1971. Before the
surrendered, the Pakistan army took a desperate attempt to destroy the intellectual elite of
Bangladesh on December 14. The war of 1971 was also a continuation of Cold War animosity,
with the Soviet Union supporting Bangladesh and the US and China supporting Pakistan.

The destruction of cities and villages in West Pakistan throughout the war, the creation of
millions of refugees by fear, the rape of Bengali women, and the death statistics strongly show
that the Pakistani army and its allies conducted genocide in Bangladesh in 1971.
Geographical and cultural differences:

In defiance of geography, Pakistan was created with two separate wings. East and West Pakistan
were separated geographically by nearly 1000 miles of Indian territory. It has developed a lack of
mutual understanding between the country's two wings, as well as generated provincial attitudes.
These have been inflamed by frustrated politicians serving their narrow selfish interests, resultant
many problems for East Pakistan.

East and West Pakistan were distinct not only geographically but also in almost every aspect of
culture and appearance, with the exception of religion. Some cultural differences are as follows:

Difference in Race: The West Pakistan was consists of at least four main races: Punjabis,
Sindhis, Pathans and Baluchis. Out of a total of about 70 million in the East, 58 million were
Muslim Bengalis, 10 million Hindu Bengalis and the remainder largely Muslim Biharis.

Linguistic Difference: Each race in Pakistan had its own language: Urdu was the main language
in the West, but it was only spoken by a small minority in the East, where Bengali was spoken
by the vast majority. Urdu is a very distinct language from Bengali: it is mostly synthetic, with
roots from Hindi and Arabic (particularly Persian), and it is written in an Arabic-style alphabet.
Bengali, on the other hand, is derived from Sanskrit and has a Sanskrit-like alphabet.

Difference in Religious aspect: The fact that Islam was Pakistan's official religion did not imply
that it was practiced in the same way or given the same priority in each wing. For the West, it
appears to have been viewed as a political tool, bringing together people who may not otherwise
get along, not just in faith, but also in a shared hatred of Hindus. On the other hand, Bengalis
were eager to build a secular state where religion might be practiced freely and where humanity
would finally prevail eventually.
References:

Ahmed F., 1998. ‘Ethnicity and politics in Pakistan’. Oxford University press, pp. 15-17.

Bhatia, B. M. 1979. ‘Pakistan’s Economic Development 1948-78: The Failure of a Strategy’. Vikas
Publishing House.

Braithwaite J., & D’COSTA B., 2018. ‘Macro to micro cascades: Bangladesh’. In Cascades of Violence: War,
Crime and Peacebuilding Across South Asia, pp. 321-362.

Desai, Meghnad, 2009. ‘The Rediscovery of India’. New Delhi: Allen Lane.

Meher, J., 2015. ‘Dynamics of Pakistan's Disintegration: The Case of East Pakistan 1947-1971’. India
Quarterly, vol.71, no. 4, pp. 300-317.

Ranjan, A., 2016. ‘Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: Narratives, Impacts and the Actors’. India
Quarterly, vol. 72, no.2, pp.132-145.

Stephenson G.V.,1968. ‘Pakistan: Discontiguity and the majority problem’. Geographical Review, vol.
58, no.2, pp. 195-213.