Daily Times

As another anniversary of the disintegration of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh approaches, I am reminded of the eventful period from 1965-1971 I spent as a student in the former East Pakistan.

We arrived in Dhaka (Dacca) just before the September 1965 Indo-Pak War. Pakistan’s military strategy in 1965, apparent in 1971, effectively meant that the defence of East Pakistan lay in a victory or stalemate on the western front. The main land and air battles in 1965 were fought in West Pakistan, which limited the physical impact of the war on East Pakistan. However, the West Pakistan-focused military strategy caused a sense of isolation and abandonment in East Pakistan, which became more pronounced as events unfolded leading to the eventual secession of East Pakistan.

There are various explanations given and events that may have contributed to the failure of nation building in Pakistan and the genesis of Bangladesh. These include the flawed decision by Mr Jinnah in 1948 to impose Urdu as the only national language. This caused the language riots and created the student martyrs of 1952; the highhandedness reminded one of the colonial attitude of the West Pakistani, mostly Punjabi, officers serving in the East towards the Bengali population. The inherent sensitivity and growing nationalism among the East Pakistanis goes further back to the creation of Pakistan, which overlooked the cultural differences between the non-contiguous parts of Pakistan, relying on just religion to serve as the binding force.

The primary cause of national disintegration was the political alienation of the Bengali population and economic imbalance between the two provinces, which was skewed heavily in favour of West Pakistan. The Bengalis, like other national groups in Pakistan, quite rightly demanded an equitable participation in the national decision-making process and in the economic progress that the country had made in the 1960s.

What the Bengalis got instead was an oppressive central government controlled by the West Pakistani oligarchy, a local leadership made up of stooges like Governor Monem Khan who controlled the mostly bogus electoral process until the free and fair elections of 1970 and finally when all else failed, a military solution to a political problem.

The Awami League’s Six-Point programme had started to pick up momentum when Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was acquitted in the seemingly fishy and unproven Agartala Conspiracy Case of 1968. The local press published the transcripts of the trial that covered in graphic detail the torture of Bengali service personnel arrested and tried with Sheikh Mujib. The Agartala coverage contributed to a worsening of the always tenuous relations between the Bengali and non-Bengali inhabitants of East Pakistan, which became fraught with suspicion leading to outright hatred.

As we know, the final nail in the coffin of a united Pakistan was the inability of the West Pakistani military leadership — allegedly aided by Mr Bhutto — to accept the Awami League victory in the 1970 general elections. The roles played by the troika comprising General Yahya, Mr Bhutto and Sheikh Mujib in the tragedy that unfolded have been well documented, depending on the viewpoint of those writing the history of the period.

What can be said is that the murder and mayhem that followed the elections, which destroyed the lives of many Bengalis and non-Bengalis alike, could have been avoided by statesmanship and sagacity sadly lacking in the leadership at the time. I also think some of the political causes of the separation of Pakistan could have been addressed and misgivings removed over time if democracy, which involved consensus, parliamentary sovereignty and judicial independence, had been allowed to continue uninterrupted.

It seems that a truncated Pakistan has not learnt a lesson from history. Pakistan is still a national security state, which continues to look to military adventurers as ‘saviours’ instead of building and nurturing democratic institutions. Civil-military relations in the country are still fragile, national groups continue to demand independence, militancy and intolerance thrives and India is still considered a mortal enemy.

Bangladesh has done better in the recent past in sustaining democratic change but the legacy of violence that preceded the creation of the country occasionally rears its head, with war crime trials grabbing the headlines 40 years after independence.

The writer is a banker interested in history and international affairs