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Key Points:
The 1947 Partition created East and West Pakistan, but linguistic, cultural and economic discrimination against Bengalis in East Pakistan sowed the seeds of Bangladesh’s independence movement.
After Pakistan’s refusal to honour the 1970 election results and its brutal military crackdown in 1971, India intervened, leading to the 13-day India-Pakistan war and the birth of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.
Bangladesh emerged as a nation founded on linguistic and cultural identity rather than religion, though its post-independence history has been marked by political instability and renewed uncertainty in recent years.
When India got independence on the 15th of August, 1947, it came at a heavy cost. The borders of India had been rearranged following the British leaving India. Although it was a new dawn for India to emerge as a sovereign and independent nation, full of life and hope and ready to make its mark on the world; India also had to face a great deal of turmoil and disorder. The bloody partition of 1947 resulted in India being divided on religious lines- Pakistan for Muslims while India chose to remain secular. This was the outcome of the “two nation theory”, which was fiercely advocated by Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League. On the Western front, West Pakistan was formed and East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh) on the Eastern front. The western border of Pakistan saw the province of Punjab being divided, and millions of Hindus and Sikhs had to flee Pakistan to India, and millions of Muslims fled to Pakistan from Punjab. Atrocities and Riots were seen on both sides of the border, with millions of innocent people being killed and trains from either side carrying dead bodies. On the eastern front, East Pakistan was separated from the whole of Bengal province as in Undivided India, resulting in the Indian state of West Bengal and the eastern frontier of Pakistan- East Pakistan. The Indian territory that lay between East and West Pakistan was large, about 1600 kms.
Although Pakistan was created on religious lines, there was a stark cultural difference between East and West Pakistan. West Pakistan contained a majority of Punjabis and Sindhis, who were economically richer than the Bengali speaking Muslim majority community in Bangladesh. Tensions began flaring up soon when Pakistan imposed Urdu as the national language in 1948, thus sparking outrage from the Bengali speaking community in East Pakistan. The Bengali Muslims protested aggressively, joined by students and common people who took to the streets, leading to the 1952 language movement in Dhaka. Bengali culture was also suppressed by banning Bengali literature, and although East Pakistan had a majority of share in the national assembly, it was dismissed under military coups, martial laws and the army taking over the reins of the country. Another problem was that the resources of East Pakistan were used to improve the financial conditions of West Pakistan, and the Bengalis had to suffer loss of resources and economic exploitation.
The Bengalis had enough: the cultural oppression, brutal measures of the police and army to suppress their protests for fair representation in the Parliament, their identity being diminished; they resorted to seek autonomy from the West Pakistan’s government. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of the Awami league, demanded a 6 point programme in 1966 that called for greater control on autonomy and self-rule. Thus, the people had started to protest against the Pakistan’s government and military, calling for democracy in Pakistan and greater autonomy for East Pakistan. However, the ruling elite of Pakistan decided to suppress this movement, ultimately leading to a movement for independence from Pakistan.
In December 1970, free elections were held in Pakistan by General Yahya Khan, and the Awami league - under the popular leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - secured an overwhelming majority to form the government. However, General Yahya Khan and President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto refused to let the Awami league form the government, following which a huge civil disobedience movement propagated to oppose this. On 25 March 1971, in a sudden move, Yahya Khan ordered a military crackdown on East Pakistan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested. The Awami league leaders called for independence of Bangladesh immediately after his arrest. The Pakistan military deployed in East Pakistan however, unleashed a reign of terror on innocent civilians. The Pakistani Army committed huge atrocities- indiscriminately and systematically killing civilians, also exterminating the East Pakistan members of the army and police. Hundreds of thousands were killed, and millions of people had to flee Bangladesh and seek shelter in India. The number of refugees pouring in India had reached around 10 million by November 1971.
This was a testing time for the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, as the general elections had concluded recently, and she was faced not only with a humanitarian crisis, but with a probability of war with Pakistan. She began by arming and training “Mukti Bahini”- a liberation army formed by Bengalis who wanted to fight for the independence of Bangladesh, with the support of Awami League leaders who had escaped to India. PM Indira Gandhi knew a war with Pakistan was imminent, but it had to be at a time of India’s choosing – when India could emerge as the winner. Moreover, she needed time to train the Mukti Bahini and inform the world about the humanitarian crisis that India was facing on its borders. The Indian Army gave secret military training to the Mukti Bahini and taught them guerilla warfare. The refugees were provided food and shelter, and India began drawing up plans for a war.
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Pakistan attacked India on 2nd December, 1971 in a preeminent strike. By this time, India was prepared to fight Pakistan: Mukti Bahini was well equipped and well armed; India had signed a treaty of friendship with Soviet Union, in case the US decided to attack ( it was helping Pakistan financially and by providing arms and ammunitions); and had sufficient international support at the UNSC to proceed with the war. India then immediately recognized Bangladesh and immediately attacked Pakistan, on both the western and eastern fronts. India’s strategy employed holding the Pakistani forces in the western sector through intense defensive action, and attacking the eastern sector with Mukti Bahini, encircling Dhaka and forcing the Pakistani Army to surrender. The War lasted 13 days, and Pakistan surrendered on December 16, 1971 which is now celebrated as Bangladesh’s Victory Day. Following the surrender, the Indian government unilaterally announced a ceasefire on the western front, so that the conflict wouldn’t continue and get out of hand. Pakistan readily accepted the proposal, and released Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became Bangladesh’s first President on 12th of January, 1971, with an overwhelming support of the people for his leadership and the Awami League. Bangladesh’s liberation war was not just a birth of a new nation, but a struggle of people’s movements for equal rights, enforcement of democracy, a testament to the power of language and culture, and a great resolve to remain unshaken throughout adversities. Also, it marked a very important feature of cultural and linguistic freedom worldwide—that Bangladesh emerged as a new nation focusing on its Linguistic and Cultural identity. The two nation theory upon which Pakistan was founded stated that Muslims needed a separate nation from Hindus failed drastically, as religious attempts to hold the nation together failed miserably; and Bangladesh emerged on the foundation of its Bangla identity.
Bangladesh has seen its fair share of ups and downs after its independence. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975 in a military coup. There have been struggles of power in between, but Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman later on went to become an important political figure in the Bangladesh’s government, having served as the Prime Minister. Today, she is in exile in India following the student protests in 2024 which followed riots that saw deaths of innocent civilians. The protest itself saw repercussions from the army, which ultimately led to the toppling of the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina fleeing to India, and an interim government led by Mohammad Yunus - a Nobel laureate.
Sheikh Hasina now faces political charges, and is declared a fugitive by the Bangladesh’s government. A recent judgement by the International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh) gave a death sentence to Sheikh Hasina citing “Crimes against Humanity”. The court proceedings were done in a haste, without proper representation of Sheikh Hasina. Currently, she also faces up to 21 years in jail on corruption charges by a Bangladesh court along with various other charges. Bangladesh has also requested India for her extradition. Proper elections have yet to be conducted, and Bangladesh might expect general elections in February 2026.
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