Search results
In March 1971 regional commander Major General Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh on behalf of Mujib. Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on 11 Indian airbases on 3 December 1971, leading to India's entry into the war on the side of Bangladeshi nationalist forces.
- 1843
- 1848
- 1843
- 1848-1849
- Overview
- The early republic
Like India, Pakistan achieved independence from British rule as a dominion within the Commonwealth on August 14-15, 1947, the former day celebrated annually as the country’s Independence Day. However, the leaders of the Muslim League rejected Lord Mountbatten, the last British viceroy of India, to be Pakistan’s first governor-general, or head of state—in contrast to the Congress, which made him India’s chief executive. Wary of Britain’s machinations and desirous of rewarding Jinnah—their “Great Leader” (Quaid-e Azam), a title he was given before independence—Pakistanis made him their governor-general; his lieutenant in the party, Liaquat Ali Khan, was named prime minister. Pakistan’s first government, however, had a difficult task before it. Unlike Muhammad Iqbal’s earlier vision for Pakistan, the country had been formed from the two regions where Muslims were the majority—the northwestern portion he had espoused and the territories and the eastern region of Bengal province (which itself had also been divided between India and Pakistan). Pakistan’s two wings, therefore, were separated by some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of sovereign Indian territory with no simple routes of communication between them. Further complicating the work of the new Pakistani government was the realization that the wealth and resources of British India had been granted to India. Pakistan had little but raw enthusiasm to sustain it, especially during those months immediately following partition. In fact, Pakistan’s survival seemed to hang in the balance. Of all the well-organized provinces of British India, only the comparatively less developed areas of Sind, Balochistan, and the North-West Frontier Province came to Pakistan intact. The otherwise more developed provinces of Punjab and Bengal were divided, and, in the case of Bengal, Pakistan received little more than the densely populated rural hinterland.
Adding to the dilemma of the new and untested Pakistan government was the crisis in Kashmir, which provoked a war between the two neighbouring states in the period immediately following their independence. Both Pakistan and India intended to make Kashmir a component of their respective unions, and the former princely state quickly became disputed territory—with India and Pakistan controlling portions of it—and a flash point for future conflicts. Economically, the situation in Pakistan was desperate; materials from the Indian factories were cut off from Pakistan, disrupting the new country’s meagre industry, commerce, and agriculture. Moreover, the character of the partition and its aftermath had caused the flight of millions of refugees on both sides of the divide, accompanied by terrible massacres. The exodus of such a vast number of desperate people in each direction required an urgent response, which neither country was prepared to manage, least of all Pakistan.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah died in September 1948, only 13 months after Pakistan’s independence. Nevertheless, it was Jinnah’s dynamic personality that sustained the country during those difficult months. Assuming responsibility as the nation’s chief and virtually only decision maker, Jinnah held more than the ceremonial position of his British counterpar...
Throughout the Ayub years, East Pakistan and West Pakistan grew farther apart. The death of the Awami League 's Suhrawardy in 1963 gave the mercurial Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (commonly known as Mujib) the leadership of East Pakistan's dominant party.
Aug 8, 2017 · After a brutal and bloody war, East Pakistan gains independence from West Pakistan. It becomes the nation of Bangladesh, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The news spread like a fire in both East and West Pakistan, and the struggle for independence began in East Pakistan. [19] The senior high command officers in Pakistan Armed Forces, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, began to pressure General Yahya Khan to take armed action against Mujib and his party.
Jun 23, 2024 · The creation of Pakistan was marked by the division of the subcontinent into West Pakistan and East Pakistan, based on Muslim-majority areas. West Pakistan is now known as present-day Pakistan, while East Pakistan later became an independent country called Bangladesh in 1971. The British played a significant role in the creation of Pakistan.
People also ask
How did East Pakistan gain independence from West Pakistan?
When did Pakistan become a country?
Why did Pakistan become a country in 1971?
Who supported West Pakistani government in 1971?
Why did Rahman declare independence from Pakistan?
When did Pakistan gain independence?
East Bengali nationalists declared East Pakistan’s independence from West Pakistan on April 14, 1971. West Pakistani government troops captured Chuadanga, provision capital of East Bengali nationalists, on April 18, 1971.
