Independence Day of Bangladesh - History - The Marginalization of The Bangalis Under Pakistani Rule

The Marginalization of The Bangalis Under Pakistani Rule

From 1947 to 1971, when East Bengal was a part of Pakistan, the Bangali bourgeoisie was the smaller shareholder of the Pakistani ruling structure. Its role was much weaker than the West Pakistani sections of the industrial, mercantile, military, and civilian bourgeoisie. As a result, East Bengal was exploited and colonized by the dominant elite of Pakistan. >From the birth of the state, the Bangalis were subject to economic injustice and marginalization. The people's frustration was expressed in their political struggle for ending military rule and for establishing a democratic order in the state. The Bangali bourgeois political leadership believed that a representative political structure would allow their economic, social, and political rights to be established. However, because of the structure of power in Pakistan, the plight of the Bangalis worsened. An examination of the economic situation of Pakistan during the period reveals this economic marginalization.

The Bangalis as a nationality were not adequately represented in the civilian administration and military high command of the state. These posts were predominantly held by West Pakistanis. The following tables reveal the distribution of civilian and military posts on the basis of nationalities.

Source: Dawn, Karachi (1955)

The lack of Bangali bourgeoisie representation in the central government allowed the center to direct its policy in favor of West Pakistan. The central government's outlay for national development clearly demonstrates the bias inherent towards West Pakistan. The following table provides a breakdown of the development expenditure of the two wings.

The center's development expenditure was concentrated on the further advancing of economic infrastructure of West Pakistan. For example, although water resource management for East Bengal was no less important than for West Pakistan, the central government attached more importance to the Indus Basin Accord with India rather than the question of Farraka dam barrage. The funding of Indus Basin water project came from the center's allocation, not West Pakistan's allocation. Thus, the Bangalis saw that while West Pakistani's water resources were considered to be the center's priorities, their water problems were being ignored.

The disparity between the per capita income of the people of the two wings continued to increase. The table below demonstrates the increase in the disparity of Per Capita Income between the two wings:

In terms of per capita income while the condition of the masses in West Pakistan was improving, the Bangalis found that the per capita income difference with their Western counterparts was actually increasing.

The foreign trade statistics reveal that in the years 1947-67 of unified Pakistan, East Bengal was the major foreign exchange earner while West Pakistan was in foreign trade debt. The table below shows:

As the table shows, East Bengal exported 57 per cent of Pakistan's total exports but had only 30 per cent share of the total imports, while West Pakistan exported only 42 per cent of the total exports but its share of total imports was 70 per cent. Whereas East Bengal was a net exporter, West Pakistan was a net importer. The Western wing of the state had a greater share of Pakistan's imports and used the foreign exchange earned by East Pakistan for its own benefit.

Defense outlay for Pakistan was extremely high. From 1950-51 to 1968-69 the defense outlay was Rs. 21,178.1 million. This constituted approximately 56 per cent of the total government outlay of that period. The anti-Indian rhetoric was used to boost defense expenditure. By levying taxes in East Bengal and spending it on West Pakistan the West Pakistani bourgeoisie benefited from the high defense outlay. The defense expenditure, which was in the forms of wages, contracts, and investments, was primarily in West Pakistan. The apparent rationale for the concentration of military build-up was based upon the claim of the West Pakistani dominated military that "the security of East Bengal lay in the Western wing." The Pakistani military claimed that it would preserve the security of East Bengal with a pre-emptive strike from the Western Wing. During the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War over the Kashmir issue, East Bengal was left defenseless and vulnerable to Indian aggression. The view that that East Bengal security lay in West Pakistann no longer appealed to the Bangalis because the war cut-off East Bengal from West Pakistan and the rest of the world. Thus, the Bangalis learnt that in spite of their contribution to the expensive defense outlay, the central government did not attach much importance to East Bengal's security. Their tax contribution towards defense has been diverted solely for the benefit of West Pakistan, not for their security.

In essence, as the above arguments show, the fundamental nature of relation between East Bengal and West Pakistan from 1947 to 1971 was one of economic disparity. Because the Bangalis and the West Pakistani ruling elite could not reach a political settlement, this economic question became the main issue of their conflict. The nature of the economic development of Pakistan in 1950's and 1960's show that the disparity between the two wings became greater due to the economic policies adopted by the state. The Awami League used the regional economic disparity of East Bengal to show the need for its political program. The 6-point program of the Awami League was designed to address the Bangali nationalist consciousness regarding the increase of disparity. The Awami League presented its 6-point program as an instrument to end the economic exploitation of East Bengal.

Bangali nationalism grew because the Pakistani ruling elite refused to recognize the demands of the Bangalis for political participation in the state and for the economic self-rule of East Bengal. The crisis climaxed following the 1970 elections, when the Awami League won a truimphant electoral victory because the party reflected the nationalist inspiration of the Bangalis. The failure of the Pakistani ruling elite to meet the demands of the Awami League program led to a political deadlock. The military refused to accept the 6-point program because it would reduce the military budget and dismantle the West Pakistani business interests in East Bengal. In order to prevent the Bangali political leadership from acquiring power, the military junta colluded with the West Pakistani bourgeoisie to crush Bangali nationalism. The military's massacre of the Bangalis opened the road to the liberation of East Bengal.