East Pakistan
 |
| This article is part of the series |
| Former administrative units of Pakistan |
|---|
East Pakistan (Template:Lang-bn Purbo Pakistan, Template:Lang-ur Mashriqī Pākistān) was a province of Pakistan between 1947 and 1971; it is now the independent nation of Bangladesh.
East Pakistan was created from Bengal Province based on a plebiscite in what was then British India in 1947. Eastern Bengal chose to join the Dominion of Pakistan and became a province of Pakistan by the name East Bengal. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan in 1956 and later became the country of Bangladesh after the bloody Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, which took place after the General Elections of 1970.
Independence
The tension between East and West Pakistan reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections in East Pakistan. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 300 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Yahya Khan, the leader of Pakistan, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. This increased agitation for greater autonomy in the East.
On 26 March 1971, the day after the military crackdown on civilians in East Pakistan, Sk. Mujibur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh just after midnight of March 25, 1971 before he was arrested by Pakistan army. All major Awami League leaders including elected leaders of national Assembly and Provincial Assembly fled to neighboring India and an exile government was formed headed by Sk. Mujibur Rahman. While he was in Pakistan Prison, Syed Nazrul Islam was the acting President with Tazuddin Ahmed as the Prime Minister. The exile government took oath on April 17, 1971 at Mujib Nagar, within East Pakistan territory of Kustia district and formally formed the government. Col (retd) MAG Osmani was appointed the commander in chief of liberation forces and whole East Pakistan was divided into eleven sectors headed by eleven sector commanders. All sector commanders were Bengali officers from Pakistan army. This started the Bangladesh Liberation War in which the freedom fighters, joined in December 1971 by 400,000 Indian soldiers, faced the Pakistani Army of 100,000 plus paramilitary and collaborationist forces. An additional approximately 25,000 ill-equipped civilian volunteers and police forces also sided with the Pakistan army. On 16 December 1971, the Pakistani Army surrendered to the joint liberation forces of Bangladesh freedom fighters and Indian army Headed by Lt. Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora. Air Vice Marshall AK Khondoker represented the Bangladesh freedom fighters. Pakistan General AAK Niazi signed the surrender letter. Bangladesh quickly gained recognition from most countries and with the signing of the Shimla Accord, most of the countries accepted the new state. Bangladesh joined the United Nations in 1974. Sk. Mujib returned to free Bangladesh on January 10, 1972. Upon his request, India withdrew all of its forces. 40,000 Pakistan soldiers and 45,000 civilians were transferred to India as prisoners of war.[citation needed]
Government
On 14 October 1955, the last governor of East Bengal (Amiruddin Ahmad) became the first Governor of East Pakistan. At the same time the last Chief Minister of East Bengal became the first Chief Minister of East Pakistan. This system lasted until the military coup of 1958 when the post of Chief Minister was abolished in both East Pakistan and West Pakistan. From 1958 to 1971 the administration was largely in the hands of the President of Pakistan and the Governor of East Pakistan who at times held the title of Martial Law Administrator.
Governors
| Tenure | Governor of East Pakistan[1] |
|---|---|
| 14 October 1955 – March 1956 | Amiruddin Ahmad |
| March 1956 – 13 April 1958 | A. K. Fazlul Huq |
| 13 April 1958 – 3 May 1958 | Hamid Ali (acting) |
| 3 May 1958 – 10 October 1958 | Sultanuddin Ahmad |
| 10 October 1958 – 11 April 1960 | Zakir Husain |
| 11 April 1960 – 11 May 1962 | Lt Gen Azam Khan |
| 11 May 1962 – 25 October 1962 | Ghulam Faruque |
| 25 October 1962 – 23 March 1969 | Abdul Monem Khan |
| 23 March 1969 – 25 March 1969 | Mirza Nurul Huda |
| 25 March 1969 – 23 August 1969 | Maj Gen Muzaffaruddin (acting martial law administrator and governor as he was the GOC 14th Infantry Division) |
| 23 August 1969 – 1 September 1969 | Lt Gen Sahabzada Yaqub Khan (martial law administrator and governor) |
| 1 September 1969 – 7 March 1971 | Vice Admiral (R) Syed Mohammad Ahsan (governor) |
| 7 March 1971 – April 1971 | Lt Gen Sahabzada Yaqub Khan (martial law administrator and governor) |
| April 1971 – 31 August 1971 | Lt Gen Tikka Khan (martial law administrator and governor) |
| 31 August 1971 – 14 December 1971 | Abdul Motaleb Malik (governor) |
| 14 December 1971 – 16 December 1971 | Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (martial law administrator and governor) |
| 16 December 1971 | Province of East Pakistan dissolved |
Chief Ministers
| Tenure | Chief Minister of East Pakistan[1] | Political Party |
|---|---|---|
| August 1955 – September 1956 | Abu Hussain Sarkar | Krishan Sramik Party |
| September 1956 – March 1958 | Ata-ur-Rahman Khan | Awami League |
| March 1958 | Abu Hussain Sarkar | Krishan Sramik Party |
| March 1958 – 18 June 1958 | Ata-ur-Rahman Khan | Awami League |
| 18 June 1958 – 22 June 1958 | Abu Hussain Sarkar | Krishan Sramik Party |
| 22 June 1958 – 25 August 1958 | Governor's Rule | |
| 25 August 1958 – 7 October 1958 | Ata-ur-Rahman Khan | Awami League |
| 7 October 1958 | Post abolished | |
| 16 December 1971 | Province of East Pakistan dissolved |
See also
- Partition of British India
- East Bengal
- West Pakistan
- Bangladesh Liberation War
- Biharis
- Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
- The Blood telegram
References
- ^ a b Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org. "Bangladesh". Retrieved 2007-10-03.
