The document summarizes the structure of the state of Pakistan and the disparity between its eastern and western wings. It discusses how political power was centralized in West Pakistan, leading East Pakistan to feel underrepresented. It also describes the economic discrimination East Pakistan faced, such as generating most of Pakistan's revenue but receiving little investment. Cultural and linguistic differences exacerbated the tensions. The military and bureaucracy were dominated by West Pakistan as well. Overall, the document outlines how inequitable treatment of East Pakistan on political, economic, social and cultural levels led to rising resentment and calls for greater provincial autonomy.

1. Pakistan: Structure of the state
and disparity

2. Pakistan: Structure of the state and disparity
1. Central and provincial structure.
2. Influence of Military and Civil bureaucracy.
3. Economic, social and cultural disparity.

4. Central and provincial structure.
 Since independence the
political power was
enjoyed by the western
elite of West Pakistan.
Jinnah ruled from
Karachi which was in
West Pakistan.

6.  The East Pakistan
resented the fact that
most of the prominent
position in government
and military were held
by West Pakistan.
 East Pakistan had the
largest population
among all the provinces,
it had much less political
power than West
Pakistan.

8.  The Controversy over constitution making started as
early as March 12, 1949 when the Objective
Resolution was adopted and a Basic Principles
Committee was constituted to report on the main
principles on which the constitution of Pakistan was
to be framed.
 The Bengali leaders raised objections to some points
of the Objective Resolution and the interim report of
the Basic Principles Committee, which they thought
would lead to a unitary central government, which
will make East Pakistan a colony of West Pakistan.

9.  In constitution making,
the two main issues hard
of solution were the ratio
of representation in the
Central legislature and
the distribution of
powers between the
center and the provinces.

10.  Federalism did not fully operate in development
affairs.
 Development planning relating to education, which
was included in the provincial subjects, was often
undertaken by both the central and provincial
government.
 The division of development projects between the
Centre and the province did not follow any definite
principle.

11.  The central government of the state of Pakistan was set
up in the Western wing of the state primarily because
most of the Muhajirs, upper class Muslim refugees from
the central Indian provinces, migrated to the western
wing.
 The Centre was dominated by the ruling elite – Punjabi
and Muhajirs – who controlled the bureaucratic
apparatus and the armed forces.

12.  From 1947 to 1958, East
Pakistan got only 42
percent and West Pakistan
58 percent representation
in the Central Cabinets.
 East Pakistan was not
satisfied with the parity
principle. The demand for
more provincial autonomy
still persisted and it finally
culminated into the Six-
Point program of Sheikh
Mujeebur Rehman.

13. Influence of Military and Civil
bureaucracy.
 The period of 1947–54 witnessed several unilateral
political decisions made by the Centre which
frequently intervened in provincial matters. In the
absence of any national plan document, economic
planning during the said period remained almost
entirely under the control of the central government.
 Although the country was ruled by civilian
authorities, the incumbent government of the Muslim
League remained overwhelmingly pro-Centre.

14.  The key instrument with which the Centre wielded its
economic hegemony over East Pakistan throughout
was the control over provincial revenues. Early in
1948, the government of Pakistan, by a special
ordinance, took away from the provinces the sales tax,
income tax and a bigger share of import and export
duties.
 Consequently, the government of East Pakistan was
forced to rely on land revenue and agricultural income
tax, to finance education and health related projects
and various administrative expenses, particularly
during the pre ‘One Unit’ era.

15.  In contrast to the period 1947–54, economic
development during the ‘One Unit’ era was guided by
three comprehensive Five-Year plans in the undivided
Pakistan.
 The plan documents gave highest priorities to
industrial development which suited the ruling
class at the Centre, particularly the Muhajirs, who
also comprised the industrial elites of the country.
This process of development increased inequality in
regional income.

16. The reasons given to the Assembly for adopting the
One Unit Scheme by Iskander Mirza in September
1955.
 It would end the curse of provincial prejudices.
 2. It would allow the development of backward areas.
 3. It would reduce administrative expenses.
 4. It would make it easier to draw up a new constitution.
 5. It would give East and West Pakistan maximum autonomy."

17.  The Western wing,
which had a larger
urban population
(33%), was the primary
beneficiary of such
industrialization. The
East Pakistani economy
was largely agrarian
and 95% of the
population resided in the
rural areas.
Consequently, it was left
out of the development
process and experienced
little gain in per capita
income.

18.  Both the military and the civil bureaucracy
were affected by the disruptions. Pakistan cycled
through a number of politicians through their
beginning political and economic crises. The
politicians were corrupt, interested in maintaining
their political power and securing the interests of
the elite, so to have them as the representative
authority did not provide much hope of a
democratic state that provided socio-economic
justice and fair administration to all Pakistani
citizens.
 The military oligarchy occupied a dominant
position and has been in effective command of
state power ever since the creation of the state.

19.  Bengalis were hugely under-represented in Pakistan's
bureaucracy and military.
 In the federal government, only 15% of offices were
occupied by East Pakistanis.
 Only 10% of the military were from East Pakistan

20. Economic, social and cultural disparity.
Economic Disparity:
The most serious challenge
to Pakistani nationalism
was the economic disparity
between East and West
Pakistan. The Eastern wing
of the country was
ruthlessly exploited by the
western wing and that East
Pakistan was deprived of
its due share in the
developmental funds and
foreign aid.

21. Economic discrimination and disparity

22.  The bulk of the country’s revenue was spent in
West Pakistan because the federal capital was
there. Moreover, a high percentage of the budget
was spent on defense, which was all concentrated in
West Pakistan.
 East Pakistan earned most of the country’s foreign
exchange by the export of jute; yet most of it was
spent on the industrialization of West Pakistan.

23.  What was earned in East
Pakistan was spent in
West Pakistan because
East Pakistan provided
60 percent of the total
revenue, compared to 40
percent by West
Pakistan, but it received
only 25 per cent for its
expenditure. The rest, 75
per cent was spent in
West Pakistan.

24.  The Bengalis were very poorly represented in the
civil service and in the Army. Moreover, the civil
and military officials from West Pakistan stationed in
East Pakistan considered the Bengali Muslims
inferior converts from lower caste Hindus.
 In 1970, about 85 percent of the armed forces
belonged to the Punjab whereas the majority of
population was in East Pakistan.

25.  Bengalis resented the vast sums of foreign exchange
earned from the sale of jute from East, which were
being spent on defense.
 To aid the process of industrialization in the Western
wing, the central government systematically
transferred visible as well as invisible resources
away from the East to the West. Three particular
mechanisms were adopted to facilitate such transfers.

26. 
 First, transfer occurred through inter-regional trade: the
West wing exported to the East under a protective trade
regime, at a higher than international price.
 Second, the East wing was allocated a smaller fraction of
the total foreign aid received.
 Third, to support the process of industrialization in
West Pakistan, agricultural surplus (e.g. foreign
exchange earned through agricultural exports by the
East) was transferred to industry thereby masking the
transfer of economic resources from the East to the West.

27. Social Disparity:
 The Controversy over constitution making started as
early as March 12, 1949 when the Objective Resolution
was adopted and a Basic Principles Committee was
constituted to report on the main principles on which
the constitution of Pakistan was to be framed. The
Bengali leaders raised objections to some points of the
Objective Resolution and the interim report of the
Basic Principles Committee, which they thought
would lead to a unitary central government, which
will make East Pakistan a colony of West Pakistan.

28.  East Pakistan was not satisfied with the parity
principle. The demand for more provincial autonomy
still persisted and it finally culminated into the Six-
Point program of Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman.
 Almost immediately, East Pakistan claimed that as
their population (55 percent as compared to 45
percent in the West) was greater, they were in a
majority. Democratically, the Federal Capital,
therefore, should have been in Dhaka and not in
Karachi.

29.  The location of the
Capital, it was said,
created great economic
imbalance, uneven
distribution of national
wealth and privileges,
and better jobs for the
people of West Pakistan
 Eastern wing was
disadvantaged at all
levels of education.
Both in primary and
secondary education, the
extent of disparity
widened over time.

30.  Cultural disparity:
Immediately after independence, Pakistan’s two wings were
set apart by one thousand miles of enemy territory. Both air
and maritime contact could be blockaded by India. With the
exception of religion and a common struggle for
independence, there was practically nothing common
between the two wings of the country.

31.  Cultural discrimination
also prevailed, causing
the eastern wing to forge
a distinct political
identity. There was a bias
against Bengali
culture in state media,
such as a ban on
broadcasts of the works
of Nobel
laureate Rabindranath
Tagore.

32. Cultural and linguistic differences between the
two wings outweighed any religious unity. The
Bengalis were very proud of their culture and
language which with its Devnagari script and
Sanskrit vocabulary was unacceptable to the West
Pakistani elite who considered it to smack of Hindu
culture

33. In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah stated in Dhaka that
Urdu was the official language for Pakistan. There was
a big argument about this because only the Muhajir in
the West and the Biharis in the East spoke Urdu. Most
of the West Pakistanis spoke Punjabi and Sindhi, while
East Pakistanis spoke Bangla. East Pakistan therefore
disagreed; seven students were killed in a fierce protest
on February 21, 1952.

34.  A devastating cyclone
hit East Pakistan in
1970. It was called the
Bhola Cyclone. It killed
about 500,000 people
and made many more
homeless. It brought
great shock and deep
depression among the
East Pakistani people.
But, the government did
not provide enough
relief to alleviate the
extremely miserable
conditions wrought by
the cyclone.

35. Thank you very much