The Independence of Bangladesh in 1971

• Tasks
• Background
• Teachers' notes
• External links
• Connections to curriculum

‘British India’, also referred to as the ‘British Raj’ or ‘Direct rule in India’, was part of the British Empire from 1858 until independence in 1947. This independence process was called ‘partition’, because the colony was divided up into two countries: India and Pakistan.

Partition was not inevitable and happened because of long and complicated talks between the British government and elite Indian figures, each with their own political interests. The final borders of the new nations were created in only six weeks by Sir Cyril Radcliffe and were based on Muslim and non-Muslim majority areas. Learn more about partition here.

The new Pakistan was split into two regions that were more than 1,000 miles away: West Pakistan and East Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh). The distance and difference in culture, language, and identity between the two regions, and the fact that West Pakistan held more political and economic power, led to strong tensions and eventually protest movements in East Pakistan.

In 1971, West and East Pakistan fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War. This led to the creation of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971. How can we trace this road to independence through the British reports in The National Archives?

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Tasks

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Background

We can start the story of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War with the poorly planned and tragic ‘Partition’ of British India in 1947, based on religion. The separate north-eastern and north-western areas of the country, which were mostly Muslim, became a ‘united’ Pakistan. The rest of the country, mostly non-Muslim, became known as India. (See source 1: MFQ 1/1145.)

West and East Pakistan shared a religion, but not much else. For decades after Partition, the East Pakistanis (present-day Bangladeshis) were treated unfairly by the West Pakistani government over 1,000 miles away. East Pakistan had more people than West Pakistan but got less money and resources from the government. From the early 1950s, the amount of money earned per person in West Pakistan grew three times as much each year compared to East Pakistan.

In 1948, Urdu became the only state language of both West and East Pakistan (see source 2: DO 142/423). It was imposed on millions of Bengali-speaking people. This led to the rise of the Bengali Language Movement, resulting in mass protests and deaths in Dhaka in 1952.

Bengalis have a rich and proud history and culture focused around language, art, food, fashion, community, family and religion. The 1971 Liberation War can be seen as a struggle to preserve and protect this heritage.

A few key events leading up to 1971 sped up the start of the war:

• Cyclone Bhola in November 1970 devastated East Pakistan. Around 3-500,000 people were killed and many more made destitute. Relief efforts from West Pakistan were minimal (see source 3: FCO 37/719).
• Many East Pakistanis were feeling unhappy and resentful. This led to civil disobedience [refusal to obey the government] and the imposition of martial law [temporary rule by the military]. For many, these were uncertain and scary times.
• There was prejudice and violence between Bengalis and Urdu-speaking minorities (Biharis) in early March 1971.

Maybe the most important event leading up to the war was the 1970 election. The winning Awami League Party was led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who wanted more freedom and independence for East Pakistan. He won the national elections by a clear majority, as East Pakistan had a much larger population than West Pakistan. However, the centralised government in West Pakistan did not accept Rahman as leader. They declared the election results void. This led to the famous and emotional ‘Joy Bangla’ (‘victory to Bengal’) speech by Rahman on 7 March 1971 at a rally attended by thousands, in which he declared an ‘independent’ Bangladesh (see source 4: PREM 15/567). He was later arrested. There were more and more protests by his supporters.

On 25 March 1971, the West Pakistani army invaded East Pakistan, trying to stop these protests. It launched Operation Searchlight, killing many Bengali civilians, intellectuals, students, politicians, and armed forces.

The brutal war that followed lasted for nine months. Estimates for the total number of civilian and military deaths range from 500,000 to over 3 million. Millions of refugees fled to neighbouring India. Groups of Bengali guerrilla fighters (‘mukti bahini’) and regular soldiers – helped by the Indian military – fought back against the West Pakistani army. West Pakistan eventually surrendered on the 16th of December 1971 (known as ‘Victory Day’), leading to the creation of Bangladesh.

You can see how complex the 1971 war was by looking at the many terms used to describe it: Bangladesh War of Independence, Liberation War, genocide, Civil War, or, by many Bangladeshis, ‘mukti juddho’/‘shongram’ (battle and resistance). The war has been immortalised in the symbolism of the national flag of Bangladesh – a dark green background with a red (bloody) circle in the middle.

Britain played an important role in bringing global attention to the war. During 1971, as members of the Commonwealth, many thousands of Bengalis were living and working in Britain. It was a harrowing time for many, as they were living far away and were worried about family and kin in East Pakistan. Foreign journalists were expelled from the region before the suppression started, so there was little international coverage of the events of 1971 (see Pakistani journalist Anthony Mascarenhas’ article ‘Genocide’ for a rare example). However, Bengalis in the UK raised funds to help the resistance. They organised peaceful campaigns and demonstrations to bring international attention to the war, such as the ‘Recognise Bangla-Desh Rally’ in Trafalgar Square on 8 August 1971, which drew thousands of people (see source 5a). The British government formally recognised Bangladesh as an independent nation on 4 February in 1972.

Background written by Dr Aminul Hoque MBE (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

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Teachers' notes

This lesson looks at how Bangladesh became an independent country after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. It shows one of the many outcomes of the 1947 Partition of British India, and one of the many independence movements that happened in former British colonies in the 20^th century. This topic also sheds light on migration patterns into Britain and the large Bangladeshi community here.

To begin with, students examine a map of the 1947 Partition. This shows how British India was divided into India and Pakistan based on religion, and how far away West and East Pakistan were from each other. It can also show why East Pakistan had a better relationship with India, which was just over the border.

Sources 2a and 2b are related to the Bengali Language Movement, which was an early sign of the tensions between West and East Pakistan. Source 2a is a British report on the moment when Urdu was declared the state language of Pakistan. This excluded the majority of East Pakistanis who did not speak Urdu from official business. It sparked the Bengali Language Movement, in which East Pakistanis protested to get official recognition of Bengali as a state language. Source 2b skips ahead to show the eventual outcome of these protests: a contemporary London monument commemorating those killed in 1952 demonstrations by the police. This movement reflects the formation of a Bengali national identity based on language and culture.

Source 3 is a British report on West Pakistan’s response to the cyclone Bhola disaster in November 1970. This disaster is considered the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded and killed 300,000-500,000 people in East Pakistan. West Pakistan’s lack of any significant response or aid was widely criticised and increased animosity in the East towards the West right before the first general election.

Source 4 is a British report on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s famous speech on 7 March 1971. It shows how tensions were rising due to the Pakistan government refusing to accept Sheikh Mujibur’s win.

Sources 5a and 5b reflect on the duration and end of the war from the perspective of Britain’s relationship to Bangladesh. Source 5a shows how the large Bengali diaspora in the UK rallied in support of Bangladesh, eventually resulting in large-scale international attention being brought to the war (see, for example, George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh). Source 5b describes Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s surprise visit to London after having been imprisoned by West Pakistan during the war. It’s useful for students to reflect on why he chose London as his destination.

Sources 6a and 6b look at the British recognition of Bangladesh in February 1972 and the British interests in the conflict. Source 6a is a telegram describing the British financial interests that may be affected by recognition. Students can use this to infer some of the reasons why Britain has been watching the situation so closely. Source 6b shows a letter to the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office from the Embassy of Pakistan, and shows the (West) Pakistan view of the conflict. Students can use these sources to reflect on why a majority of the sources in this lesson have been British reports. How can this be linked to the colonial past of this region?

Further questions/activities:

• Create a timeline of events leading up to the outbreak of the war, using the sources in this lesson as a guide.
• Learn more about the 1947 Partition using our resources – why did it happen? What were some of the the outcomes?
  • Partition of British India lesson resource
  • Indian Independence themed collection
• What voices are not represented in our documents about this conflict? For example, research to learn more about the role of women in the war.
• Look at other former British colonies that achieved independence in the 20^th How do their roads to independence compare?

Sources

1. 1948 Partition Map. Catalogue ref: MFQ 1/1145

2a. Political situation in Pakistan, 1948. Catalogue ref: DO 142/423

2b. Photograph of the Shaheed Minar monument in Altab Ali Park, London. Source: Nicholas Jackson, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

3. Relief assistance for East Pakistan cyclone disaster, November. Catalogue ref: FCO 37/719
4. Internal situation: General Election, Dec 1970; uprising in East Pakistan; contingency planning to evacuate UK subjects. Catalogue ref: PREM 15/567

5a. 8 August 1971: Recognise Bangla-Desh Rally in Trafalgar Square. Source: Keystone Press/Alamy

5b. International recognition of Bangladesh, 1971 Jan 01-1972 Dec 31. Catalogue ref: FCO 37/1019

6a. International recognition of Bangladesh, 1971 Jan 01-1972 Dec 31. Catalogue ref: FCO 37/1019

6b. International recognition of Bangladesh, 1972. Catalogue ref: FCO 37/1025

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External links

• A parting as of brothers: Bangladesh at 50

Blog from The National Archives looking at Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s surprise visit to London, published to mark the 50th anniversary of Independence Day on 26 March 2021.

• The Bengali East End

The Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives holds historical records from London’s Borough of Tower Hamlets. This resource looks at the history of the Bengali community in the area.

• Bangladesh war: The article that changed history

BBC article looking at the legacy of Pakistani journalist Anthony Mascarenhas’ article ‘Genocide’, published in the British Sunday Times on 13 June 1971. It was a rare look inside the beginning of the war and gave it significant international attention.

• The Swadhinata Trust

The Swadhinata Trust is a London-based community group that promotes Bengali history and heritage.

• Bangladesh liberation in photographs

A showcase by the National Portrait Gallery of Yousuf Choudhury’s photos of British-Bangladeshi demonstrations in 1971, from the book Bangladesh 50 Years.

• The Concert for Bangladesh, August 1, 1971

Video footage from George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, reflecting the international attention drawn to the war.

• The Partition of India: What happened?

A short and education-friendly BBC resource on the 1947 Partition, including a video and maps of West/East Pakistan.

• Witness History: The Bengali language movement

A BBC ‘Witness History’ podcast (9 minutes) on the Bengali language movement and the 1952 deaths.

• The Genocide the U.S. Can’t Remember, But Bangladesh Can’t Forget

Article in Smithsonian Magazine about the American reactions to the war, drawing on former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s defining it as ‘genocide’.

Connections to curriculum

KS3:

• Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day
  • Indian independence and end of Empire
  • Britain’s place in the world since 1945

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