Page 358 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

During the Partition of India after independence in 1947, the Bengal region
was divided into two: East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) and West
Bengal. East Bengal was made a part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan due
to the fact that both regions had an overwhelmingly large Muslim population,

more than 86%. In 1955, the government of Pakistan changed its name from
East Bengal to East Pakistan.

There were some confrontations between the two regions though. Firstly, in

1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that Urdu would be the sole official
language of the entire nation, though more than 95% of the East Bengali

population spoke Bengali. And when protests broke out in Bangladesh on 21
February 1952, Pakistani police fired on the protesters, killing hundreds.
Secondly, East Bengal/East Pakistan was allotted only a small amount of
revenue for its development out of the Pakistani national budget. Therefore, a

separatist movement started to grow in the estranged province. When the
main separatist party, the Awami League, headed by Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman, won 167 of 169 seats up for grabs in the 1970 elections and got the
right to form the government, the Pakistan President Yahya Khan refused to
recognise the election results and arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This led

to widespread protests in East Pakistan and in 1971, the Liberation War was
followed by the declaration (by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 7 March 1971)
of the independent state of Bangladesh.

India played a massive role in helping Bangladesh gain independence. India
under Indira Gandhi fully supported the cause of the Bangladeshis and its
troops and equipment were used to fight the Pakistani forces. The Indian

Army also gave full support to the main Bangladeshi guerrilla force, the
Mukti Bahini. Finally, on 26 March 1971, Bangladesh emerged as an
independent state. Since then, there have been several issues of agreement as

well as of dispute.

Areas of contention

A major area of contention has been the construction and operation of

the Farakka Barrage by India to increase water supply in the river