Page 252 - Failure to Triumph - Journey of A Student

and India’s states West Bengal and Tripura are all Bengali-speaking. However, since partition of
India in 1947, Bangladesh (formerly East Bengal and East Pakistan) became a part of Pakistan.
Following the bloody Liberation War of 1971, Bangladesh gained its independence and established
relations with India. The political relationship between India and Bangladesh has passed through

cycles of hiccups. The relationship typically becomes favourable for Bangladesh during periods of
Awami League government. Relations have improved significantly, after Bangladesh’s clampdown on
anti-Indian groups on its soil, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, Bangladesh’s Prime
Minister’s Sheikh Hasina’s state visit to India in January 2010, and continued dialogue over the
controversial Farakka Barrage.

Historical Background

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

February 21, 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 under Yahya Khan refused to recognize the election results and arrested Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman. This led to widespread protests in East Pakistan and in 1971, the Liberation War, followed

by the declaration (by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, 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 March 26, 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 Hoogly. Bangladesh insists that it does not
receive a fair share of the Ganges waters during the drier seasons, and gets flooded during
the monsoons when India releases excess waters.