Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies Available online at www.ajms.co.in Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2014 ISSN: 2321-8819 45 The Separation Of East Pakistan: Socio-Economic Factors Ghulam Mustafa 1 and Adil Nawaz 2 1 Ghulam Mustafa, Ph.D Scholar, Graduate School of International Studies, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea. 2 Adil Nawaz, Ph.D Scholar, Graduate School Of International Studies, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea Abstract: Pakistani is facing a serious threat to the future of the Federation these days. The separation movements have been started in Baluchistan, Sindh and others area of Pakistan like was before 1971 when the people of Eastern region of Pakistan (at that time East Pakistan now Bangladesh) stood against the Islamabad under the leadership of Sheikh MujiburRehman. Awami league won 160 seats out of 300 and had a simple majority but the establishment and the elite of West Region of Pakistan did not accept the reality. Sheikh MujiburRehman deserved to be the legitimate Prime Minister of Pakistan but the elite of West Pakistan did not hand over the government office to Bengali Leader. The separation movement started in East Pakistan and the Pakistan Elite tried to suppress the separation movement by hook and crook but failed to unite the country and Pakistan was divided in 1971. The Pakistani elite cannot learn the lesson from the history and now Pakistan is on the brink of division again. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the factors which led to the division of Pakistan in 1971. Because of our discrimination towards the Bengalis, we ended up losing half of our country. Let's at least stop discriminating now, and save the half that is left behind. Key words:East Pakistan, Separation movement, Bengali, MujiburRehman, Ayub khan, six point. On August 14, 1947, British India was divided into two sovereign states of India and Pakistan on the basis that the Hindus and the Muslims are two separate nations, because of religo-political, socio-economic and cultural differences. The leaders of Muslim League realized that in undivided independent India, dominated by the Hindu majority, it would be impossible to safeguard the economic, political and cultural rights of the Indian Muslim community. The Muslims of the subcontinent under the brilliant leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League started a movement for the freedom of the Indian Muslim. Therefore the struggle of the Indian Muslims was crowned with success and the British yielded to the Muslim League demand and the sub-continent was divided into two states, India and Pakistan. The British Viceroy Lord Louise Mountbatten transferred powers to the Muslim League leaders on 14 August, 1947. Pakistan at the time of creation was a geographical absurdity. It was divided into two parts or wings separated by more than 1000 miles of Indian Territory. Besides, this long distance, number of other differences between the two wings made the task of nation building problematic. The population of East Pakistan was culturally uniform and the most of the people in eastern wing spoke Bengali language. Contrary to West Pakistan there were different minorities, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Parsi, no untouchable. However this did not become a hurdle in the creation of a uniform cultural pattern throughout East Pakistan. Moreover, West Pakistan, on the other hand, was populated by four main ethnic groups namely, the Punjabis, the Pushtoons, the Sindhis, the Baluchis, Urdu speaking Muhajirs and many minor linguistic communities, speaking their distinct native languages .(Subrata Roy Chaudhry, 1972) The political leadership in West Pakistan came from mainly the Feudal class and in East Pakistan it consisted of middle class educated people like lawyers, teachers and retired government officials.(Mushtaq Ahmad, 1970). In this complex situation, such factors as shared faith of Islam and common fear of Hindu domination could serve as cementing force for the integration of both the wings of Pakistan. However, these two unifying factors could have been effective only in the presence of a strong institutional infrastructure, which Pakistan lacked at that time. An effective institutional infrastructure could be built only with great political wisdom, shrewdness, and patience. Unfortunately, this did not happen in the history of Pakistan. Such unifying factor as the feelings of Islamic solidarity and the fear of Indian domination could neutralize a host of socio-economic and political factors, creating alienation between the two wings only for the time being. In order to keep the two wings together it was essential that both should have sincerely practiced the principles of Islamic brotherhood, which they professed.(S.M. Burke and LawrenceZairing, 1990). Sadly, this did not happen and in 1970, the centrifugal political forces succeeded in mobilizing the people of the Eastern wing against the policies of Central Government mainly coming from Western wing,