The history of Bangladesh as a nation state began in 1971, when it seceded from Pakistan.

Prior to the creation of Pakistan in 1947, modern-day Bangladesh was part of ancient, classical, medieval and colonial India. The area's early history featured a succession of Indian empires, internal squabbling, and a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance. Islam made its first appearance during the 12th century when Sufi missionaries arrived. Later, occasional Muslim raiders reinforced the process of conversion by: Building mosques Madrassas And Sufi Khanqah.

The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal and India in 1947, when the region became East Pakistan, part of the newly formed Islamic State of Pakistan. However, it was separated from the western wing by 1,600 km (994 mi) of Indian Territory. Due to political exclusion, ethnic and linguistic discrimination, as well as economic neglect by the politically-dominant West Pakistan, popular agitation led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman grew against West Pakistan, resulting in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which the Bengali people won with the support of India. After independence, the new state endured famine, natural disasters and widespread poverty, as well as political turmoil and military coups. The restoration of democracy in 1991 has been followed by relative calm and economic progress.

British rule
The British East India Company gained official control of Bengal following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. This was the first conquest, in a series of engagements that ultimately lead to the expulsion of other European competitors. The defeat of the Mughals and the consolidation of the subcontinent under the rule of a corporation was a unique event in imperialistic history. Kolkata (Anglicized as "Calcutta") on the Hooghly became a major trading port for bamboo, tea, o ugar cane, spices, cotton, muslin and jute produced in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Kushtia.

Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early 20th centuries in Bengal during the period of British rule. The Bengal renaissance can be said to have started with Raja Ram Mohan Roy (17751833)[5] and ended with Rabindranath Tagore (18611941). Nineteenth century Bengal was a unique blend of religious and social reformers, scholars, literary giants, journalists, patriotic orators and scientists, all merging to form the image of a renaissance, and marked the transition for the 'medieval' to the 'modern'.

Causes and Creation of Pakistan

As the independence movement throughout British-controlled India began in the late 19th century gained momentum during the 20th century, Bengali politicians played an active role in Mohandas Gandhi's Congress Party and Mohammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League, exposing the opposing forces of ethnic and religious nationalism. By exploiting the latter, the British probably intended to distract the independence movement, for example by partitioning Bengal in 1905 along religious lines. The split only lasted for seven years. At first the Muslim League sought only to ensure minority rights in the future nation. In 1940 the Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution which envisaged one or more Muslim majority states in South Asia. Non-negotiable was the inclusion of the Muslim parts of Punjab and Bengal in these proposed states. The stakes grew as a new Viceroy Lord Mountbatten of Burma was appointed expressly for the purpose of affecting a graceful British exit. Communal violence in Noakhali and Calcutta sparked a surge in support for the Muslim League, which won a majority of Bengal's Muslim seats in the 1946 election. Accusations have been made that Hindu and Muslim nationalist instigators were involved in the latter incident. At the last moment Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose came up with the idea of an independent and unified Bengal state, which was endorsed by Jinnah. This idea was vetoed by the Indian National Congress. British India was partitioned and the independent states of India and Pakistan were created in 1947; the region of Bengal was divided along religious lines. The predominantly Muslim eastern half of Bengal became the East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan) state of Pakistan and the predominantly Hindu western part became the Indian state of West Bengal. Pakistan's history from 1947 to 1971 was marked by political instability and economic difficulties. In 1956 a constitution was at last adopted, making the country an "Islamic republic within the Commonwealth". The nascent democratic institutions foundered in the face of military intervention in 1958, and the government imposed martial law between 1958 and 1962, and again between 1969 and 1971.

Reasons of language Movement

Almost from the advent of independent Pakistan in 1947, frictions developed between East and West Pakistan, which were separated by more than 1,000 miles of Indian Territory. East Pakistanis felt exploited by the West Pakistan-dominated central government. Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic differences also contributed to the estrangement of East from West Pakistan. When Mohammad Ali Jinnah died in September 1948, Khwaja Nazimuddin became the Governor General of Pakistan while Nurul Amin was appointed the Chief Minister of East Bengal. Nurul Amin continued as the Chief Minister of East Bengal until 2 April

1954. The abolition of the Zamindari system in East Bengal (1950) and the Language Movement were two most important events during his tenure.

The Bengali Language Movement

The Bengali Language Movement, also known as the Language Movement Bhasha Andolon, was a political effort in Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan), advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language of Pakistan. Such recognition would allow Bengali to be used in government affairs

Logic of Independence
In August 1947, the Partition of British India gave birth to two new states; a secular state named India and an Islamic state named Pakistan. But Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west of India. The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. On 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces led to East Pakistan declaring its independence as the state of Bangladesh and to the start of civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) flooding into the eastern provinces of India Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organizing the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.

East Pakistani grievances

Economic disparities
Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget. Year Spending on West Spending on East Amount spent on Pakistan (in Pakistan (in East as percentage millions of millions of of West

195055 195560 196065 196570 Total

Pakistani rupees) Pakistani rupees) 11,290 5,240 16,550 5,240 33,550 14,040 51,950 21,410 113,340 45,930

46.4 31.7 41.8 41.2 40.5

Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 197075, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan.

Military imbalance
Bengalis were underrepresented in the Pakistan military. Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of overall force by 1965; of these, only a few were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative posts. West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined" unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis; the "martial races" notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis Moreover, despite huge defence spending, East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts, purchasing and military support jobs. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis as only an under-strength infantry division and 15 combat aircraft without tank support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliations during the conflict.

Response to the 1970 cyclone

The 1970 Bhola cyclone made landfall on the East Pakistan coastline during the evening of 12 November, around the same time as a local high tide, killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people. Though the exact death toll is not known, it is considered the deadliest tropical cyclone on record. A week after the landfall, President Khan conceded that his government had made "slips" and "mistakes" in its handling of the relief efforts due to a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster. A statement released by eleven political leaders in East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with "gross neglect, callous and utter indifference". They also accused the president of playing down the magnitude of the problem in news coverage. On 19 November, students held a march in Dhaka protesting the slowness of the government response. Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50,000 people on 24 November, where he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation. As the conflict between East and West Pakistan developed in March, the Dhaka offices of the two government organisations directly involved in relief efforts were closed for at least two weeks, first by a general strike and then by a ban on government work in East

Pakistan by the Awami League. With this increase in tension, foreign personnel were evacuated over fears of violence. Relief work continued in the field, but long-term planning was curtailed. This conflict widened into the Bangladesh Liberation War in December and concluded with the creation of Bangladesh. This is one of the first times that a natural event helped to trigger a civil war.

Election in 1970
In November 1970, a devastating cyclone struck the coastal areas of East Bengal, killing thousands of people. However, the central government failed to aid the cyclone-strieken people. The government was severely criticized for treating the Bangalis in a callous manner. Mujib and other Awami League leaders toured the ravaged areas, including the off-shore islands. The political leadership urged the people to use the ballot-box to express their indignation at the treatment they received from the central government. In the election that followed, the Awami League won a triumphant victory. At the East Bengal Assembly elections, the results were as follows: Parties Seats Awami League 298 Other Parties 5 Independents 7 TOTAL 310 At the National Assembly elections, the Awami emerged as the majority party, as the table shows: Parties Seats Awami League 167 Pakistan People's Party 88 Other Parties 44 Independents 14 TOTAL 313 The military, bureaucracy, and business, all West Pakistani-dominated, were shocked at the results because they faced the prospect that the central government's power would be passed away to the Bangalis, if the Awami League were allowed to shape g to its 6-point program. The election put the Pakistani ruling elite in such a position that, if it allowed the democratic process to continue, then it would be unable to stop the Awami League from framing a constitution that would protect the Bangali interests.

Liberation war

At first resistance was spontaneous and disorganized, and was not expected to be prolonged But when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, resistance grew. The Mukti Bahini became increasingly active. The Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry with supplies from India. Pakistan responded by airlifting in two infantry divisions and reorganizing their forces. They also raised paramilitary forces of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (who were mostly members of the Muslim League, the then government party and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Bihari Muslims who had settled during the time of partition. THE BIRTH OF BANGLADESH After winning the 1970 elections, the Awami League was not in a position to compromise its political program without being regarded as a traitor to the Bangali cause. Since the Awami League did not compromise, the negotiations with the regime broke down although the talks produced a semblance of agreement. As planned, the Pakistani army launched an attack on the Bangalis without warning, with a view to weaken and demolish Bangali nationalism. The military arrested Sheik Mujib, the leader of the Awami League. He had earlier sent a message declaring independence. The military launched a systematic attack on the Bangali people. The military shelled the Dhaka University, killing the university teachers and students; the soldiers broke into women's dormitories and raped the women. They buried the dead in mass graves that were bull-dozed over by the tanks. The Bangalis tried their best to escape the wrath of the Pakistan army. The crackdown was intended to demolish Bangali nationalism by inflicting cruelty and to prevent the Bangalis from exercising their right to self-determination. The Bangalis resisted the military action spontaneously with primitive arms, by building barricades, and by creating obstacles. In some

places, particularly in the rural areas, where the military could not reach immediately, the public under the action committees set up by the Awami League proclaimed the formation of liberated zones. Bangali troops rebelled against the Pakistani army. Widely supported by the populace, the Bangali troops resisted, fought the Pakistan army, and initiated the liberation struggle. The dynamics of the international situation altered with the signing of the Indo-Soviet treaty, which guaranteed the security of India. The government of India recognized Bangladesh on December 6, 1971. With Indians allying with Bangalis in the National Liberation of Bangladesh, the joint forces of Bangladesh and India was able to overcome the Pakistani army easily. The Bangali guerrillas had penetrated into East Bengal and had expert knowledge of the terrain and the activities of the Pakistan army. The Indian forces possessed superior fire-power and better troops. The Indians cutoff the air links between East Bengal and West Pakistan. The Pakistan army could not receive new supplies or further troop support. With the introduction of Indian forces, the Pakistan army was being defeated in all the battles. Realizing the possibility of total annihilation, the Pakistan army surrendered to the joint command of Bangladesh and Indian forces on December 16, 1971. With the unconditional surrender of the Pakistani army, Bangladesh was finally liberated. The National Liberation of Bangladesh was the result of the transformation of the political struggle of the Bangali bourgeoisie to attain power into the national struggle of the Bangalis to resist the genocidal actions of the Pakistani army. The economic exploitation of East Bengal stimulated the radicalization of Bangali politics. As a result, the Awami League thrived on the Bangali bourgeois demand for political autonomy. Even after the tremendous victory of the Awami League in 1970 elections, the Pakistani ruling elite failed to recognize the Bangali demands. The Pakistani ruling elite could not visualize that the conditions in East Bengal had reached the point where the masses would not accept West Pakistani hegemony and, in the event of military crackdown, the masses would risk their lives to challenge West Pakistani hegemony. The indiscriminate attacks, killings, and rapes and the very attempt to retain East Bengal by military means, further escalated the Bangalis' bid to independence. The qualitative change of the autonomy movement into a liberation

struggle led to the independence of Bangladesh.