GLOCAL March 2014 | Page 4

Geographical factor Former East Bengal which became East Pakistan under one unit formula of the Central government and West Pakistan were 1200 miles apart; between them lays India. Geographically, the two wings of the former Pakistan were vastly divergent. West Pakistan, which includes most of the Indus River system, also portions of the mighty ranges of the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas. Former East Pakistan is a semi-tropical land, most of which lies near Sea level. It flows 2 On June 3rd 1947, the British government announced a policy statement, which is known as the Mountbatten plan, recognizing the inevitability of the partition of India. As a part of the plan Pakistan and Union of India was born on 15 August 1947 under the provisions of Indian independence Act of 1947 passed by the British House of Commons. In Pakistan, there were five provinces each having its own provincial assembly .East Bengal was one of the provinces of Pakistan. The most difficult and so far almost insurmountable problem with which Pakistan was confronted had been that of the nature of federalism and the relationship of the constituent provinces with the central government of the erstwhile Pakistan. The main reason for the emergence of Bangladesh were the lack of Bengali participation in decision –making process in Pakistan and the colonial style economic exploitation of East Bengal by the central government. Bengali speaking population was the majority segment of the citizenry in the erstwhile Pakistan. Four basic factors, which contributed in breaking Pakistan, were geographical, political, economic and cultural. Page the basis of religion. The differences were resolv