University of Virginia Library

Bangla Desh:

Birth Of The World's
Eighth Largest Nation

By S. M. HUSSIAN

Ed.)

At the moment the attention of the
world is sharply focused on the violent
events that are sweeping across the Indian
subcontinent. The subcontinent is
undergoing the pangs of birth of a new
nation Bangla Desh.

The origin of this new nation should
be traced to the movement for
self-determination that preceded the
termination of British rule in India on
August 15, 1947. Bengal was the largest
province of British India.

The ratio of the Muslims and the
Hindus in the province was three to two.
The Bengalis both Hindus and
Muslims speak the same language, have a
h literature which has been tured
by both sections, and have similar claims
and dressing habits.

Religious Division

For centuries they have lived together
in the Ganges delta. What constitutes the
dividing line between the two
communities is then adherence to
different religions. At lines this
difference has caused inactions and
dissensions between them which,
however, have never been more acute
than those that occur between the
Catholics and the Protestants.

Co-existence of different religions is as
much a part of life in Bengal as in any
modern state. Between Bangla Desh and
West Pakistan, the only common thing is
religion, that is, the people of West
Pakistan and the majority of people of
Bangla Desh are Muslims.

Islam is the common heritage of
Muslims all over the world. The common
denominator between the Muslims of
Bengal and those of West Pakistan is no
larger than that between the latter and
the Moroccans or the Indonesians.

The dissimilarities are enormous. West
Pakistan and Bangla Desh have different
histories. The former was a gateway to
India for all invaders. The Greeks, the
Sakas, the Huns, the Arabs, the Mongols,
the Alghaig, had the Moguls overran and
ruled that area.

Bangla Desh, which lies more than one
thousand miles east of West Pakistan and
is crisscrossed by many livers was, in
those days, too lat and too difficult lot
the invaders to reach.

This explains why the population of
West Pakistan is heterogeneous and that
of Bangla Desh is homogeneous, and why
75 Million people of Bangla Desh speak
one language and 55 million West
Pakistanis speak at least tour languages.

Cultural Links

Historically and linguistically and on
course in religion West Pakistan has
more affinity with Afghanistan, Persia
and Arabia than with the remote Bengal.
At various times in the past, West
Pakistan owned part of Afghan. Persian
and Arab kingdoms. The languages of
West Pakistan were derived mainly from
Persian and Arabic. The Bengali language
was derived from Sanskrit.

It is significant that Bengal was not
included in the name "Pakistan," and
that it was not included in the original
concept of Pakistan. The term "Pakistan"
was coined by taking the first letters of
the names of Punjab, Afghanistan,
Kashmir, Indus and "stan" from
Baluchistan.

Islam was imposed on the people of
West Pakistan by the Central Asian
Muslim conquerors, but Islam was
brought to the Bengalis by the Muslim
saints and missionaries.

Independent Bengali

For centuries before the establishment
of the British rule in India, Bengal was
independent of the control of the Indian
emperor. The emperor's hold on that
eastern kingdom was sporadic and seldom
amounted to more than
acknowledgement of the emperor's
suzerainty by the king of Bengal. West
Pakistan was seldom independent of the
control of the emperor.

There were a few strong currents
which developed within the stream of the
Indian independence movement during
the British rule. One of these currents was
the demand for independence without
dividing India, and still another was the
demand for a separate state in Bengal.

The last demand was made by both
the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal.
Without the support of the Bengali
Muslims, the demand for a Muslim
state Pakistan was bound to fail
because the Bengali Muslims were
persuaded to support the Pakistan
demand on the express agreement that