Why did Bangladesh separate from Pakistan?

A. Because the Bengali people wanted to continue to be a British colony

B. Because the Indian government restricted travel between East and West Pakistan

C. Because East Pakistan had greater resources than West Pakistan

D. Because ethnic and political differences divided East and West Pakistan

Prior to the partition of India, the Lahore Resolution initially envisaged separate Muslim-majority states in the eastern and north-western areas of British India. In 1946, Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy made a proposal for an independent state of united Bengal, but the colonial authorities opposed it.

The East Pakistan Renaissance Society advocated the creation of a sovereign state in eastern British India. Finally, political negotiations led, in August 1947, to the official birth of two states, Pakistan and India, which allegedly provided permanent housing to Muslims and Hindus, respectively, following the departure of the British.

The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separated areas to the east and west with India in the middle. The western zone was popularly (and for a period, also officially) called West Pakistan and the eastern zone (now Bangladesh) was initially called East Bengal and later, East Pakistan.

Although the population of the two areas was almost equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, which generated many grievances. The administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge.

On March 25, 1971, after an election won by a Pakistani eastern political party (the Awami League) was ignored by the ruling establishment (Western Pakistani), growing political discontent and cultural nationalism in eastern Pakistan were found with a brutal repressive force of the ruling elite of the establishment of West Pakistan, in what was called Operation Reflector.

The violent repression of the Pakistani army led the leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to declare the independence of East Pakistan as the state of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. The majority of Bengalis supported this movement, although the Islamists and Biharis opposed it and sided with Pakistan's army instead.

Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to reestablish the authority of the Pakistani government, beginning the civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (which at that time was estimated at about 10 million) flooding in the eastern provinces of India. Facing a growing humanitarian and economic crisis, India began actively helping and organizing the Bangladesh resistance army known as Mukti Bahini.