and Christians. West Pakistanis are mostly muslims, but they are divided into Shia, Sunni and Ahmadia (Qadiani) sects. Incidentally the present President of Pakistan Gen. Yahya Khan is a Shia.
II. Pakistan Movement.
Pakistan movement in British India was launched by the Muslim League which was founded in Dacca (capital of East Pakistan) in 1906 by the Bengali leaders. The Pakistan Resolution was moved in the Muslim League conference held in Lahore in 1940 by the great Bengali leader A. K. Fazlul Haque. The Lahore Resolution envisaged that Pakistan would consist of a number of independent sovereign states in the regions having muslim majority population. The Bengalis of East Pakistan who were the pioneers of muslim independence movement however did not demand an independent East Pakistan when independence was achieved. They made this sacrifice because of their brethren of West Pakistan. Later history, however, proved that their contribution and sacrifices before and after the creation of Pakistan went unrecognized.
III. Status of East Bengalis in Pakistan
Though a majority. East Bengalis right from the beginning were not given their due share in administration, services and economic development. The Punjabis who dominated the defense and civil services emerged as neo-rulers of the country and masters of Bengalis. They not only neglected the Bengalis but branded them as unpatriotic, cncmics of state, agents of India ctc. A. K. Fazlul IIaque who was Chief Minister of undivided Bengal and who moved the Pakistan Resolution at Lahore was ousted from Muslim League by Mohd. Ali Jinnah. IIc was subjected to a lot of harassment and his patriotism used to be doubted by the Punjabi rulers of Pakistan. Khawaja Nazimuddin of Dacca who became Governor General after Mr. Jinnah's death and then accepted the post of Prime Minister after Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan's assassination was dismissed from Prime Ministership by the Punjabi GovernorGeneral Ghulam Muhammad. Mohammad Ali of Bogra (East Pakistan) who attended the historical Bandung Conference was also dismissed from Prime Ministership.
Another great Bengali leader Hussain Shahid Suhrawardy who later became Prime Minister of Pakistan faced a lot of trouble from the West Pakistani rulers *after Pakistan was created. Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani who is not only a great political leader but a renowned religious leader with large following among the muslims in East Pakistan used to be branded indiscriminately by the West Pakistani rulers as communist and enemy of state. Maulana Bhashani and Shahid Suhrawardy were the two founders of present Awami League. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the present Chief of Awami League got his political training from both Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhashani. As a powerful student leader, he made significant contribution during the independence movement. He comes of a middle class family of East Pakistan and believes in Islamic justice and socialism. He is considered to be a moderate. After the creation of Pakistan he has always fought for East Pakistan's political and economic rights. Because of his stand against colonialization and exploitation of East Pakistan by West Pakistani bureaucrats and industrialists that he got the bad name of enemy of state and agent of India and suffered
