Key Question : 11 What were the problems faced by the newly independent Pakistan

between 1947-48?
Introduction:
• Quaid-e-Azam sworn as the Governor General of Pakistan on 14 august 1947.
• He said “Pakistan has come to exist for ever”.
Geographical problems:
Pakistan was split into two separate parts almost a thousand miles apart. East Pakistan comprised
of most of Bengal and the Sylhet which voted in a referendum to join Pakistan. West Pakistan
comprised of west Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and the NWFP. The princely states of Dir, Swat,
Chitral, Amb, Hunza, Gilgit and Bahawalpur also joined Pakistan. These two wings of Pakistan
were separated by about a 1000 miles of land that belonged to India. There was nothing common
between these two wings except religion.
Political problems:
India inherited government buildings, furnishings even officials from the British. Pakistan had
none of these. India had officials, members of the Indian national congress, with political
experience to take over the government. In Pakistan, the constituent Assembly members were
mostly wealthy landlords with little political experience. Pakistan lacked both the administrative
and the government machinery to run the affairs of a new country Quaid-e-azam would need to
find a capital, a government and officials to ensure the efficient government of the new state.
Perhaps the major problem was that the Quaid-e-azam had suffered from tuberculosis.
Economic problems:
Pakistan was underdeveloped with very little industry. Only Karachi had the modern port but
much of Pakistan had no linked to the industrialization that had taken place in central India.
Around 90 % people lived in the country side and only 8 towns had a population of
100,[Link]’s agriculture didn’t produce enough of a surplus to create the wealth needed for
industrialization. Only jute export produced the major source of foreign exchange earnings for
Pakistan but the problems created by partition are exemplified by the fact that in 1947 Pakistan
didn’t have a single jute mill. All the jute mills were in the new India.
The percentage of economic assets in Pakistan after partition:
• Industrial enterprises: 10 %
• Industrial workers : 6.5 %
• Electrical capacity : 5%
• Mineral deposits : 10 %
Electricity Problem:
Due to transfer of Muslim majority areas to India and unfair demarcation, electricity system of
West Punjab was disrupted ,because all power stations were at Mundi, a predominantly Muslim
majority area, gifted to India but Quiad-e-Azam said:
"If we are to exist as a nation ,we will have to face the problems with determination and force."
Social problems:
Pakistan was mainly made up of 5 different regions. Some historians have gone as far as
suggesting that really it was 5 different nations. Certainly there were five different population
groupings.
(i) The Pakhtuns in the north
(ii) The Balochs in the west
(iii) The Sindhis in the south
(iv) The Punjabis in the north east
(v) The Bengalis in the east
These people had different traditions, cultures, languages and lifestyles. Baluchistan and Bengal
in 1947 were not completely sure that they now wanted to transfer allegiance to a new Pakistan,
where once again the official language Urdu would not be the one they spoke.
The accession of the princely states:
Lord Mountbatten gave the right to 462 princely states to choose between India and Pakistan.
Their location and their religion made the choice a straightforward one. In 1947 the northern
areas of Dir, Swat, Chitral, Amb and Hunza joined Pakistan. Bahawalpur also joined Pakistan;
Sylhet in East also joined Pakistan through referendum.
Hyderabad was the largest of the princely states with a population of 160 million. It was wealthy
with revenue of 160 million rupees. Nizam wanted to join Pakistan but he was pressurized to join
India due to non-Muslim population there. In august he filed a complaint before UNO. But
before it could be heard Indian troops captured Hyderabad.
Junagarh was a small state on the coast, 300 miles south of Karachi. Its prince was Muslim but
population was non-Muslim. Prince announced to join Pakistan in [Link] Lord Mountbatten
informed Pakistan that the accession of Junagarh was an encroachment on Indian sovereignty
and territory. Ultimately Indian troops surrounded the state and took the control. Pakistan
protested to the UNO about the illegal occupation but the matter remains unresolved.
The Kashmir Issue:
The most serious disagreement between India and Pakistan concerned the state of Jammu and
Kashmir. Its boundaries with Tibet, China, Afghanistan and Russia gave it great strategic
importance. Most of the 4 million inhabitants of Kashmir were Muslims but the maharaja was
Hindu. In September 1947 he started a campaign to drive many Muslims out of Kashmir. Over
200,000 fled to Pakistan and finally the Muslims rose in rebellion. The Maharaja was forced to
turn to India for help to crush the Muslims. Indian help came and the Maharaja Hari Singh
agreed to accede to India. Pakistan also sent troops to help Kashmir (Muslims).Neither side was
strong enough for a long war. So in January 1948 the matter referred to the UNO.A ceasefire was
arranged on Jan. 1949 and Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan. India retained the
largest area of Kashmir including the capital Srinagar. Indian Prime Minister Nehru agreed that a
referendum would be held in Kashmir to determine the wishes of the people, once the situation
has normalized. This referendum has not been held yet.
The division of financial and military assets:
It was agreed that the assets were to be divided on the ratio of 17 to India and 5 to Pakistan. This
reflected the relative size and populations of the country. In June 1947 it was agreed that
Pakistan would be paid 750 million rupees of the 4 billion rupees in the reserve bank. First 200
million rupees were paid but later on India refused to pay the rest saying Pakistan would only use
it to buy arms to fight against India. Gandhi was determined that the division of assets should be
fair and took steps to persuade India to pay the due money. He used the threat of a hunger strike
and successfully persuaded the Indian government to pay a further 500 million rupees. Armed
forces and the military equipment were split 36 % to 64% between Pakistan and India.
The armed forces personnel were given freedom to opt for whichever country they wanted.
Muslim regiments went to Pakistan and non- Muslim to India. Pakistan’s army comprising on
150,000 men and had only 2500 trained Muslim officers. It required 4000 officers; ultimately
Jinnah had to hire 500 British officers temporarily. All 16 ordinance factories were in India, and
it refused to hand over any. Pakistan had no factory for making military goods. Eventually India
agreed to pay 60 million rupees in lieu of handing over ordnance factories. The military supplies
which India agreed to hand over were often old, worn, damaged and obsolete.
The canal water dispute:
The canal water dispute had its origin in the partition of Punjab in [Link] Pakistan relies
upon irrigation from a series of canals which draw water from the 3 main rivers in the area, the
Indus, the Jhelum, and the Chenab. The problem for Pakistan was that the flow of water was
controlled at a series of ‘headwork’s’ lay in the part of east Punjab (India).Soon India and
Pakistan indulge into a canal water dispute. Pakistan called for the matter to be settled by
international court of justice but India refused. In May 1948 a temporary agreement was reached
and India agreed to allow water from east Punjab to flow into west Punjab.
Refugees and the accommodation crises:
In the years immediately before partition there was widespread violence between Muslims and
the non- Muslims communities across India. The summer of 1947 saw rioting which led to
numerous deaths. When the boundary Award was announced in august 1947 things became
worse. Millions of people found themselves living in the wrong country and became victims of
communal attacks. That year witnessed the largest migration of mankind and also some of the
worst scenes of communal violence. Over 20 million people had moved from India to Pakistan or
in other direction by Jan. [Link] Muslim historians believe that Hindus and Sikhs had an
organized programme for the massacre of Muslim refugees. A million men, women and children
died as a result of the violence or the rigors of the long journey. Nearly 10 million people were
made homeless. Karachi alone received nearly 2 million refugees in [Link] was impossible
for Pakistan to provide accommodations to that mass number of people. In September 1947 the
authorities in Delhi had to declare martial law as non-Muslim refugees had begun a slaughter of
local Muslims. India and Pakistan were so concerned about the communal violence that they
began to cooperate in trying to control it.
Drawbacks in Educational System:
Lack of proper planning:
There is no proper planning. Planning needs correct facts and figures which are not available.
Innovations are neither research based nor are introduced after proper preparation. They are
introduced with a stroke of pen, and are cancelled ill equal haste. Nationalization and de-
nationalization of schools , semester system and its cancellation, comprehensive schools,
superior science colleges are examples.
Policies and their implementation:
Education policies are framed, but are not fully implemented with honesty and whole
heartedness. Five policies were framed, the latest was in 1979. Over 1000 recommendations
were made but only 25% were implemented. A new policy is introduced with every change of
government.
Administrative set up:
Officers at high level want to have all powers in their hands. At lower level there is lack of
proper supervision and control.
Lack of funds:
This is the most important draw back. The government has no money to open more primary
schools to accommodate all children of school going age. The result is that there is overcrowding
in primary and secondary schools. Most of the money allocated to education is spent on salaries.
There is no money for research, development or teachers' training.
Poor condition of Schools:
School buildings are in bad shape. Buildings are neglected and dilapidated. There are thousands
of schools without proper class rooms. There is no proper furniture or facilities of drinking
water, toilets or playing grounds. Very often classes are held under the open sky and children are
sitting on bare ground.
Teachers:
In Pakistan teachers are a neglected community. No incentive is provided by the governments or
the society to the teachers and they are considered to be a community known for their intellectual
and economic backwardness. Training of teachers is also on old and out-moded lines and it does
not conform with the latest methods and trends.
Examination System:
Examination system is in primitive state. The system is based on selective study, memorizing the
text books or notes is all what is required. Memorization of a narrow range of predictable topics
is rewarded by high marks. The system of examination is counter-productive as far as intellectual
growth is concerned. It tempts the students to cram rather than analyse and apply the knowledge
to solve problems.