There was inequality alright but i think they are exaggerated to an extent
and we will never know if we would become a middle income country.Mujib and his thug family being the main reason.i would like to hear @
asad71 's view on this
1.Let us first consider Pakistan's economy pre-1971.
a. Currency conversion; 1964 PKR = 18.60 USD (US Dollar). 1964 INR = 31.27 USD (US Dollar). Pakistan's economy was far better than India's before Bhutto duped Ayub into a war that the nation and Kashmiris were not prepared for. (I always suspected the Shah of Iran had a role in this to unseat Sunni Ayub and install Shia Yahya). Pre-65 Pakistan's ,industrial growth, agriculture and overall economy was second only to Japan among Asian nations.The economy nose-dived. Pak/Re became weaker.
b. After a fall Pakistan picked up. Currency conversion: 1970 PKR = 18.66 USD (US Dollar). 1970 INR = 31.37 USD (US Dollar). But again a conspiratorial 1971 War smashed all.
2.In this achievement of Pakistan, E Bengal's jute and tea played the pivotal role. However, E Bengal's economy and growth remained weaker than WP. Price of gold was different in in the two wings. Smuggling of gold from the West to East was a lucrative affair, and Customs / Excise were active in checking this.
3. In the 50's Lahore had double-Decker buses. It had metered cabs. BD had to wait till 80's to see these. At Partition there were only 2/3 Bengalee Muslim ICS officers. Police was better off with the first Muslim IP, Zakir Hussain, being a Bengalee. In the military, few Muslim officers were commissioned in spacial short service course during WW II. Otherwise Khwaja Wasiuddin was the only one. Majid, Osmani and few others were Assamese. There were Bengalee Hindu officers belonging to the upper casts. Air Marshal Mukharjee and Gen Joyonto Chowdhuri are examples. There were more doctors with higher qualification and engineers in the West supplemented by Mohajirs.
4. Although E Bengal produced all the jute, the factories were all located around Calcutta. Industrially E Bengal was practically zero. Before the Kaptai Hydel was commissioned, all power was generated with coal or diesel, and that was catering for the major towns only. Till A K Khan came over from Rangoon, there was no solid industrialist of Bengalee origin.
5. In 1773 Cornwallis enacted the Permanent Settlement Act for Bengal. Preparations for this Act was made by the Company in willfully causing the devastating famine of 1770. Through the mischief of this Act, the Bengalee Muslim was, at a stroke, turned into serfs / slaves of the newly appointed Hindu Zamindars from an affluent / dominant class. It is no wonder therefore that the Bengalee Muslims had agitated most for The Two Nation Theory to deliver them from the clutched of the blood-sucking Hindu zamindars.
6. An understanding of this background is necessary before we address the question asked. There was inequity to start with. It was not created post-Pakistan. Except Ayub none really addressed this issue squarely. But then there was an imperial political failure. After Jinnah till Ayub, the top leadership was incompetent,insincere and lacked vision. The only man among the top politicos with a vision, grasp of things and patriotism was Suhrowardy. Alas, Ayub feared him and did not use this brilliant man. Had he,then BD might have separated peacefully keeping the original concept of Pakistan intact. Riffraff and Frankenstein like Bhutto could not have risen. Agitation would not have overtaken Sheikh Mujib, a believer in The Two Nation Theory till he died.
