The nature of the state in Pakistan (1947-1970), Part-2
Summary
TLDRThe transcript delves into the political and economic evolution of Pakistan, emphasizing its alliance with the U.S. during the Cold War, the impact of foreign aid, and the overdeveloped state led by military and bureaucracy. It contrasts Pakistan’s capitalist development with India's socialist efforts and highlights the inequalities that emerged, particularly between East and West Pakistan. The speaker discusses the military's dominance, the suppression of democracy, and the rise of a wealthy elite class, ultimately leading to the Bengali independence movement and the fall of Pakistan's centralized power.
Takeaways
- 💼 Pakistan's state structure was shaped by a structural imperative to develop capitalism, heavily influenced by the U.S.
- 🇮🇳 In contrast, India's approach to capitalism incorporated socialist reforms, and it didn't follow the U.S. model as aggressively as Pakistan.
- 🛑 During the Cold War, some nations pursued independent development strategies, but Pakistan aligned closely with the U.S.
- 💰 U.S. foreign aid played a massive role in Pakistan's economic planning, especially during the Second Five-Year Plan (1955-1965).
- 🔫 The military and bureaucracy became dominant in Pakistan after the failure of democratic experiments, especially post-1958 when Ayub Khan imposed martial law.
- 👨👩👧👦 Pakistan saw a rise of capitalist elites, including the '22 families,' and the Green Revolution created a wealthy peasant class in West Pakistan.
- 📉 Capitalist development widened inequality, impoverishing many, particularly in East Pakistan, and led to regional disparities.
- 📢 The state used Islamic solidarity and Muslim nationalism as tools to suppress dissent and maintain control.
- ⚔️ The 1971 Bangladesh independence movement was partly driven by economic and political marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistan.
- 💣 The military's violent response to the independence movement, including genocide, highlighted the unresolved contradictions within the Pakistani state.
Q & A
What is meant by the 'overdeveloped state' in Pakistan?
-The 'overdeveloped state' in Pakistan refers to a situation where the state's structures, particularly the military and bureaucracy, are disproportionately powerful and heavily involved in economic development. This creates a state mandate to develop capitalism, influenced strongly by external forces such as the U.S.
How did Pakistan's alignment with the U.S. influence its economic development?
-Pakistan's close alliance with the U.S., especially during the Cold War, led to significant U.S. foreign aid, which was pivotal in Pakistan's development plans, particularly during its second Five-Year Plan (1955-1965). The U.S. played a strong role in shaping Pakistan's capitalist development.
What was the non-aligned movement, and how did it contrast with Pakistan's approach?
-The non-aligned movement was formed by countries that did not want to align with either the U.S. or the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In contrast, Pakistan chose to align itself firmly with the U.S., seeking economic and military support, rather than pursuing an independent development strategy like some other countries.
How did democracy in Pakistan flounder in the 1950s?
-After the assassination of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951, Pakistan's attempts at democracy struggled. A series of unstable governments followed, with multiple prime ministers removed or replaced, leading to political instability. By 1958, the military imposed martial law, ending democratic governance.
What role did the military and bureaucracy play in Pakistan's governance after 1958?
-After martial law was imposed in 1958, the military, supported by the bureaucracy, took control of Pakistan's governance. They ruled directly, sidelining any semblance of democratic processes, and focused on capitalist industrial development.
What was the 'Green Revolution' and how did it affect Pakistan?
-The 'Green Revolution' in Pakistan, particularly in West Pakistan, introduced agricultural reforms that created a new rich peasant class. However, it also widened the economic disparity, with poorer peasants suffering. This new wealthy class became supportive of the military and bureaucracy.
What were the economic disparities between East and West Pakistan?
-There were significant economic disparities between East and West Pakistan. Surplus resources were extracted from East Pakistan to support the development of West Pakistan, leading to increased impoverishment in the East. Workers in both regions faced declining real wages, but East Pakistanis experienced more severe exploitation.
How did Islamic ideology play a role in Pakistan's state control?
-The state used Islamic ideology and Muslim nationalism to maintain control, asserting that any opposition to the government was akin to being anti-Islamic. This ideology was employed to suppress dissent and maintain the status quo, particularly in the face of economic and political inequality.
What led to the independence of Bangladesh in 1971?
-The contradictions between the exploitation of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) by West Pakistan, along with economic disparity, political marginalization, and cultural suppression, led to an irreconcilable conflict. When West Pakistan refused to accommodate the demands of East Pakistan's political leaders, the situation escalated into a war, ultimately resulting in Bangladesh's independence.
What was the significance of the 1971 genocide in East Pakistan?
-The genocide in East Pakistan was the military's last attempt to maintain control over the region, despite the growing movement for independence. The brutality of the military crackdown further fueled the independence movement, and the failure of the military to maintain control led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Outlines
📜 Pakistan's Structural Imperative to Develop Capitalism
The first paragraph describes Pakistan's alignment with the U.S. during the Cold War and its structural commitment to developing capitalism, as opposed to India's approach, which had socialist tendencies. Pakistan's alliance with the U.S. led to significant foreign aid, especially in its five-year economic plans. This partnership deeply entrenched Pakistan in the U.S. orbit, and the U.S. was even prepared to intervene militarily in Pakistan's favor during the Bangladesh war. The civilian government initially attempted to establish democratic principles, but political instability and the assassination of leaders such as Liaquat Ali Khan led to the increasing involvement of the military and bureaucracy in governance.
💥 The Rise of Martial Law and the Military Bureaucratic Rule
This paragraph details Pakistan's move towards military rule, highlighting key political events such as the failure of civilian governments and the rise of military leader Ayub Khan in 1958. The military, in collaboration with the bureaucracy, ruled Pakistan directly, sidelining democracy. During this period, capitalist development continued, including the Green Revolution, which created a wealthy class of peasants in West Pakistan. The establishment of 'Basic Democracy' was used to subvert genuine democratic processes, and regional disparities grew between East and West Pakistan, contributing to social and economic inequalities.
⚖️ Capitalist Development and Its Discontents in East and West Pakistan
The third paragraph focuses on the growing contradictions within Pakistan due to capitalist development. While West Pakistan saw the rise of a wealthy capitalist and peasant class, East Pakistan experienced increasing impoverishment. The exploitation of East Pakistan by West Pakistan created significant regional disparities, with real wages declining for workers and the petty bourgeoisie being blocked from advancing in government or private sector positions. The use of Islamic ideology by the state further alienated Bengalis, leading to mounting tensions that could not be resolved within the framework of Pakistan, particularly regarding linguistic and cultural identity.
🇧🇩 The Final Break: Genocide and Independence for Bangladesh
This final paragraph explores the culmination of Pakistan's internal contradictions, which led to the genocide in East Pakistan as the military sought to maintain its power. The military’s actions represented a last-ditch effort to prevent the dissolution of Pakistan. However, these antagonistic contradictions ultimately led to the breakup of the country and the creation of Bangladesh. The paragraph reflects on the struggle for independence and the inability of Pakistan to accommodate Bengali aspirations, making it impossible for the region to thrive under the old state structure.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Overdeveloped State
💡Capitalism
💡Cold War
💡Non-Aligned Movement
💡Military-Bureaucratic State
💡Green Revolution
💡Islamic Solidarity
💡East Pakistan
💡22 Families
💡Six-Point Plan
Highlights
The overdeveloped state of Pakistan had a structural imperative to develop capitalism, influenced strongly by the United States.
In contrast, India's capitalist development was different, with socialist elements introduced into the economy.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the US played a crucial role in Pakistan's economic planning, providing massive foreign aid, which accounted for 50% of the funding for Pakistan's second five-year plan (1955-1965).
Pakistan chose to align itself firmly with the US during the Cold War, while some other nations pursued independent development strategies.
The military and bureaucracy in Pakistan increasingly took control, leading to martial law in 1958 under Ayub Khan, marking the failure of initial democratic attempts.
From 1958 to 1971, Pakistan saw no democracy as the military-bureaucratic state controlled the government, promoting capitalist industrial development.
The Green Revolution in West Pakistan led to the creation of a rich peasant class, further supporting the military and the state while impoverishing the poorer peasants.
Pakistan's government used the ideology of Islamic solidarity and Muslim nationalism to maintain control and suppress dissent, claiming opposition was anti-Islamic.
East Pakistanis were severely underrepresented in the military, holding only 1.5% of officer positions and 8.6% in the air force, reflecting regional disparities.
The rise of capitalism in Pakistan increased poverty among rural peasants and widened the gap between the wealthy capitalist class and the impoverished majority.
Bengali workers in East Pakistan faced wage declines, while non-Bengali factory owners profited, exacerbating economic inequality.
The Islamic ideology propagated by the Pakistan state also attacked Bengali linguistic and cultural heritage, deepening the resentment among East Pakistanis.
The contradictions between capitalist development and the economic exploitation of East Pakistan could not be resolved within the framework of Pakistan.
The military's response to the growing tensions was the 1971 genocide in East Pakistan, which was a final attempt to maintain control over the region.
These unresolved contradictions ultimately led to the breakup of Pakistan and the independence of Bangladesh, which could not have achieved true freedom under Pakistan's rule.
Transcripts
all right
so we already described
the overdeveloped state in pakistan
that had us structural imperative
i say structural because the structure
of the
state is such that it this is its
mandate
structural imperative to develop
capitalism
that's the state in pakistan
now because the whole purpose the whole
mission is to develop capitalism in
india it was very different
of course it was capitalist but it
wasn't quite
the same with the same fervor it wasn't
following the us example of capitalism
they also was a socialist
and he tried to bring in some socialist
reforms within the economy
so for pakistan the u.s played an
extremely strong role
in fact 1950s and 60s was
the height of the cold war you've heard
of the cold war
basically where the world was divided up
between
the united states and between soviet
union
and their allies but
behind that a lot of countries said
we don't belong we don't want to be part
of the soviet camp we don't want to be
part of the
united states camp what we want to do
is have an independent development
strategy
and that is how the non-aligned
movement started we are not aligned
to the soviet union or to the united
states
and non-aligned leaders
indonesia a lot of leaders that wanted
their own national park to development
didn't want to be part of the us or the
soviet
the pakistan decided no
pakistan said we want to be firmly
entrenched in the u.s orbit
remember in the last class when we were
talking about economics
economic systems and pakistan's economic
planning
we talked about how strongly the u.s
influenced it
and because of that because pakistan
being a part of
the u.s work the u.s sent
massive aid to pakistan
foreign aid accounted for in the second
five-year plan
55 to 65
mistaken uh fifty percent of the foreign
aid
a rather uh foreign aid and primary u.s
foreign
accounted for fifty percent of all the
funding for the five year plans
and as we said last time the hybrid
advisory group
led the planning for pakistan's
development so pakistan became fairly
entrenched
here i wanted to tell you something it
was because of that
close alliance not available the u.s
government
still felt strongly that because of
pakistan's alliance with them
they should be supporting pakistan until
the end
remember they were ready to send in the
seventh
fleet to fight in favor of pakistan to
save
pakistan army in bangladesh anyway
so far and it played up huge cold war
politics
played a huge role in
the development of the pakistan state
and in where pakistan's stood
this we discussed in the past just for
you to know
how the civilian government
so the state is their military
bureaucracy right
and initially they tried to work through
them through democratic principles
but seeing how democracy floundered
in pakistan
51 assassinated
interestingly the person
who shot ali khan was taken to the
police station and the police chief
he took out his gun and he shot him dead
so there was no
questioning or anything and the plane
taking all the papers
to be investigated that plane suddenly
blew up
there was nothing there to follow up on
[Music]
killing assassination do you have that
starting from there wrong
it says look 51 khaja najib zazi wadeen
becomes prime minister 53
uh despises prime minister khanjang
54 first constituent assembly this
is resolved 55 second constitutional
assembly convened
55 another prime minister
generalist country means that
general new constitution somebody
becomes prime minister
several the potential removed as prime
minister
istanbul imposes martial law and then
finally
in 58 ayub han
becomes the martial administrator
and the president of pakistan so
initially the state was trying to create
some semblance of a democratic civilian
room
but just look at the results of that
it totally failed and ultimately then
the state
came into the forefront the military
came into the forefront and
introduced martial law and started
ruling directly
the military with aid of the bureaucracy
started ruling directly
there was no semblance of democracy
anymore
and what happened 58 onwards
the assault on democracy
you have continued promotion of
capitalist industrial development
remember we talked about that about 22
families and others
in the last class we talked about how
capitalist development took place
it was also a green revolution primarily
in west pakistan
where they created a rich peasant class
the poor person suffered
but the green revolution brought in
agricultural reforms
and created the new rich present class
who would then be supportive of the
military and the bureaucracy and the
state
and you have basic democracy which we
talked about in the past
and how basic democracy was a way to
subvert
democracy
so what we have from 58 to 71
is no democracy military bureaucrats
bureaucracy
completely ruling and that is what the
state
looked like in pakistan a military
bureaucratic stick there is this
because you'll have to understand in
1971
a big reason for our independence
movement that was that we wanted to get
out of that
but remember what happened in 1975
the military came back into power and
you'll have to ask yourself
was did we go back to a military
bureaucratic state
in 1975 away from
what the promise of the war of
independence was
anyway so in pakistan
military bureaucracy what do they end up
doing the new class formations
capitalist development 32 families green
revolution
wealthy class desert class in west
pakistan
and some not really wealthy but better
off peasant classes who supported
the muslim league at that time state
funding contracting giving rise to a
group of wealthy
urban people
industrialization created working class
and here the working class
that was created primarily in west
pakistan and to some extent in east
pakistan regional
disparity that emerged it was
income inequality also because
working class people in both east and
west pakistan
earned in real wages earned less and
less
present popularization in east pakistan
surplus was extracted from
east pakistan to provide to west
pakistanis and
for capital formation and so you have
increasing importance so once again
capitalist development extremely wealthy
capitalist class
some rich middle class
but for the great majority of the people
it was increasing
impoverishment and to maintain this
the ideology that the state used
was islamic solidarity and muslim
nationalism
do not speak against our state because
our state is an islamic state
and if we say anything against the state
then you must be
anti-islam this was the logic
that they used this was the ideology
that they used
in addition we talked about this in a
couple of classes earlier
there was a general consideration in
west pakistan
that has started with the english the
bengals were weak
we were lazy we were inferior and in
addition
we were less muslim than they were
because we were far closer to the
hillbills
all right so
we'll have far more discussions further
discussions on this
when we meet in our small discussions
groups in class but just a couple of
things
when we talk about the military
bureaucracy we already talked about the
bureaucracy in last classes
but just to give you another idea
another little
uh matrix on the representation in the
army
see for the most part army
east pakistanis terms of total
percentage of officers only 1.5
maybe only 1.2 their force a little
better
but only 8.6 these pakistanis
were not in the military at all that's
another good indication
so because of all this the development
of capitalism
there were real contradictions that
emerged
contradictions that could not be
resolved
within the framework of pakistan anymore
the rise of capitalism
in pakistan led to
increased poverty amongst the rural
presence cannot be reconciled
if you're getting capitalists more and
more money
peasantry will become poorer and poorer
there's no way out of that
declining way we real wages for
working class and especially
in east pakistan if
the non-bengali factory owners are going
to make more and more profits
then the bengali workers will get less
and less
for bengali petty bourgeois
people the pretty bourgeoisie people in
government employment
in private sector higher echelons of
these
were closed bengalis could not get into
higher levels of government employment
or even into top management positions in
the private sector
some did but very few so
that blocked us from any improvements
in addition the islamic ideology that
they were trying to propagate
and i'm not saying islamic ideology as
such but the islamic ideology that
pakistan was propagating
really lashed out at our linguistic
and cultural heritage so we too started
resenting that too it was an attack on
our
economy it was an attack on our
political participation it was attacked
on our
culture and so those were the
contradictions
that could not be resolved there was
very little way in which
and the pakistan army and the pakistan
realized that
there was little very little in the way
of accommodating bengalis according to
the six point plan
without giving up the power of the west
pakistanis
so either was pakistanis or the pakistan
state was in a conundrum do we hand over
power to mujeeb
and the rights of bengalis if we do
we can't be maintaining the exploitation
that we are doing
and if we can't maintain this
exploitation why do you be
why do we even want pakistan so what
they did was
they realized these contradictions and i
refer to that
as antagonistic contradictions
it could not be resolved within the
framework of pakistan
so if it could not be resolved within
the framework work of pakistan
what would happen if there were nice
people which there weren't and i'm not
talking about common people in
pakistan the common people of west
[Music]
could have handed pakistan power to us
but then again they
really couldn't so that is why
the military
answer the genocide in east pakistan
was their last attempt at holding on
to their power so these antagonistic
contradictions
led to the explosion
that destroyed pakistan and for us
finally
we were able to have our own independent
country
we could not and i'm not talking about
even independence as
a new country we could not
have been a country
or even a region with full freedom
if we had been part of pakistan so
[Music]
our fight for freedom that
could not be accommodated in the old
pakistan
state
a struggle for independence thank you
very much
let's have further discussions in class
[Music]
you
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