In November 1970, the Bhola Cyclone struck the coast of East Pakistan – now Bangladesh – with all its fury, leaving a trail of destruction. An estimated 3,00,000 people lost their lives, and millions were rendered homeless. But the cyclone did more than destroy villages and take lives, it dramatically changed the political landscape. This was, moreover, a thoroughly inadequate central response to the tragedy that made clear just how much the people of East Pakistan felt neglected by the West Pakistan-centred government, only adding to a growing degree of disillusionment that accelerated the movement towards independence.

Cyclone Damage and Early Response

On 13 November 1970, the cyclone tore into the low-lying coasts with powerful winds and a tidal surge that swallowed whole villages. It was evident within days that this was a disaster of unprecedented proportions. “Mounting toll of death rising, survivors cry for governmental action,” exclaimed the front-page headline in the local Pakistan Observer newspaper.

Despite having received storm warnings from international meteorological agencies, the central government based in West Pakistan made little preparation or issued no warning to civilians. This lack of coordination or concern, therefore, accelerated longstanding grievances East Pakistanis harboured against the West Pakistani government. Exposing the mask of insensitivity and communication between the two wings of Pakistan, this cyclone further reiterated the view that East Pakistan was no more than a peripheral territory in the eyes of the Centre.

Yahya Khan’s Flyover and a Cold Indifference

On 16 November, still remembered for its bitterness, President Yahya Khan flew over the devastated region in an airplane, surveying the damage from the air. He paused in Dhaka for a day and then returned to West Pakistan. He did not feel the necessity to meet the survivors on the ground! He left behind hundreds of thousands of people crying for drinking water and medical help. Many East Pakistanis had found the dismissive response of the head of the state indicative of how little they meant as a people to the leadership in West Pakistan.

Bhola Cyclone 1970: Storm That Paved a Path to Independence

Aid from the international community, however, began to pour in for East Pakistan immediately, including food and medicine. But soon, it was reported that the relief goods were stuck at Dhaka and Karachi airports, impeded by customs and bureaucratic delays. As the local reports said, there was documented evidence about an Iranian plane carrying relief supplies that actually landed in Dhaka but found no presence of government officials to take the aid, thus delaying it further. This laid-back attitude increased the desperation and frustration of the people of East Pakistan, who just could not understand why the government was taking so much time to send relief to such a massive disaster.

Maulana Bhashani’s Shift: From Autonomy to Independence

The aftermath of the cyclone really served as an eye-opener for several leaders of East Pakistan. One of these was the high-profile political leader Maulana Bhashani, who had been vocal for quite some time for greater autonomy for East Pakistan. The negligence of the government proved to be the last straw for him. On 4 December 1970, Bhashani, at Paltan Maidan in Dhaka, before a sea of people, made a startling declaration: he changed his call from ‘autonomy’ to ‘independence’ for East Pakistan. To those who had seen the government’s indifference to their suffering, Bhashani’s words struck a chord and became an electrifying appeal for liberty.

The 1970 General Elections and Rising Tensions

Political developments further heightened the cyclone’s impact on public sentiment. Just weeks after the disaster, Pakistan was holding its first national election based on the principle of “one person, one vote”. In East Pakistan, the population overwhelmingly supported the self-rule-and-autonomy-now Awami League of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The election results were a landslide-167 to 2 in favour of the Awami League in East Pakistan’s representation to the National Assembly.

What finally transpired was that the failure of the government during the cyclone became symbolic of broader political marginalisation for many people of East Pakistan. It became an opportunity to voice frustrations and demand a future in which interests would be safeguarded by their own leaders, not by some distant central government. The cyclone had left an indelible mark, and what was once a muted desire for autonomy had now turned into a fervent demand for independence.

The Reaction in West Pakistan and the Last Straw

The reaction of the cyclone and its aftermath in West Pakistan was one of dismissiveness: major newspapers and political leaders showed little sympathy for the plight of East Pakistanis. This is most poignantly illustrated when Pakistan Times, among the leading newspapers in West Pakistan, gave greater prominence to stories concerning President Yahya Khan’s reconciliatory meetings with various world leaders than to the rising death toll in the cyclone. To the East Pakistanis, this rather insensitive approach reinforced the belief that they would never be treated as anything other than second-class citizens within a united Pakistan.

The die had been cast with the devastation wrought by the cyclone, Yahya Khan’s dismissive overflight, and Bhashani’s call for independence. As increasingly conscious East Pakistanis realised, theirs was no longer a future in political negotiation but in independence. The cry for freedom was not restricted to the few political leaders; it was a mass movement fostered by the feeling that only an independent East Pakistan could look after its people and safeguard its interests.

A Tragic Prelude to Freedom

The Bhola Cyclone of 1970 was less natural than a catalyst. The storm exposed the flaws of a torn nation and underlined the level at which East Pakistanis had been overlooked by the central government. What started as a call for autonomy soon turned into a movement for independence. In the cyclone’s ruin, there coalesced a sense among the people of East Pakistan that only self-government might free them from official apathy and injustice.
As we remember the cyclone and the lives it claimed, we also recognise its place in shaping both the identity and destiny of Bangladesh. In that tragedy, the inequalities of a divided nation came to light, setting East Pakistan firmly on the path to independence. The Bhola Cyclone, with all its horrors, became the storm that finally inspired a nation to claim its right to self-determination.
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The writer is an Associate Professor, American International University-Bangladesh