‘Cyclone Not Above Politics’ : East Pakistan, disaster politics, and the 1970 Bhola Cyclone

Sravani Biswas,Patrick Daly

doi:10.1017/s0026749x20000293

Sravani Biswas, Patrick Daly

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x20000293

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Abstract

AbstractOn 12 November 1970, the Bhola Cyclone swept across the southern districts of East Pakistan, killing over 300,000 people. Small islands were swept away and dead bodies of humans and cattle lay strewn across the devastated landscape. Following the news of the destruction, journalists, students, artists, and political workers rushed to the affected area with basic relief supplies, without waiting for the Military Law Administration (MLA) to intervene. The cyclone's occurrence just three weeks prior to the first general elections in Pakistan added a new dimension to the already simmering political crisis. The extensive media coverage of the disaster brought the pitiful state of infrastructural development and lack of governance in East Pakistan under local and global scrutiny. The cyclone and the corresponding issues soon became embroiled within the larger political demand for regional autonomy. The MLA came under attack from sections of East Pakistan's politicians, press, and public, as well as international political actors, for its poor disaster governance. This article uses the Bhola Cyclone of 1970 as the lens to explore the complex interconnections between environmental disasters and a key issue of governance. While the Bhola Cyclone has been a subject of recent discussions, this article uses a disaster-politics analytical framework to understand the disaster's role in the subsequent political turbulence and the emergence of Bangladesh.

Highlights

There is a broad consensus in the academic literature that the Bhola Cyclone[2] played some role in the political dynamics leading to the secession of East Pakistan in and the creation of Bangladesh.[3]
We show that the military junta (MLA) was widely criticized both in East Pakistan and internationally for its failure to adequately prepare for the cyclone, its reluctance to declare a national emergency, and its ‘lack of urgency’ in relief distribution
The administration’s pre-disaster interventions in terms of the construction of cyclone shelters and embankments, and post-disaster measures including delayed responses to international cyclone warnings, the reluctance to acknowledge the cyclone as a national emergency, and failure to effectively and systematically manage relief efforts were criticized by the East Pakistani press and politicians, the international press, Pakistan’s international political allies, and the inhabitants of East Pakistan

Summary

Introduction

There is a broad consensus in the academic literature that the Bhola Cyclone[2] played some role in the political dynamics leading to the secession of East Pakistan in and the creation of Bangladesh.[3]. The mass movement of in East Pakistan was characterized as a ‘moment of truth’ in its ability to radicalize East Pakistani society under the aegis of able regional leaders, taking advantage of the political protest against the Ayub Khan regime.[52] Moulana Bhashani once again took to the streets, protested against the regime, and supported the historic Eleven Points demands put forward by the student protesters.[53] His time-tested protest strategies of gherao (forceful encirclement of officials) and hartal (strike) became popular methods of protest during the movement.

68 Government of East Pakistan

69 Government of East Pakistan

Conclusion