<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The history of East Bengal and East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971 covers the period of Bangladesh's history between its independence as a part of Pakistan from British colonial rule in 1947 to its independence from Pakistan in 1971 . </P> <P> One of the most divisive issues confronting Pakistan in its infancy was the question of what the official language of the new state was to be . Mohammad Ali Jinnah yielded to the demands of refugees from the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who insisted that Urdu be Pakistan's official language . Speakers of the languages of West Pakistan (Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushtu, and Baluchi) were upset that their languages were given second - class status . In East Pakistan, the dissatisfaction quickly turned to violence . The Bengalis of East Pakistan constituted a majority (an estimated 54%) of Pakistan's entire population . Their language, Bengali, like Urdu, belongs to the Indo - Aryan language family, but the two languages have different scripts and literary traditions . </P>

When did east pakistan separate from west pakistan