of green, dry hills and rough lands were rolled plain and beautiful broad roads were built. A small town of pre-Partition Karachi became the busiest commercial city of Asia. Islamabad, a rough and rugged plateau was turned into the capital at the expense of the resources provided by Bangladesh.
The last 23 years of independence were years of only exploitation for Bangladesh. The per capita income in West Pakistan increased three times compared to that of the people residing in Bangladesh. 60% of our national budget was deployed for the defense services whereas there has hardly been 10% of the total defense expenditure made in Bangladesh. In the Defense services, Bengali youths were deliberately not taken and, therefore, the total recruit never exceeded 7% including officers, whereas 78 % of the total soldiers in the Armed Forces come from the Punjab alone. The major-development projects in West Pakistan including the famous Tarbella and Mangla projects were built outside the national budget and the millions of dollars aid came for the hundreds of similar projects in West Pakistan was solely invested in that par alone. Ninety-two percent of the total bank deposits were controlled by the West Pakistanis and almost 85% of the total capital of Pakistan was concentrated in Karachi. Eighty-seven per cent of the total private investment was monopolised by 22 families of West Pakistan.
The economic system that was sustained by the West Pakistan vested interests, established an intolerable structure of injustice. About 2 dozen families acquired control over 60 per cent of the nation's industrial assets, 80 per cent of its banking assets and 75 per cent of its insurance assets, 82 per cent of the total bank advances were concentrated in only 3 per cent of the total accounts. The tax structure in existence was one of the most regressive in the world, whereas oppressive indirect taxes were imposed on such essential commodities that would only hit the common man. Tax Holidays, huge subsidies in the form of bonus vouchers, credit and grants of foreign exchange at the artificially low official rate, had created special favorable conditions for the growth of monopolies and cartels.
Total revenue expenditure of the Government only rupees 15 thousand million was spent in Bangladesh against over rupees 50 thousand million in West Pakistan. Of the total development expenditure during the same period (up to 1968) rupees 30,600 million was spent in Bangladesh as against over rupees 60,000 million in West Pakistan. West Pakistan had imported goods worth more than rupees 30 thousand million as against its own foreign exchange earnings of rupees 13 thousand million and thus imports into West Pakistan were 3 times the value of import into Bangladesh.
It was made possible for West Pakistan to import goods worth rupees 20 thousand million in access of its export earnings by allocating its rupees 5 thousand million of the foreign exchange earning of Bangladesh and allowing to utilise over rupees 80 per cent of all foreign aid receipts.
The price of essential commodities had been 50 to 100 times higher in Bangladesh than in West Pakistan. The average price of coarse rice in Bangladesh had been prior to March 25, 1971, Rs. 45/50 per maund as against Rs. 20/25 in West Pakistan and that of wheat Rs. 30/50 in Bangladesh as against Rs. 15/20 in West Pakistan. The price of mustard oil was at Rs. 51-perseer as against Rs. 2.50 in West Pakistan.
