Assertion: Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation in 1971.

Reason: In the general elections of 1970, East Pakistan had voted to protest against years of being treated as second-class citizens by the rulers based in West Pakistan.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.

In the general elections of 1970, The Bengali population of East Pakistan had voted to protest against years of being treated as second class citizens by the rulers based in West Pakistan. The Pakistani rulers were not willing to accept the democratic verdict. Nor were they ready to accept the Awami League’s demand for a federation. Instead, in early 1971, the Pakistani army arrested Sheikh Mujib and unleashed a reign of terror on the people of East Pakistan. In response to this, the people started a struggle to liberate ‘Bangladesh’ from Pakistan.