At the end of British rule, large portions of Bengal became East Pakistan. The government of the newly formed Dominion of Pakistan, centered in West Pakistan (the current day territory of Pakistan) mandated Urdu as the only official language. This move faced opposition from the Bengali language movement and the government of Pakistan responded to protests in 1952 by killing students at the University of Dhaka. Although language issues were officially settled by 1956 in a new constitution, the subsequent Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 played an important role in further establishing the Bengali language's status in an independent Bangladesh.