As after the 1970 general election the military junta of Pakistan denied to hand over power to the elected legislators and Pakistan Army cracked down on the East Pakistani population, the elected political leadership of East Pakistan declared independence and founded the provisional government with the support of the Government of India. Its cabinet took oath on 17 April 1971 in the town of Mujibnagar. The government was headquartered in Kolkata, in exile, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It attracted many defectors from the Pakistani civil and military services and many leading intellectuals and cultural figures from East Pakistan.