Eleven Points Programme

Last updated

The Eleven Points Programme was a charter of demands in East Pakistan that called for reforms and the resignation of President Ayub Khan. It was led by students and was a successor to the six point movement led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. [1]

History

The Eleven Points Programme was based on the six point movement. The six point movement, started in 1966, called for the restoration of democracy and the resignation of military strongman, President Ayub Khan. The movement was led by the Awami League and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The movement fluttered after the mass arrest of Awami League politicians. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and senior Awami League leaders were arrested on the Agartala Conspiracy Case. The democracy movement was taken over by the newly formed Pakistan Democratic Movement and Democratic Action Committee. Both of which failed in their objective to restore democracy. In October 1968, two fractions of East Pakistan Students Union, led by Rashed Khan Menon and Matia Chowdhury, and East Pakistan Students League formed an alliance called the Sarbadaliya Chhatra Sangram Parishad. The Parishad announced an 11-point demand that called for education reform, restoration of democracy, and autonomy for East Pakistan. The demands incorporated all the demands of the opposition in East Pakistan and the students became the leaders of the movement against President Ayub Khan. This culminated in the 1969 Mass uprising in East Pakistan and the subsequent withdrawal of Agartala Conspiracy Case. [2] [3] [4] On 24 January 1971, mass uprising day was observed and political groups reiterate the 11-point demand. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheikh Mujibur Rahman</span> Founding father of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known by the honorific prefix Bangabandhu was a Bengali politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist, who served as the President of Bangladesh from April 1971 to January 1972 and again from January 1975 till his assassination in August 1975, and Prime Minister from January 1972 to January 1975. Mujib successfully led the Bangladeshi independence movement and restored the Bengali sovereignty after over two centuries following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, for which he is honoured as the 'Father of the Nation' in Bangladesh. In 2011, the fifteenth constitutional amendment in Bangladesh referred to Sheikh Mujib as the Father of the Nation who declared independence; these references were enshrined in the fifth, sixth, and seventh schedules of the constitution. His Bengali nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are sometimes called Mujibism.

Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March and lasted till 16 December 1971 which is celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh. There is a dispute along partisan line on who declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Awami League claim Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party claim it was Ziaur Rahman.

Shah Azizur Rahman was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. However, he was the subject of considerable controversy for his collaboration with the Pakistan Army against the struggle for Independence of Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six point movement</span> Movement in East Pakistan

The six point movement was a movement in East Pakistan, spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which called for greater autonomy for East Pakistan. The movement's main agenda was to realize the six demands put forward by a coalition of Bengali nationalist political parties in 1966, to end the perceived exploitation of East Pakistan by the West Pakistani rulers. It is considered a milestone on the road to Bangladesh's independence.

The Agartala Conspiracy Case was a sedition case in Pakistan during the rule of Ayub Khan against Awami League, brought by the government of Pakistan in 1968 against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then leader of the Awami League and East Pakistan, and 34 other people.

The Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad was an armed underground student political group secretly organized in 1961 by Serajul Alam Khan, a key founder of Bangladesh, that worked to wage an armed secessionist struggle against Pakistani rule and achieve the independence of East Pakistan as "Bangladesh".

Amena Begum, a former Member of Parliament of East Pakistan, was a Bangladeshi politician. She was instrumental in campaigning all over East Pakistan for the Six Point program of regional autonomy drafted by the Awami League, and on June 7, 1966, organized the general strike along with Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury. This strike was observed throughout the then East Pakistan and was the first major indication that an independent Bangladesh was imminent. She later took over as president of the Jatiya League. She died in Dhaka on 7 April 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7 March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman</span> 1971 speech by the Founding Father of Bangladesh

The 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu, or the 7/3 Speech, was a public speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Founding Father of Bangladesh on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka to a gathering of over two million (2,000,000) people. It was delivered during a period of escalating tensions between East Pakistan and the powerful political and military establishment of West Pakistan. In the speech, Bangabandhu informally declared the independence of Bangladesh, proclaiming: "The struggle this time, is a struggle for our liberty. The struggle this time, is a struggle for our independence." He announced a civil disobedience movement in the province, calling for "every house to turn into a fortress".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 East Pakistan mass uprising</span> Uprising in East Pakistan against Muhammad Ayub Khan

The 1969 East Pakistan uprising was a democratic political uprising in East Pakistan. It was led by Awami League against Muhammad Ayub Khan, the president of Pakistan in protest of the Agartala Conspiracy Case and the incarceration of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman among other Bengali nationalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanullah Asaduzzaman</span> 20th-century Bengali student activist

Amanullah Mohammad Asaduzzaman was a East Pakistani student activist whose death at the hands of police during a protest on 20 January 1969 "changed the nature of the student-mass movement and ... turned into a mass-upsurge against the Ayub regime and its repressive measures", according to Banglapedia. The Daily Star reports him as one of three martyrs of the 1969 uprising in East Pakistan which "set the stage for the liberation war". He was awarded the Independence Day Award in 2018 posthumously by the Government of Bangladesh.

Hajee Mohammad Danesh was a Bangladeshi politician and communist activist born in the British India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani</span> Bangladeshi political leader (1880–1976)

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, often shortened as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bengali politician. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods. Maulana Bhashani was popularly known by the honorary title Mozlum Jananeta for his lifelong stance advocating for the poor. He gained nationwide mass popularity among the peasants and helped to build the East Pakistan Peasant Association. Owing to his political leaning to the left, often dubbed Islamic Socialism, he was also called 'The Red Maulana'.He is considered as one of the main pillars of Bangladeshi independence of 1971.

Nizam Mohammad Serajul Alam Khan, commonly known as Serajul Alam Khan, also called as Dada, Dadabhai and by his initials SAK, was a Bangladeshi politician, political analyst, philosopher and writer who spearheaded the Bangladesh liberation movement under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but also became one of the controlling forces of political polarization in post-independence Bangladesh.

Mashiur Rahman (1920–1971) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and politician, a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly and cabinet minister in the East Pakistan government of Ataur Rahman Khan. He was instrumental in the founding of the Bangladesh Awami League and in the Bengali Language Movement, and supported Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Zahurul Haq was a Pakistan Air Force sergeant. He was one of the 35 persons accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case in 1969. He was killed in custody and his death led to increase in 1969 uprising in East Pakistan. He received the Independence Day Award from the Government of Bangladesh in 2018.

Abdus Salam Khan was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a member of East Pakistan Provincial Assembly.

The non-cooperation movement of 1971 was a historical movement in then East Pakistan by the Awami League and the general public against the military government of Pakistan in March of that year. After the announcement of the suspension of the session of the National Assembly of Pakistan on 1 March, the spontaneous movement of the people started, but officially on the call of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the non-cooperation movement started on 2 March and continued until 25 March. The movement lasted for a total of 25 days. The main objective of this movement was to ensure the autonomy of East Pakistan from the central government of Pakistan. During this period, the control of the central government of West Pakistan over the civilian administration of East Pakistan was almost non-existent. At one stage of the movement, the whole of East Pakistan, except the cantonments, was practically under the command of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bhupati Bhushan Chowdhury was a Bangladesh Politician and businessman. He was awarded Independence Day Award in 2018 posthumously by the Government of Bangladesh.

Sarbadaliya Chhatra Sangram Parishad was a student organisation that was formed to demand autonomy of East Pakistan and the removal of Ayub Khan from power. It also called for the restoration of democracy in 1969.

Provincial elections were held in East Pakistan on 17 December 1970, ten days after general elections. A total of 1,850 candidates ran for the 300 seats in the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly. The result was a landslide victory for the Awami League, which won 288 of the 300 seats.

References

  1. "The historic six-point movement and its impact on the struggle for independence". The Daily Star. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. Khan, Muazzam Hussain. "Eleven Points Programme". en.banglapedia.org. Banglapedia. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. Ali, Tariq (2018). Uprising in Pakistan: How to Bring Down a Dictatorship. Verso Books. p. 71. ISBN   978-1-78663-537-2.
  4. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). A History of Pakistan and Its Origins. Anthem Press. p. 52. ISBN   978-1-84331-149-2.
  5. "January 24, 1971". The Daily Star. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2020.