| Independence of Bangladesh |
|---|
 |
| Events |
| Organisations |
| Key persons |
| Related |
 Bangladeshportal |
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]
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 (All Party Student Movement Council in Bengali) 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 and the subsequent withdrawal of Agartala Conspiracy Case. [2] [3] [4] On 24 January 1971, in the backdrop of outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War, the mass uprising was commemorated and all political groups of East Pakistan (barring Islamist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami) reiterated the 11-point demand. [5]
1. Cancellation of all anti-Bengali language actions like the recommendations of the Hamidur Rahman Education Committee & the Dhaka University Ordinance (which stripped it of its automnomy) alongside reduction in monthly tuition fees of the university students.
2. Restoration of parliamentary democracy based on universal adult franchise, freedom of the press & uplifting the ban on The Daily Ittefaq
3. Complete autonomy for East Pakistan based on the previous 6-points.
4. Formation of a federal government in West Pakistan consisting of the autonomous provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Balochistan (which had been dissolved by the Ayub Khan government under the One Unit Scheme )
5. Nationalisation of banks, insurance companies & all large industries, including jute processing units.
6. Decreased taxation upon the farmers & setting the minimum price of raw jute at 40 rupees.
7. Providing respectable wages, education, treatment & residence to the workers alongside recognition to their right to strike.
8. Taking adequate steps to control floods & utilising the water resources of East Pakistan.
9. Abrogation of all draconian laws enacted by the military regime of Ayub Khan.
10. Pakistan's exit from SEATO & CENTO alongside formulation of a neutral foreign policy
11. Abrogation of warrants against those accused of participating in the Agartala Conspiracy Case alongside release of all students, farmers, workers & political activists imprisoned throughout the country convicted under it.
East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, with a coastline on the Bay of Bengal. East Pakistanis were popularly known as "Pakistani Bengalis"; to distinguish this region from India's state West Bengal, East Pakistan was known as "Pakistani Bengal". In 1971, East Pakistan became the newly independent state Bangladesh, which means "country of Bengal" or "country of Bengalis" in Bengali language.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known by the honorific prefix Bangabandhu was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist, who is considered the founding leader of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he had held continuous positions either as Bangladesh's president or as its prime minister from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. His nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are collectively known as Mujibism.
The 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 regarding who declared the independence of Bangladesh. The Awami League claim Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party claim it was Ziaur Rahman.
Tajuddin Ahmad was a Bangladeshi politician. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 and is regarded as one of the most instrumental figures in the birth of Bangladesh.
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 the independence of Bangladesh.
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".
General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 December 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly. They were the first direct general elections since the independence of Pakistan and ultimately the only ones held prior to the independence of Bangladesh. Voting took place in 300 general constituencies, of which 162 were in East Pakistan and 138 in West Pakistan. A further thirteen seats were reserved for women, who were to be elected by members of the National Assembly.
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 7 June 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.
The 7th 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 one million (1,000,000) 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".
The 1969 East Pakistan uprising was a democratic political uprising in East Pakistan. It was led by the students backed by various political parties such as the communist party of East Pakistan, the Awami League and the National Awami Party and their student wings, and the cultural fronts against Muhammad Ayub Khan, the president of Pakistan in protest of the oppressive military rule, political repressions, Agartala Conspiracy Case and the incarceration of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and other Bengali nationalists.
Amanullah Mohammad Asaduzzaman was an 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.
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.
Muhammad Yusuf Ali was a Bangladesh politician. He was the first minister for Education and Cultural Affairs in the first cabinet of Bangladesh.
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.
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.
