Q.

14 Briefly Explain the major events that shaped up the independence of

Bangladesh.
Ans prepared by Sojib Miah

“The struggle this time is for emancipation, the struggle this time is for
independence.” (Sheikh Mujib)
This historic quote motivate Bengalis to fight for the nation.

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. Bangladesh
emerged as an independent country on 16th December 1971 from the brutal rulings of
Pakistan( the then west pakistan) from 1947 to 1971.
From 1947 to 1971 many events occurred which shaped up the independence of
Bangladesh.
Those events are explained chronologically here below:
1947: A key resolution at a national education summit in Karachi had been adopted that
‘Urdu’ would be the sole state language of Pakistan and the Government would ensured its
exclusive use in the media and in schools. But the Begalis in East Bengal started to protest
and later it was transformed into a movement.

1948 March 21: The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared in a civic reception
in Dhaka that “Urdu and only Urdu will remain as the state language of Pakistan”. The
students of Dhaka University instantly protested this declaration in front of Jinnah.

1952 February 21: Language Movement – International Mother Language Day.

Pakistan government forcibly tried to stop the demand of the Bengali people to establish
“Bangla” as one
of the state’s language of Pakistan.
Dhirendranath Datta, a prominent Bengali, noted that out of the 6 crore 90
lakh population of Pakistan, 4 crore 40 lakh were from East Pakistan with
Bangla as their mother tongue. More than 63% people of Pakistan speak in
Bangla.

As a result, some protesters had been killed like Rafik, Shafik, Jabbar. huge number of
people
took the streets to protests unanimously and thus “seeds of Bangladeshi nationalism” was
sown during
that movement.
Language Movement was the first movement which moved Bengalis toward their
independence and make conscious about their rights.
1954 March: The United Front of Awami League and the Krishak Sramik Party won the most
of the seats
in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly.

Twenty One Point Programme objectives incorporated in the election manifesto of the united
front.

Sheikh Mujib was elected in this assembly and serving briefly as

the minister for agriculture. Muslim League got only 9 seats out of 310.
1954 May 30: The Bengali dominated United Front Government had been deposed by the
Governor
General of Pakistan, Ghulam Mohammad. The Governor General imposed his direct rule in
East

Pakistan. The dismissal of the United Front was a key turning point in aggravating East
Pakistan's grievances in the Pakistani union, and led Maulana Bhashani to openly call for
separation and independence in 1957, in his Salaam, Pakistan (Farewell, Pakistan) speech.

1956 February 29: A constitution had been adopted to make Pakistan as an ‘Islamic
Republic’; “Bengali”
became a state language along with “Urdu”. Awami League leaders demanded that the
subject of
provincial autonomy would be included in the draft constitution of Pakistan.
1956 September: The seasoned politician of East Pakistan, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
replaced
Chaudhry Mohammad Ali as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman joined
the coalition
government as the Minister of Industries, Commerce, Labor, Anti-corruption and Village-Aid.

1957 October: After losing support in the National Assembly, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
was forced
to resign; Chundrigar became the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
1958 October 7: Field Marshal Ayub Khan captured the power, sent President Iskander Mirza
in
exile and abrogated the constitution of Pakistan.
All political parties and their activities had been banned, meetings and demonstrations
became forbidden.
Popular politicians were either imprisoned — including Sheikh Mujib, Maulana Bhashani of
East Pakistan,. Sheikh Mujib had been
continuously harassed through one false case after another.
1959 October: President Ayub Khan promulgated an ordinance for setting up “Basic
Democracies” in
Pakistan to confine the state power permanently in the hands of the Army and the West
Pakistan’s
establishment.

1962 February: Sheikh Mujib had been arrested again under the Public Security Act.
1965 August-September: India-Pakistan fought the 2
nd war over the border issue of Kashmir. But firstly it
was the hidden conflict and the Pakistan authority hid away it from the people. In
September, Ayub Khan
revealed it publicly by declaring that, “We are at war”.
1965 December: Ayub Khan offered Nurul Amin to be the Vice President of Pakistan. Nurul
Amin then
raised the demands to form regional autonomy for East Pakistan, extended franchise, and to
end the
disparity between 2 provinces, including fair shares of foreign exchange.
1966 February: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected the party President. The Awami League
under the
leadership of Sheikh Mujib, formulated the “Six Points” demand (please see below too) in
front of the
people.
1966 March 23: 6-Point Formula – Bengalis’s Right to Live by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman:
“I know of no nobler battle than to fight for the rights of the exploited millions. We believe
that this feeling of
absolute equality, sense of inter-wing justice and impartiality is the very basis of Pakistani
patriotism. ‘’ (Genocide
Bangladesh).
The Awami League demanded that changes would be made in regard to East Pakistan. These
changes
were embodied in Mujib's Six Points Plan, which he presented at a meeting of opposition
parties in
Lahore in 1966. Those Six Points were as below (source: wikipedia.org):
1. The constitution should provide for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense based on the
Lahore
Resolution and the parliamentary form of government with supremacy of a Legislature
directly elected on
the basis of universal adult franchise.
2. The federal government should deal with only two subjects: Defence and Foreign Affairs,
and all other
residual subjects should be vested in the federating states.
3. Two separate, but freely convertible currencies for two wings should be introduced; or if
this is not feasible,
there should be one currency for the whole country, but effective constitutional provisions
should be
introduced to stop the flight of capital from East to West Pakistan. Furthermore, a separate
Banking
Reserve should be established and separate fiscal and monetary policy be adopted for East
Pakistan.
4. The power of taxation and revenue collection should be vested in the federating units and
the federal centre
would have no such power.
5. There should be two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two
wings;
6. East Pakistan should have a separate militia or paramilitary force.
These 6-points program was for the greater autonomy of East Pakistan and would reduce
the supremacy
of West Pakistanis over the East Pakistan. But West Pakistanis, specifically saying, the then
military
regime and the establishment of West Pakistan, meant those 6-points program as the
declaration of de
facto independence for East Pakistan and took drastic reaction to it.
Many observers saw the point# 6, regarding a separate militia, as the point of most
unacceptable to the
central government, but they were not correct. The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 had
demonstrated the lack
of local defense forces in East Pakistan, which left the province defenseless and in-secured,
would make
East Pakistan as an easy prey of Indian attack.
1966 March 24: President Ayub Khan burst out on those ‘six points demands’, they believed
them as
secessionist demands – the West Pakistani establishment and their military regime could not
receive
those as the demands of justice and honor of the East Pakistanis. Rather they evaluated it as
the
conspiracy of India and the Hindus of East Pakistan. Ayub Khan termed it as the below:
"His attacks on the Opposition became more 'virulent' and he referred openly to the
possibility of Pakistan breaking
apart. The Awami League, he claimed, nurtured the “horrid dream” of a greater sovereign
Bengal. It could only
spell disaster for the country, the people of East Pakistan would be turned into slaves, and
he reminded them how
they had been dominated by Hindus during British days. Islamic countries flourished in
history at times when a
strong central authority existed and fell into decadence at times of weak central authority.
He said that the Nation should be prepared to face even a civil war if thrust upon it ‘by
disruptionists’. The
Government would not tolerate any attempt to tamper with the unity and solidarity of the
Nation and expressed his
1966 April 28: The left wing National Awami Party (NAP – Bhasani) gave considerable
support, they
admitted that Sheikh Mujib’s Six Points Program for further autonomy for East Pakistan.
1967 December: The allegation of abortive coup-assassination plot against Ayub Khan.
The Ayub government invented a strange allegation against a comparatively small number of
Bengali civil
servants, ex-military officers, military officers and politicians, who jointly planned to
assassinate President
Ayub Khan during his recent visit to East Pakistan. Not only that they also demanded that
after the
assassination, they would depose the Government with a coup d’etat aimed at establishing
an
independent state in East Pakistan. According to their invention, they foiled the conspiracy
and
subsequently arrested between 50 and 60 Bengalis.
1968 January: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman arrested again on the charge of the Agartala
Conspiracy Case.
This case turned the sentiments of the Bengalis of the East Pakistan against discrimination of
the ruler
class, they started to believe that the establishment of West Pakistan and their military
regime would keep
continuing the exploitation of the East Pakistanis in all fronts, they did not pay any honor to
the Bengalis
and by hook or crook, the West Pakistanis would dominated and kept the state power in
their hand to
suck East Pakistanis as usual.
“…it evoked a totally unexpected Bengali reaction. While the prosecution wanted to dub
Mujib a traitor, Bengalis
made a hero out of him. The trial conferred such popularity on Mujib that would otherwise
have taken him a lifetime
to acquire.” — Siddiq Salik, in his book: ‘A Witness to Surrender’ (Genocide Bangladesh).
1968 August: The trial of the alleged Conspirators in East Pakistan ruined the image of the
GOP. The
GOP produced the accused 36 politicians, Bengali CSP Officers, army / ex-army Offices in the
Trial, but it
became farce when the prosecution witness broke down in the court and asserted that he
had been
tortured and threatened with death by military officers who wished him to testify falsely
against the alleged
conspirators.
1968 November: The economic report which published in that time exposed the disparity
between two
provinces that widens, not lessen. So, the “Six Points” demands of AL got deep rooted status
among the
East Pakistanis again.
1969 January - February: In the whole Pakistan, violence had been broken out between
people
demonstrating against Ayub Khan’s martial law regime and the police.
To restoring peace, the ‘Agartala Conspiracy Case’ had been dismissed and Sheikh Mujib had
been
released by the GOP.
In Dhaka, police opened fire on a procession against the rule of Ayub Khan, Asad (a student
leader) and
a high-school student Matiur Rahman had been killed. It created resentments among the
Bengali, gave
rise to the Mass Uprising of 1969 (gono-abhyuththaan) in East Pakistan.
1969 February 15: The Army killed Sergeant Zahurul Haq, one of the 35 accused in the
Agartala
Conspiracy Case, while he was in the military custody at the Dhaka Cantonment. This
incident ignited in
the mass uprising in East Pakistan too.
1969 February 20: According to the CIA’s report, the popularity of Ayub khan was almost
‘zero’. His
political party, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) - never became an effective organization, it
appeared
to have the virtually collapsed and they (CIA) started to believe that Pakistan stood on the
brink.
1969 March 13: Sheikh Mujib raised his demands again to establish the full regional
Autonomy in the
round table conference to make the Federation successful in the East Pakistan.
1969 March 31: General Yahya Khan immediately imposed the martial law in Pakistan. On
the 31st of
March, he declared himself as the President of Pakistan.
1969 April 11: Roy Fox’s talked with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the issue of autonomy of
East Pakistan.
Mujib urged to realize the demand of the Bengali by the West Pakistani establishment and
military regime
to make the justifications between the two wings. He insisted that he would still want to stay
in one
Pakistan, but the West Pakistani establishment and military regime could not realize it. Even
they tried to
spoil the situation by making false propaganda against the Bengali leaders of East Pakistan.
1969 November 7: The Bengali accused the GOP that it did do nothing to try to narrow the
disparity
between the two provinces, which were increasingly countered by privately expressed West
Pakistan
views that the deficiencies on the East Pakistani side played the greater role in hampering
development
-the chronically unfavorable weather, inefficiencies in the public sector, absence of an
adequate
entrepreneurial class, lack of investors interest, etc. Thus, the resentment of the Bengalis
over allegedly
insufficient GOP interest clashed with West Pakistan feelings that Bengali demands were
unreasonable.
1969 November 28: Yahya declared through his address to the nation that general election
would be
held in 1970.
1969 December 5: At a discussion meeting, Sheikh Mujib declared that from now on the East
Pakistan
would be called Bangla Desh. He added:
“There was a time when all efforts were made to erase the word ‘Bangla’ from this land and
its map. The
existence of the word ‘Bangla’ was found nowhere except in the term ‘Bay of Bengal’. I, on
behalf of
Pakistan, announce today that this land will be called ‘Bangla Desh’ instead of ‘East
Pakistan’.” (GenocideBangladesh).
1969 December 8: From every corner of the East Pakistan, Sheikh Mujib’s demand to
rename East Wing
as Bangla Desh had been hailed. Among them, Chief of NAP, Maulana Abdul hamid Khan
Bhasani
supported this demand as genuine. He termed that the name of East Pakistan was forcibly
imposed on
the Bengali nation.
1970 December 7: Awami League won the election, PPP refused to allow Sheikh Mujib as
Prime
Minister.
In 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, won
a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 out of the 169 seats allotted
to East
Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami
League the
constitutional right to form a government.
The nearest contender was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of PPP, with a total of 81 seats in the National
Assembly,
and with a two-thirds majority from Sind.

However, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party, refused to allow Mujib to
become the Prime
Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for
each wing. The
proposal elicited outrage in the east wing, already chafing under the other constitutional
innovation, the
“one unit scheme”.
1971 January: Sheikh Mujib declared the ‘Six Points’ that it would be the base for a new
constitution and
autonomy for East Pakistan. Hence, on 21 January 1971, Mujib called a meeting of all
political leaders of
Pakistan to discuss on this issue.
1971 February 22: In a conference, the generals in West Pakistan took a decision to crush
the Awami
League and its supporters.
Yahya Khan ordered at that conference, “Kill three million of them, and the rest will eat out
of our
hands.” (Robert Payne, Massacre [1972], p. 50.).

1971 February 24: Sheikh Mujib announced that there was a conspiracy to undermine the
election
results and the establishment of Pakistan would not let to form the government according to
the election
result.
1971 February 26: Yahya held a secret meeting with Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People’s
Party.
1971 February 28: Bhutto urged that the National Assembly session should be postponed.
He
said that the people of West Pakistan voted against the 6-points of Awami League.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto said: “We cannot go there only to endorse a constitution already
prepared by a party,
and return humiliated… We have a duty to those millions who elected us.”
(GenocideBangladesh).
Instead, he raised a peculiar formula that the PPP should control West Pakistan while the
Awami League
could rule over East Pakistan. Not only that he threatened his newly elected delegates to the
National
Assembly that he would break the legs of any party member who would dare to attend the
March 3
session.
1971 March 1: GOP announced the postponement of the session of the National Assembly,
which would
be seated on 3
rd March. After that announcement, hundreds of thousands of the enraged people of East
Pakistan took the street.
Sheikh Mujib told in a press conference that it was not democracy but dictatorship. He called
general
strikes on 2
nd March in Dhaka and all over the country on 3
rd March.
All radical student leaders of East Pakistan started to believe to have the independence with
the armed
revolution. They, for the first time, demanded the independence of Bangladesh immediately.
The Bengali
heard the slogans demanding independence for Bangladesh for the first time in Bengali
history:
“Courageous Bengali, take up arms and free Bangladesh”.
The Governor of East Pakistan, Admiral S.M. Ahsan had been replaced by General Sahibzada
Yakoob
Khan because he refused to open fire on the Bengalis if they went on strike.
1971 March 2: Curfew had been imposed in Dhaka from 8 am to 7 pm. The indomitable
Bengalis took to
the streets instead of the curfew, in which many of them were gunned down by the Pakistani
army
1971 March 7: In a massive rally at Race Course Maidan in Dhaka, Sheikh Mujib announced
his decision
to participate in the National Assembly session, but he raised his 4-point demands to fulfill
before the
session. Those are as below: (Genocidebangladesh.org)
1) Withdrawal of the martial law
2) Return of the troops back to their barracks
3) Power handed back to the elected people’s representatives, and
4) Proper investigation into the killings of unarmed civilians.
In that historic rally, he actually declared the “Independence of Bangladesh” informally, by
pronouncing
like this:
“Our Struggle this time is a struggle for FREEDOM, our struggle this time is a struggle for
INDEPENDENCE. Joy
Bangla.”
He also urged the people to be ready to fight. He also asked that every house would be a
fort and would
attack the enemy wherever they could.
Actually from 1
st March 1971, the civil administration, Banks, Industrial activities, etc. of East Pakistan had
been operated according to Mujib’s directives.
1971 March 15-24: During this time, the GOP was showing the world that they tried to solve
the problem
by discussing with Sheikh Mujib in East Pakistan. But they pretended to do so, they actually
piled their
strength by intruding the troops into Dhaka from the West Pakistan to crush the Bengali and
their
“Nationalism”. At this stage, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was participating in the Drama of GOP.
At the meeting on 24
th March, Sheikh Mujib warned Yahya and Bhutto against any bid to impose decision
on the Bengali.
“Whatever conspiracy you indulge in you will not succeed in suppressing the demands of the
people. We
would not bow our heads to any force. We will free the people of Bangla Desh.”

1971 March 25: Pak army crackdown on the civilians in Dhaka to stop the Bengalis forever.
They named their “Dirty War” against the legal demand of Bengalis as “Operation
Searchlight”.
Thus their systematic slaughtering and ethnic cleansing had been started at that night and
continued up to their surrender on 16
thDecember, 1971 and the whole world could observe that
Declaration of Independence:
After the brutal military crackdown of the Pakistan Army in the early hours of March 26,
1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested and the political leaders of Awami
League
either went into hiding or fleeing to neighboring India, where they organized a provisional
government
afterwards. Before being held up by the Pakistani Army Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave a hand
note of the
declaration of the independence of Bangladesh to his fellow leaders and it was circulated
amongst people
and transmitted by the East Pakistan Rifles' wireless transmitter in the early hours of 26
th March 1971.
The then Secretary (Labor) of the Awami League, Mr. Zahur Hossain Chowdhury took the
initiative to
transmit that declaration throughout the country by the wireless system of Chittagong EPR
Headquarters.
On the same day (26
th March 1971), the General Secretary of Chittagong Awami League, Mr. M. A.
Hannan read that declaration of the independence of Bangladesh (in Bengali) from the
Kalurghat Radio
Station, Chittagong twice at 2.10 pm and 2.30 pm.
pressure of millions of refugees escaping into India in autumn of 1971 as well as Pakistani
aggression reignited hostilities with Pakistan. Indian sympathies lay with East Pakistan during
that time,
and Pakistan could not tolerate it.
In the evening of 3
rd December 1971, Pakistan Air Force started their pre-emptive strikes on the 11
forward air bases and radar installations of Indian Air Force of its western border under the
code name
“Chengiz Khan”. After that attack, India formally intervened on the side of the Bangladeshis
on
4
th December 1971 (Wikipedia.org).
Within 13 days, Pakistan army had been defeated on the both sides of Indian borders. In
Bangladesh
front Pakistan army surrendered on 16
th December, 1971; and the nation of Bangladesh ("Country of
Bengal") was finally established on the following day. The new country changed its name to
Bangladesh
on January 11, 1972 and became a parliamentary democratic country (Peoples’ Republic)
under its
constitution. Shortly thereafter on March 19 Bangladesh signed a friendship treaty with
India.