OF THE BiRTH OF BANGLDESH

Table of Contents

Topic Page

Executive Summary VI
Introduction 1
The Partition of the Indian Subcontinent and the Creation of Pakistan 2

The Lamguage Movement 3

1954 election in East Pakistan and dissolution of the elected 7
government

The Ill Governance, Martial Law and Violence of Rights 8

Exploitation of Bengalis by the Panjabi Bureaucratic and Elite Society 11

6-point Movement: Demand for State Autonomy 17

Agartala Conspiracy Case and 11-point movement & Mass Uprising 19

1970 Election and Denial to hand over power 22

Operation Searchlight 23

Liberation War 25

Conclusion 28
 Executive Summary

The genesis of Bangladesh is nothing short of astonishment and sacrifice. First, nine long
months of the Liberation War cost this country the death of over 3 million people and the
leaving country of almost 10 million. Then, finally, after a lot of struggles, bloodshed and
the valiant fight of our freedom fighters, we got our independence.

It all started even before the creation of Pakistan. In 1940, Lahore Resolution was
misinterpreted. During the division of the subcontinent, present-day Bangladesh joined
Pakistan. After the creation of Pakistan, the east wing was always deprived of most of its
rights. Later, the Pakistanis tried to impose Urdu as the state language, and the Bangalees
protested. Despite having a majority in the 1954 election, Bangalees could not form the
government. After that, Ayub Khan assumed power as a military ruler, took away the
right to do politics, and subjugated people for an extended 11-year period. In 1966,
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the 6-point movement to preserve the rights of East
Pakistan. However, the government did not take it positively. Instead, they created a
conspiracy case called Agartala Case against Mujib and 35 others. However, the
government’s effort was unsuccessful, and Mujibur Rahman was released. In 1969,
during the mass uprising, Ayub Khan was forced to resign, and Yahya Khan assumed his
place. Though Yahya Khan held a general election, he did not peacefully hand over the
power to the majority party, instead delaying and finally attacking the Bangalees.
Operation searchlight was one of the worst historical events, and the Liberation war
started. Through 9 long months of bloody battle and resistance, Bangladesh finally
achieved independence on 16 December 1971.

Thus, the birth of Bangladesh is a significant event in the history of the subcontinent and
is still one of the most heroic and tragic events for what happened during the war and has
high geo-political importance.

vi
 1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background

The Bangladesh we see today, the country we live in did not have the good fortune
of a beautiful and blissful journey. The British and Pakistanis exploited us
extensively. Finally, after hundreds of years of exploitation, we got our golden
Bengal. With the fall of Nawab Siraj-ud-Doula, the last independent nawab of
Bengal, we lost control of this land. We got it back by a bloody war of 9 months in
1971. The genesis of Bangladesh cannot be transcribed in mere words, for our birth
is transcribed with blood, sweat, sacrifice, wars, and other artificial calamities.

In this paper, we have tried to paint a picture of the emergence of Bengal. We went
through some of the most significant events of the journey and portrayed them as
thoroughly as possible.

Objective:
The Objective of this term paper is to depict the incidents that happened in creation
of sovereign Bangladesh. It was 24 years of continuous struggle that led to the
disunification of Pakistan
Scope
The Report deals with eleven distinguished points based on timeframe, that
represented the backstage incidents before 16th December, 1971.
Methodology
We have gathered secondary data sources from resources like various journals in
academia, jstor, newspaper like Dhaka Tibune, The Daily Star, DAWN and other
web sources like Wikipedia, Banglapedia, etc

1
 2.0 The Partition of the Indian Subcontinent
and the Creation of Pakistan

Religion played a vital role in the history of Bangladesh. The very religion that
brought the two parts of the Pakistans together was also the root cause of their
separation. The Pakistani government wanted to segregate the Muslims and the
Hindus by dividing them into separate groups, and this propaganda was the root
cause of the creation of Pakistan in the first place. Ironically, religion brought
together Bangladesh and Pakistan as one State during the partition of the
subcontinent, and later the very same religion separated the two. When the British
colonialists finally left this sub-continent after 190 years following the devastating
results of the second world war, the Indian subcontinent was divided into two
separate states in 1947. The basis of such separation was Lahore Resolution.

Lahore resolution:

The Muslims have longed for a spearate Muslim state from separating. Quaid-i-
Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah called for a three-day session (March 22-24, 1990)
of the Muslim League in 1940 to discuss the situation that was going to arise due to
the second world war and also to discuss a separate state for the Muslims. This
session is called the famous Lahore Resolution, later known as The Pakistan
Resolution. (Muslim separatism, 2022) This demand was crucial as Muslims
constituted only one-fourth of the Indian population and were considered a minority
(Lahore Resolution (1940), n.d.). Therefore, they faced difficulty protecting their
rights.

This session was a joint effort of the Muslim authorities of now Pakistan and the
Bengal state of British India. This resolution was crafted as a political demand to
create a separate form for the Muslims of British India. This resolution also called
for a self-determined Muslim region where they can exercise their rights without
being subject to religious or racial discrimination. Based on the ideas mentioned

2
above by the Quaid, A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq, the then Chief Minister of Bengal, moved
this resolution which has since come to be known as Lahore Resolution. (The
History of Lahore Resolution, 2021)

Fig 1: Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah

3.0 The Language Movement

After 190 years of captivity, came the time for the British to leave this sub-continent
for good. The partition of the Indian sub-continent was the first thing to take place
after they left. The basis of this division was religion. This was not the first time the
Indian sub-continent was divided based on faith; the Bengal Division of 1905 is an
example. Also, there was increased Hindu hostility in Muslim-dominated regions in
Bengal between 1937 and 1947. (Partition of Bengal, 1947, 2021) Based on all these
incidents, on 20th June 1947, the members of the “Bengal Legislative Assembly”
cast three separate votes to decide the ultimate fate of Bengal. After the end of the
elections, it was Bengal would indeed be divided (Cultural India, n.d.).

The State of the division was based on the famous Mountbatten Plan, which sealed
the fate of the then people of the Indian subcontinent. The Hindu majority of West

3
Bengal joined the Union of India, and the Muslim majority joined the Dominion of
Pakistan (Cultural India, n.d.). This partition was a heartbreaking one as well.
Millions of people had to relocate and leave their forefather’s homes. The number
of refugees exceeded far beyond what the then-leaders anticipated. Not Also, many
people died related to violence revolving around this issue. According to a report of
The Daily Star, nearly two million people were killed in horrific violence whilst at
least fourteen million fearfully crossed the borers. Bangladesh, the then East
Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country, became part of Pakistan. (Bose, 2022) Hence
started our journey as East Pakistan.

Language movement :

After the formation of Pakistan, one of the government’s objectives was establishing
an official language. The government favoured Urdu solely because this language
was used during the medieval age of Indian and Bengal Muslim rulers. (Ahmad &
Ishwaran, 2017) This partiality came as a significant shock to the people of East
Pakistan as the majority of the population of Pakistan was East Pakistanis, and the
majority of the people used the Bangla language. Urdu was the language of only 7%
of people all over Pakistan, while Bangla was used by 54% of the people (Fathema,
2019). Dhirendra Nath Datta proposed in the Pakistani parliament for Bangla to be
one of the state languages of Pakistan. However, his proposal was not taken
seriously. To make matters worse, Quad-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah said in one
of his most famous speeches at Race Course, Dhaka, on 21st March 1948, that “the
state language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language”. So,
Bengalis needed to step up.

4
 Figure 2: The procession march of February 21, 1952

It all started with the Tamaddun Majlish. On September 1 1947, under the
leadership of Kashen, this Tamaddun Majlish, the first initiating organisation of the
language movement, was established (Kamal, 2022). Organising literary meetings
and seminars in different places was one of the many initiatives taken by TM. This
organisation was later renamed Rastrabhasha Sangram Parishad. This
organisation also published a booklet on related matters named Rastro Bhasha
Bangla Na Urdu? While protests and discussions were still going on, Jinnah passed
away in 1948 without disclosing the final verdict and His death was followed by the
assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951. Then Khawaja Nazimudddin took the
title of prime minister. (Shahadat, 2011)

Nazimuddin was not a piece of good news in favour of East Pakistan as well. He
ignited the fire even more by repeating the same statement as Jinnah did in Paltan
Maidan, Dhaka (Ahmad & Ishwaran, 2017). After tolerating such discrimination, a
strike was called by the people of all stages on February 21, 1952. To make things
even worse, the Pakistani government declared Section 144 that day. Despite the
ban, students got down on the streets with their non-violent procession. However,
the police did not think of this as a non-violent movement. They opened fired at the

5
students of Dhaka Medical College. This violence led to some of the protestor’s
death, including Rafiquddin Ahmed, Mohammad Salauddin, Abul Barkat,
Abdus Salam, and Abdul Jabbar (Shahadat, 2011). There are no examples
anywhere on earth where a nation has lost blood over its mother language; we are
the only ones.

Figure 3: Weekly Sainik, 1952

Eventually, after a few more years, in 1954, the Pakistani government finally
declared Bangala as one of the official state languages of Pakistan, and it was
included in article 214(1) when the first constitution of Pakistan was enacted on 29th
February 1956 (Bengali language movement, 2022). UNESCO recognised 21st
February as International Mother Language Day in 1999. (International Mother
Language Day, 2022).

Language movement played a crucial role in our path to the liberation war. It is said
to be the strike against the Pakistanis for our independence and the spark that lit the
fire of independence.

6
 4.0 1954 election in East Pakistan and
dissolution of the elected government

Pakistan held general elections for the parliament in 1954. The Awami League-led United
Front won the election, handily defeating the Muslim League that had previously been in
power. The United Front created a manifesto that protected the rights of East Pakistani
citizens as the Muslim League oppressed the region's population. The United Front had a
21-point program, which included nationalizing the jute industry, providing free and
required elementary education, and declaring Bengali as a state language, declaring
21st February as national holiday,The party's leaders visited various locations, spoke at
party meetings, and explained their policies to mobilise public support. As a result, the
general public gave this tremendous support, and the Muslim League suffered a
catastrophic defeat in the election. Awami League had an outstanding 143 seats in the
house of 309, and UF secured 223 seats in total. However, the UF administratioGovernor
General
Ghulam
Mohammad
dissolved the
UF
administration
he Karnaphuli
Paper Mills
and Adamjee
Jute Mills,
imposing
Governor's rule
in East
Pakistan,
Fig. 4.1: 1954 Provincial Election Result arresting
Hundreds of
Awami League members and 30 MLAs . This incident created strong tension among the
general people and in the political arena of Pakistan.

7
 5.0 The Ill Governance, Martial Law and
Violence of Rights

However, Ghulam Muhammad became ill in 1955 and lost premiership,upport Iskandar
Mirza. A manipulator of the highest order, Mirza lost no time asking Mohammad Ali to
resign. Now Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy was invited to form the government. The
Awami League leader managed to form a coalition, but within 13 months he was shown
the door once he failed to keep the coalition together. Mirza then looked towards Muslim
League leader I.I. Chundrigar, who could survive less than two months, losing his office
on the electorate issue. Then came Feroz Khan Noon of the Republican Party who
managed a coalition with the Awami League that lasted 10 months. During the governor
rule in 1958, the deputy speaker of the parliament, Shahed Ali died after Krishak
Sramik Party MLAs hit him with an object. After this incident, Iskandar Mirza Mirza
imposed martial law in collaboration with General Ayub Khan.

Fig 5.1: Article of DAWN following Martial Law Announcement

Additionally, he abrogated the constitution, dismissed the then ruling government,

outlawed political parties and appointed General Ayub Khan as Chief Martial Law
Administrator. Later on, Iskandar Mirza had to appoint Ayub Khan as the president of
Pakistan. Ayub Khan suspected that Iskandar Mirza was plotting against him because

8
Iskandar Mirza felt that his post had largely become redundant after he took over as prime
minister and chief martial law administrator. Mirza took action to assert himself. Ayub
Khan allegedly learned about Iskandar Mirza's intention to have him arrested upon his
return from Dhaka. It is widely believed that Iskandar Mirza was pushed to resign by Ayub
Khan and his supporters. After being transferred to the provincial capital of Balochistan,
Quetta, Mirza was banished on November 27 to London, England.

5.1 Ayub Khan as the President of Pakistan

Fig. 5.2: Ayub Khan with his favorite ministers and secretaries

From 1958 until 1969, Pakistan was governed by Ayub Khan. During his regime, he was
in charge as a military ruler for the fir and a civil ruler for the remaining time. As the
head of state, he initiated a number of initiatives, including the detention of numerous
politicians and the establishment of the EBDO and PODO orders, which resulted in
the removal of numerous Pakistani civil servants. In addition, he blacklisted three
newspapers, prevented the celebration of Tagore Jayanti and other things. After assuming

9
power, Ayub Khan instituted a basic democracy policy in 1959 to defend his activities.
Under this plan, an electoral college made up of 80000 union council members from the
two sides of Pakistan voted to elect the president. This system was implemented to elect
Ayub Khan as president for 5 years. In 1960, Ayub Khan also created a committee to create
the constitution. The constitution was eventually adopted by Ayub Khan in 1962, despite
the committee having developed the text in compliance with the demands of intellect. The
president could be chosen by the votes of 80000 (and later 120000) Basic Democracy
members thanks to the constitution. Consequently, Ayub Khan became the President of
Paki tan through the votes of Basic Democracy members . Additionally, Article 70 of the
1962 Constitution provided that there would be a provincial legislature of 155 members
for a term of five years. However, Article 230 envisaged that the term of the first legislature
would be three years. For the election of the President and the National and Provincial
Assemblies, the Basic Democracy members acted as the electoral college. The 155
members of the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan, which was created on June 9, 1962,
were chosen by the Basic Democracy Members and served three-year terms before
dissolving on June 8, 1965. It had 7 sessions with 218 sittings total, with the final session
lasting from December 21, 1964 to January 31, 1965

10
6.0 Exploitation of Bengalis by the
Panjabi Bureaucratic and Elite Society

During the Mughal era, Bengal was the richest province of Unified India. The Land
of Bengal was very fertile. Bengal was an exporter of silk and cotton textiles, steel,
saltpetre, and agricultural and industrial produce. Bengal's industrial economy in
this era has been described as a form of proto-industrialization. (Wikipedia). During
British Colonial rule the former glory days of Bengal were long past, but it remained
the most socially and politically active province of India. Muslim League, the
political party which led to the creation of Pakistan, was created in Bengal. After
1947, Panjabi Bureucrates seized the power button and exploited the people of East
Bengal politically, economically and socially.

Fig. 7.1: Members of the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan

11
 6.1. Political Conflict between Panjabi Bureaucrats and
Bengali Elites

Bengalis were the most politically active among the provinces of India during the liberation
of India and Pakistan. During the 1946 Indian provincial elections, The Muslim League's
biggest success was in Bengal where out of 119 seats for Muslims, it won 113. (1946
Bengal Legislative Assembly election) It was only in Bengal Province where Muslim
League could form a government led by Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy. After, the creation
of Pakistan, the West Pakistani Panjabi ruling class never treated Bengalis as equals. The
first attack came to language when Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan
stated that the state language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu. That created a political rift
between the two wings of Pakistan which never healed. After the 1954 election, when
Bengalis gave the mandate to Juktofront to form a provincial government, the Panjabi
bureaucrats started plotting to withdraw the elected government. After the dissolution of
the Juktofront government, Politicians were arrested and jailed and some of them were
brutally tortured. The last hope of democracy was shattered when Iskandar Mirza imposed
martial law on 7th October 1958.

6.2. Economic Exploitation

Charles Smith of the Financial Times, London in an article in 1971 wrote:

“…If East Bengal is amongst the 8 poorest countries in the world it has to be
partially attributed to the very fact that it is a part of Pakistan.
…in 1937, at partition, East Bengal was actually better off than the west wing in a
number of important aspects.
…As for the future East Pakistan’s well-watered countryside looked more promising
for development than the relatively arid west.
…What East Pakistan did not have, however, and has never possessed until today,
was political power – and it was the exercise of power by the leadership in the west
that started the rot.” (Smith, 1971)

12
Although East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the
divided country politically and received more money from the common budget.
According to the World Bank, there was much economic discrimination against East
Pakistan, including higher government spending on West Pakistan, financial
transfers from East to West, and the use of the East's foreign exchange surpluses to
finance the West's imports.

Year Per Capita GDP in Per Capita GDP in Disparity Ratio

East Pakistan (In West Pakistan (In (East/West)
Rs) Rs)
1949-50 310 324 0.96

1954-55 300 353 0.85

1959-60 269 355 0.76

1964-65 283 426 0.66

1969-70 314 504 0.62

Annual PC Growth 0.0006 0.03

Table 1: Comparisons of Trends per Capita Income in East and West Pakistan (1949-50 to
1969-70) (The Cambridge Economic History of India, 2008)

From 1948-60 East Pakistan’s export earnings had been 70%, but its share of
import earnings was only 25%.
A sizable net transfer of resources had taken place from East to West Pakistan. The
report states that, if allowance is made for the undervaluation of foreign exchange in
terms of Pakistan’s domestic currency, the (Fall of Dhaka 1971, n.d.). Using the then
exchange rate of Rs 11.90 to the dollar, this worked out to 2.6 thousand million
dollars in 1971 terms.

13
 Amount Spend in West and East Pakistan from 1950 to 1970
(In Million of Pakistani Rupees )

1950-55 5240
11,290

1955-60 5,240
16,550

1960-65 14,410
33,550

1965-70 21,410
51,950

Total 45,930
113,340

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000

Total 1965-70 1960-65 1955-60 1950-55
East Pakistan2 45,930 21,410 14,410 5,240 5240
West Pakistan 113,340 51,950 33,550 16,550 11,290

East Pakistan2 West Pakistan

Source: (Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1970-75),
Volume 1)

6.3. Social Exploitation

Pakistani Ruling Class stroke the first blow on language immediately after creation of
Pakistan. After number of movements and sacrifices, Bengali could establish ‘Bangla’ as
one of the state languages of Pakistan. But the narrow-minded ruling elite never wanted to
provide equal rights to Bengalis so that they can be treated as second class citizens.
They thought Bangla was the language of the Hindu people. So, they tried to convert
written Bengali script in Arabic letters. Fazlur Rahman, Center Minister of Education of
Pakistan stated on 7 February 1949
“Not only Bengali literature, even the Bengali alphabet is full of idolatry. Each Bengali letter is
associated with this or that god or goddess of Hindu pantheon...Pakistan and Devanagari script cannot
co-exist... To ensure a bright and great future for the Bengali language it must be linked with the Holy
Qur'an...Hence the necessity and importance of Arabic script.” (Arabization of Bangla, 2017)

14
In 1967, Rabindranath Tagore's whole body of work was outlawed in the nation by Ayub
Khan's minister of information and broadcasting, Khwaja Shahabuddin, and the governor
of East Pakistan, Monem Khan.
Rabindra sangeet was hence outlawed in former East Pakistan. (Pakistani TV series
features Bangla Rabindra Sangeet, 2021)
Pakistani rulers started to demean Bangali tradition by imposing Urdu and West Pakistani
culture, the cultural significance of Pahela Baishakh started to resurface. The autocratic
rulers imposed a ban on celebrating Bengali New Year.
Education

The decline in primary schooling infrastructure in East Pakistan is evident even after
normalising for the underlying population regional difference in the growth of educational
infrastructure was not driven by regional differences in the growth rate and level of school
age population. While exact structural reasons for this singular decline in primary schools
during the post1947 years are unknown, some researchers e. g. Chowdhuri 1972 have
attributed it to a deliberate policy of neglect.

15
Bengalis were disproportionately underrepresented in both the Army and the civil service.
Additionally, West Pakistani civil and military authorities posted in East Pakistan viewed
Bengali Muslims as inferior lower caste Hindu converts. The majority of the population in
East Pakistan was in 1970, but the Punjabi-speaking population made up about 85% of the
armed forces. Some contend that this disparity is a legacy of British rule, when the Punjabis
were preferred in the armed forces due to their marshal spirit and willingness to serve,
rather than an intentional action on the part of the West Pakistan-dominated ruling elite.
The Bengalis were always against military rule and never trusted these two actors in
Pakistan's political system since they lacked proper representation in the armed forces and
bureaucracy. Because Ayub Khan had assigned 60% of the openings to East Pakistan in
1966, the gap between the civil services and the armed forces was quickly closing. East
Pakistan CSP officers made up 34% of the Civil Services' overall strength in 1965, but by
1969, that percentage had increased to 40.8.
Yahya appointed six Bengali CSP officers as "Central Secretaries" and instructed all the
ministries to give Bengali candidates priority whenever a senior position became vacant,
"even if this meant disregarding the principle of seniority," in an effort to give some
representation to Bengalis in the top positions of the administration. Additionally, the
military's Bengali recruitment quota was doubled. It was a positive step, but it was
implemented far too late; Bengali nationalism should have been at its infancy in the early
1960s.

16
7.0 6-point Movement: Demand for State
Autonomy

7.1 From Six Points to Declaration of Independence: A Timeline

towards Our Freedom

January Pakistan's President Ayub Khan and Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
sign a peace deal, following the September 1965 war between their two
1966 countries, in Tashkent. Shastri dies of a heart attack soon after.

East Pakistan Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman seeks to

February place a Six Point programme at a conference of Pakistan's opposition
1966 politicians in Lahore. He is rebuffed. He announces the programme at a
news conference the next day.

The Six Point was officially raised on March 23 in line with the Lahore
March resolution. At the meeting of the working committee of the Awami League
1966 on 21 February 1966, the programme of the movement was adopted
aiming to realize the Six-Point proposal and demand.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and a large number of other senior Awami League
May politicians are arrested under the Defence of Pakistan Rules. Around this
1966 time, President Mohammad Ayub Khan threatens to employ the language of
weapons against advocates of the Six Points.

17
 The Six-Point demands included the following:

Point 1 The central government would have authority only in defense and foreign affairs
and all other subjects would be handled by the federating units of the state of
Pakistan;
Point 2 The central government would have authority only in defense and foreign affairs
and all other subjects would be handled by the federating units of the state of
Pakistan;
Point 3 There would be two freely convertible currencies for the two wings of Pakistan or
two separate reserve banks for the two regions of the country;
Point 4 The power of taxation and revenue collection would be vested in the federating
units;
Point 5 There would be two separate accounts for foreign exchange reserves for the two
wings of Pakistan;
Point 6 East Pakistan would have a separate militia or paramilitary force as a measure of its
security.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman planned to announce the Six Points at a

conference of opposition political parties in Lahore in early February 1966. He
was not permitted to do so by the other
participants, including the chief of the
Awami League at the time, Nawabzada
Nasrullah Khan. They found the plan too
incendiary to be articulated. Rebuffed,
Mujib announced the plan at a news
conference in Lahore the following day,
February 5, 1966.

Bangabandhu's move raised howls of

protest all over Pakistan. The civil-military
bureaucracy and politicians straddling both
government and opposition circles were
quick to dub the Six Points as a secessionist
plot to dismember Pakistan. Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman's arrest in May 1966,
followed by the 7 June strike, swiftly led to
circumstances where the Pakistan
government opted for repression in East

18
Pakistan. Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia, the respected editor of the (League, 2022)
(Emon, 2022) Bangla daily Ittefaq, was arrested on June 16 over his support for the
Six Points. The next day, a ban was clamped on his newspaper.

Professor Dr. Abdul Mannan, 12th Chairman of University Grants Commission

wrote in an article of Bangladesh Post (Mannan, 2020):
It is said the six-point programme was drafted by Mujib
himself and it highlighted the legitimate rights of the
people of not only of people of East Bengal but also
the people of the other four provinces of Pakistan

Events would move fast after June 1966. In January 1968, Mujib would be charged
with conspiracy to break up Pakistan. The case, which would become notorious as
the Agartala Conspiracy Case, would eventually be withdrawn under public pressure
on February 22, 1969.
A day after his release, Mujib would be honoured as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal)
at a historic rally in Dhaka.

8.0 Agartala Conspiracy Case and 11-

point movement & Mass Uprising

Agartala Conspiracy Case a case framed by the Pakistan Government in 1968 during the Ayub
regime against Awami League chief Sheikh Mujibru Rahman.
President Ayub Khan hatched a nefarious plan of quelling the growing movement for the 6-point
programme. In January 1968, a false case infamously known as the Agartala Conspiracy Case was
filed and 35 Bangalee civil and military officers were accused of treason and conspiracy against
the state of Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was made the principal accused and the case itself
was officially styled, “State versus Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Others.” President Ayub
formed a special tribunal to try the accused. The case caused a great turbulence in East Pakistan.

19
The student community started a united movement against the Ayub regime. They defied section
144 imposed by the police, broke the barricades put by the East Pakistan Rifles and came out to
the streets in thousands. They chanted the slogans - “We’ll break the locks of the jail and free
Sheikh Mujib”, “Your leader, my leader, Sheikh Mujib, Sheikh Mujib’, etc. A mass upsurge
took place; the Pakistani rulers ordered shooting in different places. Law and order situation
worsened to such an extent that the rebellious mob took control of all important points in Dhaka
city. During this movement, a lot of people were killed: Asad, a student leader of Dhaka
University, Dr. Shamsuzzoha, a teacher of Rajshahi University and Matiur, a school student of
Dhaka and Sgt Zahurul Huq, an accused of the Agartala Conspiracy Case were among them. On
February 22, Pakistan Government was forced to grant unconditional release to Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman and withdraw the Agartala Conspiracy Case.

Fig: Agartala Conspiracy Case

Eleven Points Programme

a charter of demand framed as a remedy to acute economic disparity between East and West
Pakistan and as a programme for putting an end to the despotic Ayub regime. The Six-points
Movement of Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur
rahman initiated in 1966, sustained a temporary pause consequent upon the en-masse arrest of
the Awami League leaders including Bangabandhu, institution of agartala conspiracy case in
1968 and repression on the Awami League activists. The situation led to the formation of
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Democratic Action Committee (DAC). But
when PDM and DAC ultimately failed to intensify the movement against the autocratic Ayub

20
government, the students of Dhaka University organised a united movement in 1968 which soon
turned into a mass movement. In October 1968, the East Pakistan Students League and the
Menon and Matia group of East Pakistan Students Union formed a political alliance. These two
student organisations jointly formed the 'Chhatra Sangram Parishad' in January 1968 and
declared an eleven points charter of demand.

The 11 Points included the Six Points of Awami League as declared by Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, including provincial autonomy, the demands centring round students’ own
demands as well as the demands relating to the problems of the workers. As a matter of fact, the
Eleven Point programme was a compromise solution to all the demands of all races and classes
people of Bangladesh.
(Liberation War, n.d.) (Banglapedia, 2021) (Banglapedia, 2021) (Beautiful Bangladesh,
2016)

East Pakistan's mass revolt in 1969 was a democratic political movement there (now
Bangladesh). A series of large-scale protests and isolated clashes between the
government's armed forces and the protesters made up the revolt. Although the Awami
League's Six Point Movement started the turmoil in 1966, it really took off at the start of
1969 and resulted in Field Marshal Ayub Khan's resignation as the country's first military
ruler. The rebellion also resulted in Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his associates' acquittal
and the dismissal of the Agartala Conspiracy Case.

21
 9.0 1970 Election and Denial to hand over power
to the elected government:

In 1970, Pakistan held its final national election as a united republic. Ayub Khan had to
resign from his position in the past due to intense opposition, and Yahya Khan was chosen
as his successor. A general election was held in December 1970 as Yahya Khan had
pledged to do (In some part of Pakistan, January 1971). The election's outcome favored the
Awami League, which won 162 out of 164 seats of East Pakistan, and the PPP (Pakistan
People Party), had majority in West Pakistan (though PPP secured much less seats than
Awami League). The deadliest cyclone in history hit East Pakistan one month before
elections, killing 500000 people, and the Pakistani government's response was woefully
insufficient. People's unwavering support for the Awami League was a result of this.
However, because the Awami League failed to win a seat in West Pakistan, Mr. Bhutto
refused to hand over power to Awami League. As West Pakistan was separated into four
provinces, whereas East Pakistan was regarded as a single province. Bhutto then
questioned Mujib's legitimacy as the leader of the majority and began devising
machinations against the Awami League and East Pakistan. Yahya Khan postponed the
National Assembly Meeting till March. Later, Yahya Khan called for an indefinite
suspension of the session. People and the political system in East Pakistan became heated
as a result. Then, Yahya and Bhutto made futile attempts for negotiation. Yahya Khan
finally gave the order to carry out "Operation Searchlight," one of the worst events in the
history of the world.

22
10.0 Operation Searchlight

When a major armed revolution swept over East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), as
planned by Major Generals Khadim Hossain Raja and Rao Forman Ali under
the direction of General Abdul Hamid Khan, the then-Chief of Staff, the country
entered its darkest chapter. This "inevitable" slaughter, as the Pakistani

Fig 10.1: Corpes in Street after Operation Searchlight

government referred to it, was carried out in order to seize control of the province
by arresting the leaders, destroying the defense system, and banning media inside
and outside the border. At around 11:30 PM, soldiers in the capital's Farmgate,

23
 Fig. 10.2: Genocide on 25th March, 1971

Pilkhana and Rajarbagh started their indiscriminate assault, which arguably

continued until the middle of May. President Yahya Khan left for Karachi the same
day following a fruitless conversation with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A unit of
commandos captured Sheikh Mujib around 1:30 AM on December 26th, and
thousands of people died in the student neighbourhoods of different university
areas, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Kalabagan, Kathalbagan, Dhanmondi, Ganaktuli,
Old Dhaka, and Tejgaon. This abhorrent incident was a blatant sign that Bangladesh
has to step forward for war, a war of independence and salvation from the Inhumans.

24
11.0 Liberation War

People in East Pakistan took to the streets to demand their own liberation and to establish
the democratic country they desired following a string of human rights violations, mass
murders, and unlawful takeovers. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of
independence served as a signal to fortify the populace's defenses and put an end to
the revolution's onslaught, which ultimately resulted in the division of the nation into
11 sectors under Colonel MAG Osmani's command. Mukti Bahini, which included
both members of the military forces and civilians, was constructed and trained throughout
the nation. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman served as president of the Mujibnagar
government, the country's first-ever government, which was also led by the cabinet of Syed
Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali, Kamruzzaman, Abdul Mannan,
Khondokar Mostaq Ahmed, and Nurul Islam.

On April 10, 1971, a temporary administration was established, managing more than 10
million Indian-affiliated refugees and 11 different regions of the nation. Oath taking took
place on April 17, 1971, in Baidyanath Tala, a village in Bangladesh's Kushtia (now
Meherpur district), close to the India-Bangladesh border by Abdul Mannan. A new
constitution was drafted, and rules for conducting war were established. The administration
affiliated with a number of countries through which Bangladesh attracted the undivided
attention of the international media. British, American, and Indian musicians arranged the

25
"Concert for Bangladesh" in New York City; the proceeds went toward aiding the people
of Bangladesh.

Guerrilla warfare was a successful tactic that helped Mukti Bahini win many of its intact
operations. When India entered the conflict on December 3rd, 1971, the Bangladesh Army
was strengthened and there were military engagements on both fronts of the conflict.
Commands of Sector 10 carried out Operation Jackpot, which severely interrupted the
Pakistan Army's supply chain and demoralized them. Sector 10 was responsible for naval
channels and ocean premises. To halt an enemy strategic retreat, the Indian Air Force
demolished Hardinge Bridge, the then-longest bridge in East Pakistan. Pakistan finished
its purge at the end of December thanks to air superiority and paramilitary troops of the
joint forces.

During the nine-month liberation battle, millions of people were killed, injured,
assaulted, and raped. Some of the committees that assisted the combatants in carrying out
their murders and arsons included Rajakar, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams, making them national
traitors. In a similar manner, thousands of houses, roads, and bridges were demolished. In
an effort to stop the nation's development, the Pakistani army executed some of the most
well-known and intellectual residents before giving up. On December 16, 1971, Lt. Gen.
Niazi, the martial law's administrator in Zone B, turned himself in together with more
than 93,000 soldiers to Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, the combined forces' GOC. With
the adoption of its new flag, which represents both sacrificed blood and the country's
greenery, Bangladesh became a legal entity. Although the results of the war were severe,
the nation's aspiring inhabitants assumed responsibility for restructuring it under the
direction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation.

26
 Fig.11.2: Muktibahini Training for Confrontation

Fig.11.3: Surrender of Pakistan Army in 16th December

27
 Conclusion

On 16th December 1971, Bangladesh emerged as an independent country on the world map.
We had to fight, struggle, face oppression, and wait for our country to exist as a sovereign
country. We had to pay a lot. The history of this country is written by blood. We bled in
1952 for our language and sacrificed in the liberation war of 1971. After all these sacrifices,
we gained the right to identify as Bangladeshis. However, our journey does not end here.
We have a long way to go. The Golden Bengal that Bangabandhu dreamt of is still far
away. We have to be willing to on for that. It is expected of us.

We, as Bangalis, should be very proud of our history and culture. It is our duty to enlighten
the next generation about our rich culture and history. Our previous generation did so for
us, and now it is our turn to do the same. We have to teach the new generation to be
respectful of our culture. Only when we can become the Golden Bengal and be proud of
our history and culture can we say that our genesis is successful. We have acquired the
Bangladesh we have been dreaming of since 1947.

28
References
(n.d.). Retrieved from Liberation War:
https://sites.google.com/site/bdliberationwar1971/background/february-1969-the-agartala-
conspiracy-case

1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Bengal_Legislative_Assembly_election

(2016, October 14). Retrieved from Beautiful Bangladesh:

https://bebangla.blogspot.com/2016/10/11pointdemands.html

(2021, June 18). Retrieved from Banglapedia:

https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Agartala_Conspiracy_Case

(2021, June 18). Retrieved from Banglapedia:

https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Eleven_Points_Programme

Ahmad, A., & Ishwaran, K. (2017, October 5). Pakistan's new Governor-General Khwaja Nazimuddin
maintains Urdu stance. Retrieved from Londoni: londoni.co/index.php/24-history-of-
bangladesh/1952-bhasha-andolon/211-bhasha-andolon-bangladesh-language-movement-1948-
1952-khwaja-nazimuddin-maintains-urdu-stance-history-of-bangladesh

Arabization of Bangla. ( 2017, October 5). Retrieved from http://www.londoni.co/:

http://www.londoni.co/index.php/24-history-of-bangladesh/1952-bhasha-andolon/207-bhasha-
andolon-bangladesh-language-movement-1948-1952-arabization-of-bangla-history-of-
bangladesh

Bengali language movement. (2022, September 28). Retrieved from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_language_movement#:~:text=On%207%20May%201954
%2C%20the,enacted%20on%2029%20February%201956.

Bose, S. (2022, August 15). PARTITION or UNITY? BENGAL in 1947. Retrieved from The Daily Star:
https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/in-focus/news/partition-or-unity-bengal-1947-3095176

Cultural India. (n.d.). Retrieved from Partition of Bengal: https://learn.culturalindia.net/partition-of-

bengal-1947.html

Emon, E. (2022, June 8). Retrieved from The daily Observer:

https://www.observerbd.com/news.php?id=369329#

Fall of Dhaka 1971. (n.d.). Retrieved from Story of Pakistan: https://storyofpakistan.com/fall-of-dhaka-

1971/

Fathema, K. (2019, February 21). Why was there a battle of Urdu-Bangla? Retrieved from New Age:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/65472/why-was-there-a-battle-of-urdubangla

International Mother Language Day. (2022, November 14). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mother_Language_Day#:~:text=21%20February%2
0was%20declared%20to,world%20since%2021%20February%202000.

29
Kamal, M. (2022, February 7). The origin of the Language Movement. Retrieved from The Daily Star:
https://www.thedailystar.net/views/in-focus/news/the-origin-the-language-movement-
2955811

Lahore Resolution (1940). (n.d.). Retrieved from History Pak: https://historypak.com/lahore-resolution-

1940/

League, B. A. (2022, June 6). Retrieved from Bangladesh Awami League:

https://albd.org/articles/news/31111/Six-Point-Demands:-Roadmap-For-
Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Emancipation

Mannan, P. A. (2020). Six-Point Programme, a prelude to independence. Dhaka: Bangladesh Post.

Muslim separatism. (2022, November 09). Retrieved from Britannica:

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-history-of-the-lahore-resolution-history-
essay.php

Pakistani TV series features Bangla Rabindra Sangeet. (2021, June 7). Retrieved from Dhaka Tribune:
https://archive.dhakatribune.com/showtime/2021/06/07/pakistani-tv-series-features-bangla-
rabindra-
sangeet#:~:text=All%20works%20of%20the%20late,banned%20in%20erstwhile%20East%20Paki
stan.

Partition of Bengal, 1947. (2021, June 18). Retrieved from Banglapedia:

https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Partition_of_Bengal,_1947

(n.d.). Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1970-75), Volume 1. Islamabad:
Planning Comission of Pakistan. Retrieved from
http://14.139.60.153/bitstream/123456789/11384/1/FOURTH%20FIVE%20YEAR%20PLAN%201
969-74_SUMMARY_G-1183.pdf

Shahadat, M. H. (2011). LANGUAGE MOVEMENT MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, DHAKA, BANGLADESH.

University of Massachusetts Amherst . Retrieved from
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1780&context=theses

Smith, C. (1971). London: Financial Times.

The Cambridge Economic History of India (Vol. 2). (2008). Cambridge University Press.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521228022

The History of Lahore Resolution. (2021, July 27). Retrieved from UK Essays:
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-history-of-the-lahore-resolution-history-
essay.php

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Bengal Subah. Retrieved from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_Subah#:~:text=It%20was%20an%20exporter%20of,a%20f
orm%20of%20proto%2Dindustrialization.

30