Academics termed the historic Six-Point Programme as the ‘Magna Carta’ of Bangalee nation was aimed at ending exploitation, deprivation, subjugation and tyranny of the then Pakistani rulers on the people of East Bengal.
“The Six-point demand was a very crucial charter in the history of Bangladesh. Through announcement of the Six-point demand, Bangalee declared its rights to self-control,” Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University Bangla Department Dr Anisuzzaman told BSS on Friday.
He said the Six-point movement had taken the nation towards the struggle for freedom and following the path in which Bangladesh achieved independence on December 16, 1971.
Former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique termed the historic Six-point demand as the ‘Magna Carta’ of Bangalee nation saying it was a charter for economic emancipation from the subjugation of Pakistani colonial state-system. “The historic Six-point demand will be kept written in golden letters in the history of Bangladesh. It created the path to achieve freedom from the Pakistani subjugation,” he said.
Prof Arefin said the six-point programme had eventually turned into a single point movement for the freedom of Banglee nation.
Veteran Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed earlier said the seeds of country’s independence were sowed in the six-point demand raised by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1966.
“Bangabandhu put forward the six-point before Pakistani authorities just after few days of Tashkent Treaty signed between India and Pakistan after war,” he said. Tofail Ahmed said Ayub Khan, then military autocrat, used batons against the nation to crush down the six-point demands which eventually led to the war of independence in 1971.
Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said the six-point demand was the charter of freedom of the Bangalee nation.
“We got independence under the dynamic leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. And now the country is moving ahead under the visionary leadership of Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he said. On June 7 in 1966, the Awami League (AL) under the charismatic leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a day-long hartal throughout East Pakistan, pressing the demand for autonomy to end the exploitation, deprivation, subjugation and tyranny of the then central government of Pakistan on the people here. People took to the streets during the dawn-to-dusk hartal throughout the province and the law enforcement agencies, including the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR), opened fire on the demonstrators in Tongi, Dhaka and Narayanganj that left 11 people, including labour leader Monu Miah, Shafique and Shamsul Huq, killed.
Bangabandhu launched his historic six-point political and economic programme in Lahore on February 5 in 1966, aiming at attaining greater autonomy for the then East Pakistan in the backdrop of exploitation and discrimination by the then Pakistani rulers.
The six-point demands were – creating provision in the constitution for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense based on the Lahore resolution, the federal government will deal with only two subjects: Defence and Foreign Affairs, introduction of two separate, but freely convertible currencies for East and West Pakistan, vesting the power of taxation and revenue collection with the federating units, maintaining two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings and creation a separate militia or paramilitary force for East Pakistan.
