Six Point Movement in Bangladesh
Six point movement The 6 Point Movement was a Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which eventually led to the liberation of Bangladesh. 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. The demands were drafted by leading Bengali intellectuals Rehman Sobhan, Govinda Chandra Dev, Munier Chowdhury and Kamal Hossain.
Contents
• 1 Background
• 2 Author of the 6 points
• 3 The 6 points
• 4 See also
• 5 External links
Background
Following the end of British rule in the Indian subcontinent, the new state of Pakistan came into being. The inhabitants of East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) made up the majority of its population, and exports from East Pakistan (such as jute) were a majority of Pakistan's export income. However, East Pakistanis did not feel they had a proportional share of political power and economic benefits within Pakistan. East Pakistan was facing a critical situation after being subjected to continuous discrimination on a regional basis, year after year. As a result, the economist, intelligentsia and the politicians of East Pakistan started to raise questions about this discrimination, giving rise to the historic six point movement. A statistical overview of economic discrimination is given hereafter:
Year Spending on West Pakistan (in crore rupees)
Amount spent on West as percentage of total Spending on East Pakistan (in crore rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of total
% of total population 36.23 63.77
1950–55 1,129 68.31 524 31.69
1955–60 1,655 75.95 524 24.05
1960–65 3,355 70.5 1,404 29.5
1965–70 5,195 70.82 2,141 29.18
Total 11,334 71.16 4,593 28.84
Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970-75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan (quick reference: crore = 107, or 10 million)
Contents
• 1 Background
• 2 Author of the 6 points
• 3 The 6 points
• 4 See also
• 5 External links
Background
Following the end of British rule in the Indian subcontinent, the new state of Pakistan came into being. The inhabitants of East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) made up the majority of its population, and exports from East Pakistan (such as jute) were a majority of Pakistan's export income. However, East Pakistanis did not feel they had a proportional share of political power and economic benefits within Pakistan. East Pakistan was facing a critical situation after being subjected to continuous discrimination on a regional basis, year after year. As a result, the economist, intelligentsia and the politicians of East Pakistan started to raise questions about this discrimination, giving rise to the historic six point movement. A statistical overview of economic discrimination is given hereafter:
Year Spending on West Pakistan (in crore rupees)
Amount spent on West as percentage of total Spending on East Pakistan (in crore rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of total
% of total population 36.23 63.77
1950–55 1,129 68.31 524 31.69
1955–60 1,655 75.95 524 24.05
1960–65 3,355 70.5 1,404 29.5
1965–70 5,195 70.82 2,141 29.18
Total 11,334 71.16 4,593 28.84
Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970-75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan (quick reference: crore = 107, or 10 million)