Six-Point Program: The Charter of Bengali Liberation

Preset 71

An all-opposition conference was held in Lahore, Pakistan. After the unresolved India-Pakistan war, President Ayub Khan faced public anger in West Pakistan following the signing of the Tashkent Peace Agreement in January. Pakistan’s opposition parties sought to take advantage of the situation by forming a united front to remove Ayub from power. The Lahore conference was part of that effort.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, general secretary of the East Pakistan Awami League, was also invited. Before departing Dhaka for Lahore on February 4, he announced that he would raise the demand for full autonomy.

“Autonomy” had been a prominent demand since the creation of Pakistan. The demand appeared in the 21-point manifesto of the United Front during the 1954 election. In 1957, at the Kagmari Conference, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani demanded autonomy and effectively bid West Pakistan farewell with his famous “Walaikum Assalam” remark.

The following year, Ayub Khan imposed military rule, and political activity fell silent. After visiting China in 1963, Bhashani adopted a policy often described as “No Disturb Ayub.”

Against this backdrop, the death of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy gave Sheikh Mujibur Rahman greater freedom to make independent decisions. Without informing many of the Awami League’s traditional leaders, he worked with a small group of trusted Bengali economists, bureaucrats, and lawyers to secretly formulate a comprehensive plan for full autonomy. He then took this proposal to Lahore.

Accompanying him were Tajuddin Ahmad, Abdul Malek Ukil, Nurul Islam Chowdhury, ABM Nurul Islam and Mohammad Yusuf Ali.

Most politicians attending the conference were focused on one objective: removing Ayub Khan and taking power themselves. Autonomy and the struggle for popular rights were not their priority. As a result, when Sheikh Mujib presented his autonomy blueprint, later known as the Six-Point Program, many politicians reacted negatively. They refused even to discuss or consider it. Consequently, the Awami League severed ties with the conference and withdrew.

On February 11, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formally announced the Six-Point Program at a press conference in Lahore. He returned to Dhaka the same day.

Although the first point called for a federal structure, the remaining points outlined a loose confederation rather than a conventional federation. The central government would retain authority only over defense and foreign affairs. All other powers would belong to the provinces. The provinces would have their own currencies, taxation authority, control over foreign trade, the ability to receive foreign aid directly, and the power to maintain their own militia forces.

To many observers, the plan resembled a minimal arrangement connecting several independent states.

Pakistan’s ruling establishment and many political leaders understood that the Six-Point Program effectively amounted to a demand for independence. However, its language and legal structure were so carefully crafted that it was difficult to prosecute as an explicit separatist agenda.

When presenting the Six Points, Sheikh Mujib reportedly told Mozaffar Ahmed and Ruhul Quddus, “This is not really six points. It is one point. I have simply expressed it differently.”

After the Six-Point Program became public on February 11, the first statement supporting it came on February 13 from Chattogram district Awami League leaders MA Aziz, Abdullah Al Harun and MA Hannan. On February 14, the central committee of the Bangladesh Chhatra League also declared its support.

A political storm soon followed.

The first organizations to reject the Six Points were Jamaat-e-Islami and the Council Muslim League, which issued statements on February 15.

On February 25, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman launched a public campaign in support of the Six Points at a rally in Chattogram’s Laldighi Maidan. On March 14, he addressed another rally in Sylhet and won public support for the program.

At that stage, however, the Six Points had not yet been officially adopted as Awami League policy.

On March 14, Ayub Khan condemned the program at a rally in Chattogram Stadium, declaring that any initiative threatening Pakistan’s unity would not be tolerated. Four days later, at the Convention Muslim League council session, he warned of civil war and called for resistance against those creating division.

The Awami League’s provincial conference was held on March 18. Despite opposition from conservative party leaders, strong support from district-level leadership and the student wing led to the formal adoption of the Six-Point Program as party policy.

At the conference, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected president and Tajuddin Ahmad became general secretary of the provincial Awami League. This consolidated the position of Six-Point supporters within the party. The Karachi Awami League had already endorsed the program on March 15.

On April 7, Maulana Bhashani announced that he did not support the Six Points because they contained no demand for freedom from economic exploitation. Leaders of Bhashani’s National Awami Party criticized the program as a CIA-inspired document. Some even alleged that it had been devised by Ayub Khan’s secretary, Altaf Gauhar, to undermine opposition unity.

At a press conference on July 18, Bhashani again opposed the Six Points, saying, “Autonomy does not mean separation. If necessary, I will shed my last drop of blood to preserve Pakistan’s unity. I did not support the Six Points before, and I do not support them now.”

Ignoring opposition from the government and political parties across the ideological spectrum, Sheikh Mujib decided to take the Six-Point message directly to ordinary people and explain the nature of Pakistan’s economic and political exploitation.

He began extensive tours across district towns: Pabna on April 8, Bogura on April 9, Rangpur on April 10, and Jashore on April 15.

On April 13, he met Chhatra League leaders at his residence. Believing that many traditional Awami League leaders remained loyal to Pakistan, he instructed student leaders to take control of district-level Awami League committees and strengthen support for the Six-Point Program.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government launched a campaign to arrest him.

He was arrested in Jashore on April 18. After securing bail, he was arrested again in Dhaka on April 21. After being released on bail in Sylhet, he was rearrested at the prison gate and taken to Mymensingh. Within a few weeks, Sheikh Mujib was arrested and released eight times. Each time he was freed, he immediately resumed campaigning for the Six Points.

A few hours after addressing a public meeting in Narayanganj on May 8, the Pakistani government arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Tajuddin Ahmad, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, MA Aziz, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury and many other leaders under the Defense of Pakistan Rules.

The Awami League and Chhatra League organized workers and called a nationwide strike on June 7 demanding the release of political prisoners and implementation of the Six Points.

Although the senior leadership was imprisoned, young student leaders such as Sirajul Alam Khan, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni and Abdur Razzaq mobilized overwhelming support for the strike.

According to official figures, 10 people were killed in police crackdowns during the strike.

The events surrounding the June 7 strike brought workers from Tejgaon, Tongi, and Adamjee into close alignment with the Awami League. Prior to that, labor politics had largely been dominated by left-wing groups.

While many political prisoners were later released, Sheikh Mujib remained incarcerated for an extended period. Following the mass uprising of 1969, the government was compelled to release him on February 22, 1969.

During nearly three years of imprisonment, events such as the Agartala Conspiracy Case helped spread the message of the Six Points across East Pakistan.

From cities to villages, and among government employees, farmers, and industrial workers alike, a simple realization took hold: Bengal had become a colony of Pakistan, and liberation from that colonial relationship through the right of self-determination was the only path forward.

Sources:

1. Karagarer Rojnamcha, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2017)
2. Bangalir Jatiyatabadi Sangram Muktijuddhe Chattogram, Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman (1993)
3. Bangladesher Chhatra Andoloner Itihas 1830 Theke 1971, Dr. Mohammad Hannan (2006)
4. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, Mazharul Islam (1974)
5. Ami Sirajul Alam Khan: Ekti Rajnoitik Jibonalekhya, Shamsuddin Peyara (2020)