Mohammed Rakibul Hasan BSS (Hon’s) & MSS (Thesis) Department of Economics University of Chittagong Bangladesh Studies Government Official Name People’s Republic of Bangladesh System of Government Parliamentary democracy: The President is the Head of State while the Government is headed by the Prime Minister. Basic Facts of Bangladesh Capital Dhaka (for four times- 1610,1905,1945,1971) Official Language Bangla (Bengali) is the official language; However, English, as second language, is widely spoken and used in medium of instructions and business communications across the country. Independence Day 26 March 1971 National Anthem “Amar Sonar Bangla” (My Golden Bengal) Nationality Bangladeshi Name of Currency Taka Administrative Divisions 8 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet Office hours: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Sunday to Thursday. Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays Standard Time GMT +6 hours National Animal Royal Bengal Tiger National Bird Oriental Magpie Robin National Fish Hilsa National Flower White Water Lily National Fruit National Tree Jackfruit People and Society Population 166.50 Million (2020 BBS) Male 83.33 Million (2020 BBS) Female 83.17 Million (2020 BBS) Population Growth Rate 1.37 Total fertility rate (15-49 years) 2.05 Life Expectancy at Birth 72.6 Male 71.1 Female 74.2 Literacy Rate (7+years) 74.7 Mother Tongue Bangla (Bengali) 98.8%, other 1.2% (2011 est.) Ethnic Groups Bengali at least 98%, other indigenous ethnic groups 1.1% (2011 est.) Religion Muslim 89.1%, Hindu 10%, other 0.9% (includes Buddhist, Christian) (2013 est.) Mango Tree Geography Location Land Boundaries Area Geographic Coordinates Maritime Claims Main Rivers Climate Main Seasons Terrain Natural resources Principal Crops and Fruits Land Use South Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Myanmar (Burma) and India. North: India, West: India, South: Bay of Bengal and East: India and Myanmar Total: 4,413 km (Bangladesh – Myanmar: 271 km and Bangladesh – India: 4142 km) 56,977 sq. miles or 147,570 sq. km (2017 Est) Between 20⁰34′ and 26⁰38′ north latitude and between 88⁰01′ and 92⁰41′ east longitude. Territorial sea: 12 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Teesta, Surma, Kusiara, Feni and Karnaphuli (total 310 rivers including tributaries) Tropical; Mild Winter (October to March); Hot, Humid Summer (March to June); Humid, Warm Rainy Monsoon (June to October) Spring (February-March), Summer (April-June), Monsoon (July-September), Autumn (October-November) and Winter (December-January) Mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast Natural Gas, Limestone, White Clay, Hard Rock, Arable land, Timber, Coal Rice, Jute, Wheat, Tobacco, Pulses, Sugarcane, Oil Seeds, Spices, Vegetables, Potatoes, Jackfruit, Banana, Mango, Coconut, Pineapple Agricultural Land: 70.1% (2016 est.), Forest: 11.1% (2016 est.) and Other: 18.8% (2016 est.) Communication and Transportation Telephone – Fixed Lines 1,449,646 Telephone – Mobile Cellular 161,771,617 Internet Users 28,499,324 Broadband 10,237,003 Railway 2,460 km (2014) Roadways 369,105 km (2018) Waterways 8,370 km (includes up to 3,060 km of main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in the dry season) Airports Bangladesh has 8 domestic airports, 3 international airports (which are also used for domestic flights) and 4 STOL (Short Take-off and Landing) ports International Airports: Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet Domestic Airports: Cox’s Bazar, Jessore, Rajshahi, Syedpur, Barisal, Iswardi, Comilla and Thakurgaon Seaports Chittagong and Mongla. Paira Port is under construction Economy GDP (constant 2015 US$) 285.269 billion in (WB-WDI 2021) US$ 860.916 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) (IMF 2019 Est) GDP Growth (annual %) 6.94% (WB-WDI 2021) 3.45% (WB-WDI 2020) 7.88% (WB-WDI 2019) GDP Rank 39th (nominal, 2019) 30th (PPP, 2020) GDP Per Capita (constant 2015 US$) 1684.43 (WB-WDI 2021) 1593.34 (WB-WDI 2021) GDP by Sector Agriculture (13.1%), Industry (27.8%) and Services (53.5%) Employment by Sector Agriculture (37.6%), Industry (21.4%) and Services (39.8%) Inflation (CPI) 5.5% (IMF 2020 est.) Main Industries Textiles, Jute, Pharmaceuticals, Electronics, Food and Beverages, Cement, Tea, leather, Electrical Machinery, Ship Building and Ship Breaking, Ceramics, Glass, Paper, Iron Steel, Oil and Gas, Light Engineering, Bicycles and Automobile Assembling. Exports US$ 40.53 billion (July 2018-June 2019) US$ 36.66 billion (July 2017-June 2018) Export Goods Knitwear, Woven Garments, Leather & Leather Products, Agricultural Products, Jute and Jute products (natural biodegradable fiber), Pharmaceuticals, Electrical and Electronic Goods, Ceramic Products, Bicycles, IT products, Frozen Foods (fish and seafood), Agricultural Products and Ocean-going Feeder Vessels and Ferry Boats. Main Export Partners Germany 12.9%, US 12.2%, UK 8.7%, Spain 5.3%, France 5.1%, Italy 4.1% Imports US$ 55.44 billion (July 2018- June 2019) US$ 54.46 billion (July 2017- June 2018) Import Goods Capital Machinery, Cotton, Petroleum Products, Electrical Equipment, Iron and Steel, Plastic and Rubber Products, Vehicles, Metal and Metal Products, Chemicals, Mineral Products and Edible Oils Main Import Partners China 21.9%, India 15.3%, Singapore 5.7%, Hong Kong 5.5% Remittances US$ 16.4 billion (2018-2019 FY), US$ 14.98 Billion (2017- 2018 FY) Foreign Exchange Reserve US$ 37.10 Billion (July 2020) Political events Start of Pakistan ঊনসত্তরেে গণঅভ্যুত্থান Language movement 1949 1947 1966 1952 Birth of Awami Ligue Liberation war 1970 1969 Six-point movement 1971 The election 1947-1952 • On 14 August 1947 Pakistan gained independence. India gained independence the following day. Two of the provinces of British India, Punjab and Bengal, were divided along religious lines by the Radcliffe Commission. • Lord Mountbatten is suspected to have influenced the Radcliffe Commission to draw the lines in India's favor. Punjab's mostly Muslim western part went to Pakistan and its mostly Hindu and Sikh eastern part went to India, but there were significant Muslim minorities in Punjab's eastern section and light Hindus and Sikhs minorities living in Punjab's western areas. When the Dominion of Pakistan was formed after the separation of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 when the British left, it was composed of various ethnic and linguistic groups, with the geographically non-contiguous East Bengal province having a mainly Bengali population. Cont.…… In 1948, the Government of the Dominion of Pakistan ordained Urdu as the sole national language, sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass unhappiness with the new law, the government banned public meetings and rallies. The students at the University of Dhaka and other political activists disobeyed the law and organized a protest on 21 February 1952. The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day. The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest. After years of conflict, the central government relented and granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956. Language Movement began in 1948 and reached its climax in the killing of 21st February 1952, and ended in the adoption of Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan. Language Movement The question as to what would be the state language of Pakistan was raised immediately after its creation. The central leaders and the Urduspeaking intellectuals of Pakistan declared that Urdu would be the state language of Pakistan, just as Hindi was the state language of India. The students and intellectuals of East Pakistan, however, demanded that Bangla be made one of the state languages. After a lot of controversy over the language issue, the final demand from East Pakistan was that Bangla must be the official language and the medium of instruction in East Pakistan and for the central government it would be one of the state languages along with Urdu. The first movement on this issue was mobilized by Tamaddun Majlish headed by Professor Abul Kashem (Sep 1, 1947). Gradually many other non-communal and progressive organizations joined the movement, which finally turned into a mass movement. Meanwhile, serious preparation was being taken in various forums of the central government of Pakistan under the initiative of Fazlur Rahman, the central education minister, to make Urdu the only state language of Pakistan. On receipt of this information, East Pakistani students became agitated and held a meeting on the Dhaka University campus, demanding that Bangla be made one of the state languages of Pakistan. The meeting was followed by student processions and more agitation. The first Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad (Language Action Committee) was formed with Professor Nurul Huq Bhuiyan of Tamaddun Majlish as the convenor on 1 October 1947. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was in session at Karachi-then the capital of Pakistan from 23 February 1948. It was proposed that the members would have to speak either in Urdu or in English at the Assembly. In that case, Dhirendra Nath Datta, a member from the East Pakistan Congress Party, moved an amendment motion to include Bangla as one of the languages of the Constituent Assembly. He 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. The central leaders, including Liaquat Ali khan, prime minister of Pakistan, and khwaja Nazimuddin, chief minister of East Bengal, opposed the motion. On receiving the news that the motion had been rejected, students, intellectuals and politicians of East Pakistan became agitated. Newspapers such as the Azad also criticized of the politicians who had rejected the motion. As a result, on the 26th and 29th of February, all educational institutions went on strike. A new committee to fight for Bangla as the state language was formed with Shamsul Huq as convener for the second time on 2 March 1948. On 11 March 1948 a general strike was observed in the towns of East Pakistan in protest against the omission of Bangla from the languages of the Constituent Assembly, the absence of Bangla letters in Pakistani coins and stamps, and the use of only Urdu in recruitment tests for the navy. The movement also reiterated the earlier demand that Bangla be declared one of the state languages of Pakistan and the official language of East Pakistan. Amidst processions, picketing and slogans, leaders such as Shawkat Ali, Kazi Golam Mahboob, Shamsul Huq, Oli Ahad, sheikh mujibur rahman, Abdul Wahed along with 69 others were arrested. Another Strike was observed from 12 March to 15 March for this. Student leaders, including Abdul Matin and Abdul malek ukil, also took part in the procession and picketing. Cont.. A meeting was held on the Dhaka University premises. Mohammad Toaha was severely injured while trying to snatch away a rifle from a policeman and had to be admitted to hospital. The environment went difficult to handle the situation. Under such circumstances the government had to admit defeat. Khwaja Nazimuddin signed an agreement with the student leaders. However, although he agreed to a few terms and conditions, he did not comply with their demand that Bangla be made a state language. Muhammed ali jinnah, the governor general of Pakistan, came to visit East Pakistan on 21 March 1948. He addressed two meetings in Dhaka, in both of which he ignored the popular demand for Bangla. He restated that Urdu would be the only state language of Pakistan on March 24, 1948. This declaration was instantly protested with the Language Movement spreading throughout East Pakistan. The Dhaka University Language Action Committee was formed on 11 March 1950 with Abdul Matin as its convener. By the beginning of 1952, the Language Movement took a serious turn. Both Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan were dead-Jinnah on 11 September 1948 and Liaquat Ali Khan on 16 October 1951. Khwaja Nazimuddin had succeeded Liaquat Ali Khan as prime minister of Pakistan. With the political crisis, the economic condition in East Pakistan also deteriorated. The people of East Pakistan started losing faith in the Muslim League. A new party, the Awami Muslim League-which would later become the awami league-was formed under the leadership of maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani in 1949. There was a growing sense of deprivation and exploitation in East Pakistan and a realisation that a new form of colonialism had replaced British imperialism. Under these circumstances, the Language Movement got a new momentum in 1952. Cont.… On 27 January 1952, Khwaja Nazimuddin came to Dhaka from Karachi. Addressing a meeting at Paltan Maidan, he said that the people of the province could decide what would be the provincial language, but only Urdu would be the state language of Pakistan. There was an instantaneous, negative reaction to this speech among the students who responded with the slogan, 'Rashtrabhasha Bangla Chai' (We want Bangla as the state language). A strike was observed at Dhaka University on 30 January. The representatives of various political and cultural organisations held a meeting on 31 January chaired by Moulana Bhasani. An All-Party Central Language Action Committee was formed with Kazi Golam Mahboob as its convener on 31 January . At this time the government also proposed that Bangla be written in Arabic script. This proposal was also vehemently opposed. The Language Action Committee decided to call a hartal and organize demonstrations and processions throughout East Pakistan. As preparations for demonstrations were underway, the government-imposed Section 144 in the city of Dhaka, banning all assemblies and demonstrations. A meeting of the Central Language Action Committee was held on 20 February under the chairmanship of abul hashim. Opinion was divided as to whether or not to violate Section 144. Cont.… The students were determined to violate Section 144 and held a student meeting at 11.00 am on 21 February on the Dhaka University campus, then located close to the Medical College Hospital. When the meeting started, the Vice-Chancellor, along with a few university teachers, came to the spot and requested the students not to violate the ban on assembly. However, the students, under their leaders - Abdul Matin and gaziul haque - were adamant. Thousands of students from different schools and colleges of Dhaka assembled on the university campus while armed police waited outside the gate. When the students emerged in groups, shouting slogans, the police resorted to baton charge; even the female students were not spared. The students then started throwing brickbats at the police, who retaliated with tear gas. Unable to control the agitated students, the police fired upon the crowd of students, who were proceeding towards the Assembly Hall (at present, part of Jagannath Hall, University of Dhaka). Three young men, rafiq uddin ahmed, abdul jabbar and abul barkat (an MA student of Political Science) were fatally wounded. Many injured persons were admitted to the hospital. Among them abdus salam, a peon at the Secretariat, subsequently succumbed to his wounds. A nineyear-old boy named Ohiullah was also killed. At the Legislative Assembly building, the session was about to begin. Hearing the news of the shooting, some members of the Assembly, including maulana abdur rashid tarkabagish and some opposition members, went out and joined the students. In the Assembly, nurul amin, chief minister of East Pakistan, continued to oppose the demand for Bangla. Cont.…. The next day, 22 February, was also a day of public demonstrations and police reprisals. The public performed a janaza (prayer service for the dead) and brought out a mourning procession, which was attacked by the police and the army resulting in several deaths, including that of a young man named Shafiur Rahman. Many were injured and arrested. On 23 February 1952, at the spot where students had been killed, a memorial was erected. In 1963, the temporary structure was replaced by a concrete memorial, the shaheed minar (martyrs' memorial). In 1953, February 21 was declared a martyr day. The East Bengal Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution recommending the recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan. The language movement continued until 1956. The movement achieved its goal by forcing the Pakistan Constituent Assembly in adopting both Bangla and Urdu as the state languages of Pakistan. While the Assembly was debating on the language issue, Member Adel Uddin Ahmed (1913-1981; Faridpur) made an important amendment proposal, which was adopted unanimously by the Assembly (16 February 1956). Both Bangla and Urdu were thus enacted to be the state languages of Pakistan. • Reason for the six demands: 1966 : The SixPoint Movement Year The six demands were placed because of all the discrimination the people of East Pakistan faced that time. The Pakistani ruling party at the time only thought about the creating a central government instead of managing the country properly. The have always tried exploiting East Pakistan in everyway possible. East Pakistan had the highest number of citizens, and GDP was also higher, but they have always preferred their own people before East Pakistan. They did little to nothing in this part of Pakistan and spent most of the money for their own part. Here is a chat showing that Spending on West Amount spent on West as Pakistan (in crore rupees) percentage of total % of total population Spending on East Pakistan (in crore rupees) 36.23 Amount spent on East as percentage of total 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) Cont.….. We can see that how the Pakistan government spending on us (East Pakistan) is way less than West Pakistan though we were higher in the number of citizens. So, in order for the people of East Pakistan to have a better life the six-point demands were be introduce which will allow us to manage ourselves and also properly provide a good life to the citizens of East Pakistan. Instigation of the six points movement: The six points demand was put forward by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman under the title of “Six Point Formula-Our Right to Live” when the leaders of West Pakistan called for a national conference on February 6, 1966. When this proposition was put forward it was rejected by almost every political leader of Pakistan. Even the leader of All-Pakistan Awami League of the time, Nawabzada Nasarullah Khan was against this proposition. Because of which the Awami League of West Pakistan later on separated themselves from it. They declared Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be a secessionist and destructionist for putting forward this demand. And although this movement was said to be better step towards the development of Pakistan, but the political leaders and others involved with political discussion still made it out to be something bad for the development of the country. Consequences of Rejecting the Six-point Movement After the six points movement was denied by the leaders of West Pakistan, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman tried to make it known between the citizens of East Pakistan. In order to do so he published a book with the six-points demand explained. He also went from place to place to make people more aware about the six-point demand. Though he faced many obstacles and went to jail under false allegations every time he didn’t give up and kept moving on. The Pakistani leaders of that time tried different kinds of ways to threat them. Like the time when Ayub Khan said that they will give answer with the language of weapon. And, in the end, they threatened with the ‘Agartala Conspiracy case’ in which the Awami League leaders and few other influential figure were arrest for treason against the country with India. This arrest let to months long protests which increased on June 7, 1966, where a nation-wide protest was declared. But the Pakistani government again tried to stop it by firing at protest which let to the death of eleven people, including Manu Mian, Shafique and Shamsul Haque. After which the intensity of the protest increased significantly as the citizens understood that they have to fight if they really want to live as a proper citizen of a country. The six points are noted as being: 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: Defense and Foreign Affairs, and all other residual subjects should be vested in the federating states. 3. Two separate, but freely convertible currencies for the 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. The federation would be entitled to a share in the state taxes to meet its expenditures. 5. There should be two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings; the foreign exchange requirements of the federal government should be met by the two wings equally or in a ratio to be fixed; indigenous products should move free of duty between the two wings, and the constitution should empower the units to establish trade links with foreign countries. 6. East Pakistan should have a separate military or paramilitary force, and Navy headquarters should be in East Pakistan. Reasons for not accepting The six-point demand was mainly not accepted because the Pakistani government of the time wanted a central ruling party. They didn’t want the East Pakistan to have the power to be self sufficient and for it to prosper because of their short sightedness. They created allegations against the six-point movement by saying that we were trying to betray Pakistan by siding within India. As there was actually no proper evidence on how the six-point movement was created. So, the Pakistani government believed that the six points were prepared by a group of leftist politicians of India. In 1966, the then Bhashani NAP, pro-China Communist groups and Chhatra Union (Menon Group) were the first to declare their reaction. They claimed that the six points were in fact the creation of the CIA. Its aim was to develop rapport with the USA by creating problems for Ayub Khan. Because of such allegations the six-point demand accepted by the government of West Pakistan. Importance of six points movement in our Independence The six-point movement was a turning point for us the citizens of Bangladesh. It ignited the fire in the people of East Pakistan. It showed proved to us that West Pakistan has been exploiting us physically, mentally and economically. It was also the incident that instigated the protest for freedom which in the end turned into the war of independence.
