Mass Upsurge 1971

Mass upsurge movement of 1969 and
its impact in the emergence of

Bangladesh
by,
Nazmul Alam
Department of Organization Strategy and
Leadership
Mass Upsurge movement of 1969 and its impact in the emergence of
Bangladesh:
Mass upsurge 1969 movement played a vital role in the independence of Bangladesh.
52 years ago, on 20 January1969, the murder of a student leader by the police turned a
student movement into a mass upsarge.Later, it turned into a war for independence and
gave birth a new country named Bangladesh.
The active participation of the people of the country was in this historic mass uprising
but the main driving force was the student society and the youth of the country. On this
day in 1969, the struggling student society marched in the streets ignoring the
repression of the ruling class and the evening law in order to overthrow the military rule
of Pakistan and shed fresh blood. If the student society of the country at that time had
not taken an intense and vigorous role, this mass uprising might not have taken place
and we would still be subjugated.
The 11 points of All Student Action Committee (ASAC) paved the way for a mass
uprising and then the highways began to vibrate with student processions and
sky-scraping slogans. This mass uprising took place only when the people of the
country, especially the student community, rallied for the release of Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was made the number one accused in the Agartala
conspiracy case and the students took to the streets to vigorously protest against this
fabled and fake case.Full implementation of democracy, establishment of autonomy,
good governance, elimination of existing inequalities, eradication of anti-people forces,
abolition of military and civilian bureaucracy were the main goals and objectives of the
mass uprising.
Significant aspects of the 11 point programme offered by the student community were:
1. Granting autonomy to East Bengal on the basis of 6 points,
2. Restoration of parliamentary democracy on the basis of universal suffrage
3. Providing autonomy to universities
4. Nationalization of industrial institutions including bank, insurance.
5. Freeing the farmers from extra burden of tax
6. Abolishment of repressive laws
7. Withdrawal all political and false cases including Agartala.
The importance and significance of the mass uprising of 1969 was immense. Some
fundamental changes were achieved through mass uprising. They were: 1. Conclusion
of Ayub Khan's dictatorship 2. Abstraction of Agartala case 3. Parliamentary democracy
and recognition of voting 4. Increasing status of Bangla language 5. Economic freedom
6. Development of Bengali nationalism 7. Inspiration of independence.
The historic mass revolution took place due to the long period of oppression and
dictatorship of the Pakistani rulers. It needs to be mentioned here that when 11 point
demands of the students became very consolidated. Politicians promulgated their 8
point programme as a complement to the 11 point demands of the student community.
The anti-Auyb uprising in East Pakistan began in January 1969 through a simultaneous
movement of students, politicians and common people. Section 144 was enacted in
Dhaka from January 20, 1969 and police opened fire as students marched on the
Shaheed Minar in violation of section 144 and Asad was killed. In the face of intense
agitation, Ayub Khan became terrified and announced the release of Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman on parole but Mujib abdicated it vigorously. Sergeant Zahurul Haque, one of
the accused in the Agartala conspiracy case, was killed in captivity on 15 February
1969. During this time, students of Rajshahi University came out in the streets in
violation of section 144 and started an unprecedented protest. On 18 February,
university proctor Dr. Shamsuzzoha was killed by the Pak army and the people of the
whole country were blown away and the students took on more deadly roles at this time.
At one point, Pakistan's dictator was forced to retreat and release Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.It was a kind of revolution that started by the students and spread to the
grassroots.
The mass uprising is a continuation of the language movement of 1952, the 6 point
movement of 1966, the Agartala conspiracy case of 1968 and other movements. The 6
point movement of 1966 became very exoteric and it made the dictatorial Ayub Khan
government very restive. The Ayub-Monaim clique started a deep conspiracy and
ordered nationwide mass arrests to stop the six point movement. During this time many
students were arrested and other students took to the streets chanting slogans
demanding their release. The spirit of Bengali nationalism was manifested through this
movement and its successful implementation can be seen in the mass uprising of 1969.
When Ayub Khan declared martial law in 1958, the democratic journey was severely
hampered and the aspirations of the people of East Bengal were shattered by the
poisonous touch of military-civilian bureaucracy. As a result, the outraged people and
the student society erupted in revolt against the dictatorial Ayub Khan government and
ushered in a historic mass uprising. The extreme apathy of the Pakistani ruling class
towards the socio-political and economic demands of the Bengalis of East Bengal led to
a mass uprising. From 1947 to 1969, west Pakistanis illegally interfered in the lives of
Bengalis everywhere and the ultimate consequence of this misrule and exploitation was
this mass uprising. Military despotism, economic disparity, misuse of power,
bureaucratic intervention, extreme negligence, political repression, and corruption
accelerated the mass uprising.
Maulana Hamid Khan Bhasani was the pioneer leader of the mass uprising of 1969 and
student society was the main force of this movement.. The 6 points of 1966, known as
the charter of liberation of Bengalis and the 11 points of All Student Action Committee
simultaneously caused the mass uprising. Even school students and workers
spontaneously joined the movement. The student movement then went out of the
control of the state. However, in the face of intense student movement, Ayub khan was
forced to announce that he would no longer run for president. Had it not been for this
intense movement by the student community, there would not have been a mass
uprising and in the end Sheikh Mujibur could not have been released and gaining
freedom would have been impossible then. So, in a word, the mass uprising was a
bridge of Independence.
The mass upsurge of 1969 played a vital role in preparing the nation for the Liberation
War in 1971. The sixties were a golden decade of the country when nationalism grew up
among the people. The decade was a turning point in our history.

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Mass upsurge movement of 1969 and

its impact in the emergence of

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