Presentation on:

Historical Background of Bangladesh

SUBMITTED TO:

Md. Fouad Hossain Sarker

Assistant Professor
Department of Natural Sciences
Daffodil International University
 SUBMITTED BY:

Sabicun Nahar
ID:141-15-3112
Md. Tanvir Ahamed
ID:141-15-3213
Md. Sakib Khan
ID:141-15-3114
Kanije Fatama
ID:141-15-3415
Nasir uddin
ID:141-15-3250
 1. The Language Movement

The Language Movement is

a unique event in the
history of the political
Movement of Bangladesh.
Bengali was the mother
tongue of about 56 percent of
the people of Pakistan. On the other hand, Urdu was
the mother tongue of only 6 percent people of the
whole of Pakistan. Although 56 percent of the people of
Pakistan were Bengalis, the West Pakistani didnt want
Bengali to become the state language. On the other
hand, Bengalis wanted to make their language the
state language along with Urdu and had no objections
against that language (Rahman 2012. P. 198).
The question of Bengali as a state language came
up immediately after the creation of Pakistan. On 6
and 7 September 1947 the youth workers of East
Pakistan held a Conference in Dhaka which was
presided over by Tasadduk Hossain. This
Conference, for the first time took a resolution
demanding Bengali as the language of the offices
and the courts and also as the medium of
instruction in East Pakistan.
 Various Phases of Language Movement
On 15 September 1947 the Tamuddun Majlis
published the first booklet on the Language
Movement entitled 'Pakistaner Rastrabhasha Bangla
Na Urdu'. Professor Abul Kashem, Dr. Qazi Motahar
Hossain and Abul Mansur Ahmed were the authors of this
booklet.

I. First Stage of the Language Movement:

In October 1947, Tamuddun Majlis formed a

Rastrabhasha Sangram Parishad to give the Language
Movement an organisational structure. Nurul Huq
Bhuyan was appointed convener of this Sangram
Parishad. At this time several discussion meetings were
held on behalf of the Tamaddun Majlis to explain the
rationale of Bengali as a state language.

In December 1947 an Educational Conference was

held in Karachi sponsored by the Government of
Pakistan. In this Conference the decision was taken to
make Urdu the state language of Pakistan. On 6
December, to protest against this decision, the students
held a meeting at the Dhaka University campus under the
president ship of Professor Abul Kashem.
 I. First Stage of the Language
Movement:
In January 1948 the
'Rastrabhasha Sangram
Parishad' was reconstituted
with a view to making
Bengali a state language. The
Sangram Parishad raised the
following demands regarding
the question of language:
1. Bengali shall be the
medium of instruction and
the language of the
offices and law Courts of
East Bengal (East
Pakistan);
2. There will be two state
languages of Pakistan
Bengali and Urdu.
II. Second stage of the Language Movement:
In February 1948 when the first Constituent
Assembly of Pakistan started to record its proceedings
in Urdu side by side with English, Dhirendra Nath
Dutta of Comilla, a member of the Constituent
Assembly from East Bengal, protested against it and
demanded that Bengali be accorded official recognition
as one of the languages of the Constituent Assembly.
As a mark of protest, a strike was observed on 26
February in Dhaka.
II. Second stage of the Language
Movement:
On 2 March 1948 the various organizations of East
Bengal held a meeting at the Fazlul Huq Hall of Dhaka
University to realize the demand for the state lan
guage. The meeting chaired by Kamruddin Ahmad
resolved to form an All-Party Rashtrabhasha Sangram
Parishad. The Samgram Parishad called a general strike
on 11 March 1948 to resist the conspiracy of the
Government in the language issue.

On that day, many students were injured and many

leaders including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Shamsul
Huq and Oli Ahad were arrested. It was decided that
11 March would be declared Bengali Language
Demand Day. We also decided to spring into action in all
the districts on that day (Rahman 2012. P. 92).

In protest against this incident and to make Bengali a

state language, another strike was observed at Dhaka
University and other educational institutions on 13
March. This strike was extended up to 15 March. A
general strike was also observed in all the districts of the
province.
II. Second stage of the Language
Movement:
In such a situation, the Chief Minister Khwaja
Nazimuddin met the Sangram Parishad on 15 March and
signed an agreement with them. By this agreement, he
agreed to release the arrested students, to investigate
police excesses, to move a Bill in the Assembly for
making Bengali a state language and to lift section
144 and the restrictions imposed on the news papers.

In March 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah visited Dhaka

and on 21 March, addressed a public meeting at the then
Race Course Maidan. In that meeting he declared, "Urdu
and only Urdu shall be the state language of
Pakistan". When he repeated these words at the Dhaka
University Convocation Ceremony held on 24 March at the
Curzon Hall, the students present protested vehemently by
shouting 'No, No'. On that very day, Rastrabhasha Parishad
submitted a memorandum to Muhammad Ali Jinnah
demanding for Bengali the status of a state language of
Pakistan. From this time (March1948) on till he died
Jinnah never again said that he wanted Urdu as the
only state language of Pakistan (Rahman 2012. P. 99).
Those who wanted Urdo as the only state language had just
one argument to back them: it was, they said, an Islamic
language. But we could not figure out how Urdu had ended
up becoming as Islamic language (Rahman 2012. P. 98).
II. Second stage of the Language Movement:
In 1948, the All Pakistan Education
Conference held in Karachi,
proposed the introduction
of Arabic script,
or in other words, Urdu letters for
writing Bengali in the name of
honoring the Islamic ideal.
Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah
was proposed to be appointed
for the purpose of introducing
Arabic script for writing Bengali.
But he rejected the proposal .

In April 1949 the students of the Bengali

Department of the University of Dhaka submitted a
memorandum to the Pakistan Education Advisory
Board and the Alphabet Expert Committee
strongly protesting against this objectionable move to
introduce Arabic script to write Bengali. In the
memorandum the demand was also made not to
change the Bengali alphabets.
III. Last Stage of the Language
Movement:
On 9 March 1949 the Government of East Bengal
formed the Purbo Bangla Bhasha Committee for
reforming Bengali language. Maulana Akram Khan
was the President of this Committee.
III. Last Stage of the Language Movement:
The Prime Minister of
Pakiatan Liaquat Ali Khan
visited Dhaka towards the end
of 1949. In a memorandum .
submitted to him, the students
of Dhaka University reiterated
the demand for Bengali
language. But Liaquat Ali Khan
did not make any comment on
this subject. In 1949, at the
Purbo Pakistan Shahitya Sammelan, Dr.
Muhammad Shahidullah also raised the
question of language
In September 1950 The Prime Minister
Liaquat Ali Khan declared in the Constituent
Assembly that only Urdu would be the state
language of Pakistan. But in the face of
strong protest from the people of East Bengal,
the Constituent Assembly postponed the
 III. Last Stage of the Language
In 1951, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated and Khwaja
Movement:
Nazimuddin' succeeded him as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
When Jinnah was the Governor General he made very good use
of power vested in him. But Khawaja Saheb was too
amiable and weak to be effective. He didnt have much of
a personality (Rahman 2012. P. 119).

On 26 January 1952 at a public meeting in Dhaka he

declared that Urdu would be the only state language of
Pakistan. This declaration of Khwaja Nazimuddin created a
strong resentment among the people of East Bengal and as a
mark of protest a call for hartal throughout the province was
given.

All Party Rashtrabhasha Sangram Committee decided to

call a student's strike on 4 February and observe 21
February as the State Language Day and to observe
hartal throughout the country. February 21 had already
been chosen as the State Language Day since the East
Pakistan Provincial assembly was scheduled to sit in
session on that day(Rahman 2012. P. 197).
 III. Last Stage of the Language
Movement:

On 16 February 1952
Sheikh Mujib and student leader
Mohiuddin Ahmed, while detained
in the Dhaka Central Jail as
political prisoners, started
the fast upto death Movement on
the question of
'Bengali as a state
language and the release of the political prisoners'.
On 20 February the Government of Nurul Amin, being scared of
the student Movement imposed section 144 at 3 p.m., and
banned
the processions and the meetings. On 21 February, the
students
of Dhaka University in an organised way defied section 144 and
leading
a procession from the Dhaka University campus proceeded towards
the Provincial Assembly which was in session, chanting the
slogan "Rashtrabhasha.Bangla Chai".
III. Last Stage of the Language
Movement:
In a very tense situation
the students assembled in
the campus of the present
day Dhaka Medical College.
When the police used tear
gas to disperse the students
and the people that had
assembled there, clashes
occurred between the police and the students and the people.
At onestage, the police opened fire. A number of people
and students including Jabbar, Rafiq, Barkat and Salam
were martyred and many students and people were injured by
this police firing.
 III. Last Stage of the Language
Movement:
On 22 February, a big rally,

came out on the streets as

a mark of protest. Police
opened fire on this rally too.
As a result, Safiur Rahman
was killed.On the same day,
in a meeting of the
students held at the Dhaka Medical College
hostel, it was decided to build a Shaheed
Minar to preserve the memory of the martyrs.
Accordingly, the Students erected a 12-feet
high Shaheed Minar in front of Dhaka
Medical College.
III. Last Stage of the Language
Movement:

On 23 February, the father of Shaheed Safiur

Rahman formally inaugurated the Shaheed Minar.
But in the evening of 24 February, police
demolished this Shaheed Minar. In memory of that,
another Shaheed Minar was built later on the same
site and that is the present Central Shaheed Minar.
 Bangla as State Language:
At last, the Government of Nurul
Amin adopted a resolution in the
Provincial Assembly to the effect
that a proposal would be raised
at the Constituent Assembly
containing the demand to accord
Bengali the status of one of the
state language of Pakistan. In the
face of continuous student's
and people's Movements the
Pakistan Government was
compelled to give Bengali the
status of one of the state languages.
Finally, Bengali was given the status of one of the state
languages in the Constitution of Pakistan of 1956.
Achievements of Language
Movement:
The Language Movement of 1952 was the first organized expression of the
consciousness of the exploited and deprived masses of Bangladesh. This
consciousness born out of the Language Movement inspired all the subsequent
Movements and helped achieving the political, the cultural and the economic
freedom leading to independence.
Landslide victory in the provincial election in 1954 (out of 309 seats of the
East Bengal Legislative Assembly the United Front got 236, the Muslim
League 9)
Reorganization of the Bangla Language (1956)
Reflection in educational conference (1962)
Six-points (1966)
Mass-uprising (1969)
Landslide victory in the general election (1970) and
Great victory in 1971
Observed 21st February as an International Mother Language day
Observed 2008 as Year of Language by UN
International Status of Bangla Language (Sierra Leone)
2. Discrimination against
Bangladesh
Introduction:
Form the very beginning, Pakistan had been following a
policy of partition against East Bengal. Political, military,
administrative and economic discrimination had been
increasing gradually. Bengalis were beginning to perceive that
they were being discriminated against in business,
government service and all spheres of trade and commerce.
Because Karachi was the capital of Pakistan, Bengalis were
being deprived of all sorts of advantages (Rahman 2012. P.
198). As a result, a wide gap was in the relation between East
and West Pakistan. Meanwhile, a group of West Pakistani
leaders who saw themselves as representing the country at
the centre and some senior bureaucrats were conniving to
snatch away the resources of East Bengal and transfer
them to other wing of the country. They seemed to
have convinced themselves that East Pakistan would
not stay with them for long. Therefore, they were trying to
build up their part as fast as they could! On the other hand,
the foreign exchange earned from East Pakistans
economy was now being used to build factories and
industries in West Pakistan (Rahman 2012. P.240 &
241).
 , food scarcity was recorded in many places. In
particular, people of Faridpur, Comilla and Dhaka districts
were facing a calamity due to acute shortage of food grain.
On that time, government introduced the Cordon
System. This meant that there was to be no movement of
food from one district to another (Rahman 2012. P.
103).
This time another arbitrary measure was imposed,
making everyone suffer as in a plague. The government
opened what it called the Jinnah fund. The government
let it be known that everyone should contribute to it
according to his or her capacity. In the name of Jinnah
Fund, some overzealous government officials tried to
forces others to donate money to make government happy.
Those who had guns would have to pay an additional
amount. Businessmen of course would have to pay much
more. those who failed to pay would be punished.
Everywhere people were coerced. Local watchmen were
employed for this purpose. They seized cows, cooking
utensils, indeed anything of any value. It all amounted to a
reign of terror (Rahman 2012. P. 273).
I. Socio-Cultural Disparity

Bengali was the mother tongue of about 54 percent

of the people of Pakistan. On the other hand, Urdu was
the mother tongue of only 6 percent people of the
whole of Pakistan (Census-1951). Thus Bengali, in spite
of being the language of the majority of the people of
Pakistan, was ignored by the Pakistani ruling clique as a
state language which was a substantial discrimination
against the people of East Pakistan. On the other hand,
East Pakistan also deprived from getting reasonable
facilities in various social sectors.
SL. No Areas West Pakistan East Pakistan

1 Total Population 5.50 Crore 7.50 Crore

2 Number of Doctor 12,400 7,600

3 Rural Health Complex 325 88

4 Urban Social Development 81 52

Centre

[Source: M.A. Rahim et. al., Bangladesher Itihas, P. 480]

II. Political Disparity
East Bengal became subjected to political discrimination
immediately after the birth of the state of Pakistan. Both of
the two important posts of Pakistan were occupied by West
Pakistan. From 1947 to 1958, among all the presidents of
Pakistan, one was from East Pakistan who spoke in Urdu and
among four Governors within 1955; one was from East
Pakistan who spoke in Urdu. Moreover, attempts were made
to keep politically inactive all the popular leaders of this
region including East Bengal's popular leader Abul Kashem
Fazlul Huq. In reality, East Pakistan was politically neglected
by Pakistan from the very beginning. For example, United
Front got 236 seats out of 309 in the provincial election in
1954 but this government could not continue more then two
years.

SL. No Head of the State Regime

1 M.A. Jinnah 1947-48

2 K. Nazimuddin 1948-51

3 M.G. Muhammad 1951-55

4 Iskander Mirza 1955-56

II. Political Disparity

During the regime of Mr. Liaquat Ali & Mr. Nurul Amin, the kind of
torture and harassment of political prisoners that was going on had no
precedence in any civilized country at any stage of history. Political
prisoners appealed time and again for their rights and privileges people in
their position enjoyed in British period. Unfortunately, their petitions were
ignored (Rahman 2012. P. 172).
In the general elections held on 7 December 1970, the Awami League
acquired an absolute majority. The Awami League secured 167 seats out
of 169 National Assembly seats in East Pakistan and won 288 out
of 300 seats in the Provincial Assembly. But Awami League did not form
the government. In protest against these discriminatory policies of West
Pakistan, the people of East Pakistan raised the demands for their rights of
self-determination and autonomy. At this, the West Pakistani ruling clique
forgot the principles of democracy and perused a policy of suppressing the
just demands of the people of East Pakistan. They did not even hesitate to
term Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and other patriotic leaders of this region as
traitors.
III. Employment/Military Disparity

While the security of East Pakistan was uncertain, the

province was also subjected to serious discrimination in
military matters. The headquarters of the three Defense
Services were established in West Pakistan. Ordinance
Factories were also established in West Pakistan. No
Bengali could be found in the high posts in the Defense
Services as those posts were monopolized by the West
Pakistanis.

SL. No Areas West Pakistan East Pakistan

1 Central Civil Jobs 84% 16%

2 Foreign Jobs 85% 15%

3 Army 95% 5%

4 Navy (Technical) 81% 19%

5 Navy (Non-Technical) 91% 9%

6 Air Force (Pilot) 91% 9%

[Source: M.A. Rahim et. al., Bangladesher Itihas, P. 479]

III. Employment/Military Disparity
In the army, 95 percent posts were held by the West Pakistanis and
East Pakistan had a share of only 5 percent. There was
discrimination in other branches as well. Highest expenditure in
Pakistan was in the Defense Sector. Initially, the allocation in this
sector was 25 percent; subsequently it was raised to 60 percent.
East Pakistan never enjoyed any such benefit from it. Militarily, East
Pakistan was much neglected and remained unprotected. During the
Indo-Pak War of 1965 everyone clearly realized this truth.

In administrative arena, within 1966, 77% 1st class jobs

belonged to the west Pakistani whereas only 23% filled up by the
East Pakistani, On the other hand, 74% for 2nd Class, 73% for 3rd
Class and 70% for 4th Class jobs went to west Pakistan while
remaining were for East Pakistan.
IV. Economic/ Financial Disparity
During the Pakistani rule, East Pakistan was subjected to
severe economic disparity. As a result, East Pakistan
could never be self- sufficient economically. The
provincial government did not have any control over its
currency and economy. As everything was controlled by
the Centre, all the income of East Pakistan flew away to
West Pakistan. Head offices of the State Bank and other
banks, insurance companies, trading concerns and
foreign missions were established in West Pakistan. This
facilitated the unabated transfer of money to West
Pakistan. Resource allocation necessary for this region
was at the mercy of West Pakistan. On the other hand,
there could not be any capital formation in East Pakistan
asNo
SL. surplus earnings were kept
Areas inPakistan
West West Pakistan.
East Pakistan
1 Foreign Currency for 80% 20%
Development
2 Foreign Aid without USA 96% 04%
3 USA Aid 56% 34%
4 Pakistan Industrial 53% 42%
Corporation
5 House Building 88% 12%
6 Industrial Bank 76% 24%

[Source: M.A. Rahim et. al., Bangladesher Itihas, P. 480]

IV. Economic/ Financial Disparity

About two thirds of the foreign exchange of Pakistan 30

was earned by selling the jute of East Pakistan. But

the jute farmers could never get the fair price for their
products. On various pretexts the foreign exchange
was also spent in West Pakistan. Most of the foreign
loans and economic assistance were spent for the
Development of West Pakistan, Even in industry, East
Pakistan was backward. The small number of
industrial units, including the jute mills located in East
Pakistan, was mostly owned by the West Pakistani
capitalists. In the field of textile industry also, East
Pakistan was dependent on West Pakistan.
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