The Six point movement was a significant political campaign in East Pakistan, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, advocating for greater autonomy for the region. Initiated in 1966, the movement aimed to address the six demands proposed by a coalition of Bengali nationalist political parties to end the perceived exploitation by West Pakistani rulers. This movement is regarded as a crucial milestone on the path to Bangladesh's independence.

Background

Opposition leaders in East Pakistan called for a national conference on 6 February 1966, to assess the trend of post-Tashkent politics. On 4 February, Rahman, along with some members of the Awami League, arrived in Lahore to attend the conference. The next day on 5 February, he presented the six points to the subject committee and urged its inclusion in the agenda for the following day's conference. The proposal was rejected, and Rahman was labelled as a separatist. Consequently, on 6 February, Rahman boycotted the conference. On 21 February, the six points proposal was presented at a meeting of the Awami League's working committee and was accepted unanimously. The six points were proposed to grant greater autonomy to East Pakistan. Following the partition of India, the new state of Pakistan was established. The inhabitants of East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) constituted the majority of Pakistan's population, and exports from East Pakistan, such as jute, accounted for a significant portion of Pakistan's export income. However, East Pakistanis felt they did not receive a proportional share of political power and economic benefits within Pakistan. A statistical overview of economic discrimination is below: East Pakistan was facing a critical situation due to continuous regional discrimination over the years. As a result, economists, intellectuals, and politicians in East Pakistan began to question this discrimination, leading to the historic six-point movement.

Draft of six-points

Rehman Sobhan, Nurul Islam, Khairul Kabir, Anisur Rahman, Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury, and Khan Sarwar Murshid, and other prominent intellectuals drafted the six-point demand.

The six points

The six points are noted as follows:

Reception

The proposal was rejected by politicians from West Pakistan and non Awami League politicians from East Pakistan. It was also rejected by Nawabzada Nasarullah Khan, the president of the All Pakistan Awami League. The National Awami Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Nizam-e-Islam also opposed the proposal. Despite this opposition, the movement garnered support from the majority of the population of East Pakistan.