Reflections on the Significance of the Historic Six-Point Movement and its Imapct on Bangladesh’s Struggle for Freedom and Independence

Abstract

The historic Six-Point Demand or the Six-Point Formula has been widely credited as the
„charter of freedom‟ in the history of Bangladesh‟s struggle for self-determination from
Pakistan‟s shameful colonial domination. Despite the fact that neither the separation of East
Pakistan nor the independence of the eastern province of Pakistan was one of the professed
objectives of the six-point freedom charter, the historic six-point movement in 1966 was the
turning point in Bangladesh‟s quest for independence. The six-point plan had envisaged a
full-blown and creative federal form of Government based on the 1940 Lahore Resolution, a
parliamentary system of government to be directly elected by the people on the basis of adult
franchise, two separate currencies or two reserve banks for the two wings of Pakistan, and a
para-military force for East Pakistan. The spectacular success of the six-point movement in
1966 under the dynamic leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had prompted the ruling
coterie of Pakistan to discredit the exponents and organizers of this movement. Although the
self-declared diabolical military regime of Ayub Khan had used brutal and punitive
measures against the proponents, organizers and supporters of the six-point formula, the sixpoint
anchored mass upsurge in 1966 had seriously impacted and conditioned the
subsequent political development in Pakistan. Doubtless, the six-point political movement
had effectively transformed the cherished dream of greater autonomy into a sustainable
freedom struggle for independent and sovereign Bangladesh. The main purpose of this paper
is to assess the significance and relevance of the historic six-point movement and its impact
on Bangladesh‟s struggle for freedom and independence. Once the main contents of sixpoint
formula are summarized, the nature, magnitude, and impact of the six-point movement
will be appraised.