ছয় দফা না হলে বাংলাদেশ স্বাধীন হতো না

On 7 June 1966 the Awami League called a general strike in the then East Pakistan in support of the historic 6 Point programme for regional autonomy. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had announced the points in February of the same year. Bangabandhu was arrested on 8 May 1966 and other eaders and activists were arrested between May and 7 June. This day as a milestone on the road to Bangladesh's independence in late 1971, the nation has since been observing 7 June as the historic Six-Points Day. The 6 Points have been acknowledged as the "Charter of Freedom" for Bengalis and the movement in June 1966 for their implementation was a turning point in struggle for freedom from Pakistani colonial rule.

The Gen Ayub Khan government projected Sheikh Mujib as a separatist and brought the Agartala conspiracy case against him and 34 others in June 1968. The case led to widespread agitation in East Pakistan, culminating in a mass upsurge in early 1969. Under public pressure, the government was forced to release Sheikh Mujib unconditionally on February 22, 1969 and withdraw the law suits.

The 6 Points:
1. The constitution shall provide for a federation of Pakistan in its true sense 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 shall deal with only two subjects: Defence and Foreign Affairs, and all other residuary subjects shall be vested in the federating states.

3. Two separate, but freely convertible currencies for 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 reserve bank should be established, and a separate fiscal and monetary policy be adopted for East Pakistan.

4. The power of taxation and revenue collection shall be vested in the federating units and the federal centre will have no such power on the issue. The federation will be entitled to a share in 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 shall be met by the two wings equally or in a ratio to be fixed; indigenous products shall move free of duty between the two wings, and the constitution shall empower the units to establish trade links with foreign countries.

6. East Pakistan shall have a separate militia or paramilitary force.