SAT DESK : The historic Six-point Day, marking the demand for autonomy for the then East Pakistan, is being observed today virtually across the country amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
On June 7 in 1966, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had launched a massive movement against the misrule of the Pakistanis on the basis of the 6-point demand.
Eleven people, including Manu Mian, Shafique and Shamsul Haque, were gunned down by the police and paramilitary EPR on that day in Dhaka and Narayanganj during a hartal called for the release of Bangabandhu and other leaders detained over launching the six-point movement against the then barbaric ruling clique.
Bangabandhu had launched his historic six-point political and economic programme in Lahore on February 5 in 1966, aiming at attaining greater autonomy for the East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, in the backdrop of exploitation and discrimination by the then Pakistani rulers.
The six-point demands were: creating provision in the constitution for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense based on the Lahore resolution; the federal government will deal with only two subjects: defence and foreign affairs; introduction of two separate, but freely convertible currencies for East and West Pakistan; vesting the power of taxation and revenue collection with the federating units; maintaining two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings; and creation of a separate militia or paramilitary force for East Pakistan. BSS
