Eleven Points Programme

Eleven Points Programme a charter of demand framed as a remedy to acute economic disparity between East and West Pakistan and as a programme for putting an end to the despotic Ayub regime. The Six-points Movement of Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman initiated in 1966, sustained a temporary pause consequent upon the en-masse arrest of the Awami League leaders including Bangabandhu, institution of agartala conspiracy case in 1968 and repression on the Awami League activists. The situation led to the formation of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Democratic Action Committee (DAC). But when PDM and DAC ultimately failed to intensify the movement against the autocratic Ayub government, the students of Dhaka University organised a united movement in 1968 which soon turned into a mass movement. In October 1968, the East Pakistan Students League and the Menon and Matia group of East Pakistan Students Union formed a political alliance. These two student organisations jointly formed the 'Chhatra Sangram Parishad' in January 1968 and declared an eleven points charter of demand.

1	(a)	To abandon the policy of provincialisation of the financially solvent colleges and to deprovincialise the colleges hitherto provincialised including the Jagannath College.
	(b)	To establish schools and colleges throughout the province especially in rural areas for ensuring wider scope for spread of education and to give early approval to the schools and colleges established by private initiative. To establish adequate number of engineering colleges, polytechnic, technical and commercial institutes for providing wider scope for technical education.
	(c)	To open IA, ISc, ICom and BA, BSc, BCom night classes in second shift in colleges of the province and to open MA and MCom classes in night shift in the established colleges.
	(d)	To reduce 50% of the tuition fee and to increase the number of scholarship and stipend. Award of scholarship and stipend to any student shall not be seized for his participation in student movement.
	(e)	To pay 50% of the charges of hall, dining hall and canteen of hostels by the government as ‘subsidy’.
	(f)	To solve accommodation problem in halls and hostels.
	(g)	To arrange for teaching at all levels of education through the medium of mother tongue. To introduce Bangla as the medium of exchange in offices and courts. To arrange for sufficient number of experienced teachers in all the educational institutions. To enhance the salary of the teachers, and to ensure right of expression of their free opinion.
	(h)	To provide for tuition-fees free and compulsory education upto class viii. To expand the scope for female education.
	(i)	To establish medical university, and to fulfill the demands of the medical students, such as abolition of automation system, closing of system of admission by nomination, annulment of Medical Council Ordinance, elevation of dental college to full-fledged college, etc. To fulfill all the demands of the nurse-students.
	(j)	To abolish automation system in engineering education, annulment of 10% and 75% rule, proper arrangement of central library, and to fulfill all demands of the engineering students including demand for introduction of class gradation in final year.
	(k)	To give facilities of ‘condensed course’ to the polytechnic students and to issue diploma only on the basis of semester examinations having the Board final examination system withdrawn.
	(l)	To fulfill immediately all the demands of the students of Textile, Ceramic, Leather technology and Art College. To fulfill ten points demand of the IER, and to fulfill all the demands of the social welfare students, MBA students and of law students. To bifurcate the Commerce Department as separate ‘faculty’ in all the universities including the Dhaka University.
	(m)	To fulfill the legitimate demands of the students of agricultural schools and colleges, and to fulfill all the demands of the agricultural students including the demand for condensed course of agricultural diploma students.
	(n)	To arrange for tickets at 50% concession to the students travelling on train, steamer and launch on display of their identity card. Concession is to be made admissible in monthly tickets also. As in West Pakistan, the students should be allowed to travel any where within the town at 10 paisa fare. Concession in fare at the rate of 50% should be allowed in bus journey in remote areas. Adequate number of buses should be arranged for the school and college going female students. The students attending as spectators at any sports and cultural functions arranged by the government or any semi-government concerns, should be entitled to 50% concession in tickets.
	(o)	To arrange for surety of job.
	(p)	To annul the defamed university ordinances and to ensure full autonomy to the educational institutions including the universities.
	(q)	To reject the National Education Commission Report and the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report, representing an authentic document of astringent education policy of the ruling class, and to introduce people-oriented and scientific education system for the greater interest of the student community and the people.
2.		To establish parliamentary democracy through direct election on adult franchise. To promote liberty of speech, personal liberty and liberty of press. To withdraw prohibitive order imposed upon the Ittefaq.
3.		To give full autonomy to East Pakistan on the basis of fulfillment of the following demands:
	(a)	The constitutional structure of the country shall be a federation of states and the power of the legislature shall be supreme.
	(b)	The jurisdiction of the federal government shall be limited to defence, foreign policy and currency, and the power of the federating states shall be supreme in all matters.
	(c)	Common currency shall be in circulation in two wings of the country having the system under the jurisdiction of the centre. But there should be specific provision in the Constitution so that the currency of East Pakistan cannot be laundered to West Pakistan. Under this system there shall be a federal reserve bank in Pakistan. There will be two separate reserve banks in two wings, and separate economy for East Pakistan shall have to be introduced.
	(d)	The fixation of all kinds of taxes, land revenue and duties, and the collection of such taxes shall be vested with the regional government. The Federal government shall have no power to fix and impose any tax. A fixed portion of the revenue collected by the regional government shall immediately be deposited to the federal fund. Mandatory rules on the reserve banks to that end shall be incorporated in the Constitution.
	(e)	Each of the federating states shall maintain separate accounts of external trade, and the remittance earned through external trade will lie with the federating states. The federating states shall provide for the necessary foreign currency to the federal government equally or as prescribed in the specific Article of the Constitution. The inter states import and export of inland commodities shall be free of custom duties. Provision shall have to be made in the Constitution guaranting the exclusive right of the federating states in executing trade agreements with the foreign states, establishing trade mission abroad, and in conducting import and export trade.
	(f)	To provide East Pakistan with an authority of forming a militia or para-military Raksi Bahini. To establish ordnance factory and the naval headquarters in East Pakistan.
4.		To constitute sub-federation by giving autonomy to all the provinces including Beluchistan, North-West Frontier Province and Sind of West Pakistan.
5.		To nationalize bank, insurance, jute trade and large-scale industries.
6.		To reduce the rate of land revenue and taxes imposed upon the peasants, and to exempt arrear land tax and outstanding debt. To annul the certificate system and to stop the repression of the tahsildars. To fix the minimum price of jute at taka 40 per maund and to ensure legitimate price of sugar-cane.
7.		To pay legitimate wage and bonus to the labourers and to arrange for their education, housing, medical treatment etc. To withdraw all black-laws detrimental to the interest of the labourers, and to ensure their right to strike and right to trade union activities.
8.		To take steps towards flood control measures in East Pakistan, and to ensure overall utilization of water resources.
9.		To withdraw Emergency Act, Safety Act and other repressive Acts.
10.		To annul SEATO, CENTO agreements, Pak-American Military Pact and to ensure non-aligned independent and neutral foreign policy.
11.		To release immediately all the students, labourers, peasants, political activists and leaders, detained in different jails of the country, to repeal warrant and hulia, and to withdraw all the cases instituted on political grounds including the Agartala Conspiracy Case.

The Six Points demand of Awami League had its wide reflection on the Eleven Points demand of the Chhatra Sangram Parishad. The demands relating to the interest of the Bangali middle class peasants and workers were also included in the Eleven Points demand. Consequently, the Eleven Points movement addressed wide public support in East Pakistan, and the leadership of the anti-Ayub movement virtually came within the grip of the student leaders. The student movement was initiated in October 1968, reached its climax in January 1969, and by mid January culminated into a mass movement. The Eleven Points movement of the students had direct contribution towards preparing the background of the War of Liberation. [Muazzam Hussain Khan]

See also mass upsurge, 1969.