Why was the Awami League not allowed to form government in 1971?

[gromell]

Those were indeed privilege since NWFPian (W Pakistani) Ayub built them.

how many universities were built in West Pakistan by that period?!:S well most foreign currency was generated by the people in the East and building fewer universities there than in the West was a PRIVILEGE?! I am sorry but are you talking sane? What are you going to say next?! Like West Pakistanis were more intellectually fit for higher education than Bengalis?! oh man!

 

[BanglaBhoot]

how many universities were built in West Pakistan by that period?!:S well most foreign currency was generated by the people in the East and building fewer universities there than in the West was a PRIVILEGE?! I am sorry but are you talking sane? What are you going to say next?! Like West Pakistanis were more intellectually fit for higher education than Bengalis?! oh man!

Could not the same argument be applied to the upper caste Hindus who tried to prevent Dhaka University being established because they thought the Muslim Bengalis did not need education since they spent more time in the fields? If it was not for the British the Bengali Muslims would have remained backward compared to the Bengali Hindus. This did not stop the Hindus from preventing all types of social progress in East Bengal and this resulted in the partition of 1947.

 

[TopCat]

Now you are talking baloney because you are not rite frame of your mind. If Bangla language is so significant to religious affair than how do you explain the usage of Urdu and Farsi in Madrasah and higher Islamic education in Bangladesh til now.

Well those thing came from Dewbond as a tradition as those madrasa culture started developing by the patronization of Mogul. BD already took some intiative to reform Madrasa education and it will continue to do so and the Urdu/Farsi will be phased out eventually.
There were no Urdu/Farsi in other part of the Islamic world. How do they practice Islam? You learn religion in your own language thats the best.
I really dont want to bug about Urdu with you, as you came from Urdu background so you like that, and I came from Bengali background, so do I like Bengali. Thats how it is...

you and Awami league proudly express love for bangla languge and bengali culture. You patronize it by refused to say "Allahhu Akbar" or "Bangladesh zindabad" because you may hurt your fellow Hindu brothers. you are here so proudly expressing your love for Bangla language and I would have respect you if you are to follow it with genuine believe. Your beloved party name "Awami league". "Awami" comes from the word "Awam" which is Urdu and "league" is either English, Latin or may even Arabic. So where is the love for Bangla, iajdani??? Try to implement your believe by action rather than talk that make no sense.

I am not an AL. But as you started, AL was a party from Pakistan which were meant for whole Pakistan, so the Awami name was a good thinking. Its no big deal. Bengali did take a whole lot of word from all other languages (sanskrit, arbi, farsi, hindi, even thai and burmese).
Regarding Allahu Akbar, yes I do pronounce that but like to keep that low as I dont want anybody to get annoyed by that, the way I get annoyed when somebody says loud "Hare Krishna" in front of me....

 

[rubyjackass]

LInguists are clear that HIndi is in fact a dialect of Urdu, as Hindi literature is very recent, while Urdu has been established since the times of the late Mughals.

WOw!! this is new stuff for me.

It was a 'muslim' language, in teh sense that it was the language created from a fusion of muslim influence upon local grammar, and was adopted by muslim rulers and aristocracy, poets and Scholars of religion and jurisprudence.

Almost all Islamic scholarship in India had been in either FArsi, and later Urdu. This fact cannot be denied. And the influence of Urdu on the Bengali language of Bangladesh is undeniable, and only someone of a prejudiced bent would seek to avoid this truth.

I agree on this part. Urdu came out to be the language of Islam.
But it is mostly because Quran was only in Urdu and not translated into other languages and endorsed by the leaders. If a Telugu Quran were approved by religious leaders in Hyderabad, I think people there would have used Telugu for religious duties. May be one of the reasons was to keep the Muslim brotherhood together, since any new additions to Muslim population would be conversions, make the converts speak Urdu if they want to follow Islam. This must be the philosophy they adopted.

Also here again I think the sanctity lay in the script than spoken language. The script made people feel closer to Islam or the place that had roots of Islam.

I can't say anything about Bengali.

 

[rubyjackass]

Could not the same argument be applied to the upper caste Hindus who tried to prevent Dhaka University being established because they thought the Muslim Bengalis did not need education since they spent more time in the fields? If it was not for the British the Bengali Muslims would have remained backward compared to the Bengali Hindus. This did not stop the Hindus from preventing all types of social progress in East Bengal and this resulted in the partition of 1947.

Cool down Munshi jii!!
From what I read, these people are not against partition. Their thrust is only on formation of Bangladesh. So you are against formation of Bangladesh??!! I ask because you are comparing both situations.

 

[TopCat]

Could not the same argument be applied to the upper caste Hindus who tried to prevent Dhaka University being established because they thought the Muslim Bengalis did not need education since they spent more time in the fields? If it was not for the British the Bengali Muslims would have remained backward compared to the Bengali Hindus. This did not stop the Hindus from preventing all types of social progress in East Bengal and this resulted in the partition of 1947.

You are right. We got rid of India to have our own stuff but not to lease that out to W. Pakistan. British is the one who put Hindus in fore front as well as some Muslims elites. British did very little for the ordinary people of E. Bengal.

 

[DarkStar]

how many universities were built in West Pakistan by that period?!:S well most foreign currency was generated by the people in the East and building fewer universities there than in the West was a PRIVILEGE?! I am sorry but are you talking sane? What are you going to say next?! Like West Pakistanis were more intellectually fit for higher education than Bengalis?! oh man!

You've obviously not read the thread thorougly, and are displaying an amazing amount of ignorance, along with a very jingoistic attitude.

You are hell bent on villifying west Pakistanis, while it was East Pakistanis who had most of the top jobs, in governement and civil service, All the way from teh President and Prime minister, to the Ambassadors to different countries.

West Pakistan needed schools and universities, because they had NONE. West Pakistan was highly illiterate, and the few educated HIndus and Sikhs had already left. On the other hand Bengal was already a highly educated area, and had traditionally been the most highly educated area of the whole subcontinent. Even Bharatia Bengal has a higher standard of education than the rest of Bharat.

This was due to historical reasons, such as Bengal being the first province to fall to the BRitish East Inida Company.


You begrudge the schools and universities built for West PAkistanis? Even today, Pakistan has less schools per person, than Bangladesh, as we still have not been able to oversome the colonial legacy bequeathed to us.

Do not let hatred and misdirected nationalism blind you to what are obvious facts.

You do not have to justify the creation of Bangladesh, by constanty demonising the Pakistani body politik and people.

 

[DarkStar]

LInguists are clear that HIndi is in fact a dialect of Urdu, as Hindi literature is very recent, while Urdu has been established since the times of the late Mughals.

WOw!! this is new stuff for me.

Up until last year, this was was also written in the Wikipedia entry for Hindi. It was subsequently deleted by Bharatia objectors.

A careful study of Hindi literature, shows that it is very recent. The devangiri scripts use for Hindi/Hindustani is also recent, long after the Urdu script. Hindi literature such as novels and poetry are preceded by its Urdu counterparts by a couple of centuries.

Lack of education cannot be a reason, because Brahmins had always been the custodians of knowledge and literature, and were more educated than many Muslims.

Urdu's development as an army camp language from the 12th century onwards is well attested(as is use of the word urdu to describe this language zaban urdu e mu'alla), and the great poet Wali Dakkani's use of it in Delhi Darbar in the 17th century is also well known.

The Hindavi/Rekhta/Dakkhani a type of proto Urdu,subsequently developed into what we today call Urdu.

This was the influence of 'muslim' languages upon the local dialects of prakrit.

Later, as the general populace of U.P, Bihar and other parths of Northern India adopted this language in place of the previous prakrit dialect.

Hindi as a language, was mostly initiated during the British Raj, where sanskritic vocabulary was used to augment kharri boli dialect of Urdu, and the Hindi that we know today was born.

This was a concious effort by Hindu scholars and Pandits, as a way of emphasising their distinction from the general kharri boli speakers of nothern India, i.e. the muslims. Prominent among them was Swami Dayanand. Inspiration was taken from Tulsidas' work from the 17th century, himself an Awadhi, who initiated the concept of incorporating sanskritic vocabulary into karri boli grammar.

 

[Al-zakir]

You are right. We got rid of India to have our own stuff but not to lease that out to W. Pakistan. British is the one who put Hindus in fore front as well as some Muslims elites. British did very little for the ordinary people of E. Bengal.

I am about to give you some taste of truth medicine. you are suffering from disease called inferior complexity. You guys never accepted west Pakis as brother from different mother because they may look little different or behave differently. Two brothers from same mother even carry different personality, behavior and looks. They fight some time and bleed each other yet get united when common interest in Jeopardy. You never even consider west Pakistan as your mother land because it didn't share border with east Pakistan. How sad! There are mother in West Pakistan too. They always been perceive as outsider from people like you.
You and your Tagore loving so called Musrik intellectual also show same resentment against Arab yet don't refused their generous donation when disaster strike. Your so called Hindu brothers don't come to your rescue when monster like "cidor" bring devastation. They don't even sell food items to you even with money. so forget about help.

It's is same Pakistani and Arab that you and your kind hate so much actually stand next to you just in case you fall. That what called brotherhood but it won't get to your confined mind.

Sorry but I had to remind you.

 

[rubyjackass]

WOw!! this is new stuff for me.

Actually there was some pun intended.
Sorry you dint realize. I should have been clear.

As far as I know, without reading any stuff from outside, as a general idea, linguists bunch Hindi and Urdu as Hindustani and look at this precedence fight as childish. I am not interested in studying in any dates about languages. What do you think about it?
I am not interested to search. But if you give some links, I will appreciate.

 

[DarkStar]

Well you are just putting phrase to discard my point. Money was not spent on those areas of your as NWFP, Sindh, and Baluchistan and not for human development. Money were going to the elites of W. Pakistan, they even started building Islamabad. Also money was spent on Army which has no presence in E. Pakistan. There were wholesale protest against 22 famillies in Pakistan (who were they)?
Again I say, those spending were not transparent to the people of E. Pakistan and were hugely controversial. Political parties as always try to exploit those situtation and thats how politics is all about.

But did not those elites include Bengalis, who ruled over West Pakistanis too?

Pakistan was a poor nation, especially in the post war period. Commerce and enterprise was zilch. There was malnutrituion, even in middle class backgrounds. There was just not enough to go round, no matter what policy the leaders followed.

We all had half empty stomachs, then.

As for building Islamabad, this had to be done. We needed another capital, for strategic and political reasons, which are well known.

Majority of the funding for the Islamabad project was provided by Saudi Arabia, so don't get in a twist about this. Islamabad was not built with money from jute exports.

Where should the capital have been built, somewhere between West and East Pakistani? Delhi seems like the ideal place, maybe we should have just moved in next door to Rashtrapati Bhavan?

 

[TopCat]

I am about to give you some taste of truth medicine. you are suffering from disease called inferior complexity. You guys never accepted west Pakis as brother from different mother because they may look little different or behave differently. Two brothers from same mother even carry different personality, behavior and looks. They fight some time and bleed each other yet get united when common interest in Jeopardy. You never even consider west Pakistan as your mother land because it didn't share border with east Pakistan. How sad! There are mother in West Pakistan too. They always been perceive as outsider from people like you.
You and your Tagore loving so called Musrik intellectual also show same resentment against Arab yet don't refused their generous donation when disaster strike. Your so called Hindu brothers don't come to your rescue when monster like "cidor" bring devastation. They don't even sell food items to you even with money. so forget about help.

It's is same Pakistani and Arab that you and your kind hate so much actually stand next to you just in case you fall. That what called brotherhood but it won't get to your confined mind.

Sorry but I had to remind you.

distastefull post.. would not bother replying but as you posted against my comment...

 

[TopCat]

But did not those elites include Bengalis, who ruled over West Pakistanis too?

Pakistan was a poor nation, especially in the post war period. Commerce and enterprise was zilch. There was malnutrituion, even in middle class backgrounds. There was just not enough to go round, no matter what policy the leaders followed.

We all had half empty stomachs, then.

As for building Islamabad, this had to be done. We needed another capital, for strategic and political reasons, which are well known.

Majority of the funding for the Islamabad project was provided by Saudi Arabia, so don't get in a twist about this. Islamabad was not built with money from jute exports.

Where should the capital have been built, somewhere between West and East Pakistani? Delhi seems like the ideal place, maybe we should have just moved in next door to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Regarding capital, pindi was already there as you mentioned malnutrition were wide spread. We are still living in jampacked Dhaka with bunch of rickshaws... No need for a capital of lavish when most of my people are half hungry. I already mentioned in my earlier posts the reasons of discontent in E. Pakistan that time (rightly or wrongly) so I dont want to repeat. Again those were not addressed in a compationate manner rather neglected.

 

[gromell]

You've obviously not read the thread thorougly, and are displaying an amazing amount of ignorance, along with a very jingoistic attitude.

You are hell bent on villifying west Pakistanis, while it was East Pakistanis who had most of the top jobs, in governement and civil service, All the way from teh President and Prime minister, to the Ambassadors to different countries.

West Pakistan needed schools and universities, because they had NONE. West Pakistan was highly illiterate, and the few educated HIndus and Sikhs had already left. On the other hand Bengal was already a highly educated area, and had traditionally been the most highly educated area of the whole subcontinent. Even Bharatia Bengal has a higher standard of education than the rest of Bharat.

This was due to historical reasons, such as Bengal being the first province to fall to the BRitish East Inida Company.


You begrudge the schools and universities built for West PAkistanis? Even today, Pakistan has less schools per person, than Bangladesh, as we still have not been able to oversome the colonial legacy bequeathed to us.

Do not let hatred and misdirected nationalism blind you to what are obvious facts.

You do not have to justify the creation of Bangladesh, by constanty demonising the Pakistani body politik and people.

Dark star, you surely have not got my point

When I said there were more universities in West Pakistan being built, I did not mean it was a sin. I quoted someone and you can surely read that and realize I said it when somebody claimed it was a PRIVILEGE for Bengalis that Pakistani military ruler initiated building ONE university in Bangladesh. If you count the government Universities, I do not see how could you claim there are more government subsidized universities in Bangladesh than Pakistan!Who is talking like ignorant?! Can you back up your statement with proof for every single time I uttered an ignorant word?!

I know this very well that people in West Bengal at the time of the partiion were some of the most intellectual people in the subcontinent. Well that does not include mass Bengali Muslim population. If you have studied subcontinental history then you should know there existed an event called "Partition of Bengal", approximately 40 years before the Indo-Pak partition. Do you know what were the reasons for that?! You can easily do some research though.

Who established the Punjab University?! University of Punjab was established in 1882, not after 1947. That's even older than Dhaka University which was the result of failed partition of Bengal. Bengali muslims were neglected by the British and it was the bengali Hindu in West bengal who got most if not all the help from the British. Bengali Muslims deserved no less attention than the West Pakistanis. You should be clear about the history and then debate on it.

And bro I do not need to justify Bangladesh's independence. Because it did not and does not depend on either your or my justification.

 

[gromell]

This is irrelevant.

The 6 point plan was the mandate of the Awami League. Before power was transferred to the Awami League, they had to change it. It was legal to prevent them because noone was allowed to be above the Legal Framework Order.

SIX-POINT PROGRAMME WILL NOT DESTROY
PAKISTAN OR ISLAM



SAIDPUR (Rangpur), October 25 : Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Awami League Chief, has said that his party's six-point programme would never destroy Pakistan or Islam but it would only destroy exploiters.



Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressing a large public meeting at Bangla High School ground here yesterday said that one of the demands in the six-point programme was restriction on the flight of capital from Bengal which had frightened the exploiting people of the province. The Awami League Chief complained that Bengal had been made a market for West Wing product for which old industries of the province had been destroyed.



In this connection he referred to the provinces textile, sugar and salt industries and its continued dependence on West Wing import. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said that his fight was to realise rights of Bengalees, adding that by Bengalees he meant Bengali Muslim, Bengali Hindus and Bengali refugees.

He complained that successive Central Governments had also deprived refugees of Bengal of their due share in funds collected through refugees tax. He said, only 15 per cent of refugee fund money was used for refugees in East Pakistan while,, the remaining 85 per cent was spent in the West Wing.



* * * * * *



He said if he could secure a substantial majority in the election he would show how Bengal's rights could be realised and exploitation stopped. But he said if rights would not be secured through election his party would launch a mass move*ment for which he wanted people to be with him.



The Awami League Chief censured the Ayub regime for the exploitation of Bengal and depriving Bengalees of their rights. He said while Ayub Khan after serving; the British claimed to be a patriot, while those who fought for Pakistan were branded traitors.



He said that his struggle was against 22 families and exploiters from West Pakistan but nothing against the poor people of the West Wing.



He said that he and his party would always support them in their fight against Zamindar, Jagirdar and Sarmayadar.



* * * * * *



He said that for the last 23 years Bengalees had suffered a lot but they were this time determined to achieve victory either through election or through struggles.



He campaigned for his party candidates for the coming election and said that since he and his party had restored the right of franchise only they were entitled to their vote in the coming election.



Addressing another public meeting at Domar in Rangpur, the Awami League Chief said that the persons who had sacrificed the interests of Bengal at the altar of Ayub Khan and acted against the cause of the Bengalees had no claim to be favoured with votes. Sheikh Mujib further said that those who had acted as agents of Ayub Khan and sided with him in denying the right of franchise to the people should not be elected to do more harm to the people. How could those agents*claim votes which were secured through struggle launched by his party and the people. The Sheikh reminded the people that they would have to fight if the rights of Bengalees were not achieved through elections.



* * * * * *



He said that Bengalees for long suffered defeats and they would no longer accept any more defeat and this time they were determined to achieve victory. He said that there was nothing wrong or un Islamic in his party's slogan of "Jai Bangla " which meant victory for Bengal. Only those who did not want Bengal's victory would dislike the slogan "Jai Bangla," he said, adding that when he said "Jai Bangla" he would also say "Jai Panjab ", "Jai Sindi ", "Jai Pakistan" as well. He recalled that during the Pakistan movement they used the term ` Zindabad '. The slogan currently being used was of relatively recent origin. He was confident that the slogan of " Jai Bangla " would in near future spread to every nook and corner of Bengal including rural areas.



The six-point programme, he said, sought to ensure political and economic autonomy for the people of Bengal and end exploitation. He was critical of those who in the name of Islam wanted to wreck Bengalees' efforts to restore their rights through the six-point programme and those who termed it as unIslamic Sheikh Mujibur Rahman censured the Ayub regime for exploitation of Bengalees and repression on those including himself who protested against such exploitation.



He said that Bengalees would prove through coming elections that they wanted to secure their rights by implementing the six-point programme the main theme of which was that Bengalees must be master of their own land and their own resources. Awami League Chief in his campaign for party candidates in the coming election said that Awami League election alliance or united front with (Wali Group) National Awami Party was not possible because of difference in principle. He said that alliance was not possible, as NAP Chief Wali Khan did not support either Awami League's six*point programme or the students' eleven-point programme.



NILPHAMARI (Rangpur), October 25: Awami League Chief, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said on Friday that seven crore Bengalees were now determined to put an ,end to their exploitations and become masters of their own destiny.



Addressing a huge public meeting at Bangla High School Maidan, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said that it was time to put an end to the exploitations of ,the Bengalees and ensure fairplay and justice for them in all spheres of national life. Sounding a note of warning, the Awami League Chief said that if there was any attempt to deprive the seven crore people of Bangla Desh of their rights, those who are responsible for it would have to pay very heavily. He said, "We will not forgive those who have imposed injustice on us."



Amidst cheers and slogans, the Awami League Chief declared that the six-point programme of his party aimed at total economic and political emancipation of the people of Bangla Desh. He hoped that the people would support the six-point programme and elect Awami League candidates who would go to the Assemblies to fight for their demands.



Quoting facts and figures Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said that a great economic injustice resulting in the wide gulf of disparity between the two regions had been done to East Pakistan, and added that the capitalists and bureaucrats of West Pakistan had exploited the people of East Pakistan and took away all the money from here.



He said that the people of Bangla Desh would not allow flight of capital 'from this wing to outside. He said that almost all the money earned by the industrialists and the big business was sent to West Pakistan for development of that wing. In this connection, he also referred to the movement of gold between the two wings. He said that there should be free movement of gold between the two wings.



Sheikh Mujib said that some people were raising the slogans of " Islam in ,danger " to divert the attention of the people from the real problems and get their votes. He asked the people to beware of such elements and expose them so that they could not do further harm to the interest of the people of Bangla Desh. Earlier, on arrival here the Awami League Chief was accorded a rousing welcome by the people. He was profusely garlanded.



(THE PEOPLE, Dacca-October 26, 1970)





Source: Bangladesh Documents, vol-I, p.102-104