Lesson 1/34 min
Twenty-five days of non-cooperation
1 March 1971. President Yahya Khan postponed the 3 March session of the National Assembly for an indefinite period. The path for the Awami League, winner of the 1970 election, to take power was blocked. On hearing the news, people poured onto the streets.
The movement against the Pakistan government that ran from 2 to 25 March 1971 at the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is called the Non-Cooperation Movement.
March 1971, day by day
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1 March | Yahya Khan postpones the 3 March Assembly session |
| 2 March | Hartal in Dhaka; the first flag of Bangladesh is raised at a students' rally under the banyan tree at Dhaka University |
| 3 March | Hartal across the country; the Declaration of Independence (Ishtehar) is read at Paltan Maidan; Bangabandhu announces the non-cooperation programme |
| 6 March | Yahya Khan calls the Assembly for 25 March |
| 7 March | Bangabandhu's speech at the Racecourse ground |
| 15–25 March | Yahya arrives in Dhaka on 15 March; talks with Bangabandhu run from 16 March |
| 19 March | First armed resistance at Joydebpur by Bengali soldiers and the public |
| 23 March | Pakistan Day is rejected and the Bangladesh flag is raised across the country |
| 25 March | Yahya leaves Dhaka secretly; the army attacks at night; the movement ends |
The first flag (2 March)
- Place: the banyan tree (Battala) at Dhaka University
- Raised by A S M Abdur Rob, then Vice-President of DUCSU
- The first flag abroad was raised on 18 April 1971 at the former Pakistan Deputy High Commission in Kolkata
The Declaration of Independence, Ishtehar (3 March)
- Place: Paltan Maidan, Dhaka; organised by the Swadhin Bangla Chhatra Sangram Parishad
- Read out by student leader Shahjahan Siraj
- The four leaders of the Parishad: Nure Alam Siddiqui, Shahjahan Siraj, A S M Abdur Rob, Abdul Quddus Makhan
- The Ishtehar proclaimed Bangladesh an independent, sovereign state
- Bangabandhu was called ‘Father of the Nation’ and ‘Supreme Commander’; ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ was chosen as the national anthem
Joydebpur (19 March)
- The Bengali soldiers of the 2nd East Bengal Regiment at Joydebpur (Gazipur) were ordered to deposit their arms
- They refused, and the public blocked the road. This was the first armed resistance of the Liberation War
- Slogan: “Take the road to Joydebpur, make Bangladesh free”
Watch out: The two books disagree on the first martyr. Khandokar gives Shambhu Samajdar of Rangpur; Zubair gives Faruk Iqbal (Mouchak intersection, Dhaka); both say 3 March 1971. Choose by the options in the exam; Khandokar's note says to pick Faruk Iqbal if Shambhu is not listed. Both books name Taslim, 17 December, as the last martyr.
Memory trick: 2 March = flag (Battala), 3 March = Ishtehar (Paltan).
Check yourself
From which date to which date did the Non-Cooperation Movement run?
At a glance
- 1
The Non-Cooperation Movement ran from 2 to 25 March 1971 at Bangabandhu's call.
- 2
On 1 March Yahya postponed the Assembly; hartal in Dhaka on 2 March and across the country on 3 March.
- 3
First flag raised: 2 March 1971, at the Dhaka University banyan tree, by A S M Abdur Rob.
- 4
The Ishtehar was read on 3 March 1971 at Paltan Maidan by Shahjahan Siraj.
- 5
First armed resistance: 19 March 1971, at Joydebpur, by the East Bengal Regiment.