Evaluating the 1962 education movement
THE students' movement against the Sharif Education Policy declared by the then Pakistan government ended on September 17, 1962. I am happy that I participated in that movement for a pro-people education policy as one of the organisers in the capacity of general secretary of the Dhaka College Student's Union, and that, this September, as a member of the national education policy formulation committee I, along with other members, could submit the report to the government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed that the report be placed in the website to further elicit public opinion within September 30.
Since the establishment of Pakistan, anarchy in the education sector was a common feature as the central government showed a step-motherly attitude towards East Pakistan. The number of educational institutions decreased and the dropout rate increased within a short time. Prior to partition of the subcontinent, East Pakistan was much ahead of the then western part of Pakistan. In 1947-48 the number of primary schools in East Pakistan was 29,633, which came down to 26,000 within a span of 5 years.
Martial law was promulgated on October 7, 1958 and Ayub Khan became self-appointed president of Pakistan and chief martial law administrator. On December 30, the government formed a committee headed by the education secretary, and Ayub's one time teacher at Aligarh University, SM Sharif. In the 11-member commission, 4 were from East Pakistan.
Some of the features of the Sharif Commission report, which was published in 1962, provoked a student's agitation in East Pakistan. To mention a few among them: (1) Urdu should be made the language of the people of Pakistan, (2) English should be made compulsory from class VI, (3) To introduce a lingua franca for Pakistan, Roman script should be introduced, and for that Arabic should be given priority, (4) Education should not be available at a cheaper rate, (5) There is reason to see investment in industry and education at par, (6) The concept of free primary compulsory education is utopian, (7) We emphatically recommend that the 2 years' degree course should be upgraded to 3 years for improvement of quality at the higher education level.
Students reacted sharply to the above stated features. They pointed out that the door of education had been closed to the poor and low-income people. The very connotation of "investment in education" triggered a sharp response from the students. Action committees and sub-committees were formed in many institutions to protest against the introduction of English as compulsory subject and increase of the duration of the degree course from 2 to 3 years.
The agitation programme was started by Dhaka College students. Higher Secondary Certificate examinees who considered the new English courses as an extra burden, also participated in it. Sporadic strikes and abstention from classes continued throughout this period. Students of national medical institutions also resorted to movement, which included hunger strike. The students' movement took a new turn on August 10, when college students assembled in a meeting in Dhaka College. Quazi Faruque Ahmed, General Secretary of Dhaka College Students Union, convened and presided over the meeting.
There was no link between the central leadership of student's organisations prior to this meeting. This meeting formed the link. The meeting announced a general strike by students throughout the province on August 15. As a follow-up, a sit-down action programme in front of the Secretariat was also announced. A series of meetings were held in between August 15 and September 10 at the historic Amtola in the Dhaka University Campus.
The previously formed "Degrees Students' Forum" was renamed "East Pakistan Students' Forum." On September 10, a meeting was held at the Dhaka University Cafeteria, where almost all the colleges of the city were represented. The meeting withdrew the sit-down strike but announced a hartal on September 17. Street corner meetings, processions, and meetings with different organisations and associations were held to make the programme a success.
Students started picketing from early morning on September 17. Provincial Minister Hasan Askari's car was set on fire by the students. In the morning, a contingent of policemen chased demonstrators from Sadarghat to Nawabpur railway crossing. By 9 a.m., Dhaka University campus was packed with students from the school and colleges of Dhaka city. News spread that the police had opened fire in Nawabpur road. A huge procession was brought out soon after that.
The procession had entered Abdul Gani Road crossing near High Court when police fired at it. A student of Nobo Kumar High School was killed and many others were seriously injured. The firing infuriated the processionists, who were not only students but also workers of different mills and factories, rickshaw pullers and boatmen. It is said that the '52-language movement cultivated the spirit of nationalism and the '62-education movement inculcated and infused progressiveness.
Two chief characteristics of the '62 education movement which deserve special mention are: first, the movement was initiated by the students alone without any outside influence and second, the central student leaders could not foresee that such a huge movement, based on education and academic problems faced by the students only, was possible.
However, opposition leader Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, who came to Dhaka from Karachi during the last leg of the movement, met East Pakistan Governor Golam Faruk and persuaded him to defer implementation of the Sharif Commission Report. This resulted in the eventual end of the movement, which was an eye- opener for the vested interests in the ruling coterie of Pakistan.
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