Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence

The independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971 at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War, when the Pakistan Army launched a genocide against the people of East Pakistan. The declaration was made by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; and widely circulated in the international press in late March 1971. On 17 April, the Provisional Government of Bangladesh issued a proclamation on the basis of the previous declaration and established an interim constitution for the independence movement.

On 25 March 1971, negotiations between Pakistani President Yahya Khan and Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman broke down after Khan refused to accept Rahman's plan for a new federal constitution in Pakistan. Rahman's party won an absolute majority in the National Assembly during Pakistan's first free election in 1970. However, the newly elected parliament was barred from taking power due to objections from the Pakistani military and the West Pakistan establishment. The Awami League's 6 points proposal for a Pakistani federation was strongly opposed by bureaucrats and senior politicians like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in West Pakistan. The League initiated a civil disobedience campaign in East Pakistan to press for convening the parliament, amid rising Bengali aspirations for self-determination and independence. On 7 March 1971, Rahman addressed a huge pro-independence rally in Dhaka. Yahya Khan and Bhutto were in the city throughout March for negotiations. The political process was abruptly ended by President Khan, who faced pressure from the military for a crackdown.

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