Mass Uprising Day ( bn, গণঅভ্যুত্থান দিবস) is observed in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

on 24 January to mark the

1969 East Pakistan mass uprising The 1969 mass uprising in East Pakistan ( bn, ঊনসত্তরের গণঅভ্যুত্থান, lit=69’s Mass uprising) was a democratic political movement in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The uprising consisted of a series of m ...

, the climax of the movement of the people of the then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

for autonomy in 1969 that eventually led to the Independence War and emergence of

in 1971.

On this day in 1969

Matiur Rahman Mallik Matiur Rahman Mallik (24 January 1953-24 January 1969) was a Pakistani Bengali national activist. He was killed by the Pakistani police during 1969 uprising in East Pakistan. He received the Independence Day Award from the Government of Bangla ...

, a standard IX student of the

Nabakumar Institution Nabakumar Institution is a historical education institute in Bakhsi Bazar of old Dhaka, Bangladesh. History Nabakumar Institution was established in 1916 by a zamindar called Nabakumar. It was operated as a school though it was named an institut ...

, and Rustam Ali, a rickshaw-puller, were killed in police fire on demonstrators in Dhaka as the Pakistani rulers desperately tried to suppress the popular uprising. The killings sparked off intense protests across the country that eventually saw the fall of the Ayub regime. It is said by politicians that the day teaches Bangladeshis the values of democracy and to protest against oppression.

References

History of East Pakistan Bangladesh Liberation War 1969 in East Pakistan {{Bangladesh-stub