The 1962 East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) Education movement was a movement by students against the education policy recommended by Sharif Commission, official name Commission on National Education,[1] to President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan. The policy would have made English and Urdu mandatory subjects.[2] It would have privatized education and revoke the right to free primary education as unrealistically "utopian".[2]
The movement started on 17 September which is commemorated as education day in Bangladesh.[3]
President of Pakistan Ayub Khan declared to form a commission to establish education policy on 30 December 1958 and it was formed on 5 January 1959.The Chairman of this commission was the secretary of the education department of West Pakistan named S.M. Sharif who was also a teacher of Ayub Khan at the Aligarh Muslim University. Total number of member of that commission was eleven with only four member from East Pakistan. This commission was called the Commission on National Education and popularly known as “Sharif Commission".[4][1]
On 26 August 1959 the commission submitted their report which was published as a book on 1962.[5]
The students of East Pakistan opposed this report and agitation was started by Dhaka College students.[4] In 1962 they decided to observe the Language Movement Day 21 February and the birth day of Rabindranath Tagore as a way to oppose that report.[6] The West Pakistani Government arrested Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy on 30 January 1962. Organizations like Bangladesh Chatra Union, Bangladesh Chatra League, Nation Students Federations, and Chatra Shakti were working on the movement together.[5] They observed hartal on 1 February 1962 and continuing their movement by performing meetings. On 7 February of that month the government placed a field canon to intimidate the movement in Dhaka. On 17 September 1962, students declared a hartal. In that day demonstrations took place in Dhaka. They burned a vehicle of a government minister Khwaja Hassan Askari and burned three Police SUVs. Police used tear gas and live bullets. The second part of demonstrations took place in front of East Pakistan High Court. Police killed three people named Babul, Golam Mustafa, and Waziullah. They also arrested a large number of students.[7][8] They had killed a labourer named Sundor Ali in Tongi.[5]
Opposition leader of East Pakistan Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy met with the Governor of East Pakistan Ghulam Faruque Khan which lead to the government pausing the recommendation of the Sharif Commission.[9] Bangladesh observes 17 September as their education day.[10]
