In spite of all the atrocities committed against the people they stand more united and are fighting with more determination, higher morale and confidence that they will win their just cause.
Since the very inception of Pakistan, our people were lighting for the primary democratic rights of our people and for a democratic constitution for our country. We wanted national autonomy for our region while remaining as an integral part of Pakistan. We also demanded the national autonomy for all the other nationalities in Pakistan, as well as their balanced economic growth. We wanted that there should be no regional imbalances in the economic growth of our country and also we stood for the full development of our national culture, education and language. Raising these demands we fought many battles; and in these the students were in the forefront.
As a result of this the ruling class, the military clique and the vested interests in Pakistan always were against the students movement.
In this fight, on many occasions, we got the massive verdict of the people in favor of our demands. After the historic students movement in 1952. the East Pakistan went to polls in 1954 and the people gave their verdict in favor of the democratic forces. The ruling class. composed of monopoly capitalists, landlords and backed by imperialism had scuttled the peoples' will in the most unashamed manner. Again a period of struggle followed. An election was forced on the ruling clique by the powerful people's movement in 1959. While the whole nation was preparing for it. the ruling circles in their desperate bid for power had staged a military coup and thus began the dark days of Ayub dictator- ship. The country had been dragged so deep into the camp of imperialist military blocks and financial interests and thus our unfortunate country had become a threat to peace in this part of the world.
A decade long struggle continued again against the military dictatorship and finally it was brought down by our united and powerful struggle in 1969. This was followed by the military rule of Yahya Khan. The democratic movement of the people forced the military dictatorship to conduct an election. Thus the elections took place in Pakistan in 1910. Though it was held under strange conditions imposed by the military regime, the people in this election had expressed their will in unequivocal terms. They voted in favor of democracy and had given clear majority in the National Assembly for those who stood for the peoples cause. Out of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, the Awami League had won 167 scats. More than 90% of the people of East Pakistan had voted for the national autonomy. The verdict of the people was so clear and so massive that even Yahya Khan had to accept it. while he described Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the future Prime Minister of Pakistan.
But, as it was characteristic of the ruling class in Pakistan, this time also, they had scuttled the will of our people in a most shameless manner, violating all norms of democracy.
The ruling .clique-the military dictatorship, isolated from the people and backed by reactionary capitalist and feudal interest internally, and supported by imperialist forces abroad, had refused to transfer the power to the duly elected majority party and forced a political crisis in our country.
