Class 7 History Booklet 2019-2020

Introduction:

Bangladesh came to today's shape through a long history of political evolution. The history of Bengal
can be traced back to 2500 years. But due to lack of historical sources we do not know much about that
period. After the Guptas ruled in Bengal in 4th AD they left some of the written records which is
considered as reliable document and thus those help us to know about ancient Bengal.

The historical development in Bengal can be shown in the following way:

i) Ancient Bengal: This period included Maurya (320-180 BC) and Gupta Empire (4th Century
AD).

ii) Early Kingdoms in Bengal (600 AD- 1204 AD) : This period covers the empire of Shanshanka,
the Pala dynasty, the Sena dynasty and the independent kingdoms in south-eastern Bengal.

iii) Muslim Rule (1204-1342 AD): Started with the conquest of Nadia, in Bengal, by Bakhtiar
Khalji and continued till the rule of independent Sultans.

iv) The Rule of Independent Sultans (1338-1538 AD): Lasted for almost two hundred years and
recognized as a significant period for the development of art and culture in Bengal.

v) Mughal rule (1526 -1707 AD) Bengal finally came under the Mughal rule, after a long period of
strong resistance, made by the Afghans.

vi) Nawabs' Rule (1713-1757AD): The Nawabs ruled independently in Bengal, as soon as the
Mughals' power declined here from the beginning of eighteenth century.

vi) British Rule (1757-1947AD): British first arrived as traders but gradually seeing the weakness of
Mughal empire, began to focus more on the political influence than trade. Finally in 1757 by defeating
Sirajuddaula in the battle of Palashi, they marked the beginning of their period of dominance in India.

ix) Pakistan Period (1947-1971AD).

x) Independent Bangladesh (After 1971 AD)

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Mughal Period in India and Mughal Rule in Bengal:

• Zahirudduin Mohammad Babur

The founder of Mughal Empire was Zahirudduin

Mohammad Babur who was a descendant of Amir Taimur
and Chengis Khan through his father’s and mother’s line
respectively. He defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi,
in the battle of Panipat in 1526 and established Mughal
Dynastic rule in India.

• Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun:

In 1530 Babur was succeeded by his son Humayun who

continually faced threat from Sher Shah, an Afghan of
insignificant origin. Sher Shah captured Bengal and Bihar. Sher
Shah kept the Mughals away from north India as long as he
lived. So after the death of Sher Shah, Humayun was able to
regain his empire in Bengal. India during Humayun’s Reign

• Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar:

Akbar, the greatest of the Mughals first ascended the throne of

Delhi at the age of thirteen, after his father Humayun's death. He
could not establish the authority over the whole of Bengal. The
big Zaminders of Bengal did not accept subordination of the
Mughals. They were independent in their own land. They had
powerful army and navy. They used to fight united against the
Mughal commanders to protect their independence. These
Zaminders were known as Barobhuiyans.
Fatehpur Sikhri in Delhi
• Nur-ud-din Mohammad Salim (Jahangir):

Emperor Jahangir, the son of Akbar, sent Islam Khan to

Bengal as the new Mughal Viceroy. Young and energetic Islam
Khan put the resistance of the famous Baro Bhuiyans to an end
and thus most of Bengal came firmly under Mughal

Jahangir’s Tomb, Lahore

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administration. The most important event of that time was to make Dhaka the Capital of Bengal and was
named Jahangir Nagar after the Mughal emperor's name.

• Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram Shah Jahan:

Emperor Jahangir died in 1627 and was succeeded by his third
son Shah Jahan whose thirty years reign brought security of
life and property in India and also peace and prosperity in
Bengal.

Tajmahal, Agra

• Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb:

Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb, (4 November 1618 - 3 March 1707) commonly
known as Aurangzeb and by his imperial title Alamgir ("world-seizer or universe-seizer") was the sixth
Mughal Emperor and ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658
until his death in 1707. Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire
reached its greatest extent. He was a pious Muslim, and his policies partly abandoned the legacy of
Akbar's secularism, which remains a very controversial aspect of his reign. He was a strong and effective
ruler, but with his death the great period of the Mughal dynasty came to an end, and central control of the
sub-continent declined rapidly.

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore

Mughal Empire during Auragzeb’s Reign

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• The rule of Subaders and the rule of Nawabs:

After the defeat of the Baro Bhuiyans, Subadari rule was established over the whole of Bengal. Mughal
provinces were known as "Subah". When Emperor Shah Jahan fell seriously ill in 1657, four of his sons,
Dara, Suja, Aurangzeb and Murad, started a struggle for succession. Taking advantages of this
situation the Subaders of Bengal ruled independently. This time of Mughal period is known as the rule of
the Nawabs. The rule of Nawabs continued up to 1757 AD for almost half a century.
However Aurangzeb won the struggle of succession against his brother Suja. During Aurangzeb's time
he appointed a number of viceroys in Bengal among whom the famous were Mir Jumla, Shaista Khan,
Murshid Quli Khan. Subah of Bengal became almost independent from the time of Nawab Murshid
Kuli Khan. Subah was then called Nizamat and the post of Nazim became hereditary.
.
Ahsan Manzil: Representing the Era of Nawabs

Ahsan Manzil is one of the finest and significant

historical structures in Dhaka known as majestic
pink palace. It was once the home of the Nawab of
Dhaka. Because of the contribution of the Nawab
family in the politics and independence movement
of the Indian subcontinent, this palace became the
nerve center in the political, communal, economical
and cultural life of East Bengal. This building is the
witness of the Bengal division, the birth of the
Muslim League & independence of greater India.

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British Rule in Indian Subcontinent:

India, for nearly two hundred years did almost nothing to oppose the colonial powers. This was because
the people were divided in many different ways. There were many separate states, many different races,
and hundreds of different languages. There were great religious differences — the majority was Hindu,
but there were large numbers of Muslims, Sikhs and others.

In the early 18th century the Mughal Empire broke up but the wars between Muslims and Hindus
continued. The people of India were so busy quarrelling among themselves that they did little about the
European nations who were moving into the continent. Britain now started down the road that led her to
make most of India into a colony.

British East India Company came to India for trading during the Mughal rule and had a tough contest
with the Dutch traders. They were very clever and made their way to capture the market in this
subcontinent by managing the royal court. Gradually extended their interest towards the political power
and in 1557 they defeated Nawab Sirajuddaula, the last independent ruler of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, in
the battle of Palashi. After defeating the Nawab, the British made some puppet rulers in India to rule but
gradually they took over the political power in India and made it a colony of Great Britain. Obviously a
private company could not be left to rule a country almost twenty times the size of Britain and in 1773 the
British government took some control. The British were the last merchants to enter the Indian
subcontinent but they took over the political power and ruled for 200 years. During British rule a number
of resistance movement led by some important political figures like Titumeer, Haji Shariatullah, Fakir
Majnu Shah etc. But these movements were suppressed brutally.

• Positive and negative sides of British Rule:

Roads and later railways were built; some schools were opened, and in 1835, universities. A large army
of British and Indian soldiers was used to protect the area and put down rebellions. There were huge
irrigation schemes and millions of hectares of barren land began to grow crops. Some of the evils of the
old society such as the thugs, who were bandits who strangled travelers for religious reasons, and suttee,
which forced widows to commit suicide on the funeral fire of their husbands, were abolished.

But there was another side to this. The British regarded India as a place where they could make a great
deal of money and live a very comfortable life. They bought raw materials cheaply, and could sell
manufactured goods, especially cloth, more cheaply than it could be made in India, which had been
famous for its weaving. India continued to be a source of cheap raw materials.

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Many intelligent and richer Indians were educated either in England or in a British style in India as
doctors, Lawyers, teachers or government officials, but they were not allowed to take senior obs. These
were always kept for the Europeans.

• Sepoy Mutiny:

Matters came to a head when the soldiers were equipped

with a new kind of rifle. The cartridge for it had to be bitten
off with the teeth before it could be used. These cartridges
came from England greased with the fat from cows, an
animal which is sacred to Hindus. Muslim soldiers were told
that the grease came from pigs, which are unclean in their
religion. As a result many regiments mutinied, murdering
their officers and massacring many European women and
children.

For a year British troops and Indians who remained loyal —

the majority — fought the mutineers. It was a war of great
savagery, treachery and massacre by both sides, but by 1859
the mutineers had been destroyed. In 1784 the India Act took
away all of the company’s power, and India became in effect

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a colony. It was made legally a colony in 1858 when the East India Company finished trading.

The Process for Formation of Pakistan:

In 1885 a group of wealthy, intellectual Indians, both Hindu and Muslim, formed the Indian National
Congress (today called the Congress Party). They discussed politics, racial discrimination and the future
of India, but it was not until the 20th century that Congress became a strong nationalist political force.

The Muslim members of the club, who felt that Congress was really only for Hindus, broke away to form
a rival group, the Muslim League. According to the India Act 1935, Congress, Muslim League and
Krishak Praja Party participated in the provincial election in 1937 where Congress formed government
singly in 7 out of 11 provinces of India. As a result fear of Hindu domination gradually spread among the
Muslims. On the other hand Muslim League could not form government anywhere in India accept
forming a coalition cabinet in Bengal under Fazlul Haque. In this circumstance the need for unity among
the Muslims became stronger and importance of the Muslim League increased.

In 1939 Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared his Two Nation Theory where he gave his opinion that the
Muslims in India were not the minority community, rather they were a nation. The Hindus and the
Muslims were two separate nations

• The Lahore Resolution, 1940:

The Lahore resolution is considered as the most significant event in the political history of sub-continent.
At the annual session of the Muslim League held in Lahore on 22nd March 1940, Fazl-ul-Haque put
forward a resolution. The main subjects of this resolution were the achievement of regional government,
the right of self- determination and sovereignty. Congress had a strong resentment against the Lahore
resolution.

• Direct Action Day 1946:

By the late summer 1946, the Muslims felt that if the British suddenly quit India the Muslims will suffer
at the hand of overwhelming Hindu majority. So they felt need of showing Muslim solidarity and Muslim
strength to both the British and Congress. On August 16, 1946, Muslim League called to observe a Direct
Action Day throughout the country. In many places thousands demonstrated peacefully but in Calcutta it
turned into a bloody communal riot between the Hindus and Muslims. Thousands of innocent people lost
their lives in this "Great India Killing". Gradually it spread to the other parts of Bengal and the situation
became very complicated.

• Independence and the birth of Pakistan:

Despite the violence and failure to reach agreement between Congress and Muslim League, the British
were determined to make arrangements to leave India. Lord Mountbatten, who was sent in March 1947
to work out a plan, soon realized the need of a prompt settlement as the situation all over India was
rapidly deteriorating and seemed to turn into a Civil War. Finally on 15 th July 1947, the Indian
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Independence Act was passed. British India was partitioned into India
and Pakistan, two dominion states. A new country named Pakistan had
been born.

Pakistan Period and the Road to Independence:

On August 1947 Pakistan was created based on "Two Nation Theory". The State of Pakistan that
emerged was comprised of two distant territories with distinctive features. The two parts of Pakistan
were separated by about 1200 miles of Indian Territory.

Hence no unity could be developed between the two parts of Pakistan in respect of language, culture,
tradition and livelihood. Between 1947-56 language issues created tension between the people of East
Pakistan and West Pakistan. But it was merely an example of many of the injustices which the people of
East Pakistan had to undergo at that time.

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Growing disparities
Partition of Indian Language Movement
between two wings of
Subcontinent 1947 1952
Pakistan

Liberation War 1971

Operation Searchlight Mass Uprisisng 1969
(26th March,1971- and Election 1970
-25th March,1971
16th December,1971)

• Disparity between the two wings of Pakistan:

From the very beginning Pakistan had been following a policy of discrimination against East Pakistan.
Political, military, administrative and economic discrimination had been increasing gradually.

Administrative and political disparity:

High level posts in Dhaka including that of Governor General were usually filled by West Pakistanis or
by refugees from India who had adopted Pakistani citizenship. Although the majority of the
representatives were East Pakistanis in the first Constituent Assembly, both Governor General and Prime
Minister were appointed from West Pakistan. The capital of the new country was established in West
Pakistan too.

Military discrimination:
While the security of East Pakistan was uncertain the province was also subjected to serious
discrimination in military matters. The headquarters of the three defense services were in West Pakistan.
The people of East Pakistan were not represented prominently in important posts like the defense and
civil services according to the population ratio.

Economic disparity:
Due to severe economic disparity East Pakistan was backward in the industry and could never be
self-sufficient economically. A small number of industrial units including jute mills located in East
Pakistan were owned by West Pakistani capitalists. The jute farmers never got the fair price of their
products. Although two third of the foreign exchange of Pakistan was earned by Jute export in East
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Pakistan, most of the foreign exchange and economic assistance was used to develop West Pakistan. The
head offices of the State Bank and other banks, insurance companies trading concerns and foreign
missions were established in West Pakistan.

• The Language Movement 1952:

After the partition of India in 1947 and the establishment of the Dominion of Pakistan, East Pakistan
was formed made up 44 million of the newly formed Bengali-speaking people out of Pakistan's 69
million people. Pakistan's government, civil services, and military, however, were dominated by
West Pakistanis. In 1947, a key resolution at a national education summit in Karachi advocated Urdu
as the sole state language, and its exclusive use in the media and in schools. Opposition and protests
immediately arose. Students from Dhaka rallied under the leadership of Abul Kashem, the secretary
of Tamaddun Majlish, a Bengali Islamic cultural organization. The meeting stipulated Bengali as an
official language of Pakistan and as a medium of education in East Pakistan. However, the Pakistan
Public Service Commission removed Bengali from the list of approved subjects, as well as from
currency notes and stamps. The central education minister Fazlur Rahman made extensive
preparations to make Urdu the only state language of Pakistan. Public outrage spread, and a large
number of Bengali students met on the University of Dhaka campus on 8 December 1947 to formally
demand that Bengali be made an official language. To promote their cause, Bengali students
organized processions and rallies in Dhaka.

By the beginning of 1952, the Language Movement took a serious turn. With the political crisis, the
economic condition in East Pakistan also deteriorated. The people of East Pakistan started losing
faith in the Muslim League. A new party, the Awami Muslim League-which would later become the
awami league-was formed under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Hamid khan bhasani in 1949.
There was a growing sense of deprivation and exploitation in East Pakistan and a realisation that a
new form of colonialism had replaced British imperialism. Under these circumstances, the Language
Movement got a new momentum in 1952.
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• The Formation of Awami Muslim League:

In June 1949 Awami Muslim League was formed to protest against the undemocratic and biased attitude
of the Pakistan Government and the anti-people policy of Muslin League. Maolana Abdul Hamid Khan
Bhasani was the first President and Shamsul Haque was appointed the General Secretary of Awami
Muslim League.

• The Provincial election 1954 and the United Front:

The Krishak Sramic Party, Awami League, Nejam-i-Islam and Ganatantri Dal combined together and
formed United Front on 4th December 1953. United Front won a landslide victory. Sher- e- BangIa A.K.
Fazl-ul- Haque formed the United Front ministry. However the cabinet lasted for a few weeks and on 29th
May it was dismissed by the central Government.

• Introduction and lift of Martial Law:

In 1958 a serious altercation and scuffle took place in the provincial assembly which first caused
severe injury to the Deputy speaker Shahed Ali and later death. This chaos gave way to the Pakistani
ruling clique an excuse for political interference in East Pakistan. After this incident President
Iskander Mirza declared Martial Law. He suspended central and Provincial Ministries, constitution
and Legislative Assembly. He also prohibited all political activities and banned all political parties.
In 1962 President Ayub Khan lifted martial law and introduced a new constitution.

• The Six Point Movement, 1966:

The Six Point program was a bold protest placed by Shiekh Mujibur Rahman against the endless
discrimination in all the sectors against East Pakistan. It was a charter of demands related to the
political, economic and military rights of East Pakistan. The oppressed and exploited people of East
Pakistan welcomed Six Point Program and it gained widespread support. Ayub interpreted Sheik
Mujib's demand as tantamount to calling for independence. After a general strike in Dhaka,
government arrested Shiekh Mujibur Rahman in January 1968, along with other civil and military
officers. They were accused for conspiring at Agartala in India to separate East Pakistan from
Pakistan through an armed revolution with India's help.

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• Non Cooperation Movement:

Under this circumstance on 3rd March Sheik Mujib
addressed a large rally in Paltan. He announced
hartal programme everyday up to 6th March from
5.a.m to 2 p.m. During this period law court,
factories, offices, railway, steamers and other
communications were closed down. He also
announced that no tax will be paid until armed forced were withdrawn and people's demands were met.
On 7th March Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made his famous speech at the Racecourse ground and called on
those present to prepare for a liberation war and announced an action program of non-violent
non-cooperation which was to be followed throughout Bangladesh. On 25th March, at midnight
Pakistani forces surrounded Dhaka city with tanks, other military vehicles and truck loads of army
men. Dhaka University halls of residences and quarters were attacked with tanks and armored vehicles.
A number of teachers, students and officials were killed. Many people were burnt alive in the houses
set on fire. It was estimated that around 50,000 men, women and children were killed in various parts of
Bangladesh. This genocide was termed as Operation Searchlight.

The Liberation War 1971:

On 26 March Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was taken prisoner by the Pakistan army. At about the same time,
Major Ziaur Rahman announced Bangladesh's independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujib from Kalurghat
radio station at Chittagong. These spontaneous uprisings were participated by government officials,
political activists, students, workers, peasants, professionals and members of the public throughout
Bangladesh following the call of independence. On 27 March, Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira
Gandhi expressed full support of her government to the freedom struggle of the Bengalis. Indian Border
Security Force (BSF) opened Bangladesh-India border to allow the tortured and panic stricken Bengalis
to have safe shelter in India. Indian Army begun to help and train Bangali Army which called itself
'Mukti Bahini'. On 10 April an exile government called the People's Republic of Bangladesh was
formed headed by Tajuddin Ahmed. On December 16, 1971, the Pakistan army surrendered and a new
country was established- the sovereign and independent state of Bangladesh.

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