The Six Points Formula and Provincial Autonomy

The Six Points Formula of the Awami League, often referred to as the six points of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, set out East Pakistan's demands for a new federal settlement. In How Constitutions Flourish or Fail, Mian Ashiq Hussain reads it as a fiscal story: a reaction to the financial procedures Pakistan inherited from colonial rule. Below are the six demands as the book reproduces them, and how the author weighs each one.

Why did the Awami League put forward the Six Points?

In the author's account, the Six Points were an extreme reaction to the over-centralised financial scheme of the Constitution of 1962, under which the President could control the public purse by signing a Schedule of Authorised Expenditure instead of Parliament authorising spending through Appropriation Acts.

Six Points Formula of Awami League was essentially a reaction against the inherited colonial financial procedures incorporated in the Constitution of 1962.

What were the Six Points?

In brief: a true federation with a directly elected parliament; a federal government limited to defence and foreign affairs; separate currencies for the two wings, or safeguards against the flight of capital; taxing power vested in the federating units; separate foreign exchange accounts and trade powers for the units; and a separate military or paramilitary force for East Pakistan. The book reproduces the full text, citing The Daily Star:

7. Six Points formula i. The Constitution should provide for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense based on the Lahore Resolution, and the parliamentary form of government with supremacy of a Legislature directly elected on the basis of universal adult franchise.

ii. The federal government should deal with only two subjects: Defence and Foreign Affairs, and all other residual subjects should be vested in the federating states.

iii. Two separate, but freely convertible currencies for the two wings should be introduced; or if this is not feasible, there should be one currency for the whole country, but effective constitutional provisions should be introduced to stop the flight of capital from East to West Pakistan. Furthermore, a separate reserve bank should be established and separate fiscal and monetary policy be adopted for East Pakistan.

iv. The power of taxation and revenue collection should be vested in the federating units and the federal centre would have no such power. The federation would be entitled to a share in the state taxes to meet its expenditures.

v. There should be two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings. The foreign exchange requirements of the federal government should be met by the two wings equally or in a ratio to be fixed; indigenous products should move free of duty between the two wings, and the constitution should empower the units to establish trade links with foreign countries.

vi. East Pakistan should have a separate military or paramilitary force, and Navy headquarters should be in East Pakistan.

Which of the Six Points were the real problem?

The author sorts the demands by their effect on the federation. Points 2 to 5 concern taxation and financial procedures. Points 1, 3, 5 and 6 posed no insurmountable problem. Points 2 and 4, which would have taken taxing and trade powers away from the centre, were the real difficulty.

The points number 2 to 5 directly or indirectly related to taxation and financial procedures. Points 1,3,5 and 6 posed no insurmountable problem for the federation. However, devil did lie in points number 2 and 4 because few federations could survive without vital federal powers such as power to tax and regulate trade and commerce.

Point 1: a true federation and an elected legislature

Point no. 1 was not controversial at all. Later on, the principle of election of the members of National Assembly on the basis of universal adult franchise was incorporated in the Constitution of 1973.

Points 3 and 5: currency, capital and foreign exchange

Points no. 3 and 5 voiced genuine grievances of people of East Pakistan which required objective redressal through appropriate amendments in constitutional financial procedures for bringing about transparency in resources allocation to all regions of the country. Check on unjust transfer of resources from one part of the Federation to others is the bottom line of genuine federalism.

Point 6: a separate military or paramilitary force

Point no. 6, too, was not as alarming as it was projected by certain quarters in West Pakistan. Defence expenditure was significant part of national budget allocations. Its balanced spending in both zones could have created mass scale jobs and promoted economic activities in East Pakistan as well. Unity of command could be maintained despite increased spending in the eastern wing of the country. Separate divisions of army and paramilitary forces could be created for balancing budget spending in both zones. Reasonable safeguards could be negotiated to pre-empt two independent forces. In view of the strategic location of East Pakistan, in the heart of Indian States, connected by a narrow “Siliguri Corridor” on its north, increased defence spending in East Pakistan had tremendous strategic advantage for defence purposes. Besides, the proposition was not unprecedented. Article 1 section 8 (16) of the Constitution of the United States of America permits maintenance of state militias which may supplement federal governance. In cooperative federations, such formations may be an asset rather than a risk.

Points 2 and 4: taxation, trade and the core of the problem

Apparently, both hard-line points, no. 2 and 4 initially seemed to be bargaining chips and Awami League would be ready to make certain concessions if genuine grievances were redressed. There was every likelihood that amicable settlement of 4 points would have softened stance of Bengalis on the remaining 2 extremist demands which constituted the core of the problem. It cannot be readily presumed that the Awami League was following a preplanned script for separation rather than seeking reforms of financial governance. It is a matter of common understanding that no federation may be viable without powers to tax and regulate trade and commerce. If the issues, which surfaced in sixties, were nipped in the bud, perhaps the federal malaise could be prevented well before the issues started burning. Unfortunately, the poetic truths of 1940s lost their lustre and self-seeking priorities of the rulers steered the crisis to the point of no return. Empirically seen, the Constitution of 1962 was too oppressive and regressive to meet the pressing needs of independent Pakistan of modern times.

What did the Six Points mean for the Constitution of 1973?

The author argues that the Constitution of 1962 was one of the major causes of the fall of the federation in 1971, yet the framers of the Constitution of 1973 kept its financial procedures, which were themselves modelled on the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935.

There may be hardly any controversy that the Constitution of the Republic of Pakistan 1962 was one of the major causes of the fall of the federation in Dacca in 1971. All the same, the framers of the Constitution of 1973 again adopted the provisions relating to the Financial Procedures of the Constitution of 1962 which in turn were the replicas of the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935. Most of the changes made in the Constitution of 1973 related to the form rather than the substance of the modes of governance. Practically, in the original Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, the Prime Minister replaced the President of the Constitution of 1962. Contrary to the resolve of All-India Muslim League to steer clear of the Act of 1935, the successive constitutions of Pakistan, including the one founded in 1973, predominantly fell back on the Act of 1935. Resultantly, the promise of integration of the federating units, which powered the Pakistan Movement, remained unfulfilled

Frequently asked questions

What were the Six Points of the Awami League?

A federation based on the Lahore Resolution with a directly elected legislature; a federal government dealing only with defence and foreign affairs; separate convertible currencies or safeguards against capital flight; taxation vested in the federating units; separate foreign exchange accounts and trade powers for the two wings; and a separate military or paramilitary force for East Pakistan, with Navy headquarters there.

Why does the author link the Six Points to the Constitution of 1962?

He sees the Six Points as a reaction against the colonial financial procedures that the Constitution of 1962 carried over, which concentrated control of the public purse in the President and left Parliament a largely ceremonial role in financial matters.

Did the author see the Six Points as a plan for separation?

No. He writes that points 2 and 4 initially seemed to be bargaining chips, and that it cannot be readily presumed the Awami League was following a preplanned script for separation rather than seeking reforms of financial governance.

What happened to the Six Points after the 1970 elections?

In the author's account, the Awami League won a landslide in East Pakistan in the general elections of 1970 and insisted that the Six Points be the foundation of the new constitution. Extreme polarisation between the Awami League, the Pakistan People's Party and Yahya Khan then erupted into the bloodshed of 1971 and the partition of Pakistan.

How is this different from provincial autonomy under the 18th Amendment?

This piece is about the Six Points themselves. For how provincial autonomy developed from the Lahore Resolution to the 18th Amendment, see Provincial Autonomy in Pakistan: Beyond Legislative Lists and The 18th Amendment in Pakistan: Devolution Compared.

Related Minds

• Provincial Autonomy in Pakistan: Beyond Legislative Lists
• The NFC Award and How Federations Share Revenue
• The Financial Procedures of the United Kingdom and Colonial Governance
• The Historical Role of Financial Governance in Federal Evolution
• The Partition of Bengal and the Inadequacy of Revenues

Read the full argument in the book How Constitutions Flourish or Fail by Mian Ashiq Hussain.