History and the Liberation War
Timeline anchors
Build a firm chronology: the British period and the 1857 uprising, the Partition of 1947, the Language Movement of 1952, the United Front of 1954, the 1966 Six-Point Movement, the 1969 Mass Uprising, the 1970 election, the non-cooperation movement of March 1971, the declaration of independence, the formation of the Mujibnagar government, and the surrender on 16 December 1971.
Key facts
Know the sectors of the Liberation War, the role of the Mukti Bahini, the significance of 7 March and 26 March, the contributions of the Indian allied forces, and the structure of the Mujibnagar government with its acting president and prime minister. Remember the major martyrs and the intellectual killings of December 1971.
Traps
Dates are frequently shifted by one or two years, especially 1947, 1952, and 1971. Questions also swap the roles of figures in the Mujibnagar government, or present a later event as a cause of an earlier one. Watch for ‘first’ claims about movements.
Rule of thumb
Anchor every event to a cause-and-effect chain: language rights led to political mobilisation, which led to autonomy demands, which led to the 1970 mandate, which led to war.
Worked example
A question asks what directly followed the 1970 general election. The Awami League’s absolute majority in the National Assembly led to the postponement of the session, which triggered the non-cooperation movement and then the crackdown; the election itself did not declare independence. Tracing the chain gives the correct answer.