View source for March Intifada

{{Short description|1965 left-wing uprising against British presence in Bahrain}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = March Intifada
| partof = 
| image =
| caption =
| date = March – April 1965
| place = [[Bahrain]]
| coordinates = 
| causes =  Laying off hundreds of workers at the Bahrain Petroleum Company 
| status =
| goals = Ending the British presence in Bahrain
| result = Independence of Bahrain in 1971
| methods = [[Strike action|Strikes]] 
[[Demonstration (people)|Demonstration]]s
<br>
[[Civil resistance]]
| side1 = Leftists and students
*[[National Liberation Front – Bahrain]]
| side2 = Colonial Bahrain government
| side3 =
| leadfigures1 = Largely uncentralized leadership
| leadfigures2 = 
| leadfigures3 =
| howmany1 = 
| howmany2 =
| howmany3 = 
| casualties1 = 
| casualties2 =
| casualties3 = 6 civilians killed
| casualties_label = 
| notes =
}}
{{History of Bahrain}}

The '''March Intifada''' ({{langx|ar|انتفاضة مارس}}) was an [[Rebellion|uprising]] that broke out in [[Bahrain]] in March 1965. The uprising was led by  [[Leftist]] groups, the [[National Liberation Front – Bahrain]] calling for the end of the [[History of Bahrain (1783–1971)#British protectorate|British presence]] in Bahrain and numerous notable individuals participated in the uprising, including [[Wa'ad]] political activist [[Ali Rabea]].<ref name="bh"/> The uprising was sparked by the laying-off of hundreds of Bahraini workers at the [[Bahrain Petroleum Company]] on March 5, 1965. Several people died in the sometimes violent clashes between protesters and police.

==Background and main events==
The uprising started when students of Manama High School, which then was the only high school in Bahrain, protested against the laying-off of hundreds of workers at BAPCO (Bahrain Petroleum Company), however, the protest was quickly suppressed by the infantry. The news of the crackdown created a nationwide uprising which would last for a month.<ref name="bh"/>

The uprising's motto was "Down down colonialism" ([[Arabic]]: يسقط يسقط الاستعمار)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s-8uAQAAIAAJ&q=%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%82%D8%B7+%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%82%D8%B7+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86|title=كلمة أخيرة: مقالات صحفية|work=al-Shaer, Sawsan|year=2007|pages=|quote=|last1=علي|first1=شاعر، سوسن}} Published by the ''Shaikh Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research''. {{in lang|ar}}</ref>

===Role of Muharraq in the uprising===
[[Muharraq]] was a strong center of protests. The opposition managed to control the city for a few days, however, security forces entered it after clashes with residents. The people of Muharraq's resistance gave the city the nickname "[[Port Said]]", named after the Egyptian city that became famous during the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]].<ref name="bh">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311121030/http://bahrainscholars.org/en/?page_id=27 BahrainScholars (Archived)]{{in lang|ar}}</ref>

===Deaths===
On April 14, 1965, a civilian named Faisal Algassab was the first person to be killed as a result of participation in the Intifada. He was being chased by armed police officer Ahmad Alkhaloo who shot Algassab as he was returning to his residence, causing Algassab to scream in anguish, catching the attention of onlookers and spurring a large crowd at the scene. The officer continued to shoot Algassab until he was presumed dead, causing his blood to be splattered on the walls of his house.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080506175711/http://www.aldemokrati.org/ar-BH/ViewArticle/6/1252/Articles.aspx Al-demokrati (Archived)] {{in lang|ar}}</ref> Five other individuals were killed due to participation in the protests, including Abdullah Saeed Alghanim, Jassim Khalil Abdullah, Abdullah Hussain Bunawda, Abdulnabi Sarhan, and Abdullah Marhoon.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

==See also==
* [[History of Bahrain]]
* [[National Union Committee]]
* [[1990s uprising in Bahrain]]
* [[2011 Bahraini uprising]]
* [[List of modern conflicts in the Middle East]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1965/may/03/bahrain-disturbances Debate in British House of Commons]
* [http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?t=3&aid=17953 The Role of the Working Class in the March 1965 Intifada] – Ibrahim Kamaluddin
* [http://chanad.weblogs.us/?p=464 March Intifada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610072310/http://chanad.weblogs.us/?p=464 |date=2007-06-10 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707121746/http://www.alwaqt.com/art.php?aid=101780 The March Intifada in British Records] – [[Ali Rabea]], Alwaqt Newspaper, March 6, 2008
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707121751/http://www.alwaqt.com/blog_art.php?baid=6243 The Heritage of 1965: Before and After] – Alwaqt Newspaper, March 6, 2008

{{Bahrain topics}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Protests in Bahrain]]
[[Category:Communism in Bahrain]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1965]]
[[Category:Politics of Bahrain]]
[[Category:Rebellions in Bahrain]]
[[Category:1965 in Bahrain]]
[[Category:Intifadas]]
[[Category:Protests]]
[[Category:March 1965 in Asia]]
[[Category:April 1965 in Asia]]