Monday | 7 October 2024 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Monday | 7 October 2024 | Epaper

The speech that stirred a nation for freedom

Published : Friday, 10 March, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 480
Syed Badiuzzaman
March 7 is the day that deserves our reflections over and over. The significance of this day is enormous in the history of the Bengali nation. On this day back in 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave us the roadmap to freedom laying out his vision for a separate homeland we fondly call Bangladesh today.

Exploited, oppressed and politically betrayed Bengali people of what was then East Pakistan eagerly waited for instruction from Bangabandhu after they were denied their legitimate and democratic right by an axis of Pakistani civilian and military rulers to form their own government even though they overwhelmingly won the1970 general election in Pakistan.

And Bangabandhu, the leader of the democratic movement and the party that captured majority seats in the parliament, never disappointed them. He did give them a clear-cut instruction in unambiguous terms at a historic rally on March 7 in 1971 in Dhaka, then the capital of East Pakistan to launch an all-out struggle not only for democracy but also for independence.
His 19-minute extempore speech, recorded in UNESCO�s Memory of the World Register from one of the most influential political leaders of all times of the world, changed the fate of an entire nation forever. On March 7 in1971, over a million people packed the historic Ramna Race Course in the heart of the capital to hear from the man they loved so dearly. Many came from distant places.

And the man who was none other than Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, then the president of Awami League and the undisputed leader of the eastern part of Pakistan delivered the most famous speech of his life with a direct call for freedom which was effectively the declaration of independence of Bangladesh. �The struggle this time is the struggle for our freedom; the struggle this time is the struggle for our independence.�

As he made this historic declaration for freedom and independence just before wrapping up his speech with the most popular slogan of Bengalis �Joy Bangla� (Victory to Bengal), an ecstatic crowd burst into a thunderous applause at the entire Ramna Race Course. Although the Pakistan government didn�t allow live broadcast of that speech on radio and television, his call for freedom spread like wild fire throughout the country within hours.

As Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in her remark during a virtual program last year to mark the great occasion, the historic March 7 speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was clearly the actual declaration of independence. No one needed to read between the lines. The call for freedom and independence was explicit in his speech. �The struggle this time is the struggle for our freedom; the struggle this time is the struggle for our independence.�

Bangabandhu called on the people across the country to set up �resistance committee in every village, every locality, every union and every subdivision under the leadership of Awami League� and asked them to be prepared with whatever they possessed. As he was about to finish his electrifying speech, he reminded the people: �Since we have shed our blood once, we will shed more blood. We shall liberate the people of this country, inshallah [God willing].�

In his most consequential speech for the Bengali nation, he also issued a series of instant orders for the people defying the government of Pakistan. He instructed immediate closure of all courts, offices and educational institutions across the country for indefinite period of time. �No taxes will be paid from now on until independence of our country is achieved and there will be no transfer of a single penny from East Bengal to West Pakistan,� he declared.

In order to pave the path for independence, Bangabandhu launched a complete noncooperation with the military rulers of Pakistan. He ordered all Bengali artistes and employees to boycott both radio and television of Pakistan if they failed to broadcast the news of the people of East Bengal. He also instructed the telephone and telegraph department to keep operating in East Bengal and transmitting news of Bangladeshi people to the outside world.

Bangabandhu�s March 7 speech was indeed a de facto declaration of Bangladesh�s independence. The way he phrased it was brilliant. It reflected his extraordinary intelligence, political wisdom and farsightedness. An open, straightforward and unilateral declaration of Bangladesh�s independence from Pakistan exactly on March 7 would have provoked Pakistani military to start a crackdown on totally unprepared and unarmed people of East Bengal probably from the same night or the next day.

In such a situation, thousands of people would be massacred by the Pakistani occupation army. Apart from a massive number of casualties in what could be a sudden bloodbath, many political leaders, student leaders and other activists would be immediately arrested by Pakistani troops. Even though the Pakistani army did launch their �Operation Searchlight� 18 days later from the night of March 25, people got some time to prepare themselves for such a situation --thanks to the wisdom of Bangabandhu.

The historic moment when Bangabandhu finally issued his call for freedom and independence after decades of subjugation, oppression and exploitation by one part of Pakistan against the other was also the moment of great pride for the Bengali nation which was on the receiving end of all evils since 1947. And that was precisely the reason the call for independence was greeted with spontaneous and deafening slogans by people at the massive rally: �Take up arms brave Bengalis and liberate Bangladesh.�

A large number of reporters and photographers representing foreign media outlets arrived in Dhaka to cover the March 7 rally at Ramna Race Course in anticipation that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman might unilaterally declare Bangladesh�s independence on that day. And local media organizations sent their best reporters and photographers to cover the historic event. Even many editors of various news media from both East and West Pakistan came to the rally to witness history.

Well-known and prominent Bangladeshi journalist AZM Haider representing Eastern News Agency (ENA), which was converted into the first private sector wire service of Bangladesh from Pakistan Press International, was among those editors. Narrating his personal experience in covering the March 7 rally, Haider said he was literally overwhelmed by the crowd size, their enthusiasm, their patriotic slogans, their love for Bangabandhu and their response to his call for freedom.

�It was an experience of a lifetime,� recalled Haider while talking to a group of journalists including me many years later at the National Press Club in Dhaka. �On my way back to the office from the Ramna Race Course that day, I was thinking about two things: How to write the story on this historic event in a way that will give me complete satisfaction and how to describe Bangabandhu that will reflect his tremendous love for and bonding with the people,� the veteran journalist who began his journalism career with Pakistan Press International told us.  

AZM Haider, who covered Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman extensively as a journalist and got a rare opportunity to come close to him, described the great leader as the �Man of the Masses� in his story on the March 7 rally in Dhaka. He told us that nothing was more appropriate than this designation to describe Bangabandhu as he genuinely belonged to the masses. Journalist Haider who also worked at Pakistan Television claimed that it was he who first described Bangabandhu that way which was later followed by many other Bangladeshi journalists.  

The final struggle for our independence began as Bangabandhu finished his landmark speech at the Ramna Race Course on March 7 in 1971. About two weeks later, Pakistani soldiers launched their crackdown on unarmed Bengali civilians of East Pakistan triggering one of the worst genocides in history. But the Bengalis fought back bravely throughout the nine-month liberation war which was also joined by Indian army in its last stage.

In the end, Pakistani occupation forces surrendered, freedom prevailed and East Pakistan became our Bangladesh as the newest nation in South Asia. With our new-found freedom and a brand new country, the promise that Bangabandhu made---�we shall liberate the people of this country, inshallah!�--- before a million people at Ramna Race Course came true.  


-    The writer is a Toronto-based journalist who also writes for the Toronto Sun as a guest columnist   


LATEST NEWS
MOST READ
Also read
Are we prepped to face climate change?
Big push for Bangladesh to adapt to changing climate  
The unraveling of military rule in Myanmar
How to win an argument
Recognise Pakistans 1971 atrocities as genocide
Its time we diversified our export trade
Stop ecocide to gain green economy
Conservation of our wildlife is a must
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.
E-mail: info©dailyobserverbd.com, news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com
🔝