Bangabandhu’s 7th March Speech Reshaped History By Amir Hossain

Bangabandhu’s 7th March Speech Reshaped History

Amir Hossain

I beg to be excused by the respected readers for taking pride in the fact that I was one of those fortunate reporters who covered the historic 7th March speech of Bangabandhu in 1971. It was a great event for all of us as such a historic speech is delivered rarely once in a century and so it is a glory to be a witness to that. I had the opportunity to cover Bangabandhu’s speech as a senior staff reporter of daily Ittefaq. Long 44 years have elapsed since 7 March 1971, but the whole scenario including the mammoth gathering of freedom loving people and the epoch-making address by Bangabandhu, the poet of politics, are still fresh in my mind. I consider it as the most glorious success of my life as a journalist that I had the opportunity to cover Bangabandhu’s 7 March speech which is compared by many with the Gettysburg Address of Abraham Lincoln. And to us it was more than that.

 

I was then attached to Bangabandhu for covering the political developments. Much before his address was delivered, the whole Race Course, now Suhrawardy Udyan, turned into a human sea. I still wonder, how about one million people of all ages and from all parts of the country, many carrying ‘lathis and baithas’ in hands and all chanting thunderous slogans of ‘Joy Bangla,’ and ‘Joy Bangabandhu’ had gathered at the Race Course Ground that day. It seemed to us that only a small number of people of Dhaka, then a small city, stayed back at their homes that day. I had the privilege to cover about 150 public meetings of Bangabandhu across the country before and after the 1970 elections. But never before had I seen Bangabandhu in such a revolutionary appearance as on 7 March. In my opinion history allows a great leader to appear in such revolutionary image and with such decisive address only once in a lifetime. And for Bangabandhu the day was 7 March and the address was the one delivered on that day. In the general elections held in December 1970 Awami League led by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had bagged majority seats of Pakistan National Assembly. 3rd March was fixed by President Yahya Khan as the date for the inaugural session of the Assembly in Dhaka. But a deep conspiracy was hatched to foil the verdict of the people of Bangladesh. And as part of that President Yahya Khan on 1 March 1971 in an impromptu address to the nation postponed sine die the scheduled inaugural session of the Assembly. In fact, that was the beginning of the end of the existence of Pakistan as a state, which was, in fact, ‘a historical mystery, geographical absurdity and political blunder.’

 

Bangladesh was thrown into flames by Yahya Khan’s sudden announcement. On March 1, a test cricket match was in progress at the Dhaka stadium. No sooner had the announcement come on air at 1 pm, people ransacked the stadium and came out with slogans in favour of independence. Bangabandhu and his party colleagues were holding a meeting then at Hotel Purbani in Motijheel. Angry demonstrators gathered there in thousands and raised various slogans. Bangabandhu in a brief address to them protested the postponement of the Parliament session and urged the people to unite against the conspiracy. On 2nd March students hoisted new ‘National flag of Bangladesh’ on Dhaka University campus. In protest against the military junta’s conspiracy against Bangalees, Bangabandhu launched a non-cooperation movement and called for countrywide 6 AM-2 PM hartal everyday from March 2 to 6. On March 3 Swadhin Bangla Chhatra Sangram Parishad revealed the ‘Manifesto of Independence’ at a public meeting at Paltan Maidan. Dhaka had turned into a city of processions on 3 March. In scores of processions people in thousands attended the public meeting organised by Students’ Action Committee at Paltan Maidan. From this meeting Bangabandhu announced his non-cooperation movement programme. He said payment of taxes will remain suspended until the government repression is stopped.  Hartal will be observed everyday from 6 AM to 2 PM. All offices, courts, mills and factories, school-colleges, rail-steamer will remain closed. “Come to Race Course on 7 March, I shall announce the next course of action,” he said. Then amid continued hartal and movement on the streets came the unforgettable 7 March 1971. On that day Bangabandhu made a historic address at Race Course that reshaped the history and led the nation towards freedom.  Bangabandhu in his address narrated the stories of deprivation of and repression on the people of Bangladesh and urged the people to turn every house into a fort and get ready with whatever is available to fight the enemy. He vowed, “As we have shed blood, we would give more blood, but must we liberate the people of Bangladesh, Inshallah”. As the elected leader of 75 million people Bangabandhu declared amid thunderous applauses of the people, “The struggle this time is for our emancipation, the struggle this time is for independence”.

 

Bangabandhu in his speech tactfully stopped short of making unilateral declaration of independence in order to avert a possible massacre of the people starting from Race Course that very day. He took time and left the option open for eventual ‘talks’ only on strategic ground. This showed another aspect of Bangabandhu’s prudence, political sagacity and love for his people. Bangabandhu’s 7 March address gave the nation the guideline for armed struggle for liberation. And from that point of view 7 March address was the informal declaration of independence which was given the final shape by him in the early hours of 26 March, 1971. Since the beginning of the Non-Cooperation Movement the administration of Pakistani rulers had virtually collapsed and Bangladesh was being run under the directives of Bangabandhu. Especially after his historic 7th March speech everybody in Bangladesh took him as the lawful and real ruler of Bangladesh. It was due to this fact that the then Chief Justice of Dhaka High Court Justice BA Siddiqui refused to administer oath of office to ‘Butcher of Beluchistan’ general Tikkah Khan who was appointed as the governor of ‘East Pakistan’ replacing moderate Shahebzada Yakub Khan.

 

Well ahead of the proclamation of independence of Bangladesh in the early hours of March 26, Bangabandhu on March 7 declared: ‘The struggle this time is for our emancipation, the struggle this time is for independence’. This declaration, in fact, was the maiden formal message of Bangabandhu to the people to get ready for armed struggle to achieve independence. Bangabandhu’s speech changed the course of history and the whole nation started preparing for final showdown with the Pakistani rulers. People across the country - from the capital to remote villages - continued to raise slogans like: ‘Sab Kother Shesh Koth Bangladesher Swadhinata’ and ‘Bir Bangalee Astro Dhoro, Bangladesh Mukto Koro’. The entire country from Teknaf to Tetulia was boiling with tension running high. Against this backdrop, President Yahya Khan came to Dhaka on 15 March to hold talks with Bangabandhu on the country’s political crisis. In fact, the events that followed made it clear that his move for talks was just a ploy to confuse the people and buy time to finalise preparations for launching a brutal assault on the Bangalees.  

 

Mujib-Yahya meeting started next day, March 16 and continued in several sessions. But the meeting failed to yield any positive outcome. And finally Bangalee nation took up arms for liberation as Bangabandhu had asked them to get prepared for. In other words, the nation fought and achieved independence through armed struggle as outlined by Bangabandhu in his historic 7th March address.

 

This is one of the last articles by Amir Hossain who had been the Acting Editor of this daily. He breathed his last yesterday noon at a city hospital