That epoch making speech created a wave in the ocean of people who had been waiting for a call to sacrifice their lives. The 7th March speech by the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the result of the culmination of thousands years of struggle for the restoration of peace, liberty, democracy and human rights, which were snatched away by several invaders in the past and lastly the Pakistani Military rulers. It was a stout-hearted pronouncement of a national hero who had a life-long yearning for the salvation of the people of his motherland.
The 7th March speech was a wake-up call for the people who have long been oppressed and suppressed by the military rule and almost forgot about their rights and liberty. The 7th March speech was an everlasting inspiration for a nation which has changed its lot through the Liberation War in 1971. The 7th March speech has made the nation indomitable and led it to a movement and finally for achieving country’s independence through the war of liberation.
It was a gloomy afternoon on March 7, 1971. The historic Racecourse field was overflowing with people. Millions of toiling masses from all walks of life thronged the field and turned it into an ocean of human heads. Tension and anxiety, resentment and anger were writ large on the faces of the people present there. They were there to realize their long-standing dues that remained unfulfilled by the military and autocratic rulers of Pakistan. They were there to take directives from their beloved leader whom they had supported with whatever they had in the election held on December 7, 1970. They gave Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his Awami League an absolute majority to form a government in Pakistan.
They were there to inflict a crushing blow on the enemy of Bengal, Bangalees and of humanity in general. They were waiting with the hope that they would make it the final round with the perpetrators who sucked their blood for more than 23 years in the name of Islam. The military rulers of Pakistan have several times been using Islam as the weapon of seizing power. Peace and democracy-loving people of the then East Pakistan, the majority of the total population, had been subjected to blatant economic exploitation, deception and atrocities by the Pakistani rulers.
Just after the creation of Pakistan, its creator Mr. Jinnah himself hurled the first blow to the country’s majority population the Bangalees by declaring that Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan. And the second blow came on 21 February, 1952 when the Pakistani rulers killed our valiant sons who had demanded that Bangla should also be the state language of Pakistan. The third one came down on the lives of the people of then East Pakistan when the united front won a landslide victory headed by Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Haque, Hossain Shaheed Shuhrwardy, Moulana Bhasani and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1954 election. But Pakistanis did not allow this government to be functional.
And finally they had started killing the innocent people when the Bangalees got absolute majority in 1970s election under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib. The anger was simmering through months, years and decades. So, after a long journey the oppressed people were on a turning point to realize their decade-old demands.The waiting finally ended with the emergence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman before his people at the Race Course Maidan on this day the 7th March 1971. Sheikh Mujib, the gifted leader of the soil, came straight to the microphone and started describing his experience of sufferings, sorrow and pain.
In his speech, he proved himself as the most law-abiding, peace-loving and respectful to the others’ opinion. One by one he spelled out the right cause of the people of the then East Pakistan. He made it clear in his speech that the Pakistani military rulers had killed hundreds of innocent people. They were not ready to hand over power to the elected representatives of the country. Their motive was to destroy the Bangalees as a nation. They started hatching a conspiracy to attack the innocent people.
On the historic 7 March in 1971 Bangabandhu, the iconic leader of the oppressed people of the world, gave a clarion call to fight the Pakistan army to the finish. In that speech, Bangabandhu made it clear that the indiscriminate killing of the valiant sons of the soil by the perpetrators made the people angry and united on one point. He declared that the people of Bengal wanted freedom. They wanted economic emancipation.
He said that his people would not hesitate to shed blood again in realizing freedom and economic emancipation. He warned the Pakistani military junta that when the Bangalees had learned to give blood for the cause of the nation nobody would be able to suppress them anymore. As a real people’s leader, Bangabandhu had given his people an idea about the attempts to sabotage the fight for emancipation by the enemies. He said that the enemies are active within the country so they might create confusion and inner conflicts among the people.
The 7 March speech of Bangabandhu was being regarded as the vitality to our freedom fighters. This reinforced their courage and hope in carrying out guerrilla attacks on the enemy and laying down their lives for motherland.
This is an amazing fact that only in the 9- month guerrilla war the freedom fighters with the help of friendly Indian army achieved the victory. And the nearly one lac (100,000) Pakistani army personnel were compelled to surrender to the joint forces. With the surrender of the Pakistani army an Independent Bangladesh came into being. And it had happened centering Bangabandhu.
By any standard that speech is regarded as inspirational to attain democracy, rule of law and human rights. The international community has recognized it as the world’s best speech and the UNESCO has recently declared the 7 March speech as world heritage. The people of Bangladesh and the peace loving people of the world are proud of this great speech.
