‘The struggle this time is for independence’

Syed Badrul AhsanSyed Badrul Ahsan
Published : 7 March 2016, 03:08 AM
Updated : 7 March 2016, 03:08 AM

March 7 was a day of decision for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. There were those who thought, quite rightly as it turned out, that he would offer the regime in West Pakistan one last opportunity for a settlement of the crisis in East Pakistan. Similarly, millions of Bengalis expected him to declare Bangladesh's independence at his Race Course public meeting on the day. Right up to his appearance at the Race Course, Mujib and his party colleagues had carefully assessed the situation, with hardly any details of the deliberations trickling out into the public domain. The upshot of was that the people of Bangladesh, in broad measure, did not quite know what Bangabandhu, by whose fiat the rebellious province was being administered, would be saying at the public meeting in the afternoon. Uncharacteristically grave, Bangabandhu climbed the steps to the dais in slow, grave manner. The cameras of the local and foreign media were focused sharply on him.

In the event, Bangabandhu's address at the Race Course turned out to be his finest hour. He did not make a unilateral declaration of independence from his belief that such a move would constitute secession and, worse, could lead to harsh, immediate action by the Pakistan army, which remained in a state of alert in cantonments around the country. Neither did he shy away from informing Bengalis and the rest of the world that the objective before the people of Bangladesh was national independence. He spoke without notes. One of the foremost orators in modern global history, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman launched into an address that seemed to rise to a crescendo of ideas — with no repetitive phrases and no pauses — the focal point of which was to reassure his people that their interests were safe in his hands. He noted General Yahya Khan's call, made the previous day, for the inaugural session of the National Assembly in Dhaka on March 25. At the same time, he rejected the president's insinuation that the Awami League was responsible for the crisis in the country.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stated in unequivocal terms that the participation of the Awami League, the majority party, in the National Assembly on March 25 was dependent on an acceptance of his demands by the regime. The demands were the following:

a) Martial law would have to be withdrawn,
b) A full inquiry into the killings by the army would have to be instituted,
c) All troops of the Pakistan army would have to be withdrawn into their barracks,
d) Power would have to be transferred to the elected representatives of the people.

'The struggle this time,' declaimed Bangabandhu, 'is the struggle for emancipation. The struggle this time is the struggle for independence.'

The threshold had been crossed.

NOTE: At the last moment, Dhaka Betar was compelled by the military not to go for a live broadcast of Bangabandhu's address from the Race Course. In protest against the action, all Bengali employees of the radio station walked off their jobs. Under public pressure, however, the speech would be broadcast on the morning of the next day, March 8.