Joy Bangla Concert pays a historic tribute to the historic voice

Of all the speeches ever delivered upon this planet that changed the course of history – from the one by Socrates justifying his philosophic position to the five-minute discourse by Abraham Lincoln advocating for democracy – the March 7 speech by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 has a special place in the history of mankind for it spelled out a pathway for freedom and emancipation for 75 million people.

This year, 49 years into that historic speech, millennial youths had an otherworldly experience to share. They saw the Father of the Nation speaking before the countrymen as if he were still alive. That baritone voice that roared out aloud against the repressive regime of Pakistan in 1971, the signature index finger moving back and forth as a beacon of hope for the countrymen but a blow to the oppressive ruler, the towering figure clad in white panjabi and black coat came alive once more.

You may draw its parallel from Horatio in Shakespeare's play Hamlet who had a hard time believing his eyes when the ghost of Hamlet's father, the late king, descended upon the earth in the dead of the night. To describe how perplexed he was, he said,

"As thou art to thyself.

Such was the very armour he had on

When he the ambitious Norway combated."

In modern-day English, it can be translated that the same ambitious king who conquered over the king of Norway has reappeared.

Similarly, the same man who led Bangladesh to resist the genocide launched by Pakistan reappeared, so it seemed at the Army Stadium in Dhaka where a holographic visual portrayed Bangabandhu as if he were alive and appeared right before the youths.

Every year since 2014, Young Bangla, the youth-front platform of the ruling Awami League's research wing CRI, has been organising the Joy Bangla Concert paying tribute to the speech by the Father of the Nation that ended with the words Joy Bangla (Victory to Bangla).

The biggest entertainment show of the country blended two ends of the spectrum adeptly – the patriotic melodies inspiring the country's freedom 49 years ago and the Western genres Bangladeshi musicians adopted in the last few decades. The history of Bangladesh that earned freedom by fighting against one of the worst genocides of the world launched by Pakistan was reconciled with the heartthrob rock and metal songs of this era beating with the hearts of millennial youths.

With its curtain lifted in the afternoon of March 7, 2020, the concert at the army stadium attracted a human sea swelling with the roar and applauses the way the speech of Bangabandhu on March 7, 1971, invited a human sea – all of whom were waiting with the bated breath for their leader to speak. A nation that faced 24 years of oppression by the regime of Pakistan with which it shared nothing – not language, not culture, not even land – finally reached the breaking point. The rise of Sheikh Mujib as a leader of East Pakistan (Eastern Wing of Pakistan and now independent Bangladesh) was like the fall of oppression by the rulers of Pakistan and that was the last thing they wanted to happen. Since the very inception of Pakistan, the rift between East Pakistan and West Pakistan was gaping open. Farcical as it may sound, the two wings were not separated by something like Berlin Wall (which drew a line between East and West Germany). Rather, East Pakistan and West Pakistan were separated by a land lengthening 2,000 km.

Though the birth of Pakistan in 1947 marked the freedom from the British regime, within a handful of years East Pakistan realised that they jumped out of the frying pan into the oven. A new struggle had just begun. Fresh bloodshed was on the horizon. The first blow came to the language of East Pakistan, which was Bangla (from which came the name Bangladesh) that was the language of over 70 million people. Still, the regime of Pakistan denied it and when the protest swelled up in East Pakistan, youths had to sacrifice their lives on February 21, 1952. The entire world now celebrates the day as the International Mother Language Day. Though discriminations against East Pakistan became blatant, the rise of Sheikh Mujib as a leader was unstoppable. Twice did he become the minister – first in 1953 and then in 1956.

He was at the forefront of all the movements that culminated in the freedom and sovereignty of Bangladesh. In 1970, the world's deadliest natural disaster (in terms of the death toll, which was 500,000) having hit the Southern tip of East Pakistan did not draw any significant humanitarian response from West Pakistan. During the election in the same year, Awami League, led by Bangabandhu, secured a landslide victory in the election of Pakistan. It felt like a doomsday for the rulers of Pakistan who were dillydallying with the handover of power.

This was the breaking point for the people of East Pakistan. On March 7, 1971, all roads led to Racecourse Ground in Dhaka (now the capital of Bangladesh). Tension brewed up. All the international media had their eyes on Racecourse Ground. Hundreds of thousands of people squeezed themselves on the field. Millennial youths who now watch it on YouTube feel the surge of energy running through the mass. Finally, their leader took to the stage and delivered the historic speech that paved the path for the next course of history – the hoisting of the red and green flag of Bangladesh, the nine-month genocide launched by regime of Pakistan on innocent people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) and finally the sun of freedom of Bangladesh rising from ashes on Dec 16 1971, through the sacrifice of 3 million lives.

"This time the struggle is for freedom, this time the struggle is for emancipation," were the words having rolled on the tongues of the father of the nation foreshadowing that the 24 years of oppression of Pakistan on the people of Bangladesh were to call it a day. "As we have shed blood, we will shed more blood. We will emancipate the people of this land," he went on saying in his 19-minute speech.

Each brief sentence, each intonation, each roar summed up the years of pent-up suppression of the countrymen in the hand of Pakistan. His speech ended with Joy Bangla, which is still synonymous with the spirit of the freedom and sovereignty of the country.

Since 2014, the concert has been aesthetically blending two worlds – the recreation of history and the heartthrob rock and metal songs of this era. Also comes into play the songs aired on Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, a secret wartime radio station set up by some brave souls to inspire the countrymen to fight the occupation army of Pakistan on the soil of Bangladesh.

This year the celebration met its peak since the year 2020 also marks the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 17, which is just 10 days apart from March 7. Daughters of Bangabandhu – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, his grandchildren Radwan Mujib Siddiq, a trustee of CRI, and Saima Wazed Putul, relished the concert at the Army Stadium.

In the afternoon, a gloomy speck of cloud has just cleared off the sky and the sun blazed once more as it did 49 years ago during the speech of Bangabandhu. A cheer of joy swept through the concert ground where 50,000 squeezed themselves in. The event kicked off with the National Anthem. Then the concert rolled on with the thrashing metals and sweeping rocks by the iconic and rising bands of Bangladesh such as F Minor, Minar, Avoid Rafa, Shunno, Vikings, Fuad & Friends, Lalon, Arbovirus, Chirkutt, Cryptic Fate, Nemesis, Arekta Rock Band, Adverb, and Sin.

As time went by, something otherworldly, hard-to-believe was about to unfold before the eyes of youths. Bangabandhu came alive on the stage. The memory of the world came to life once more. The same leonine figure was right before the eyes of youths. The holographic visual was neatly project that the youths had a hard time distinguishing the optical illusion from reality.

The visual then gave its way to the performance by bands. When ArboVirus sang 'O Amar Desher Mati, Tomar Pore Thekai Matha' (o the beloved soil of my country, I bow down to thee), composed by Nobel Laureate Tagore, it melted every heart. As Lalon band (a band inspired by the iconic mystique of this land Lalon) sang 'Pagol Chhara Duniya Chole Na' (The world without crazy bohemians is not worth living in), it transferred a wave of energy across the audience.

Though the father of the nation was assassinated 44 years ago, the red and green flag he helped to fly, the air of freedom he enabled his countrymen to breathe in, the map of the green delta he conferred upon the countrymen, the voice the United Nations recognises as the memory of the world, the recognition by the BBC as the greatest man ever born on this land, his standing beside the plight and joy of the countrymen, the upright backbone even in the face of assassin's bullets, the unwavering commitment to the freedom, flag, and language of his countrymen will never die out. Joy Bangla Concert testifies to that truth.