“Turn every house into a fortress, resist the enemy with everything you have … Having mastered the lesson of sacrifice, we shall give more blood. God willing [Inshallah], we shall free the people of this land,” Mujib had said in his speech.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivering his historic 7th March Speech at a huge public rally at Race Course Maidan (Suhrawardy Udyan, March 7, 1971). Photo: 100 years of Mujib
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Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivering his historic 7th March Speech at a huge public rally at Race Course Maidan (Suhrawardy Udyan, March 7, 1971). Photo: 100 years of Mujib
Today is the historic 7 March. On this day in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a historic speech at the then-Ramna Race Course (now Suhrawardy Udyan), directing the freedom-loving Bangalees to wage a decisive struggle against the Pakistan occupation forces.
This speech is considered the inspiration behind the awakening of Bengali independence, liberation, and national consciousness.
“Turn every house into a fortress, resist the enemy with everything you have … Having mastered the lesson of sacrifice, we shall give more blood. God willing [Inshallah], we shall free the people of this land,” Mujib had said in his speech.
In the 19-minute speech from 4:23pm before millions of people of former East Pakistan, Mujib said, “We spilled our blood … we are ready to shed more blood, the people of the country shall be freed, Inshallah!”
“Ebarer sangram amader muktir sangram, ebarer sangram swadhinatar sangram [The struggle this time is a struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is a struggle for independence],” he declared.
On 30 October 2017, UNESCO recognised the historic speech as part of the world’s documentary heritage. It has been included in the Memory of the World International Register, a list of the world’s important documentary heritage maintained by UNESCO.
On 16 October 2024, the interim government decided to cancel the observance of eight national days including 7 March and 15 August, which marked the assassinations of Mujib.
Awami League observes 7 March every year through various programmes. When the party was in power, the day was also celebrated with state-sponsored events. However, the day now carries a different context as the AL government fell on 5 August 2024 in the face of a mass uprising.
Mujib’s daughter, the AL President and now ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled with her sister Sheikh Rehana and took refuge in India. The party’s verified Facebook page yesterday shared several videos showing observance.
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