The historic speech of father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7 in 1971 worked as an inspiration to establish control of Bengalis all over Bangladesh rejecting the domination of the Pakistanis, said historians, freedom fighters and prominent personalities.
Besides, the landmark speech also inspired every freedom fighter to take part in the battle against the Pakistani rulers and for the freedom of Bengalis as well, they said.
They said that although Bangabandu had been detained by the Pakistani rulers in jail during the nine-month- long War of Liberation, in his absence, his speech on March 7 had worked as the tonic for the freedom fighters. Each of the freedom fighters as well as the Bengalis was inspired with his speech. The landmark speech of the Bangabandhu had united the Bengalees against the Pakistani rules, repression and torture.
The freedom fighters always had been tuned to the speech of the Bangabandhu aired by the Swadhin Bangla BetarKendro, they said.
Fifty years ago, Bangabandhu delivered the finest speech of his life at the erstwhile historic Ramna Race Course. Disregarding the intimidation and threats of the Pakistani Army's tanks, guns and machineguns, and in the presence of a million people, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared in a booming voice: "This time, the struggle is for our liberation, this time the struggle is for our independence".
It is learnt that the historic speech of the Bangabandhu on March 7 is considered not only a political document, it created a possibility for the cultural identity of the nation.
In this context, this historic speech on March 7 of Bangabandhu was recognised as a World Heritage on October 30, 2017 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique:
Former Vice-Chancellor of University of Dhaka, Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique, said, “During the nine-month Liberation War, Bangabandhu was in Pakistani jail, but his speech was with us. And it seemed that Bangabandhu was with us. In the battle field, the freedom fighters fought the war being inspired listening to the speech,” he said, adding that during the war, the people listened to the speech through Swadhin Bangla BetarKendro.
He mentioned that the nation was kept in dark about the landmark 7th March speech since the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975 until June 23, 1996 when his worthy daughter Awami League President Sheikh Hasina had formed government following a victory in 1996 general election. On June 23 in 1996 just after Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina took oath at the Bangabhaban, the state-run Bangladesh Television first telecast Bangabandhu’s 7th March speech in the evening, he added.
Shawkat Ali SarkerBir Bikram:
A gallantry award winning freedom fighter, Shawkat Ali Sarker Bir Bikram, recalling his memory said, “The historic March 7 speech of Bangabandhu immediately united the Bangalis irrespective of caste, creed and religion to prepare for the ultimate War of Independence.”
The valiant freedom fighter, who is currently the President of Chilmari upazila Awami League and Chairman of Chilmari upazila parishad in Kurigram district, said the Bangalee nation under the leadership of Bangabandhu was forging the decisive rock-solid unity for the independence to get rid of injustice, deprivation, exploitation and torture in 1971.
“Being inspired by the directions for the War of Independence given by Bangabandhu in his March 7 speech, I left home to protect the honour of our motherland in the beginning of the War of Liberation,” he said.
Professor Mesbah Kamal:
Highlighting the excellence of the Bangabandhu's speech on March 7, a history professor Mesbah Kamal of Dhaka University said, "After the historic speech of Bangabandhu on March 7, the control of Bengalis was established in the whole of Bangladesh instead of Pakistanis.
"Many people wrote Bangladesh by deleting the word East Pakistan at different places”, said the DU History professor and continued as saying that after the March 7 speech of Bangabandhu, the whole country was being run under the direction of Bangabandhu. This speech united the whole of Bangladesh except a few Razakars.”
Shamsuzzaman Khan:
Former Director General (DG) of Bangla Academy, Shamsuzzaman Khan said there is no comparison in history with the speech given by Bangabandhu on March 7, 1971. This speech cannot be compared to any other speech, including Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address or Churchill's speech during World War-II.
Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu:
Ekushey Medal winning cultural leader and prominent personality Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu, who is also a valiant freedom fighter, termed Bangabandhu's speech on March 7 a unique political direction of the modern history and also a document of the movement.
He also mentioned that the linguistic excellence in the speech is also astonishing.
Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu said that in contrast to the Calcutta-centric language sentence structure, the Padma bank language and sentence variation style emerged in this speech. What has happened is that the Bengali language takes a definite turn, which is the language adjacent to the soil of lower Bengal as opposed to the so called chaste language.
That is why ,this speech is not only a political document ,but it also created the possibility of a cultural identity, he added.