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Today is the historic 7th March.
On this day in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had delivered his epoch-making speech of independence before a mammoth rally at the historic Racecourse Maidan, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka city.
In 2017, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) recognised the historic March 7 Speech of Bangabandhu as a world documentary heritage.
In his 19-minute extempore speech before a million freedom-loving people, Bangabandhu had made a clarion call for a non-cooperation movement asking the nation to prepare for the war of independence to liberate the country from the exploitative Pakistan regime.
“The struggle this time is for freedom, the struggle this time is for independence, Joy Bangla,” Bangabandhu declared from the massive rally.
His speech worked like a magic spell inspiring the entire Bangalee nation to join the struggle for independence from the autocratic and repressive rule of the then Pakistani military junta.
This speech is considered the inspiration behind the awakening of Bengali independence, liberation, and national consciousness.
This year the day has come in a different situation following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August last year amid the student-led mass uprising.
In the face of the movement, ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country and has been staying in India since then.
Though Awami League and its associate bodies were not seen observing the day openly today, the party’s verified Facebook page shared several videos showing observance secretly in the parts of the country.
On October 16 last year, the interim government decided to cancel observance of eight national days including March 7 commemorating the historic speech of Bangabandhu and August 15 marking his assassination in 1975.