Historic 7 March today
The day arrives in a different context this year as the AL government fell on 5 August last year in the face of a mass uprising
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," Sheikh Mujib had said in his speech.
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In the 19-minute speech from 4:23pm before millions of people of former East Pakistan, Sheikh 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 at the rally.
On 30 October 2017, UNESCO recognised the historic speech by Sheikh Mujib 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.
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 has arrived in a different context this year as the AL government fell on 5 August last year in the face of a mass uprising following a violent crackdown on student protests.
In the face of the uprising, Sheikh Mujib's daughter, the AL President and now ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled with her sister Sheikh Rehana and took refuge in India.
Hasina has been staying in New Delhi since then with facilities provided by the Indian government. Most of the top leaders of AL are on the run, while many others are in jail.
Though AL 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 parts of the country.
On 16 October last year, the interim government decided to cancel the observance of eight national days including 7 March and 15 August, which marked the assassinations of Sheikh Mujib and many of his family members in 1975.
