7th March speech: Operations order for the liberation war 1971

 

The 20th century witnessed a few speeches by great leaders, which has reshaped geopolitics during history's crucial pivot points. Leaders, who could convince, organize and motivate people by their speech and wonderful leadership. To mention a few:

m    UK's Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 13 May 1940 to wage war Battle of Britain against Hitler.

m    USSR's Premier Joseph Stalin on 3 July 1941 for war against fascist enslavers.

m    USA's General (later became President) Dwight D. Eisenhower's order on the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944.

m    USA's President John F Kennedy's bracing the nation for the Cuban Missile Crisis on 22 October 1962.

The most rousing and inspirational wartime speech was the 7th March Speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 which led the people of Bangladesh to liberation war in 1971. An impromptu speech that forever changed the fate of Bengalese. UNESCO has recognized the 7th march speech as documentary heritage and included it in the memory of the world's register. The historic speech by Bangabandhu on 7th March 1971 can be turned into a campaign plan of the war of independence by the supreme commander Sheikh Mujib. Again as a commander, he has described all the contingency plans, current situation, enemy forces, friendly forces, administrative arrangement, intelligence report, etc to his subordinate commanders too. It was a detailed guideline for the war.

Let's explain the campaign plan and operations order briefly. In war, the Campaign Plan is the operational expression of the commander's military strategy; the Campaign Plan describes concepts and plans of military action by specifying how operations and logistics will be operated to win the war.

In war, An Operations Order, often abbreviated to OPORD, it is a comprehensive plan described to subordinate commander how to conduct military operations. An OPORD describes the situation, the mission, information, intelligence report, and supporting activities to win the war. In his extempore speech of 7th March charismatic leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman issued both Campaign Plan and Operations Order for the liberation war. His speech consisted of all standard components of an Operation Order (OPORD) as,

1. Situation

a. Enemy Forces

b. Friendly Forces

c. Attachment Detachment

2. Mission

3. Execution

a. Concept of Operation

b. Subunit Operation

c. Coordinating Instructions

4. Service Support

a. Supply

b. Transport

c. Media

d. Personnel

5. C3I (Command, Control, Communication, Intelligence)

(Many analysts have narrated the significance of the 7th March speech as a political gain, social rights claim, poetic expression, the common goal of liberation, and so on. I will try to explain the intention of the 7th March speech from the military point of view. 7th March speech includes all the characteristics of Operations Order for the war, even it was more elaborate. In this topic, I will try to put this unique speech in the sequence of an Operations Order.)

1. Situation.

Today I appear before you with a heavy heart. You know and understand everything. We tried with our lives. But the painful matter is that now the streets of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Rangpur are stained with the bloods of my brothers. Now the people of Bangla want freedom. The people of Bangla want to live. The people of Bangla want to have their rights. it's a matter of great sorrow that today I have to tell painfully the pitiful history of the last twenty-three years. The bloody history of Bengalis tortured in Bangla itself. The history of the last twenty-three years is the history of the wailing of dying men and women.

The history of Bangla is the history of the staining of streets with the blood of the People of this country. We gave blood in 1952. After winning the election in 1954, we couldn't even form the government. Proclaiming martial law in 1958, Ayub Khan made us slaves for ten years. During the 'Six Point Movement', my children were gunned down on 7th June 1966. After, the fall of Ayub Khan brought about the 'Mass Movement' of 1969 where Yahya Khan usurped power. He said he would give constitution and democracy to the nation. We Agreed, Thereafter the rest is history. There was an election. You know the fault was not ours.

a. Enemy Forces.

I met President Yahya Khan and discussed everything with him. Being the leader of not only of Bangla but of the majority party of Pakistan, I requested him to convene the National Assembly on 15th February. He didn't agree with me, rather he yielded to Mr. Bhutto's demand to hold the assembly in the first week of March. We said that was all right. We would sit in the Assembly. I went even to the extent of saying that if anybody, even a lone person proposed something reasonable, we, although the majority will accept the proposal.

Mr. Bhutto came here. He conferred with us and said that the door for discussion was not closed. There would be more discussions. Then we talked with other leaders and said 'please come and sit together; let's prepare the Constitution through discussion'. Mr. Bhutto said that if the members of West Pakistan came here, the Assembly would turn into a slaughterhouse. He said whoever would come would be killed. If they came to the Assembly, then from Peshawar to Karachi, all shops will be closed down by force. I said that Assembly would continue, then all of a sudden, the Assembly was closed on 1st March. As President, Mr. Yahya Khan had summoned the Assembly. I said that I would attend.

 Mr. Bhutto said that he won't. Thirty- five members from West Pakistan came here. Then all of a sudden, the Assembly was closed. The people of Bangla were blamed; I was blamed too. Because of the closure, the people of this country burst into protest. I told them to observe 'hartal' (strike) in a peaceful manner I told them to close down all mills and factories. The people responded. The people spontaneously came out on the streets. They firmly pledged to continue their resistance in a peaceful manner.

b. Friendly Forces.

The people of Bangladesh cast their vote overwhelmingly for me, for Awami League. Our National Assembly will sit. We will draw up the Constitution there. And we will build this country. The people of this country will have economic, political, and cultural freedom. The weapons we bought at the expense of our money to protect the country from the invasion of foreign enemies are now being used against the poor and unarmed people of our country; they are being shot down.

We are the majority of the people of Pakistan. Whenever we Bangalis tried to gain power; tried to rule this country as our own, they assaulted us. They are our brother; I asked them 'Why must you shoot your brother? You were deployed to protect this country from the attack of foreign enemies.

c. Attachment/Detachment.

I told him 'General Yahya Khan, you are President of Pakistan. Come to Dhaka and see how my poor people, my people of Bangla are being shot down. How the bosom of our mothers are being emptied of their sons. How my people has being killed. You come, see and do justice and then finalize. That's exactly what I told him. Without any consultation, with me or any discussion with us, suddenly after 5 hours of the secret meeting, Yahya Khan delivered his speech, in which he dumped all the blame squarely on me, squarely on the people of Bangla. (The crowds says shame, shame)

I have said in the meeting, the struggle this time is our struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is the struggle for our independence. You can't keep seven crores of people subjugated. Since we have learned to die, no one can dominate us.

2. Mission.

The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation. The struggle this time is the struggle for our independence.

3. Execution.

a. Concept of Operation.

(1). Time over Target (TOT). if one more shot is fired and if my people are killed again then my request to you is; build a fortress in each and every home.

 (2). Engagement. Face the enemy with whatever you have.

 (3). Execution. In case I can't give you any further order, I tell you; close all roads and highway indefinitely. We will starve them to death. We will make them go without water and choke them to death.

b. Subunit Operation.

The Assembly has summoned on the 25th March. The marks of bloods have not yet dried. I had clearly said on 10th March that Mujib Rahman can't joint RTC, treading the bloods of martyrs. They have called the Assembly. They have got to accept my demands:

(1) First, martial law must be withdrawn;

(2) All army personnel must go back to the barracks;

(3) There has to be an inquiry into the way the killings were carried out, and the power has to be handed over to the people's representatives.

Only then, we will consider whether we can sit in the Assembly or not. Before that, we can't sit in the Assembly. The people have not given me that right.

Do you have faith in me? (The crowds says yes yes)

(To be continued...)


Squadron Leader (Rtd) M Sadrul Ahmed Khan is a member of Bangladesh Awami League, Finance and Planning Affairs Subcommittee. He also served as Deputy Sergeant-At-Arms in Bangladesh Parliament (2009-18).