Bangabandhu and People’s Aspiration for Liberation

 

Bangabandhu is a dauntless and great fighting hero. Never backed down to face the enemy. He was arrested many times in his political career but never went into hiding. He did not leave home on that terrible night of March 25, knowing that he would die. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, an outstanding personality of infinite love for the country and people, humanity and infinite courage, won the hearts of people of all classes and professions, including the rich and the poor, poets, writers, and intellectuals of Bengal.

So Bangabandhu is our great leader. We have been agitating for 23 years for independence under his leadership. On his call, in 1971, the freedom-loving people of Bengal fought a liberation war with the arms of this country. Attained victory from the enemy. Brought the independent-sovereign Bangladesh of red-green flag. Bangabandhu and Bangladesh are therefore one and inseparable. Bangabandhu's excellence was not only a dreamer of the nation called Bangladesh, but he was able to make the dream of the Bengali nation a reality for a thousand years by uniting the Bengali nation in a bond of unique common unity.

Many famous politicians before and after Bangabandhu were born in this Bengal but no one could wake up the Bengalis in the political turmoil. Therefore, everyone has given Bangabandhu the title of the best Bengali of a thousand years, and it is never possible to banish him from history. Bangabandhu roused and inspired Bengalis with the hypnotic power and magic touch of his leadership with the address of independence. On April 5, 1971, US Newsweek magazine carried their cover story on Bangabandhu. In this report, he is called a 'poet of politics'. But according to those who were present at the race course that day, that fiery speech was not a speech, but a lyrical poem by a skilled, well-versed poet. In that speech, Bangabandhu urged the Bengalis of East Pakistan to prepare for the freedom struggle. A written commentary of this speech was distributed. However, despite speaking like a poet in Bengal that day, Bangabandhu was awarded a beautiful title like the first 'Political Poet' by Newsweek magazine. On April 5, 1971, the magazine put the picture of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on its cover and called him a 'Poet of Politics' or 'Poet of Politics' in the lead news.  He was given this title for his historic speech on March 7.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is a charismatic leader, under his strong and courageous leadership, Bangladesh attained independence in 1971. As the father of the nation, the founder of the state,and the leader of the great liberation war Bangabandhu held the place of dignity and respect in the soul of the nation.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the charismatic leader of Bangladesh, because of his visionary leadership, realized at the beginning of March 1971 that war against the Pakistanis was inevitable. Therefore, on March 7, 1971, he instructed the people of Bangladesh to plunge into the war of liberation. He said, "This time the struggle is for our freedom, this time the struggle is for our independence." In this speech, the picture of the killing, oppression, and torture of Bengalis towards Bengalis became concrete. In the face of the enemy, he instructed the Bengali nation, 'Be ready with whatever you have.' Inspired by this hypnotic speech of the Father of the Nation, the Bengali nation started preparingto starta liberation war with weapons.

The historic inflammatory speech of this earth-shaking thunderbolt of only 19 minutes on March 7 was a thousand years of passion, a thousand years of dreams, a reflection of a thousand years of aspirations, which was a firm promise to liberate Bengalis. Bangabandhu uttered in a radiant voice, 'When we have given blood, we will give more blood, we will set the people of this country free, Inshaallah.' It was the historic speech under the leadership and direction of Bangabandhu that inspired the freedom-loving Bengali nation to plunge into the armed struggle of the great liberation war against the occupying Pakistanis and it was through this speech that the future destiny of the Bengalis became clear.

Bangabandhu gave the speech in a very symbolic style. On the one hand, he told the freedom fighters to be ready for a long struggle, on the other hand, he showed the thumbs up to the Pakistani rulers. Bangabandhu was not only a wise politician, he was a world-class diplomat. In his speech on March 7, he expressed everything like a diplomat. He says the last 23 years are a history of deprivation. He spoke about the language movement, the elections of '54, the military rule of '56, the six points of '66, the mass revolution of 1969, the elections of 1970, and the deprivation of Bengalis in Pakistan at that time. Gave an unwritten speech.

Many people say Bangabandhu was absent in our liberation war. They never judge, the liberation war of Bangladesh was a war of expulsion of foreign aggressors and enemies from the interior of an independent country led by an elected representative. After independence on March 26, 1971, it took us 9 months to drive out those enemies. December 16 is our Victory Day because we were able to drive them out.

The declaration of independence by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the leader of Bangladesh on 26 March is the basis of the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh. The full constitution of Bangladesh was written based on this declaration. So, the 9-month war that took place in Bangladesh in 1971 was a war to liberate our independent country from the occupying forces. All the people of an independent country who came through elections fought this war.

The country called Independent Bangladesh, which was born on March 26, 1971, is clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence or the Maternal Cell of the Constitution of Bangladesh.Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence on 26 March as the elected leader of the people of Bangladesh after the beginning of the genocide and the imposition of war on Bangladesh. He ordered everyone to fight against the aggressors. That is what all the people's representatives accepted as a valid declaration on behalf of the people of Bangladesh through the Declaration of Independence. 

Bangabandhu formed the government for the declared independent country. Bangabandhu was appointed as the head of that government i.e. the President and Syed Nazrul Islam as the Vice President. The legitimate government then got all the rights regarding the country to make all the laws and all the revenue related to that declaration. In other words, the independent state which was declared on March 26, started its journey on April 10 with its constitution and legitimate government. There are only two obstacles for the state to move on. One is Several areas inside the state were then occupied by the Pakistani army. The second one is the state needs the formal recognition of another state.

Two things were urgent for this formal recognition. One is who has formed this state must prove that they are not separatists and two is the state being run by elected representatives.When it comes to recognizing another democratic new state for a democratic state, the first thing to look at is whether those who claim to have formed a new state are separatists. If they do not prove to be separatists, then they meet around 60 percent of the conditions for recognition.

If Bangabandhu had fled in this war to drive out the Pakistani aggressors in Bangladesh or had gone underground and tried to run the war like the communist revolutionaries, the military ruler of Pakistan would have had ample opportunity to prove himself as a separatist. But after his country was occupied, Bangabandhu declared independence from his residence. He called on his people to resist the aggressors and called on the world to recognize the new state.

The task of seeking this declaration and recognition was public and as an elected leader. So, when the Pakistani army arrested Bangabandhu, they arrested the elected head of government of an independent country. Bangabandhu proved that he or his party was not a separatist. In other words, with Bangabandhu being publicly arrested in this way, he alone did 60 percent of the rest of the victory that this country had to achieve after the declaration of independence. In other words, he proved to the world that he and his party are not separatists, they are fighting for the liberation of the aggressors from their land.

Just as he won 60 percent of the war by going to jail in Pakistan in 9 months of 1971, he transformed himself like the Agartala case while in jail; his shape is even bigger.The democratic world says the Pakistani military has no right to arrest an elected leader. Although the American president sided with Pakistan, he repeatedly obstructed his Senate in favor of Pakistan.

Everyone also said that only Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has the right to decide about his country. Not the Pakistani military authorities. Therefore, just as Bangabandhu was everywhere in the liberation war with the rifles, mines, and grenades of the freedom fighters through thunder, so the arrested leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman fought almost alone in the international world.

Just as any liberation war and war for independence are through the sacrifices of the people of the country, so the freedom-loving people of the whole world stand as comrades in arms. The captive independent head of state Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave the freedom-loving people of the whole world the right to stand for Bangladesh that day. Prisoner Bangabandhu defeated Yahya Khan in the diplomacy of the people that day. In other words, by forming the government through constitutional politics, the Pakistani authorities lost to Bangabandhu's diplomacy in the battle to resist the aggressors by armed means. Bangabandhu became the winner, and transformed from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Father of the Nation. Many mistakenly said that Bangabandhu was absent in the war of liberation.

However, without the support of India, Russia, and the support of the world, it would not have been possible to attain independence in 9 months. Moreover, no one can declare the independence of a country if he wants to. You have the authority to declare independence. Whoever declares, must have the support of his country and the international world. People will not support the call for independence. As the leader of the winning party in the 1970 elections, only Bangabandhu had the right to declare independence.

Bangladesh and Bangabandhu complement each other, one cannot be imagined without the other. History has repeatedly proved that 'Mujib belongs to Bengal and Bengal belongs to Mujib' or in other words ‘Bangabandhu is Bangladesh and Bangladesh is Bangabandhu.'


Hiren Pandit is a columnist
and a researcher.