On March 7, 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a rousing speech at Ramna Race Course -- and the fate of our people was changed forever.
This address to our incipient nation not only created fire in the hearts and minds of the Bangladeshi people, but started a movement towards freedom which would culminate in the birth of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation.
Forty-nine years ago, on this day, Bangabandhu captured the imagination of millions, and gave full voice to the aspirations of a nation. There is no doubt, then, that March 7 is a red-letter day in the history of Bangladesh, the significance of which we should never forget.
Historical importance of the speech aside, the March 7 address is a masterpiece of oratory that deserves to be studied like the other great speeches of history, like the Gettysburg Address delivered by Abraham Lincoln, or the I Have a Dream Speech by Martin Luther King Jr.
Nearly five decades later, we still marvel at the oratory and statesmanship exhibited in Bangabandhu. The words have not aged at all: “Ebarer shongram, amader muktir shongram, ebarer shongram shadhinotar shongram.”
The courage and conviction in these words gave Bangladesh the fuel to fight a war that lasted for nine bloody months. Countless lives were lost, and no words can do justice to the sacrifices that were made, but eventually we prevailed, and achieved victory.
Let us remember the values put forth on that day by our Father of the Nation, and move forward to build a successful and prosperous Bangladesh.
