My brothers,
I have come before you today with a heavy heart. You, the people, know and understand everything. Many of us have laid down our lives and tried hard. But it is a matter of sadness that the streets of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rangpur and Rajshahi are today being spattered with the blood of my brothers, and the cry we hear from the people of Bangladesh today is a cry for freedom a cry for survival, a cry for our rights.
But now, with great sadness in my heart, I look back on the past 23 years of our history and see nothing but a history of the shedding of the blood of the Bengali people. Ours has been a history of continual lamentation, repeated bloodshed and innocent tears.
We gave the blood of our people in 1952, we won a mandate in 1954. But we were still not allowed to take up the reins of this country. In 1958, Ayub Khan clamped Martial Law on our people and enslaved us for the next 10 years. In 1966, during the Six-Point Movement of the masses, many were the young men and women whose lives were stilled by government bullets on 7th June.
After the downfall of Ayub, Mr. Yahya Khan took over with the promise that he would restore constitutional rule, that he would restore democracy and return power to the people.
We agreed. But you all know of the events that took place after that. Elections took place. I ask you, are we the ones to blame?
As you know, I have been in contract with President Yahya Khan. As leader of the majority party in the national Assembly, I asked him to set February 15 as the day for its opening session. He did not accede to the request I made as leader of the majority party. Instead, he went along with the delay requested by the minority leader Mr. Bhutto and announced that the Assembly would be convened on the 3rd of March.
We accepted that, and agreed to join the deliberations. I even went to the extent of saying that we, despite our majority, would still listen to any right ideas from the minority, even if it were a lone voice. I committed myself to the support of anything to bolster the restoration of a constitutional government. When Mr. Bhutto came to Dhaka, we met. We talked. He left, sing that the doors to negotiation were still open. Moulana Noorani and Moulana Mufti were among those West Pakistan parliamentarians who visited Dhaka and talked with me about an agreement on a constitutional framework.
I made it clear that could not agree to any deviation from the Six Points. That right rested with the people. Come, I said, let us sit down and resolve matters. But Bhutto’s retort was that he would not allow himself to become hostage on two fronts.
He predicted that if any West Pakistani members of Parliament were to come to Dhaka, the Assembly would be turned into a slaughterhouse. He added that if anyone were to participate in such a session, a countrywide agitation would be launched from Peshawar to Karachi and that every business would be shut down in protest.
I assured him that the Assembly would be convened and despite the dire threats, West Pakistani leaders did come down to Dhaka. But suddenly, on March I, the session was cancelled.
There was an immediate outcry against this move by the people. I called for a hartal as a peaceful form of protest and the masses redial took to the streets in response.
And what did we get as a response?
He turned his guns on my helpless people, a people with no arms to defend themselves. These were the same arms that had been purchased with our own money to protect us from external enemies. But it is my own people who are being fired upon today. In the past, too, each time we the numerically larger segment of Pakistan’s population-tried to assert our rights and control our destiny, they conspired against us and pounced upon us. They are like our brothers.
I have asked them this before : How can you make your own brothers the target of your bullets? If a foreign enemy or outsider attacks us, you are supposed to be protecting us. Now Yahya Khan claims that I had agreed to a Round Table Conference on the 10th. Let me point out that is not true. I had a telephone call with him.
I had said, General Yahya Khan, you are the President of this country. Come to Dhaka, come and see how our poor Bengali people have been mowed down by your bullets, how the laps of our mothers and sisters have been robbed and left empty and bereft, how my helpless people have been slaughtered. Come, I said, come and see for yourself and then be the judge and decide. That is what I told him.
All of a sudden, without any discussion with me, he had a five-hour-long secret meeting and went on to put all the blame on me and our people. I had clearly told him in the meeting that this time the fight is for freedom, we fight for our independence.
Brothers, they have now called the Assembly to assassin on March 25, with the streets not yet dry of the blood of my brothers. I informed them on the 10th that Mujibur Rahman will not participate in the RTC soaked in the blood of my people.
You have called the Assembly, but you must first agree to meet my demands. Martial Law must be withdrawn; the soldiers must return to their barracks; the murderers of my people must be redressed, held accountable. And …. Power must be handed over to the elected representatives of the people.
Only then will we consider if we can take part in the National Assembly or not! Before these demands are met, there can be no question of our participating in this session of the Assembly. That is one right not given to me as part of my mandate from the masses.
Do you, my brothers, have complete faith in me? Let me tell you that the Prime Ministership is not what I seek. What I want is justice, the rights of the people of this land. Even if one more bullet is fired, another man is killed, i request you to come out of your houses, with all you have and revolt. Occupy the streets, close them down– Even if I am not around to give you the orders, and if my associates are also not to be found, I ask you to continue your movement unabated.
I say to them again, you are my brothers, return now to the barracks where you belong and no one will bear any hostility toward you. Only do not attempt to aim any more bullets at our hearts: It will not do any good! ….. And the seven million people of this land will not be cowed down by you or accept suppression any more. The Bengali people have learned how to die for a cause and you will not be able to bring them under your yoke of suppression!
From today, until this land has been freed, no taxes will be paid to the government any more. To them, I say, “You are our brothers. I beseech you to not turn this country into a living hell. Will you not have to show your face and confront your conscience someday?
If we can peaceably settle our differences there is still hope that we can co-exist as brothers. Otherwise there is no hope. If you choose the other path, we may never come face one another again. For now, I have just one thing to ask of you: Give up any thoughts of enslaving this country under military rule again!” I ask my people to immediately set up committees under the leadership of the Awami League to carry on our struggle in every neighbourhood, village, union and subdivision of this land.
You must prepare yourselves now with what little you have for the struggle ahead.
Remember this: Since we have given blood, we will give more of it. But, Insha’Allah, we will free the people of this land!
The struggle this time is for emancipation! The struggle this time is for independence!
My people, keep your faith in me. In my lifetime, i have not failed or wronged you. The Prime Minister has not been able to kill me. The day you people brought me here— in this Race Course, I had told you I will give my blood to avenge your blood. Do you remember? I am ready to do that. Our meeting ends here. Assalamualaikum. Joy Bangla.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series.