Shawdesh desk:

The fiery speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7 had touched hearts of millions of people at home and abroad in 1971.

Around 52 years after the glorious moment, a foreign scholar and a freedom fighter recalled the red-letter day for inspiring Bengalis to join the liberation war.

“The moment still inspires me. The speech reflects the soul connection he (Bangabandhu) had with common people. We can understand from his inspiring words,” Jawhar Sircar, a member of parliament at Rajya Sabha in India, told Daily Sun on Sunday remembering the March 7 speech of Bangabandhu.

The glorious words remain etched in the minds of people of this Indian city of Kolkata which was the centre of Bangladesh’s independence war in 1971.

Earlier in an interview with the Daily Sun, Sircar, also former Chief Executive of Indian state-run broadcaster Prasar Bharati, recalled moments as a witness to the vibrant days of Bangabandhu in Kolkata in 1972 as a victor and a hero.

“I witnessed the excellence of Bangabandhu in the public rally in Kolkata on February 6, 1972 just about a month after returning home from Pakistan. Indian radio Akash Bani broadcast the rally,” Sircar flashbacked.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the record of Bangabandhu’s speech in Kolkata in 1972 to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during his visit to join celebrations in Dhaka on 17 March 2015.

Sircar had a major role in gathering important Bangladesh-linked documents from Doordarshan and All India Radio since 2016.

“The day is still nostalgia for me. Sheikh Mujib and Indira Gandhi addressed the Brigade ground rally packed with thousands of people, biggest ever rally for any foreign leader visiting West Bengal,” explained Jawhar, a young witness of the grand rally organized for Bangabandhu.

Valiant freedom fighter Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury Bir Bikrom said Bangabandhu had shown his political wisdom in excellent word crafting in the March 7 speech.

“The March 7 speech has special significance for the history of Bangladesh. After getting public mandate in 1970 election, Bangabandhu warned the Pakistani ruler for the first time for oppressing Bengalis for 23 years,” Chowdhury, also a former foreign secretary of Bangladesh, told the Daily Sun.

Bangabandhu addressed tens of thousands of people who gathered at the then Racecourse ground, now known as Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka on March 7, 1971.

The great leader proclaimed: “The struggle this time is for our freedom. The struggle this time is for independence.”

Eighteen days later, the Pakistani military launched its killing operation and Bangladesh gained independence after a bloody war of nine months.