r narrate~~epainful history* MUJIBUR .RAHMAN . Today I have come bef~r~ you with d~eprooted sorrow and a heavy heart. - You all know and understand that we have tried with our lives. But the sad aspect is ,that today the streets of Dacca, Chattagram, Khul~a, Rajshahi and Rangpur have been stained with the blood of my brothers. . Today the people of. Bengal want freedom, .the people of . B~ngal want love, the people of Bengal ~ant rights. What crimes did we commit-it) the election the people of -Bengal totally voted for !TIe and the Awami League. Our National Assembly "will be in s,itting, we win make the Constitution and we will buil~ the history of this land. The people of this land-will get-economic, ·political and cultural freedom. But 1 narrate with grief BangIa Desh's painful history, people of Bengal'~ bloody history-this blood 'being the ·agony of a dying people. . History of this land is painfuL .. and bloody. . In 1952 we gave our blood. In 1954 even after winning the election we could not attain power. In 1958 Ayub Khan, by declaring the Martial Law made us slaves for ten years. In 1964 at the time of our six-point programme our boys were killed by bullets. In :1969 after the fall of Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan came. Yahya said he would give a Constitution to the country-to which we agreed: after that many histories were made, elections were held. I met President Yilhya Khan . . I, not only as of Bengal, but as leader of the majority party requested him to summon "the National Assembly on the fifteenth February. - He did not keep my words, agreeing to Bhutto's request. He said the session would begin in the first week of March. I said all-right, we would sit in the assembly. . I said, we would discuss in the Asse~bly-even to the extent that -if some one would speak the right, . even if we happen to be in a majority, inspite of that we would agree to / , r ght views even of a single member. Bhutto came t~ Da~ca and discussed. He ~aid "discussion is not closed, there 'will be . more discussions". After this we discussed with other leaders ~ we all should come and sit. - We would frame the ·Constitu.tion by discussion. He said, "if West Pakistani I members come then the Assembly will become a slaughter house." He said "aJl thos~ . . . who will go will be killed, if some one comes to the Assembly fromPeshwar to Karachi . he will be hal~ed forcibly." I said "Assembly will function." And suddenly on the 12th , Assembly was closed-down. Yilhya Ktian called the assembly as the president. I 'said "I \vill go." Bhutto said he . would not. Thirty-five memb'ers from West Pakistan came here, after that suddenly it was called off, blaming the people of Bengal, blaming me. The -people of the country vocally protested. I said "You 'observe hart~l peacefully." , I said '''You close all the factories. " People ' responded of their" own will; people came out in the streets, pJedging to, continue the' struggle. I said, with money ~o' buy clothes we got arms to defend the country from _ external enemies; today those arms are beipg used against the poverty stricken people of my country- bullets bei~g - showered on their chests. In Pakistan we are in a majority-we the Bengalis whenever we -have tried to reach the seat of power, they have · come down over us. \ I told General Yahya Khan '~ You are the President of Pakistan; see how my, poor people of Bengal have been fired upon;. How the children were snatched away from t~e laps . • A speech delivered by him in March 1971. It .h~s been translated by Mr. Subrata Mukherjee.
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"I am certain that troops have thrown babies into the air and caught them on their bayonets." "I am certain that troops have raped girls repeatedly, then killed them by pushing their bayonets up between their legs" -John Hasting-s. Methodist Mis8ionary. (Newsweek 28-6-1971.)
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of their mothers. How people have been killed, you come and see." He said "I will call the Round Table Conference on the 10th." I said "What will be Assembly sitting for, to whom will we speak? You have taken blood of my people, you want us to talk with them ?;, In a secret meeting of five hours, they have put all the blame on us, the people of Bengal and we are held responsible for that. The Assembly has been called on the 25th, when blood stains are even as yet to go. On the 10th I said that over the blood bath of martyrs the Assembly could not be opened. Army laws and Martial law must be withdrawn first. The Armed Forces must be put back to the barracks. There must be thorough enquiry of aU the brothers killed. And power must be transferred to the representatives of the people. After this we will think and decide whether we can sit in the Assembly or not. Before this \ve cannot sit in the Assembly. Every house a fort I do not want Prime Ministership. I want rights for my country's people. I want to state it catagorically that from today in BangIa Desh, courts, offices, educational institutions will be closed indefinitely. To prevent the suffering of the poor, to see that our people do not suffer, in' the other fields hartal will not continue from tomorrow. Ricksaw, carts, -- railways will move, but Secretariat, Supreme Court, High Court, Session Courts, semigovernment offices win not function. On the 28th employees will go to take their salaries, . If after this salaries are not paid, if there is one single firing, if my people are killed-my request to you all : shape' each and every house into a fort. With whatever you have to fight, face the enemy. Whatever is there for life, the streets et~. everything-even if J cannot command you, you will close. We will starve them of food and water. You are my brothers, you live in baracks, none will say anything to you. But 'do not try to fire any more. You cannot subjugate seven crare people; when we have learnt to embrace neath, none can keep us under subjugation." And all those who have becom.e martyrs, and have been injured, we from the Awami League will help our best. Those who can, deposit small amouats in League offices, and .all those brother-workers who have joined in the seyen day strike, to those, factory owners will send their salaries. To the Government employees, I say, what I say must be observed. As long as_my country is not attaining freedom, taxes will not be paid-none will pay them. Listen, remember, the enemy has entered from the bac~, they will try to create mutual strife amongst us, will go for loot and arson. In this Bengal-all the Hindu s and Muslims are our brethern-bengalis and non-bengalis- their protection is our responsibility-we should not allow ourselves to be defamed. Remember, employees, if Radio does not listen to us then no bengali will go to the Radio Station. If Television does not give our news, then do not go to the Television. Banks win be open for two hours so that people can take their salaries etc. From East Bengal not a single paisa can be sent to West Pakistan. Teiephone, Telegraph will function in East Bengal and news of Bengal can be sent out. There is an attempt to lynch the people of this l~ndBengalis must work with proper understanding. In every village, in every ¡zone, build under the leadership of Awami League, resistance and struggle movements, and be ready with whatever we have. We have given blood, we will give more blood. This country's people will be liberated. Insallah! This struggle is our freedom struggle, this time's struggle is struggle for emancipation. J~i BangIa." (Reprinted from 'Point of View' )