May we declare 17 April as National Oath Day?
Friday, 16 April 2010
Maswood Alam Khan
Those of us who were young, those of us who had joined the forces of liberation war and those of us who in spite of their wishes to join the war for freedom from bases across the border had but to stay back in the then East Pakistan back in 1971 can today visualise how daringly our heroes inspired us to march ahead to achieve our goal of independence.
One of the inspirational occasions of that period was the oath-taking of the first cabinet of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, consisting of elected parliament members of the 1970's election, at a liberated area -- a mango grove at Baidyanathtala in Meherpur subdivision of Kushtia district -- on 17 April 1971.
At the historic oath-taking ceremony, our first Prime Minister, Tajuddin Ahmad, delivered an epochal speech that enthralled Bangladeshis of all ages and had drawn attention of the world community. It was an address that stoked up a fire of zeal in freedom fighters, stirred up a big thrill in us to dream about a land of our own and stimulated our friendly countries to pour more of their aid and support into our cause.
Tajuddin declared on behalf of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: "Bangladesh is at war to secure the right of self-determination through a national liberation struggle against the colonial oppression of West Pakistan". Tajuddin in his momentous speech explained what our non-cooperation movement had achieved, how the then President General Yahya of Pakistan had frustrated our hope to lead Pakistan as Bangladeshis constituted the majority of the people's representatives elected in the December 1970 election, how Yahya had conspired with Bhutto to foil our hope, how the brute General Tikka Khan had perpetrated against us an unprecedented pogrom and finally, how we had been compelled to launch an armed struggle to liberate ourselves from the shackles of the Pakistani regime.
"Pakistan is now dead and buried under a mountain of corpses", Tajuddin declared. He said West Pakistan's acts of racial hatred and sadism, devoid of the least elements of humanity, and murdering of hundreds and thousands of innocent people of Bangladesh had erected an impenetrable barrier between West Pakistan and Bangladesh. General Yahya had dug the grave of Pakistan with his own hands, he added. Tajuddin said that an independent Bangladesh, sustained by the indestructible will and courage of 75 million people who had daily been nurturing the roots of this new nation with their blood, was a reality and "no power on earth can unmake this new nation".
We were lucky that we had a leader like Tajuddin Ahmad who could lead us in the absence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Honouring and remembering heroes like Tajuddin is our moral obligation.
There are many people who are still unaware of the fact that our heroes and heroines encountered great difficulties while performing the formidable task of declaring independence, taking oath to run our government and maintaining the spirit of an independent Bangladesh. Some were soldiers in the battlefield, some were in the civil administration, some were diplomats, some were writers and thinkers and some were well-wishers at home and abroad when Bangladesh was in the making. Our heroes and heroines had to face numerous predicaments that occurred under multifarious circumstances; many of them had laid their lives in the line of their duties. Each and every single person, who participated in nurturing Bangladesh in her embryonic stage, must be honoured and remembered.
May we declare 17 April as "National Oath Day"? Shouldn't we remember, renew and take fresh oaths, in both our national and personal life, on a particular day to reinforce our commitments? Declaring 17 April as National Oath Day will not only inspire us to show our respect to the heroes who formed the Mujibnagar Government and took the first oath on the 17th April, but will also motivate us to refresh our memories as to different promises and pledges we had made in our personal life.
maswood@hotmail.com
Those of us who were young, those of us who had joined the forces of liberation war and those of us who in spite of their wishes to join the war for freedom from bases across the border had but to stay back in the then East Pakistan back in 1971 can today visualise how daringly our heroes inspired us to march ahead to achieve our goal of independence.
One of the inspirational occasions of that period was the oath-taking of the first cabinet of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, consisting of elected parliament members of the 1970's election, at a liberated area -- a mango grove at Baidyanathtala in Meherpur subdivision of Kushtia district -- on 17 April 1971.
At the historic oath-taking ceremony, our first Prime Minister, Tajuddin Ahmad, delivered an epochal speech that enthralled Bangladeshis of all ages and had drawn attention of the world community. It was an address that stoked up a fire of zeal in freedom fighters, stirred up a big thrill in us to dream about a land of our own and stimulated our friendly countries to pour more of their aid and support into our cause.
Tajuddin declared on behalf of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: "Bangladesh is at war to secure the right of self-determination through a national liberation struggle against the colonial oppression of West Pakistan". Tajuddin in his momentous speech explained what our non-cooperation movement had achieved, how the then President General Yahya of Pakistan had frustrated our hope to lead Pakistan as Bangladeshis constituted the majority of the people's representatives elected in the December 1970 election, how Yahya had conspired with Bhutto to foil our hope, how the brute General Tikka Khan had perpetrated against us an unprecedented pogrom and finally, how we had been compelled to launch an armed struggle to liberate ourselves from the shackles of the Pakistani regime.
"Pakistan is now dead and buried under a mountain of corpses", Tajuddin declared. He said West Pakistan's acts of racial hatred and sadism, devoid of the least elements of humanity, and murdering of hundreds and thousands of innocent people of Bangladesh had erected an impenetrable barrier between West Pakistan and Bangladesh. General Yahya had dug the grave of Pakistan with his own hands, he added. Tajuddin said that an independent Bangladesh, sustained by the indestructible will and courage of 75 million people who had daily been nurturing the roots of this new nation with their blood, was a reality and "no power on earth can unmake this new nation".
We were lucky that we had a leader like Tajuddin Ahmad who could lead us in the absence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Honouring and remembering heroes like Tajuddin is our moral obligation.
There are many people who are still unaware of the fact that our heroes and heroines encountered great difficulties while performing the formidable task of declaring independence, taking oath to run our government and maintaining the spirit of an independent Bangladesh. Some were soldiers in the battlefield, some were in the civil administration, some were diplomats, some were writers and thinkers and some were well-wishers at home and abroad when Bangladesh was in the making. Our heroes and heroines had to face numerous predicaments that occurred under multifarious circumstances; many of them had laid their lives in the line of their duties. Each and every single person, who participated in nurturing Bangladesh in her embryonic stage, must be honoured and remembered.
May we declare 17 April as "National Oath Day"? Shouldn't we remember, renew and take fresh oaths, in both our national and personal life, on a particular day to reinforce our commitments? Declaring 17 April as National Oath Day will not only inspire us to show our respect to the heroes who formed the Mujibnagar Government and took the first oath on the 17th April, but will also motivate us to refresh our memories as to different promises and pledges we had made in our personal life.
maswood@hotmail.com