7^th March Speech was a Campaign Plan for Prosecuting War,              It was an Operations Order (OPORD) in Commander’s own Voice.

                  BY: SQUADRON LEADER (Rtd) M SADRUL AHMED KHAN

The 20^th century witnessed a few speeches by great leaders, which has reshaped geopolitics during history’s crucial pivot points. Leaders who could convince, organize and motivate people by their speech and wonderful leadership. To mention a few:                                                                                                            UK’s PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL  on 13 May 1940 to wage war Battle of Britain against Hitler,                                                                             USSR’s PREMIER JOSEPH STALIN on 3 July 1941 for war against fascist enslavers,                                                                                         USA’s GENERAL (later became President) DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER’s order on the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944,        USA’s PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY’s bracing the nation for the Cuban Missile Crisis on 22 October 1962.        The most rousing and inspirational wartime speech was the 7^th March Speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 which led the people of Bangladesh to liberation war in 1971. An impromptu speech that forever changed the fate of Bengalese. UNESCO has recognized the 7^th march speech as documentary heritage and included it in the memory of the world’s register.

The historic speech by Bangabondhu on 7^th March 1971 can be turned into as campaign plan of the war of independence by the supreme commander Sheikh Mujib. Again as a commander, he has described all the contingency plans, current situation, enemy forces, friendly forces, administrative arrangement, intelligence report etc to his subordinate commanders too. It was a detailed guideline for the war. Let’s explain the campaign plan and operations order briefly.

In war, the Campaign Plan is the operational expression of the commander’s military strategy; the Campaign Plan describes concepts and plans of military action by specifying how operations and logistics will be operated to win the war.

In war, An Operations Order, often abbreviated to OPORD, it is a comprehensive plan described to subordinate commander how to conduct military operations. An OPORD describes the situation, the mission, information, intelligence report, and supporting activities to win the war.

In his extempore speech of 7^th March charismatic leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman issued both Campaign Plan and Operations Order for the liberation war. His speech consisted of all standard components of an Operation Order (OPORD) as,

1. Situation

a. Enemy Forces

b. Friendly Forces

c. Attachment DetachmentMission

2. Mission

3.Execution

a. Concept of Operation

b. Subunit Operation

c. Coordinating Instructions

4. Service Support

a. Supply

b. Transport

c. Media

d. Personnel

5. C3I (Command, Control, Communication, Intelligence)

(Many analysts have narrated the significance of the 7^th March speech as a political gain, social rights claim, poetic expression, the common goal of liberation and so on. I will try to explain the intention of the 7^th March speech from the military point of view. 7^th March speech includes all the characteristics of Operations Order for the war, even it was more elaborate. In this topic, I will try to put this unique speech in the sequence of an Operations Order.)

1.   SITUATION.

Today I appear before you with a heavy heart. You know and understand everything. We tried with our lives. But the painful matter is that now the streets of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi and Rangpur are stained with the bloods of my brothers. Now the people of Bangla want freedom. The people of Bangla want to live. The people of Bangla want to have their rights. it’s a matter of great sorrow that today I have to tell painfully the pitiful history of the last twenty three years. The bloody history of Bengalis tortured in Bangla itself.

The history of the last twenty- three years is the history of the wailing of dying men and women.

The history of Bangla is the history of the staining of streets with the blood of the People of this country.

We gave blood in 1952. After winning the election in 1954, we couldn’t even form the government.  Proclaiming martial law in 1958, Ayub Khan made us slaves for ten years.

During the ‘Six Point Movement’, my children were gunned down on 7^th June 1966. After, the fall of Ayub Khan brought about the ‘Mass Movement’ of 1969 where Yahya Khan usurped power. He said he would give constitution and democracy to the nation. We Agreed, Thereafter the rest is history. There was an election. You know the fault was not ours.

1. Enemy Forces.   I met President Yahya Khan and discussed everything with him. Being the leader of not only of Bangla but of the majority party of Pakistan, I requested him to convene the National Assembly of 15^th February.

He didn’t agree with me, rather he yielded to Mr Bhutto’s demand to hold the assembly in the first week of March.

We said that was all right. We would sit in the Assembly. I went even to the extent of saying that if anybody, even a lone person proposed something reasonable, we, although the majority will accept the proposal.

Mr Bhutto came here. He conferred with us and said that the door for discussion was not closed. There would be more discussions.

Then we talked with other leaders and said ‘please come and sit together; let’s prepare the Constitution through discussion’.

Mr Bhutto said that if the members of West Pakistan came here, the Assembly would turn into a slaughterhouse. He said whoever would come would be killed. If they came to the Assembly, then from Peshawar to Karachi, all shops will be closed down by force.

I said that Assembly would continue, then all of a sudden, the Assembly was closed on 1^st March. As President, Mr Yahya Khan had summoned the Assembly. I said that I would attend.

Mr Bhutto said that he won’t. Thirty- five members from West Pakistan came here. Then all of a sudden, the Assembly was closed. The people of Bangla were blamed; I was blamed too.

Because of the closure, the people of this country burst into protest. I told them to observe ‘hartal’ (strike) in a peaceful manner I told them to close down all mills and factories.

The people responded. The people spontaneously came out on the streets. They firmly pledged to continue their resistance in a peaceful manner.

• Friendly Forces.  

The people of Bangladesh cast their vote overwhelmingly for me, for Awami League. Our National Assembly will sit. We will draw up the Constitution there. And we will build this country. The people of this country will have economic, political and cultural freedom.

The weapons we bought at the expense of our money to protect the country from the invasion of foreign enemies are now being used against the poor and unarmed people of our country; they are being shot down.

We are the majority of the people of Pakistan. Whenever we Bangalis tried to gain power; tried to rule this country as our own, they assaulted us.

They are our brother; I asked them ‘Why must you shoot your brother? You were deployed to protect this country from the attack of foreign enemies.

• Attachment/Detachment.

I told him ‘General Yahya Khan, you are President of Pakistan. Come to Dhaka and see the how my poor people, my people of Bangla are being shot down. How the bosom of our mothers are being emptied of their sons. How my people has being killed. You come, see and do justice and then finalize. That’s exactly what I told him.

Without any consultation, with me or any discussion with us, suddenly after 5 hours of secret meeting, Yahya Khan delivered his speech, in which he dumped all the blame squarely on me, squarely on the people of Bangla. (The crowds says shame, shame)

I have said in the meeting, the struggle this time is our struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is the struggle for our independence.

You can’t keep seven crores of people subjugated. Since we have learnt to die, no one can dominate us.

2. Mission.

The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation.

The struggle this time is the struggle for our independence.

3. Execution.

1. Concept of Operation.

(1). Time over Target (TOT). if one more shot is fired and if my people are killed again then my request to you is; build a fortress in each and every home.

             (2). Engagement. Face the enemy with whatever you have.

(3). Execution.  Incase I can’t give you any further order, I tell you; close all roads and highway indefinitely. We will starve them to death. We will make them go without water and choke them to death.

• Subunit Operation. The Assembly has summoned on the 25^th March. The marks of bloods have not yet dried. I had clearly said on 10^th March that Mujib Rahman can’t joint RTC, treading the bloods of martyrs. They have called the Assembly. They have got to accept my demands:

• First, martial law must be withdrawn;
• All army personnel must go back to the barracks;
• There has to be an inquiry into the way the killings were carried out, And the power has to be handed over to the people’s representatives.

Only then, we will consider whether we can sit in the Assembly or not. Before that we can’t sit in the Assembly. The people have not given me that right.

Do you have faith in me? (The crowds says yes yes)

I don’t want Prime Ministership. We want to establish the right of the people of this country.

c.   Coordinating Instruction.

,                (1)   in every village, every locality, every union and every sub-division establish ‘Resistant Council’ under the leadership of the Awami League.

                 (2)   And be ready with whatever you have.

(3)   Bear in mind that since we have given blood, we will give more. By the grace of Allah, we will surely liberate the people of this country.

       4. Service Support.

  a. Administration.    

• The Secretariat, Supreme Court, High Court, Judge’s Court and semi-government offices like WAPDA (Pakistan Water Development Authority) will not function. All employees will draw their salaries on the 28^th of the month.

• I want to say in clear terms that from now on all courts, magistrates, offices and educational institutions in Bangladesh will remain closed sine die.

• The bank shall remain open for two hours every day so that the people can get their salaries.

b.  Transport.   To ensure that no suffering is inflicted on the poor people, to ensure that my people do not suffer, from tomorrow the following things will be put out of range of the ‘hartal’. Rickshaws and hackney carriages will work; railway trains and launches will run.

• Media.

• The employees of the Radio and Television; please bear in mind that if our words are not broadcasted by the radio, then no Bangali shall go to the radio station.

• If our news are not broadcasted by Television, then no Bangali will go to the Television station.

• Personnel.

• We, from Awami League, will try our best to help those who are embracing martyrdom and those who have received injuries.

• Those who are capable, please extend your monetary support, whatever you can to our relief fund. And every owner of industries will pay salaries to all workers who participated in the 7-day ‘hartal’.

•  C3I (Command, Control, Communication, Intelligence)

• Command and Control.

(a).  My instruction to government officials is that you must obey what I say. From now on, tax will not be paid till such time as the freedom of our country is achieved; no one will pay anything.

(b).   But from East Bangla, a single paisa will not be allowed to be  remitted to West Pakistan.

•  Communication. Telephone and Telegraph service will remain operative in our East Bangla. They shall keep on sending our news to foreign news media. But if there is any sinister move to annihilate the people of this country, the Bengalis, you will have to keep very careful watch.

(3)  Intelligence Report.    

(a).   Listen and bear in mind, the enemy has penetrated us in order to create divisions amongst us and to start looting.

(b).   Hindus, Muslims, Bengalis and non-Bengalis, all those who live in this Bangla are our brothers. The responsibility of protecting them is on you. Ensure that our reputation is not smeared in any way.

——————————Joy Bangla————————————–

So, based on the above discussion we can name the 7^th March speech as a comprehensive Operations Order for the liberation war 1971. I always have a soft corner for the 1971 war, My father Freedom Fighter Abdul Latif Khan was one of the key organizers of Mukti Bahini and Razakars kept his name in the top of the “most wanted person list”. My family had to take shelter in the refugee camp of Dharma Nagar, India for seven months. In my entire military life, I took a great interest in war studies. During my deputation in Bangladesh Parliament, I was privileged to work closely with valiant military leaders cum freedom fighters cum members of Parliament like Colonel Showkat Ali, AVM AK Khonokar, Major Rofiq, Major General Subid Ali Bhuiyan, Captain Nazrul Islam and so on. I never missed the opportunity to hear the real-life war story from them and all the time they mentioned how the 7^th March speech was a direct order by Bangabondhu to get prepare for war on those difficult days of 1971.

I attended “Vijay Diwas Celebration-2017” in Kolkata as a part of the Bangladesh delegation. The delegation consisted of war veterans of Bangladesh. During the formal briefing and state function, I interacted with many Bangladeshi freedom fighters and members of Indian Mitro Bahini. All of them stated that Bangabondhu had ordered a defensive counter-attack war campaign. In the 7^th March speech, Bangabondhu ordered to turn every house into a fortress and a pledge to never surrender. The 7th March speech of Bangabondhu paved the way for independent Bangladesh in 1971.

In his galvanizing speech Bangabondhu stated the situation, history of betrayal and suffering paid by west Pakistan from 1947-71, he explained that our blood was on the streets, the laps of our mothers and sisters were robbed and left empty by West Pakistan. There were only option “liberation war”. It was a highly effective description of an “operations order” which laid the foundation for the main address and provided indications to the audience regarding what was to follow. He has demarcated the enemy and the friendly forces.

His mission was crystal clear, “The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation. The struggle this time is the struggle for our independence”. It was effectively a declaration of independence expressed with a firm resolve. 

In the execution phase, he set the time over the target by saying, “if one more shot is fired and if my people are killed again then my request to you is; build a fortress in each and every home”.

He preferred a defensive counter-attack war campaign. He called an all-out war, ordered engagement as, “Face the enemy with whatever you have”. Bangabondhu wanted to seize enemies manoeuvre, mobility and ability to fight by delay-divert-destroy method, he ordered, “I tell you; close all roads and highway indefinitely. We will starve them to death. We will make them go without water and choke them to death”.

There were a conditional seize fire, Mujib kept an option for seizing fire by saying, “They have called the Assembly. They have got to accept my demands: First, martial law must be withdrawn;All army personnel must go back to the barracks;There has to be an inquiry into the way the killings were carried out, And the power has to be handed over to the people’s representatives.

Only then, we will consider whether we can sit in the Assembly or not. Before that we can’t sit in the Assembly. The people have not given me that right.”

He stressed forming a resistant council to work as a Quick Response Force (QRF) to fight against external attacks and internal sabotage activities. His coordinating instructions was, “in every village, every locality, every union and every sub-division establish ‘Resistant Council’ under the leadership of the Awami League. And be ready with whatever you have.”

In the service support section Bangabondhu clearly said to stop all official activities to keep the causality minimum in number.  He said, “The Secretariat, Supreme Court, High Court, Judge’s Court and semi-government offices like WAPDA (Pakistan Water Development Authority) will not function. All employees will draw their salaries on the 28^th of the month.

I want to say in clear terms that from now on all courts, magistrates, offices and educational institutions in Bangladesh will remain closed sine die.The bank shall remain open for two hours every day so that the people can get their salaries.”

Media is an important section in “Operations Order”, media plays a vital role in the war, Bangabondhu instructed Print, radio and television media workers to be vigilant. All sensitive media documents to be safeguarded, Voice of Bangla should be broadcasted to the world at any cost. Otherwise, no Bangali should go to the radio and television station.

In the Personal section, Bangabondhu has specific instructions for non-combatants. Martyred families and injured persons to be taken care of. He opted to create a fund to meet the emergency operational requirements (EOR).

Bangabondhu said, “From now on, tax will not be paid till such time as the freedom of our country is achieved; no one will pay anything.” That’s how he destroyed the enemy’s war-waging capacity”.

The intelligence report is vital in Operations Order, Bangabondhu were aware of the fact that enemy agents had penetrated within us to create division and mistrust. He got the intelligence report that the enemy would play a communal trump card (Hindu/Muslim violence). His order was very straight in this subject, “Hindus, Muslims, Bengalis and non-Bengalis, all those who live in this Bangla are our brothers. The responsibility of protecting them is on you. Ensure that our reputation is not smeared in any way.”

So, in conclusion, we can say the 7^th March speech was simultaneously the declaration of our independence and the inspiration of our Liberation War. The greatest war speech on earth delivered by Bangabondhu can be termed as both a Campaign Plan and Operations Order. Being a political leader Bangabondhu delivered an extempore war plan as a Supreme Commander. Bangabondhu alone could deliver such an unostentatious, direction-giving, war speech without any break and without taking any help from notes while standing in the middle of a sea of people. This speech was a revolution—which culminated in our Liberation War against Pakistan and after 9 months of deadly struggle we achieved victory on 16^th December 1971.  That is why even after Fifty-one years, the 7^th March speech remains an amazing event and it will remain a source of inspiration in future days also.

Writer:

Squadron Leader (Rtd) M Sadrul Ahmed Khan  is a member of Bangladesh Awami League, Finance and Planning Affairs Subcommittee. He also Served as Deputy Serjeant-At-Arms in Bangladesh Parliament (2009-18) . During his military career, Sadrul served in different capacities in BAF Bases and Units. He was a recipient of Chief of Air Staff Commendation Certificate. He served in Bangladesh Army as military police and discharged peacekeeping duties at united nation operation in cote-de-ivoire (UNOCI).  After his voluntary retirement from the military, Sadrul joined Bangladesh Awami League and wishes to involve in nation building activities. His hobby is tree plantation and marathon running.