Independence: Achieved, Not Given

Today, I appeared before you with a heavy heart. You know everything and understand as well. We tried with our lives. But the painful matter is that today, in Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi and Rangpur, the streets are dyed red with the blood of our brethren. Today the people of Bengal want freedom, the people of Bengal want to survive, the people of Bengal want to have their rights.

The struggle this time is a struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is a struggle for independence.

Turn every house into a fortress, resist the enemy with everything you have ... Having mastered the lesson of sacrifice, we shall give more blood. God willing [Inshallah], we shall free the people of this land.

Joy Bangla!

— Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

And the first seed of an independent Bangladesh was sown.

But they didn’t like it— they had another plan— a plan to erase the entire population from the earth, from civilization.

To establish their agenda, they deployed their dogs to kill the Bengali people like birds— mercilessly, without a valid reason.

They had this plan to paralyze the whole nation by killing intellects, destroying infrastructures, and confining the leader of people in custody. They were almost successful but a visionary leader always finds a way to lead the people— and so, the declaration of independence was announced—

This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the directive of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established.... In the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bangalees to rise against the attack by the West Pakistan army. We shall fight to the last to free our motherland. By the grace of Allah, victory would be ours. Joy Bangla.

Bangladesh, the land of the longest sandy beach in the world with the largest mangrove forest stretched in the coastline where the mighty Royal Bengal Tiger roars has seen so many ups and downs before its independence from the oppressed ruler of Pakistan.

Even though it's not self-sufficient to this date, things are changing gradually. People around the world now know about the country with hundreds of rivers— a country with a strong cricket team, and the frontline fighter in the RMG industry. Now Google features the country with colorful doodles on special occasions like today— with the flag in the green backdrops and red disk— now the world knows what it takes to achieve freedom.

Being a citizen of an independent country, we barely notice the struggle other countries face regularly— we don’t know how it feels to be captive. But our ancestors knew, they did feel it with their hearts and that was the reason they didn't hesitate to fight for it— with nothing but the determination to make the country free from the oppressors.

Independence— a word adored by every living soul, every conscious being. Ask a Ukrainian, you will know what it feels to be chained, what it takes to live every single day in the midst of bombing, continuous explosion— ask a Syrian child, how does it feel to be orphaned due to the war— ask an African mother what it takes to feed a baby— Independence, it’s not just a word— it’s a feeling to become unchained, it’s an emotion, a passion to break free.

Gratitude to the Almighty for that He has rewarded us with “independence,” our prayers for the countries that are still trying to claim what’s rightfully theirs.

Happy Independence Day, Bangladesh!

5 decades of Independence, many more ahead to go. 🇧🇩