Staff reporter:
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has wished that the revolutionary spirit of November 7 serve as the inspiration and guiding force for building the future Bangladesh.
He made the wish in a message on the occasion of the Historic National Revolution and Solidarity Day to be observed today.
The premier said on November 7, 1975, the soldiers and people of Bangladesh united to thwart all conspiracies against the country’s independence and sovereignty.
The historic November 7 was a defining moment in the nation’s history, when the friends and foes of Bangladesh were clearly identified, he said.
He said a saying deserves particular consideration in discussing Bangladesh’s Liberation War and the various historic milestones of the nation: “Those who remain preoccupied with the past are blind in one eye, while those who forget the past are blind in both eyes.”
It is, therefore, neither appropriate to remain absorbed in the past all the time nor is it wise to ignore the lessons of history while charting the course for the future, said Tarique Rahman adding that both approaches would be historical mistakes.
“I believe that the historic November 7, 1975 was a defining date in determining Bangladesh’s course,” he said.
Those who sought to turn Bangladesh into a subservient state, those who wanted to deprive the people of their democratic and political rights and establish one-party authoritarian rule and those who sought to undermine the glory of the armed forces, the symbol of the nation’s valour, courage and honour, were defeated through the historic revolution of the patriotic soldiers and people on that day, he said.
The Prime Minister said history bears the witness that the defeated forces of November 7, 1975 later united under the banner of the Grand Alliance and turned the country into a subservient state following a prolonged course of conspiracy.
Tarique Rahman said they carried out the planned massacre of military personnel at the BDR Headquarters in Pilkhana, undermining the glory and dignity of the armed forces.
They also deprived the people of their voting rights and democratic and political freedoms, establishing a fascist regime in the country, he said.
Finally, after more than a decade and a half, the country was freed from fascism through a bloody mass uprising led by brave students and people, at the cost of thousands of martyrs, said the premier.
“The War of 1971 was fought to achieve independence. The struggle of 2024 was to safeguard the independence of the country and its people,” said Tarique Rahman.
Just as people from all walks of life took to the streets in 2024 to defend the freedom of the country and its people, the soldiers and civilians had also united and taken to the streets in 1975 to thwart all conspiracies against the country’s independence and sovereignty, he added.
“Our foremost commitment on this year’s November 7 should be to ensure that no one can ever again deprive the country and its people of their rights or turn Bangladesh into a subservient state. National unity is essential to fulfill this commitment,” he said.
Given Bangladesh’s socio-economic, geographical and political realities, preserving national unity requires us to embrace wholeheartedly the spirit of the soldiers’ and people’s revolution of November 7, he said.
Tarique Rahman said the Liberation War of 1971, the soldiers’ and people’s revolution of November 7, 1975 against subservient forces, the anti-autocracy movement of 1990, and the anti-fascist mass uprising of 2024 – all these revolutions and uprisings at different junctures in our history have been driven by one common aspiration: to build a self-reliant, secure and welfare-oriented state in an independent Bangladesh by ensuring all democratic and political rights of the people.
“On this historic day, commemorating the November 7, 1975 revolution of the soldiers and people, who were fought to thwart conspiracies against Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty and to protect the democratic rights of its people, let the resolute voice of the patriotic and democracy-loving people ring out: Neither Delhi nor Pindi, nor any other country; Bangladesh comes first,” he said.
He wished every success to all programmes organised nationally to mark November 7.
