The Embassy of Bangladesh, Tokyo observed the Historic 07th March today commemorating the landmark speech of the Greatest Bengali of all times, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The day’s programme began by placing of floral wreath at the portrait of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Embassy early in the morning. All Embassy officials and a significant number of expatriate Bangladeshi citizens attended. Ambassador Shahabuddin Ahmed hoisted the national flag along with rendition of the national anthem. This was followed by observance of 01 (one) minute silence in remembrance of the Father of the Nation, his family members and to the memories to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the journey of Bangladesh’s independence. Later, the program resumed indoors with offering special prayer (munajat) for the salvation of the souls of the Father of the Nation, his family members, and martyrs of the liberation war of Bangladesh as well as for the peace, progress and prosperity of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The messages issued by Hon’ble President and Hon’ble Prime Minister on the occasion of “Historic 07 March" were read out by Embassy officials.
In his remarks, Ambassador Ahmed paid homage to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and explained the significance of the 7th March speech. He said 7th March is a glorious and important day in the history of Bangladesh, when the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared his vision of independence. His clarion call conveyed a clear message to his people that it was time to prepare ourselves for ultimate struggle to freedom and attain independence. Following his call, after the brutal crackdown of the Pakistani military forces on the unarmed Bengalis on the black night of the 25th March, the whole country joined the liberation war and after nine-months of war we became victorious. Ambassador Ahmed termed the 7th March speech as the expression of deep commitment of Bangabandhu for the nation and extreme love for mass people. He also said that this speech gained international recognition when UNESCO enlisted the historic speech as 'World's Documentary Heritage' in the "Memory of the World Register” in 2017 as part of a list of the world's important documentary heritage maintained by UNESCO.
A discussion on the significance of the day was held following the address of H.E. the Ambassador. In this phase, a significant number of Bangladesh community members took part in a lively discussion paying their deep tribute to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the role and significance of the historic speech of 7th March in the independence of Bangladesh. The speakers said the 7th March speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman provided inspiration to the Bengali people in their quest for freedom and emancipation. They expressed their strong commitment to work together to realize the dream of Bangabandhu to build a ‘Sonar Bangla’ through implementing the vision 2041 of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by contributing from their respective positions. As the last element of the program, a documentary was screened on the historic March 7 speech.
