7 March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
| Part of Non-cooperation movement | |
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivering his speech on 7 March 1971 | |
| Native name | ৭ই মার্চের ভাষণ |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 March 1971 |
| Time | 2:45 pm — 3:07pm (UTC+6) |
| Duration | Approximately 19 Minutes |
| Venue | Ramna Race Course |
| Location | Ramna, Dacca, East Pakistan, Pakistan (now Dhaka, Bangladesh) |
| Coordinates | 23°43′59″N 90°23′54″E / 23.7331°N 90.3984°E |
| Type | Speech |
| Theme | Call for civil disobedience, informal declaration of independence of Bangladesh |
| Filmed by | Abul Khair and M Abul Khayer, MNA |
| Independence of Bangladesh |
|---|
| Events |
| Organisations |
| Key persons |
| Related |
| Bangladesh portal |
The 7th March Speech of Mujib, or the 7/3 Speech (Bengali: সাতই মার্চের ভাষণ, romanized: Sāta'i Mārcēra Bhāṣaṇa), was a public speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka to a gathering of over one million (1,000,000) people. It was delivered during a period of escalating tensions between East Pakistan and the powerful political and military establishment of West Pakistan. In the speech, Mujib informally declared the independence of Bangladesh, proclaiming: "The struggle this time, is a struggle for our liberty. The struggle this time, is a struggle for our independence." He announced a civil disobedience movement in the province, calling for "every house to turn into a fortress".
The speech is believed to have informally addressed the Bengali people to prepare for a war of independence amid widespread reports of armed mobilization by West Pakistan. The Bangladesh Liberation War began 18 days later when the Pakistan Army initiated Operation Searchlight against Bengali civilians, intelligentsia, students, politicians, and armed personnel. On 30 October 2017, UNESCO added the speech to the Memory of the World Register as a documentary heritage.