DHAKA,  – Prime Minister’s Political Affairs Adviser HT Imam in an unpublished interview with BSS some days before his demise said Bangabandhu’s 7th March address actually stated the historic inevitability of independent Bangladesh, a conclusion he drew from his long political experience and foresight.

“Bangabandhu described the history of exploitation on the Bangalees . . . subsequently he talked about our sacrifice and (then) he clearly said we’ll (have to) shed more blood to free the people of this land,” he told BSS in the interview expecting its publication coinciding with the historic speech.

According to Imam, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had started thinking about an independent nation just in a year after the 1947 partition as he realized that other than the division of political territories and change of rulers the event could bring or was unlikely to bring any change to “our fate of deprivation”.

Imam, a bureaucrat-turned-technocrat who served as Bangabandhu government’s cabinet secretary, said throughout his long struggle Bangabandhu instilled into Bengali mind a feeling that being a nation they were different from those lived in West Pakistan.

“Bangabandhu first made us aware about our language, heritage and culture, which encouraged us to feel that we’re a separate nation in terms of everything,” he said describing the 7th March address as the culmination of movement that Bangabandhu had spearheaded for years, while it signaled the all-out war for independence.

Imam said the speech with duration of just 18 minutes had an extensive outline for a “guerilla warfare” and “mass war” as well.

The premier’s just-demised adviser, who was regarded widely as an analyst of political history, said Bangabandhu had drawn two points — one was the call for “people’s emancipation” and the second for waging “War of Liberation”.

Imam said the “emancipation” actually referred to uproot the menace of hunger, poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition while he envisaged Bangladesh’s independence could only achieve that dream.

“We’ve learnt from the secret documents of the Special Branch that Pakistan authority had been keeping a close watch on Bangabandhu since then (language movement in 1952) due to his great personality and potentiality. They (Pakistani rulers) thought that Bangabandhu would have been a matter of fear for them,” he continued.

The Father of the Nation, however, took time in shaping the people’s mind to be readied for the independence with his acumen and leadership quality, Imam said.

As part of that process, he said, Bangabandhu floated the Six-Point demand in 1966 calling for total or near-independence autonomy giving the Pakistani rulers an option and simultaneously preparing grounds for independence subject to the rejection of the demand.

“Pakistan chose the second option rejecting the demand,” Imam said.

Finally, Bangabandhu had taken the people’s mandate on the Six-Point demand in 1970 general elections the result of which exposed other political parties to a near extinct state.

Bangabandhu was not merely confined in his 7th March speech, the cabinet secretary of the war-time government said, adding that actually since then the East Pakistan government was run by Awami League following Bangabandhu’s instructions from March 1 to 25 and non-cooperation movement.

Bangabandhu’s 7th March speech was published in different leading newspapers and broadcast in radio and television channels across the world, he recalled, saying a leading newspaper’s headline on the 7th March Speech was “Sheikh Mujib declares independence without censored”.

Speaking about the Liberation War, Imam said the independence war of the country is a great successful mass war in the world which was started following the call of Bangabandhu.

The then East Pakistan Awami League led the War of Liberation and people from all strata made the war successful, he added.

A Gana Parishad was formed in April, 1971 with the public representatives who were elected in 1970 general elections and the Parishad (Gana Parishad) had decided to declare the country’s independence formally on April 10, Imam said.

“After describing all aspects of the Liberation War in the proclamation of the independence on April 10, 1971, Bangabandhu was named as the first president of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,” he added.

“Since then we got the Father of the Nation,” Imam said, adding that Bangabandhu is, however, constitutionally the Father of the Nation as the proclamation was inserted in the Constitution later.

“I called him (Bangabandhu) the dreamer of independent and sovereign Bangladesh since he stimulalted the spirit of liberation of the Bengali nation and inspired them to fight against Pakistani occupation forces,” he said.