In 2017, UNESCO announced Bangabandhu's March 7 speech as one of

the most historic speeches in the world, worthy of being enlisted in the
"Memory of the World Register". The significance of the speech could not
be clearer -- as a nation, Bangalees received a united purpose, a call-to-
arms for self-determination, and a pledge to never surrender. In this
piece, however, we will try to decipher the mechanics of the speech,
delivered by a man who was poised to become Pakistan's next Prime
Minister yet simultaneously personifying a nation's popular rebellion
against the rulers. Fifty years on, the March 7 speech remains one of the
most honest political speeches that provided an overarching narrative of
self-determination, and found a common ground for all. 

THE CENTRAL IDEA

Written statements are allowed to be complex. As readers, we enjoy --
rather vigorously exercise -- the liberty to re-read certain sections of a
written statement for clarity. Speeches divulge from the written prose in
that the live audience cannot press rewind and listen to certain parts
again. The purpose of political speeches has always been to serve one
central idea for the audience to take home, and the March 7 speech
delivered its purpose of creating an acute feeling of unity in the most
tumultuous of times in erstwhile East Pakistan. 
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"We accepted that, agreed to join the deliberations. I even went to the
extent of saying that we, despite our majority, would still listen to any
sound ideas from the minority, even if it were a lone voice. I committed
myself to the support of anything to bolster the restoration of a
constitutional government."

The speech revealed its key elements very early: East Pakistan does not
have self-determination, every attempt to seek proper governance has
been thwarted by authoritarian and military violence, and it needs to stop.
Bangabandhu effortlessly simplified the complex political back-and-forth
exchanges with West Pakistan. There was a build-up full of tense
conjuncture, illustrating instances where Yahya Khan refused to
negotiate with Awami League at the national assembly.

The Father of the Nation was effectively able to illustrate that East
Pakistan tried everything at their disposal to negotiate its self-
determination, but the West was adamant to run never-ending circles,
siding with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto instead of ceding power to the rightful
winner of the 1970 general elections. Without being overly didactic, the
speech provided an overarching narrative that this is the last call to come
discuss federalist statecraft in Awami League's favorable terms, or else
East Pakistan will have to respond to the bullets shot at them, and the
response "will not be good". It also helps that the central idea was
summed up in one of the most iconic sentences: "The struggle this time
is for emancipation! The struggle this time is for independence!"

THE SACRED NARRATIVE

Speechwriters, for long, have focused on perfecting overarching
narratives in speeches. The reason is intuitive -- overarching narratives
evoke a rite of passage within a political culture, raising and directing
unique emotions using symbols that correspond to the present and the
future. Bangabandhu, quite fluently, was able to use suffering and
oppression as powerful symbols to galvanise the population; it was our
"blood on the streets", our "history of suffering" and "the laps of our
mothers and sisters robbed and left empty". 
The poeticism of great political speeches lies in the proper
correspondence of simplicity and complexity. Bangabandhu
deconstructed the chain of events, reiterated the 6-point demand for
establishing federalism, and acknowledged the scope of peaceful
resolution -- no matter how feeble it may be -- all the while crafting an
enduring spirit of self-determination and independence that lives on even
today. 

THE COMMON GOAL 

Speeches with bullet-point policies are almost always powerful because
the audience easily deciphers the difference between information and
direction, and connect better to the prose when deliverables are listed.
However, generating full commitment and compliance to the directions
requires a lot more than simplicity and structure. 

The March 7 speech successfully put a face to the Bangalee struggle in

East Pakistan. At the very beginning of the speech, Bangabandhu
reminded the audience that East Pakistan is being deprived of their rights
and that all politics stop when the streets are spattered with "our"
brothers' blood. The history spoke of 23-year-old endurance to political
and military suffering, and not ruling the country despite receiving
majority votes. Whenever the East wanted to pursue its governance, "we"
were "stopped", and "shot at". West Pakistan used "our money" to buy
weapons to defend from external threats, yet used the same weapons to
shoot at us, and "blame us" for it -- Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, with
determination and accurately-timed pauses, was able to articulate that
the denial of constitutional statecraft in 1970, and the continuous refusal
to negotiate was the start of othering East Pakistan. 

The speech, then, briefly distinguishes the dual nature of the struggle --
one in the national assembly, and the other on the streets -- but Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman quickly bridges by affirming that he does not seek Prime
Ministership, rather is ready to fight for the rights of and justice for his
people. The following excerpt is pivotal: 

"They tempted me with the Prime Ministership. They couldn't succeed in

hanging me on the gallows, for you rescued me with your blood from the
so-called conspiracy case. That day, right here at this race course, I had
pledged to you that I would pay for this debt with my blood. Do you
remember? I am ready today to fulfill that promise!"
Bangabandhu addressed the divide between political gains and social
rights, and prioritised his responsibility towards fighting for justice by
connecting the favour he owes to the people, effectively assimilating
himself with the common struggle of all Bangalees. From that point on,
the speech threaded all parties involved as one people -- what impacts
the Awami League, impacts the entirety of East Pakistan; shooting
innocent Bangalees is equivalent to shooting at "our heart".

Good political speeches have long been a mystifying subject and an art
form. While there have been lots of research on the tenets of great
political speeches, most focus on the importance of writing down the
speech framework beforehand. Bangabandhuarrived at the then race
course, stood amidst a sea of people, and delivered an impromptu
speech that forever changed the fate of Bangalees.