Dhaka: Noting that the appeal of the historic 7 March speech of Bangabandhu is the unfading one, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged the young generation to listen to it repeatedly to draw inspirations from it to build themselves as worthy citizens.

The prime minister said this while addressing a seminar on the historic 7 March speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust organised the seminar at Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh (KIB).

‘The March 7 speech is our motivation…this speech has showed us the path… the every word of this speech is very much important for us as it gives us the spirit to move ahead with our head high,’ Sheikh Hasina, the chairperson of the Trust, said.

She also said this historic speech gives the morale to face any unwanted situation and enemies. ‘The appeal of this speech will never fade out and that’s why it has secured its position as one of the best speeches of the world.’  

The prime minister bemoaned that this speech of Bangabandhu was not allowed to be played on loudhailers after his assassination even though it changed the country’s history. ‘Once there was an undeclared embargo on playing this speech. A Chhatra League activist was killed for playing this speech over a loudhailer and many others were tortured for the same reason.’

Sheikh Hasina went on saying, ‘This is how one generation of the country was deprived of listening to this extraordinary speech of the Father of the Nation. Now that won’t happen. This speech will inspire the oppressed and deprived for decades to come…it’ll give them the courage and fortitude.’  

Pointing at the new generation, the prime minister said, ‘We’re a proud nation, you have to build yourselves with this attitude. We won the Liberation War, we’ve liberated a country…this country is ours, the people of this country are ours, we all want to move ahead with our heads high.’  

Eminent journalist and columnist Abul Momen presented the keynote paper, titled 'Timeless Speech: Preparation and Impact' at the seminar. Professor of Dhaka University’s Sociology Department Dr M Mashiur Rahman and Eminent cultural personality Ramendu Majumder took part in the discussion.