March 7 ,1971 goes down in our history as the day when Bangabandhu’s historic speech set the ball rolling towards independence.
But on the same day in 1976, military ruler Ziaur Rahman made a nefarious attempt to revert to the ‘Crescent and Star’ flag of Pakistan.
Lashing out at Zia’s initiatives to restore the anti-liberation elements, Gonojagoron Manch activist Omi Rahman Pial said in a video post, “Siratunnabi Mehfil took place on March 7 (in 1976) on the same spot where Bangabandhu had delivered his speech in 1971. Though Zia did not make it to the venue, he delegated the responsibility to his deputy Air Vice Marshal M G Tawab. Convicted war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayedee was the key speaker. The ambassadors from Pakistan and Libya were present too.”
The slogan ‘Tawab Vai, Tawab Vai, Chand Tara Pataka Chai (O Tawab, O Tawab, Lead us back to Crescent and Star Flag)’ was being raised at the spot intermittently. This testify to Zia’s effort to revive anti-liberation elements and who he considered as friends .