March 3, 1971

At a meeting organised at Paltan Maidan, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman urged the authorities to withdraw forces from the city and hand over power to the elected representatives of the people. He also called for launching a no-tax campaign.

Bangabandhu, in an apparent reference to West Pakistan leaders, said, "If you do not want to frame one constitution let us frame our own constitution and you frame your own. Then let us see if we can live together as brothers."

He appealed for communal peace and added the Biharis and non-Muslims "are our sacred trust".

Complete strikes were observed all through Bangladesh for the first time in response to the call of Bangabandhu. Spontaneous processions were brought out by general people. Several people were killed as the army opened fire on protesters. In Rangpur, as fights broke out between Pakistani army men and civilians, a 24-hour curfew was imposed from 2:30pm in the afternoon. A curfew was also imposed in Sylhet.

YAHYA'S ROUNDTABLE INVITATION

In the evening, there was a radio announcement proposing a roundtable conference of political leaders to be convened by President Yahya Khan in Dhaka on March 10, 1971. This was an effort to find a political solution to the situation in East Pakistan after the sine die postponement of the National Assembly. Yahya took the decision in consultation with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at a meeting held on March 2.

BANGABANDHU REJECTS INVITATION

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman rejected the invitation of Yahya to attend the proposed meeting. He termed the invitation a "cruel joke" since it followed "widespread killing of the unarmed civilian population".

The invitation, according to Kamal Hossain, seemed to be a further provocation since it would mean that Awami League, a party enjoying the absolute majority in the National Assembly, would have to sit with other leaders whose claims and credentials to be at the conference were highly questionable.

It was also feared that participating at such an all-party conference would not only place the Awami League in the position of a minority party, but the province of East Pakistan would also be relegated to a minority position. [ [Richard Sisson and Leo E Rose, War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh, UCP, 1990, pg. 97]

Kamal Hossain reminisces that there was popular pressure on Bangabandhu to reject the invitation immediately. There were also some voices who suggested for a delayed response. Bangabandhu, however, opted for outright rejection with an immediate announcement. [Kamal Hossain, Bangladesh Quest for Freedom and Justice: pg. 85]

Siddiq Salik, then public relations officer in the Pakistan army, claims that words about the meeting were sent to Bangabandhu to assess his reaction, and he agreed to join the meeting. Later when asked about his rejection of the roundtable proposal, Bangabandhu, according to Siddiq Salik, said, "What I had agreed to was Yahya's meeting with individual politicians or their small groups. I did not, and do not, favour any form of Round Table Conference where I have to sit at the same table with people like Bhutto who is responsible for the shedding of Bengalis' blood." [ Siddiq Salik, Witness to Surrender, UPL1997, pg:48]

'DISOWN BHUTTO'

The organising committee of Punjab Pakistan Front, led by Malik Ghulam Jilani, expressed the view that the demand of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the immediate withdrawal of martial law and transfer of power to popular representatives deserves the support and backing of all lovers of democracy and of Pakistan. They also urged the Punjab people to "disown Bhutto's leadership to wrest back the democratic initiative", at present lost on account of what the committee described as Bhutto's perverse politics.

In the committee's opinion the decision had been forced on the country by the "reckless and insupportable ambition" of one single person who claimed to speak in the name of West Pakistan, although he held a clear majority in barely one of the four provinces of West Pakistan.

Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at sajen1986@gmail.com