On this day 48 years ago, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his first speech at the United Nations General Assembly in his mother tongue, a week after Bangladesh became a full member of the global forum.
Although Bangabandhu’s historic March 7 speech is more widely known, several historians argued that the address at the UNGA in 1974 was his best. World leaders attending the 29th session were impressed by his nine-minute clarion call for them to stand by repressed nations across the globe.
Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, a former Bangladesh Bank governor who served as private secretary to Bangabandhu from 1973 to 1975, shared his personal memories of the speech and its preparation with Dhaka Tribune on Sunday. He was a member of the premier's delegation.
“Bangabandhu was one of the top leaders of the world at that time and he gave his speech at the UNGA in his mother tongue. Bangabandhu had gained recognition [for Bangladesh] from more than 100 countries of the world and ensured membership to the UN, and it was the first speech after the recognition,” Dr Farashuddin said.
“In his speech, Bangabandhu said the world was divided into two camps: the oppressors and the oppressed. He said he was always with those who were being deprived and oppressed. When he concluded his speech, the president of UNGA stood up and clapped, and the other leaders also stood up to clap and cheer. I remember looking at the Father of the Nation and he was very emotional, and I thought to myself that I had just seen one of his greatest speeches,” he added.
“When the speech was over, each of the heads of governments came to Bangabandhu and spoke to him. All of them wanted to speak with Bangabandhu for a long time. He was a remarkable leader. Nobody thought he would be able to make the Bengali-speaking unified east Bengal into an independent country. Nobody believed it,” Dr Farashuddin further said.
“Bangabandhu stood tall, handsome, and well dressed. One of my best recollections is of Fidel Castro, who spent the most time speaking with Bangabandhu.”
According to Farashuddin, the late Cuban leader said: “I have not seen the Himalayas, but I am meeting you today! But be careful of whatever is old and rubbish. You must make reforms.”
Mohammed Farashuddin Former Governor Of Bangladesh BankCastro also sought jute fibres from Bangladesh for making carpets.
“I was a small instrument of the government, but I felt very tall as the private secretary to the prime minister. I felt that Bangladesh was a glorious country. A lot of things happened after that, and Bangabandhu met many world leaders, but the moment right after the speech was truly glorious,” Dr Farashuddin continued.
Bangabandhu often delivered impromptu speeches, but his speech at the UNGA was one of the ones he prepared beforehand, as the UN requires written speeches to be submitted ahead of time.
Regarding the preparation of the speech, Dr Farashuddin said: “We looked at all the contemporary issues of the world. Bangabandhu firmly believed in non-alignment and he would not join any block. He was apparently more allied with the socialistic block, but he was never a communist. He belonged to the liberal democratic tradition.
“With all the problems in the world at that time, he gave a lot of briefings to the person who made the draft of that speech. I can mention two names: Abul Esha and Abu Kaiser Hossain Morshed. Both were very bright foreign service officers and were in charge of the UN and western block, respectively. Bangabandhu continually gave briefings to them, and they made the draft. Then the final version was delivered by Bangabandhu."
Farashuddin also mentioned Faruk Chowdhury and Humayun Kabir, two senior diplomats of the country who translated the speech from Bangla to English.