Dhaka – The epic making motivational speech that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had delivered in early 1971 to motivate Bangladeshi people for liberty against Pakistani repression has become a world heritage now.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on October 30 announced its decision to include the speech among the list of the documentary heritage of the world.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova made the announcement at the UN heritage agency’s headquarters in Paris, according to Bangladesh foreign ministry.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered the speech in the afternoon of March 7, 1971 to prepare his people to wage an armed struggle to liberate Bangladesh from Pakistan.

The speech was delivered at the then Race Course Ground which was later renamed as Suhrawardy Udyan encouraged the people across the board in the then East Pakistan to begin the war. The war ended with victory after nine-months at the cost of lives of 3 million people.

‘Ebarer Sangram Amader Muktir Sangram, Ebarer Sangram Swadhinatar Sangram’ (This time the struggle is for our freedom, the struggle for liberation), was pronounced by Bangabandhu at the end of his speech.

The speech is part of 78 nominations put forward by a panel of experts led by Chairman and Director-General of the National Archives of the United Arab Emirates Dr Abdulla Alraisi at a meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from Oct 24 to Oct 27.

“It is my deep and firm conviction that the Memory of the World Programme‎ should be guided in its work to preserve documentary heritage and memory for the benefit of present and future generations in the spirit of dialogue, international cooperation and mutual understanding, building peace in the minds of women and men,” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said while endorsing the nominations.

The Memory of the World Register now includes a total of 427 documents and collections, coming from all continents and safeguarded on various materials from stone to celluloid and from parchment to sound recordings.

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