Dhaka Bureau: Dateline March 16 morning. Bangabandhu’s Mazda car left Dhanmondi’s house. A black flag symbolizing mourning and protest is flying on the flagstand, and the proposed flag of Bangladesh is on the windscreen. This is how Bangabandhu sat in a meeting with the President of Pakistan, Yahya Khan, flying a black flag on his car as a symbolic protest against the killing of millions of Bengalis. Basically, going to the meeting with the President of Pakistan means protesting what the Pakistani army has done in this country in the last few days. And if an acceptable solution is not reached through negotiations, finally, the flag with the map of Bangladesh will fly with the red sun on the dark green background.
Meanwhile, the eager crowd has been waiting since morning to know the outcome of the Bangabandhu-Yahia Khan meeting. He is waving a black pipe in one hand and the other to the crowd. He sat down to meet with Yahya at the White House with the sincere hope of resolving the crisis. The meeting, which started at 10 a.m., ended at 12:30 p.m. After the meeting, Bangabandhu told reporters that the political situation of the country and other issues were discussed. There will be more discussion. However, there was no decision in favor of Yahya.
The main headline in the newspaper about Bangabandhu’s meeting with the President of Pakistan was written: “The undisputed leader of seven and a half million Bengali freedom fighters, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, met with the President of Pakistan, Yahya, on Tuesday in an important meeting lasting 150 minutes about the state’s policies and governance system.” By way of solution, the picture of genocide was painted in the minds of others. In the mind of one mantra of freedom, in the mind of another the desire to eradicate everything
On March 16, along with the discussion of the top-level leaders, the movement across the country took the form of a barrage. Starting from political leaders and ordinary people, they are heating up the streets in processions. On the 16th day of the country’s non-cooperation movement, Bangabandhu’s new order came: henceforth, the Eastern Mercantile Bank would accept central duties, taxes, excise duty, and sales tax. But these taxes will not be deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan. This is how the non-cooperation movement moves towards its goal. At this time, Maulana Bhasani demanded in the public meeting in Mymensingh, “Explain the debt of Bangladesh to Bangladesh.” In the meeting of intellectuals in Laldighi Maidan of Chittagong, Abul Fazal, Syed Ali Ahsan, Dr. Anisuzzaman, and others declared solidarity in the non-cooperation movement.
Pak invaders were also advancing. Shooting people in Satkhira’s procession, plotting to starve people out of the country, and sending four shiploads of wheat from the United States to Karachi without clearing at Chittagong port are examples of that. Black flags were flying all over the country. The struggle committee started to form. People of all ages, professions, and classes started coming out on the streets. To further energize Bangabandhu, who was initiated by the mantra of freedom, mass music, plays, street dramas, and road meetings are being held in the streets, fields, and fields by organizations such as the Udichi artist group, radio-television artist Sangsad, and Mahila Parishad. Various professional organizations, including High Court lawyers, civil officers, and employees, started declaring solidarity with Bangabandhu’s non-cooperation movement.
