directions. The militance of the procession was evident from the fact that almost everyone had a bamboo or a stick in his hand and slogans were for 'Independence.'
In the context the reaction of the people was not surprising. The high hopes aroused in them by the success of the mass upsurge of 1969 were dashed to the grounds, first by the failure of the Round Table Conference, and then, by the imposition of the second martial law. It was again with a great deal of hope and a measure of bitterness against the central authority for its unsympathetic handling of the situation following the cyclone that they went to the polls and recorded their verdict. The protracted negotiations since the results of the elections were announced left them with little faith either in the goodwill of the military government or of its power base in the Punjab. The announcement of the postponement of the National Assembly eroded their faith both in the constitutional process and in the unity of Pakistan. Their experience of 1969 had given them a self confidence and now they were determined to play a more active role in shaping the course of history. The goal thus set was independence and they demanded the politicians to lead them to this destination.
The Awami League Parliamentarians were already assembled by 3 p.m. Sheikh Mujib, flanked by party leaders, arrived at 3.20 p.m. The atmosphere was tense. Hundreds of international pressmen were gathered, outside. Sheikh Mujib declared only for the sake of the minority party's disagreement the democratic process of Constitution making has been obstructed and the National Assembly session has been postponed sine die. This is most unfortunate. As far as we are concerned, we are the representatives of the majority of the people and we can't allow it to go unchallenged.
He announced a Non Cooperation Movement. A programme of action was announced for the next six days. A total strike in Dacca on 2, March, a country wide strike on 3 March and a public meeting on 7 March, 1971.
The initial challenge to the postponement of the National Assembly was, thus, presented in the form of a Non Cooperation Movement. In essence, this meant that no Bengali should co-operate, in any way, with Yahya or the military. Sheikh Mujib's statement on 2 march, 1971 declared;” It is the sacred duty of each and every Bengali in every walk of life, including Government officials not to cooperate with antipeople forces and indeed to do everything in their power to foil the conspiracy against Bangladesh". It was also declared that “representatives- elected by the people are the only legitimate source of authority. All authorities are expected to take note of this fact."
The task of the coming days was to direct the Non-Cooperation Movement so that it could achieve its object of paralyzing the administration but at the same time ensure that essential services and the economic life of the Eastern wing was not disrupted.
It was decided that directives should be issued centrally. Mr. Tajuddin, Amirul Islam and myself were entrusted with the task of drafting directives and issuing them after having these approved by Sheikh Mujib and party leaders.
The first directive issued on 2 March, called for a province -wide hartal from 3 to 6 March, 1971 from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. in all spheres, including Government offices.
