The historic speech of March 7 lasted only 19 minutes. The operative sentence in that was;” Our struggle now is for independence, our struggle now is for freedom. “Also the immediate termination of martial law and transfer of power to the elected representatives were put forward as specific demand. The written text which was released was accordingly amended by Tajuddin to include these two points as specific demands. Thus, although independence was clearly set as the goal, Sheikh Mujib' stopped just short of a formal declaration since it was clear that the army had been mobilized and had conspicuously taken up positions at different vantage points in the city in order immediately to strike, should such a Declaration of independence be made. It may be mentioned that late the previous night (March 6) a Brigadier had called with a message from Yahya Khan, saying that he expected to come to Dacca soon and would hope to arrive at a settlement which would satisfy the Bengalis. This was a curious communication and was seen as trying to influence the position to be taken by Sheikh Mujib at the March 7 meeting. I was also seen as an attempt to create an alibi for himself; thus, if a declaration of independence were made, Yahya could turn round to the world and say that he had offered to go to Dacca and reach a peaceful settlement but it was Sheikh Mujib who had declared UDI and precipitated the use of force. This was another consideration in Sheikh Mujib's holding back from a formal declaration on March 7.
A further programme of action for the following week was announced. The “no-tax campaign was to continue. Further exemptions and specific directives were announced on March 7, and March 9, to allow essential economic activities to continue. It was directed that railways and ports may function, but railway workers and port workers were directed not to co-operate if railways or ports were used to mobilize forces for the purpose of coordinating repression against the people. The March 8 directives contained a number of specific directives to banks. These followed a round of meetings with Bengali bankers who reported numerous genuine difficulties which were being faced by parties. These new directives authorized banking transactions for purchase of industrial raw materials for running mills and also bonafide personal drawings of up to rupees 1000.00 In order to ensure that certain “essential” economic activities were maintained it was directed that relevant Government offices should remain open for purposes of supply of fertilizer and diesel to power pumps. It also directed that food supplies, supply of coal to brick fields and distribution of jute and rice seeds should be maintained.
A further meeting with bankers and with A K N Ahmed, a senior Bengali state Bank official, who came from Karachi, was held in order to work out a series of directives.....
Yahya arrived in Dacca on March 15. Sheikh Mujib met him on the morning of March 16. The meeting lasted for about an hour. When Sheikh returned. he called the senior leaders. I was also called in. Indeed for the coming weeks this was the procedure where after every meeting with Yahya or his advisers, a meeting was held to review the discussions. Sheikh Mujib reported that Yahya had begun by offering explanations for his action in postponing the National Assembly. Sheikh Mujib had charged him with a serious lapse in failing to consult Sheikh Mujib, who was the leader of the majority party before taking such a decision. Yahya then stated then stated that he would like to find a way out of
