The Unforgettable History This class discusses “The Unforgettable History” reading passage or seen comprehension. This is about the famous 7th March Speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This class is part of Unit 1, Lesson 2, Polytechnic English course of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), course code 65712. This class is also part of Class 11 – 12 (HSC) English 1st Paper Unit-1 Lesson 2 or HSC English 1st Paper Unit 1, Lesson 2.
The Unforgettable History
1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B. U-1, L-1 (B)
I stand before you today with a heart overflowing with grief. You are fully aware of the events that are going on and understand their importance. We have been trying to do our best to cope with the situation. And yet, unfortunately, the streets of Dhaka, Chattogram. Khulna. Rajshahi and Rangpur are awash with the blood of our brothers. The people of Bengal now want to be free, the people of Bengal now want to live, and the people of Bengal now want their rights.
What have we done that was wrong? After the elections, the people of Bangladesh voted as one for me, for the Awami League. We were to sit in the National Assembly, draft a constitution for ourselves there, and build our country; the people of this land would thereby get economic. political, and cultural freedom. But it is with regret that I have to report to you today that we have passed through twenty-three tragic years; Bengal’s history of those years is full of stories of torture inflicted on our people, of blood shed by them repeatedly. Twenty-three years of a history of men and women in agony!
The history of Bengal is the history of a people who have repeatedly made their highways crimson with their blood. We shed blood in 1952; even though we were the victors in the elections of 1954 we could not form a government then. In 1958 Ayub Khan declared Martial Law to enslave us for the next ten years. In 1966 when we launched the six-point movement our boys were shot dead on 7 June. When after the movement of 1969 Ayub Khan fell from power and Yahya Khan assumed the reins of the government he declared that he would give us a constitution and restore democracy: we listened to him then. A lot has happened since and elections have taken place.
I’ve met President Yahya Khan. I’ve made a request to him not only on behalf of Bengal but also as the leader of the party which has the majority in Pakistan: I said to him: “You must hold the session of the National Assembly on 15 January.” But he did not listen to me. He listened to Mr. Bhutto instead. At first, he said that the meeting would take place in the first week of March. We said. “Fine, we will be taking our seats in the Assembly then,” I said we will carry out our discussions in the Assembly. I went so far as to say that if anyone came up with an offer that was just, even though we were in the majority we would agree to that offer.
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives:
(a) The word ‘inflict’ mentioned in the passage means ___.
i. Oppose
ii. Suppose
iii. Impose
iv. Imprecate
(b) When did Ayub Khan fall from power?
i. in 1958
ii. in 1959
iii. in 1966
iv. in 1969
(c) According to the speech the word ‘import’ refers to ___
i. uselessness
ii. Patience
iii. Importance
iv. foreign product
(d) The word category of ‘awash’ in the passage means ___.
i. drenched
ii. Awake
iii. Awakening
iv. washed
(e) What is meant by martial law?
i. A situation in which the army controls an area instead of the police, especially because of fighting against the government.
ii. A situation in which the police control everything.
iii. A condition in which people don’t care about the law.
iv. A condition in which there is no rule of law.
(f) The speaker had the majority but he wanted to have a ___ with the Pakistani rulers.
i. friendly atmosphere
ii. fruitful discussion
iii. political encounter
iv. secret meeting
(g) What does ‘crimson’ refer to?
i. radish
ii. Glorify
iii. Red
iv. dark red
(h) Why did President Yahya not listen to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman?
i. because he did not like Sheikh Mujib
ii. because he wanted to make Bhutto President
iii. because he did not want to give up the seats that were won by the Awami League
iv. because he wanted to break Pakistan
(i) The history of twenty-three years is full of___.
i. mystery and joy
ii. grief and achievement
iii. pain, pangs, and plight
iv. confusion and conflict
(j) The word ‘restore’ mentioned in the passage means___.
i. . found
ii. re-establish
iii. Renovate
iv. degenerate
B. Answer the following questions:
a. “I stand before you today with a heart overflowing with grief. Who is the speaker here? Can you explain the reason for his heart being one flowing with grief?
b. Do you know the period mentioned as the twenty-three tragic years? Why was the period termed tragic? Explain in your own words.
c. We shed blood in 1952. What was the reason behind the bloodshed? Can you specify the date with the outcome of the bloodshed?
d What is six-point movement and what compelled the speaker to launch six-point movement?
e. What is Assembly? How did the Awami League gain the majority in the Assembly?
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