On this day in 1971, Pakistan’s Resolution Day, the expected sight of Pakistan’s flag adorning residential and official buildings in East Pakistan was replaced by the red-green flag featuring the golden map of the yet-to-be-independent Bangladesh. This transformation was widespread throughout East Pakistan, except for cantonments, the president’s house, and the governor’s house.

At the Hotel Intercontinental, Pakistan People’s Party Chief Zulfikar Ali Bhutto observed the historic moment.

Interestingly, the flag of independent Bangladesh was also proudly hoisted at the hotel.

Moreover, consulate buildings of various countries, including the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in Dhaka, displayed the flag of Bangladesh alongside their own.

While initially, some countries like China, Iran, Indonesia, and Nepal displayed the Pakistani flag alongside theirs, they eventually yielded to the overwhelming public demand and raised the flag of Bangladesh thereafter.

The slim hope that West Pakistanis harboured to salvage Pakistan was extinguished on that fateful day due to the unprecedented incident.

Shaheed Janani Jahanara Imam wrote in her “Ekattorer Dinguli”, “Today is Resistance Day. Early in the morning, everyone in the house went to the roof and hoisted the new flag of independent Bangladesh on bamboo next to a black flag.”

It was a clear statement from the people of East Pakistan that they no longer wanted to be governed by West Pakistanis. Awami League’s Swechchhasebak Bahini members hoisted Bangladesh’s flag at Bangabandhu’s residence in the early morning.

Several processions of mass people thronged the residence of Bangabandhu to receive orders from the great leader for the next course of action.

“Independent Bangla Central Student Action Council” and “Central Workers Agitation Committee” observed the day as “Protirodh Dibosh” while National Awami Party (NAP-Bhasani) observed the day as “Independent East Bengal Day”.

On the instructions of Bangabandhu, a general holiday was observed on this day. When the Independent Bangla Central Student Action Council hoisted the national flag at Paltan Maidan, they played Rabindranath Tagore’s song “Amar Sonar Bangla, Ami Tomay Bhalobashi”.

Representatives of President Yahya Khan and Awami League Chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sat in a meeting on economic issues on the day.

The flag of Bangladesh was displayed on every car carrying Awami League leaders, which surely made the Pakistani junta furious. They submitted a draft of the final proposals regarding the transfer of power to Yahya’s representatives. In response, General SGMM Peerzada assured the Awami League leaders that he would respond the following day.

On 23 March, instead of being at the president’s House, General Yahya Khan was at the cantonment, directing top military officials to formalise preparations for the notorious “Operation Searchlight”, a brutal crackdown against Bangalees.

While Yahya Khan outwardly portrayed a facade of seeking a political resolution to the crisis, the Pakistan army was secretly accelerating its plans to suppress the mass movement through one of the most appalling acts of violence in human history.

Meanwhile, the Bangalee workers at Pakistan Television’s Dhaka centre undertook an unprecedented action. They concluded the day’s telecast nine minutes after midnight to refrain from playing the national anthem of Pakistan and displaying the national flag on 23 March.