Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Administrator Dr Shahadat Hossain on Saturday said the spirit of National Revolution and Solidarity Day should teach the nation to safeguard democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights and national sovereignty.

Speaking as chief guest at a discussion organised by the Chattogram unit of the Doctors’ Association of Bangladesh (DAB) at the Zia Memorial Museum auditorium in Kazir Dewri, he said the events of November 7 were not isolated. They grew out of the Liberation War, a national crisis, political upheaval and the united role of soldiers and civilians, he argued.

Recalling 1971, he said Major Ziaur Rahman of the 8th East Bengal Regiment revolted in Chattogram after the Pakistani army’s attack on March 25 and, the next day, declared independence from Kalurghat Radio Station. He later served as a sector commander and returned to the barracks after independence, he said. The troops’ trust in him as a professional soldier shaped the events of November 7, 1975, when, he said, Ziaur Rahman was freed from confinement and the country’s political course changed.

The administrator said the late president founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978 and, as head of state, promoted multiparty democracy, press freedom and economic development, with lasting effects on agriculture, the garment industry and remittances. He also praised Begum Khaleda Zia’s role in the democratic movement, notably her decision to remain in the country during the 2007-08 crisis.

On current governance, Dr Shahadat said discipline, punctuality and accountability were indispensable, citing Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s punctuality as an example. The greatest lesson of November 7, he said, was to uphold the rule of law and tolerance of differing views, and to protect people’s basic and democratic rights.

He urged the DAB to extend its work beyond medical practice, regularly hold such discussions and set up a research cell. “The people must be at the centre of politics,” he said.

The programme was chaired by Dr Russel Farid Chowdhury, convener of the celebration committee, and moderated by member secretary Dr Kazi Shamim Al Mamun. Office-bearers of the DAB’s Chattogram, metropolitan and medical college units also spoke.