Flag Hoisting: A Bold Step towards Independence Anwar A. Khan 2nd March, 2021 11:35:14 In March 1971, the vision of independent national sovereignty became politically dominant, for the first time. Its organizational strength and mass appeal remained outside the halls of constitutionalism, where its origins lay and where student organizations had nurtured its evolution; but now it began to acquire influential Bengali adherents in government circles. On 2 March, spontaneous hartals occurred all over East Pakistan. People came from all over Dhaka and suburbs to the Bat-tala at Dhaka University, where crowds sang of national independence, SBKCSP (Bangla Kendriya Chhatra Sangram Parishad) leaders solemnly declared independence, and A S M Abdur Rob, a Student League leader and vice president of the Dhaka University Central Student Union, hoisted the flag of Bangladesh to the tumultuous applause and cries of “Joy Bangla”.