Dhaka, March 6 -- March 7, 1971 is a date that's indelibly etched in the hearts and minds of Bengalis worldwide with due pride and justification. And if not, it ought to be.

Momentarily forget Padma Bridge, the Metro, and suchlike. As great as they are, they are pale achievements in comparison (no disrespect intended to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina). It was on this Allah-blessed, sun-kissed day that work began on the greatest construction ever known in the history of the region.

There wasn't a bulldozer, crane, a single yellow-jacketed person wearing a hard-hat, or heavy earth moving equipment in sight. Nor were there any earth shattering, ear-shattering jackhammers that make your ears recoil and beg for mercy.

This was no ordinary eve...