On March 7, 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stood at the Ramna Race Course and faced a gathering of over 10 lakh people. The tensions between East and West Pakistan were fast simmering. Bangabandhu s speech was a ray of hope for our people. His historic speech did not just motivate and inspire the people in Bangladesh to take up arms and fight for their nation; the speech crossed multiple borders to reach the ears of submariner AW Chowdhury living in Toulon, France, and indirectly resulted in the turning of the wheels which led to the formation and successful execution of Operation Jackpot.
In the year 1971, AW Chowdhury was serving in the Pakistani submarine PNS Mangro (S133) then stationed in Toulon, France. The speech had moved him to a great degree and he became unhappy being so far away from all his people. At first, he carried on with his job in France with a deep pit in his heart that ached to be back home. In the meantime, the non-cooperation movement was going on in