 On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman chose the Ramna Racecourse near Shahbag to deliver his speech calling for an independent Bangladesh.On 27 March 1971, Pakistani Army destroyed the Kali temple and its 120 feet tower.During the ensuing Bangladesh Liberation War, many foreign journalists, including the Associated Press bureau chief in Pakistan, Arnold Zeitlin, and Washington Post reporter, David Greenway stayed at Hotel InterContinental (now Hotel Sheraton) at the Shahbag Intersection.