August 15 is a scandalous chapter in nation’s history

Staff Correspondent: President Md Abdul Hamid has said August 15 is regarded as a scandalous chapter in the history of Bengali nation as on this fateful night of 1975, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally assassinated along with most of his family members.
He said this in a message on the occasion of the National Mourning Day and the 46th martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The President said the undisputed leader, the greatest Bangalee of all time Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally assassinated at his Dhanmondi residence by a group of killers with the direct and indirect connivance of anti-liberation forces on the fateful night of August 15, 1975.
Bangabandhu’s wife Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel and many of his close relatives were also killed along with him, he said adding that such a barbarous incident is rare not only in the history of Bangladesh but also in the history of the world.
“I, with a heavy heart, pay my deep homage to them and pray to the Almighty Allah for the eternal peace of the departed souls,” he said.
Abdul Hamid said Bangabandhu was a visionary leader of the Bengali Nation and the architect of the country’s independence.
Bangabandhu led the nation at every struggle and democratic movements including the ‘All-party State Language Action Committee’ formed to ensure the right to mother-tongue in 1948, the historic Language Movement in 1952, Juktafront Election in 1954, the movement against Martial Law in 1958, the movement against anti-people Education Commission in 1962, Six-Point Movement in 1966, Mass Upsurge in 1969 and the General Elections in 1970 all of which were directed towards realizing Bangalees` emancipation and their rights, he said.
“For this, he had to embrace jail several times. Bangabandhu was uncompromising on the question of the rights of the Bengali nation,” he said.
He, even on the gallows, upheld the interest of Bangla and Bangalees. After long ups and downs, this great leader, ignoring the blood-curdling eyes of the then Pakistani rulers, delivered a historic speech on 07 March in 1971 before a mammoth gathering at the then Race Course Maidan, and thunderously uttered, “The struggle this time is the struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is the struggle for Independence” which was, in fact, the call for Independence, he said.
In line with this historic speech, the President said, “Bangabandhu finally declared the country’s Independence on March 26, 1971 and subsequently we achieved victory through a nine-month-long armed war of liberation under his leadership.”
Bangabandhu and Bangladesh thus emerged as a unique entity to the people of Bangladesh, he said.
He said though the assassins killed the Father of the Nation, they could not wipe out the principle and ideology of this great man.
As long as Bangladesh exists, the name and fame of the Father of the Nation will remain ever shining in the mind of millions of Bangalees of the country, he said.
Abdul Hamid said since his early age, Bangabandhu nurtured people’s welfare in his mind and belief.
Bangabandhu always stood by his land and people in all crises including the famine in the undivided Bengal in 1943, communal riots during the partition of 1947 and the catastrophic cyclone of 1970, he said.
“Stepping at the threshold of twenty-first century, we are facing yet another critical time. Today the whole world including Bangladesh is fighting against the Corona pandemic,” he said.
The Bangladesh government has been making all-out efforts to contain the Corona situation, he said.
“To deal with this situation, people should extend a helping hand to the government. We have to follow the hygiene rules and be diligent so that others also follow them,” he said.
“Time has come for us to stand by the people of the country in this critical moment taking lessons from the ideals and the principles of Bangabandhu,” he said adding that and this will be the best endeavor to pay homage to Bangabandhu in the ‘Mujibbarsho’.
The President said Bangabandhu has struggled throughout his life for political independence as well as the economic emancipation of the people.
“His dream was to establish a ‘Sonar Bangla’ free from hunger and poverty. So, we, imbued with knowledge, have the pledge to make Bangladesh a happy and prosperous country through completing the unfinished tasks of Bangabandhu,” he said.
“Only then we can show due respect to this great leader. The successful implementation of ‘Vision-2021’ to make Bangladesh a middle-income country by 2021, as announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is about to be completed,” he said.
Huge activities are going on to implement the ‘Vision 2041’ to turn the country into a developed and prosperous one in 2041, he said.
The President called upon all to work together for the implementation of these programs irrespective of party affiliation.
“On the National Mourning Day, let us transform our grief into strength and devote ourselves to build the ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by the Father of the Nation,” he said.