Nation must repay the ‘debt of blood’ to Bangabandhu, martyrs, Hasina says

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the martyrs of 1971 War of Independence have left the nation in their debt by laying down their lives for Bangladesh and that ‘debt of blood’ has to be paid in full, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.

“The Father of the Nation has and thousands of martyrs have left us in a debt of blood. We will have to repay that,” she said at the launch of a blood donation programme at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

She said, “The Father of the nation sacrificed his life for the welfare of the people of the country. We’ll have to pay that back as well.”

She also spoke about the Bangabandhu’s struggle before and after the War of Independence for the freedom of the Bengalis.

She spoke of the serious underrepresentation of the Bengalis in the civil and military administration during the Pakistani regime, Hasina said, “Bengalis were the majority, but they didn’t have any significant rights.”

“The Bangabandhu and Awami League leaders had faced unbearable torture to realise the rights of the Bengalis.”

“After Bangladesh became independent, the Bangabandhu had led the reformation of the war-ravaged country and started the work for the people’s economic freedom.”

But only three and a half years later, he was murdered by ‘those against independence, collaborators of the defeated forces and a conspiracy by a foreign power’, she said.

The architect of Bangladesh's freedom, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was assassinated along with most of his family members on Aug 15, 1975, by a group of rogue army officers at his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka.

His daughters Hasina and Sheikh Rehana escaped the massacre as they were in Europe at that time.

The prime minister said she was still having to deal with obstacles to continue her father’s struggle for giving the people a better life.

Bringing up her administration’s development initiatives in different sectors, she urged the public servants to work with more sincerity.

She referred to the Bangabandhu’s directive to the civil servants to serve the people, stand up against crime and uphold justice. “Those who are in charge must remember his words.”

“We are the people’s servants and will serve the people. We must not forget for a moment that the people are the ones who give us our salaries and allowances.”

She thanked the officials of the public administration ministry who organised Wednesday’s blood donation drive to observe the National Mourning Day on Aug 15.