Govt forms panels for organising Bangabandhu’s 100th birth anniversary

The government has announced two panels for organising the 100th birth anniversary of the nation’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The national committee that will arrange celebrations has 102 members and another committee for implementation has 61 members.

The national panel will be headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangabandhu’s eldest daughter and also have his younger daughter Sheikh Rehana. The members also include the speaker of parliament, the chief justice and leaders of the official opposition in parliament.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, was born on Mar 17 in 1920 at Tungipara village of Gopalganj. The Awami League under his leadership had spearheaded the freedom movement which led to the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971.

His 100th birth anniversary will be in 2020.

A year after his 100th birth anniversary, Bangladesh will celebrate the golden jubilee of independence on Mar 26, 2021.

The implementation committee will be headed by eminent professor Rafiqul Islam while Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, former principal secretary to the prime minister, will contribute as a chief convener. 

The names of leading teachers, architects, poets, authors, publishers, journalists, singers, actors, sportsperson, cultural activists, as well as ministers, state ministers, secretaries and chiefs of several public departments, have also been included in the list.

The national committee will plan and approve policies, as well as provide all required advices and guidelines to the implement the plans.   

Implementation body will do overall planning and prepare a budget while national committee will approve it for implementation.

Naming the years of 2020 and 2021 as Mujib Barsha or Mujib Year, Prime Minister Hasina had pledged to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary with people from all echelons if society through yearlong programmes.

“The Father of the Nation repaid his debt with his life. We must now repay him,” the prime minister had said during the first announcement of this celebration in 2018.