Hasina joins Joy Bangla Concert ahead of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has attended the Joy Bangla Concert for the first time ahead of the celebrations for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s centenary.

Young Bangla, the youth group of the Awami League’s Centre for Research and Information or CRI, organised the concert at the Army Stadium in Dhaka for the sixth year on Saturday.

The organisation holds the concert every year on the day marking Bangabandhu’s historic March 7 speech of 1971, but this year it has come 10 days before his birth centenary, which has added a different fervour to the event.

Revellers celebrate at Joy Bangla Concert organised by the Young Bangla, the Awami League’s Centre for Research and Information, at the Army Stadium in Dhaka on Saturday to mark Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic Mar 7 speech of 1971. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

His daughter Hasina arrived at the venue at about 7:30pm and sat at the VIP Gallery where the organisers have put hoardings containing some of Bangabandhu’s quotes and the signature image of the Father of the Nation with his finger raised during the speech.

Bangabandhu’s other daughter Sheikh Rehana accompanied Hasina. His grandchildren Saima Wazed Hossain and Radwan Mujib Siddiq, a CRI trustee, were already there.

Besides the performances by the bands, fireworks and a holographic show on Bangabandhu were arranged. The organisers also screened the historic speech.

“We want to spread the spirit of the Liberation War, independence and Bangabandhu among the youth through the concert . Thousands of youths will recite the historic speech when we screen it. We want to get connected to them,” Nasrul Hamid, another CRI trustee, said.

F Minor, the first band of girls from ethnic minority groups, started its performance with “Nongor Tolo Tolo”, a Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra song that inspired the nation during the 1971 Liberation War. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and State Minister for Information Murad Hassan attended the concert.

Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das, Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, the chief coordinator of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary programmes, and CRI Trustee Nahim Razzaq, among others, were also present. 

bdnews24.com was a media partner of the event which was broadcast live on the website.