Bangladesh mourns independence leader Bangabandhu assassinated 45 years ago

Bangladesh has mourned Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation who was assassinated along with most of his family members in one of the worst political massacres in world history 45 years ago.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 15 August 2020, 03:58 AM
Updated : 15 August 2020, 07:22 PM

The killing of the independence hero on that dark night also opened a dark chapter in Bangladesh’s history with around one and a half decades of military dictatorship marked by bloody coups and counter-coups.

The killers, a group of rogue army soldiers, did not spare even a 10-year-old boy or a pregnant woman during the carnage.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid her homage by placing a wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi Road No. 32 on Saturday morning.

Hasina, also the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, then stood in solemn silence in front of the portrait for some time. She was accompanied by her daughter Saima Wazed Hossain.

A contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces gave the state salute at that time, while the bugle played a tune of grief. A special prayer was offered along with the recitation of the Quran seeking eternal peace of the departed souls of the Aug 15 carnage victims.

On this day 45 years ago, a handful of rogue army officials killed the Father of the Nation along with his wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, younger brother Sheikh Abu Naser, nephew Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni and brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat, Moni’s wife Begum Arju Moni and Serniabat’s daughter Baby, son Arif and grandson Sukanto Babu.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her daughter Saima Wazed Hossain pay tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32 on National Mourning Day, marking the 45th death anniversary of the nation's founding father on Saturday. Photo: PID

Bangabandhu’s security chief Col Jamiluddin Ahmed, police’s Special Branch Sub-Inspector Siddiqur Rahman, three guests and four domestic helps were the others to fall.

Bangabandhu’s daughters Hasina and Sheikh Rehana escaped the massacre as they were abroad at that time.

Bangabandhu was buried at his birthplace Tungipara in Gopalganj but other family members were laid to rest in Banani graveyard in Dhaka.

The government and other organisations held programmes on a limited scale considering the coronavirus outbreak.

The people who attended the National Mourning Day programmes also required to wear masks and maintain physical distancing.

The observation of the day – a public holiday - began with lowering the national flag at sunrise at the government, semi-government, autonomous, and private organisations along with the educational institutions and Bangladesh’s missions abroad.

The Awami League also hoisted black flags at its offices.

In separate messages, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina prayed for those killed in the carnage.

Hamid said the day is regarded as a “scandalous chapter” in the history of the nation. Though the assassins killed the Father of the Nation, they “could not wipe out the principle and ideal of this great man”, he said.

In her message, Bangabandhu’s daughter Hasina said, “Together, we have to remain prepared to resist any evil-attempt by the anti-liberation communal group, and anti-development and anti-democracy forces.”

“The killers were able to assassinate Bangabandhu but they could not kill his dreams and ideals. Let the glory and ideals of the Father of the Nation’s sacrifice be reflected through our actions in the Mujib Year,” she said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pays homage to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32 on National Mourning Day, marking the 45th death anniversary of the nation's founding father on Saturday. Photo: PID

The prime minister urged the countrymen to turn the grief of the loss of Bangabandhu into strength and engage themselves in building a non-communal, hunger-poverty free and prosperous Bangladesh by upholding Bangabandhu’s philosophy.

“This should be our solemn pledge on this National Mourning Day,” she said.

Born on Mar 17, 1920 at Tungipara, Sheikh Mujib came to limelight with the formation of Purba Pakistan Chhatra League following the end of British rule in the Indian sub-continent.

Mujib continued to rise in national politics because of his active involvement in the Language Movement in 1952, 1954 general elections, and six-point declaration in 1966.

His arrest in the Agaratala conspiracy case catapulted him into national limelight, making him the undisputed leader of the Bengalis' freedom struggle against Pakistani exploitation.

He was given 'Bangabandhu' title after he was freed from jail in 1969.

On Mar 7, 1971 he delivered the historical speech at Race Course Maidan (Now Suhrawardy Udyan), which inspired the Bengalis to wage an armed struggle to win independence from Pakistan.

Six of the 12 condemned-to-death killers have so far been hanged in decades of wait for justice. It took 21 years to start the case - only when after the Awami League returned to power in 1996. Five of the convicted killers are reportedly hiding abroad.

The day was not observed nationally either in these years. The High Court in 2008 declared it National Mourning Day.

The trial could not be held earlier because the killers were indemnified by Bangladesh’s first military ruler Gen Ziaur Rahman who went on to found the BNP.