Sehreen Selim Ripon :
The 16th December is regarded as the greatest day for all people of Bangladesh. It is a day of pride, the day of our freedom. But what does Independence actually mean to us? The father of our nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman teaches us ‘why we need to be free from the external forces ruling our dear motherland’. He recognised our plight as a people and the dark future it held for us, and he demonstrated that even after being the majority of people in the then Pakistan, we as Bengalis will always be looked upon as second class citizens in our own country. He gave us the vision, leadership and hope that we can be a free people.
Today we feel proud to be the first class citizens of our own land. Now we are a developing country with a bright future that is gaining respect from all corners of the world. Today people from Bangladeshi Heritage are contributing to the global economy and making significant impact in many spheres, such as technology, science, business and politics.
On this special day of the Golden Jubilee of our independence, we can truly be proud of what we have achieved as a nation. But there is always a sense of sadness about the immense bloodshed and sacrifices made to gain the independence and keep this freedom upheld. After the sacrifices of all our freedom fighters and the millions of innocent civilians slaughtered and tortured, our nation sadly had to face another upheaval from the loss of our greatest ever leader, the visionary of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was most cruelly snatched away from us by Pakistani collaborators and conspirators who tried their best to prove Bangladesh ‘a basket case’. After this heinous crime, our dream of a Sonar Bangla was again thrown into the clutches of the enemy forces determined to keep the people of Bangladesh impoverished and subdued under undemocratic governance.
Unfortunately anti liberation forces still exist in our country, but we are blessed with strong leadership of the daughter of Bangabandhu, the people’s leader of this mighty land HPM Sheikh Hasina. She has sacrificed her whole life and works to restore democracy in Bangladesh and to fulfill the vision of the father of the Nation Bangabandhu to make this country a true ‘Sonar Bangla’. She has, in fact, brought Bangladesh into the forefront of development and has made swathes of progress in an incredibly short period of time in multiple areas such as women’s rights, welfare support, national infrastructure and per capita income.
The recent success of Bangladesh made by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina makes me feel even more proud to be Bengali and also makes the golden jubilee of independence so much more special. Today our lives have been transformed because we live in a progressive developing country full of opportunity and ambition. Independence can only be valid if we have a true patriot at the helm, and that is what we have in our HPM Sheikh Hasina. She like her father is a true patriot who loves the countrymen and has sacrificed everything of her life to make Bangladesh a successful country.
The martyrs of our country must always be remembered and prayed for their immense sacrifice. The golden jubilee of independence should be celebrated with vigour and joy this year. At the heart of this celebration should be our freedom fighters who on the call of Bangabandhu fought for our rights as a free people.
I am very honoured that my grandfather Shaheed Captain Mansur Ali, one of our four national leaders also gave his life to fight against these anti liberation forces. The four national leaders refused to betray with Bangabandhu’s blood and took a stand against the cruel killings of 15th August. It is an example for us that these great leaders left the world forever, but till today giving us the guiding light of emancipation as a Bengali nation.
It makes me proud that the world looks upon Bangladesh as a role model of development. I pay homage and am truly grateful to all our freedom fighters, all innocent civilians who were killed, our four national leaders and above all, I am grateful to the greatest Bengali ever lived in 1000 years, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family, who gave their blood, sweat and tears for this Victory day we are enjoying today. Certainly, we are so privileged to be Bengali people.
(Sehreen Selim Ripon is the Chairman, Shaheed Captain Mansur Ai Foundation).
