A centenary birth ceremony of Bangabandhu, the father of the nation, the greatest Bangalee of times is going to be celebrated on 17 March, 2021. On the occasion, the ten days special programs have been chalked out. In order to pay special tribute to Bangabandhu, some of the world leaders will attend the auspicious programs. To many of us, the decade of fifty has been identified as the period of Bangabandhu’s political rise. Gradually he became a skilled political leader with foresight and wisdom. At this time Sheikh Mujib left the Muslim League and formed the Awami Muslim League together with Hussain Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhasani. He was elected the party’s first joint secretary. In 1953, he became the general secretary of the party. After winning the 1954 general election, Mujib became the Minister of Agriculture in the United Front government. In 1958, he became the Minister of Industry and Commerce in the cabinet of the Coalition Government. Sheikh Mujib was arrested in the Agartala conspiracy case by the then Pakistani ruling class for fear of overwhelming public support for Mujib’s 6 points. All the people of Bengal became angry at this. The exploiters were forced to release him at one stage. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was given a public reception on 23 February 1969 at the Race Course Ground in Dhaka by the initiative of the Central Student Struggle Council. Eleven-point demands were raised there, all of which included the six-point clause. In this gathering of millions of people, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was conferred the title of ‘Bangabandhu’.
In the general elections held on 7 December 1970, the Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won an absolute majority in the provincial legislature. In the then East Pakistan, the Awami League won 167 of the 169 seats in the National Assembly and 305 of the 310 seats in the Provincial Assembly. But the West Pakistani ruling class was totally against Mujib’s policy of autonomy. To prevent the formation of the Awami League government, President Yahya Khan convened a session of Parliament and started procrastinating. Sheikh Mujib then realized that there was no alternative to fighting to end the misrule of the West Pakistani rulers.
On March 25, 1971, in the darkness of the night the Pakistani army started Operation Searchlight, the worst massacre in history. Mujib was arrested and taken to West Pakistan. However, before that, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh in the early hours of March 26 when the Pak army launched an operation and called upon the people to join the all-out movement. The first government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was formed on 17 April 1971 and Sheikh Mujib was made the President. In his absence, Syed Nazrul Islam acted as interim president. Under this government the Mukti Bahini was formed and it was the turn of the Pak army to resist. After a long and bloody battle of nine months, victory finally came at the cost of the lives of 3 million Bengalis. On 16 December, the Pakistani army surrendered to the Bangladesh-India ally at the Suhrawardy Udyan from which Bangabandhu had called for the freedom struggle. A new country called Bangladesh was born on the map of the world.
On January 10, 1972, Bangabandhu returned to his beloved motherland, the independent country of his dreams. Millions of people gathered to the airport to welcome the father of the nation, the dreamer of freedom. After returning to the country, Bangabandhu went for rebuilding the war-torn country. Bangabandhu appealed for international help in dealing with the humanitarian catastrophe and in a very short time help started coming. A new war for the reconstruction of Bangladesh began. It is difficult to understand how hard it is to form a new country. Bangladesh first printed its currency in 1972 with the security of Adamjee Jute Mill and Karnafuli Paper Mills and one rupee was replaced by one Pakistani rupee. Bangabandhu repaired all the war-torn roads and brought everything back to normal. But the combination of international conspiracies and domestic conspiracies killed Bangabandhu knowingly, or else Bangladesh would have made more progress by now. As administrators, those who made bad remarks about Bangabandhu resorted to lies. The leader who liberated a nation by fighting can never be a bad administrator. As a pioneer soldier of the Pakistan movement, Bangabandhu formed a new political party in Pakistan and snatched independence from the Pakistanis under the leadership of that party. If Bangabandhu is found incompetent as a weak administrator, it would not be possible to take a political party to power and achieve independence under the leadership of that party.
Sheikh Hasina is the leader of development. The country is safe today because he is in power. Bangladesh is on the path of irresistible development. Not only the implementation of Padma Bridge, the country is being 100% electrified today. Moreover, unprecedented success has been achieved in all fields including health, education, IT, communication system and establishment of many industries. The country has come a long way today. At one time people used to joke and ridicule the country. And the reality was almost like that. The people of this country were afflicted with hunger and poverty. That situation has changed. Influential countries of the world and international development partners are praising the development of Bangladesh. With Sheikh Hasina’s sincerity and the efforts of the people of the country, Bangladesh has attained an amazing development. In fact, our Prime Minister often says, Bengali is a nation of heroes. We have gained the country by fighting. The nation that fought for blood in exchange for life and liberated the country can never be left behind. The Prime Minister’s statement has proved successful. From a low-income country we have gained the status of a developing country today. The successful implementation of the expensive Padma Bridge is being done with our own funds as we have the financial capacity which was once like a fairy tale.
At the time when the world is working hard to prevent an economic catastrophe, the IMF has surprised everyone by announcing that the world will have positive economic growth of only 29 countries, of which Bangladesh will be ranked third in the world with 4 percent growth this year. Initially, the export sector stumbled, but now it has regained momentum. Bangladesh’s foreign reserves are now just over 42 million, a new record. The last span was installed on the Padma bridge with ashes in the face of the enemy. Surprisingly, people all over the world saw that a country where 3 million people sacrificed their lives to make their country independent could deal with all conspiracies and implement mega projects like the Padma Bridge with its own funds. For this we need qualified leadership. We hope that with the good will and sincerity of the government, Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be able to establish Bangladesh as a developed country by 2041.
Bangabandhu is the centrifugal force behind all progress. He is our Nation’s inspiration. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led the country to independence and his daughter Sheikh Hasina has taken the country to a unique height under the dynamic leadership. In fine, we can say that by nurturing the spirit of Bangabandhu, the name of Bangladesh will remain ever memorable and everlasting in the history of the century.
The writer is a former Deputy Director General Bangladesh Ansar VDP & Writer, Columnist and Researcher.
