The nation will recall today the sacrifice of student leader Asad whose death in police firing triggered the 1969 mass upheaval that toppled the autocratic Ayub regime.
On the occasion of Asad Day marking his 48th martyrdom anniversary, different socio-cultural and political organisations, including Shaheed Asad Parishad, have chalked out various programmes that include placing wreaths at the memorial plaque of Asad in front of the DMCH and his grave at Shibpur in Narsingdi.
On this day in 1969, Asad, the hero of the 1969 mass upsurge, was killed in firings by the Pakistani police on a protest rally near Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) against the atrocities on the people of East Pakistan.
The death of Asad, then a master’s student of Dhaka University (DU), reached the mass upsurge to the highest peak which hastened the fall of the military ruler Field Marshal Ayub Khan after over a decade of his iron rule.
The nation achieved independence in 1971 following the nine-month War of Liberation in continuation of the 1969 mass upsurge.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages paying tribute to the memory of Shaheed Asad on the occasion of Shaheed Asad Day.
They prayed for peace of the departed soul of Shaheed Asad, who was killed by police in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on January 20 during the mass movement in 1969.
In his statement, President Abdul Hamid said, “The sacrifice of Shaheed Asad in 1969 mass upsurge is a milestone in the history of our Liberation War. The people of the country will remember his outstanding contribution forever.”
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Asad was killed in police firing on January 20, 1969, at the beginning of the mass upsurge.
She paid tribute to the memory of Shaheed Asad on the occasion of Shaheed Asad Day and prayed for peace of the departed soul of all the martyrs including Shaheed Asad.
The Prime Minister said, “The January 20 is a significant day in the history of Liberation War of Bangladesh as Asad was killed by police in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on this day in 1969.”
“The historic six-point demand of Bangabandhu surfaced as the way of freedom when the people of Bangla had become perplexed due to discriminatory behavior and atrocities by Pakistani rulers,” she said.
The then military ruler Ayub Khan implicated Bangabandhu in a ‘sedition’ case known as ‘Agartala Conspiracy Case’ being afraid of his popularity, added Sheikh Hasina.
She said when the people of Bangladesh protested against the case, police killed Asaduzzaman, a master degree student of Dhaka University, at a protest rally in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on January 20, 1969.
The supreme sacrifice of Asad triggered the mass upsurge that brought the fall of autocratic ruler Ayub Khan, she added.
“After Asad’s killing, the movement turned into a mass upsurge and Bangladesh emerged as an independent country through the great War of Liberation at the call of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” he also said.
