A very grateful nation is observing today(3/17/13) the ninety-third birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation. One can only recall with a sense of great loss that his life, dedicated so comprehensively to the well-being of the people and the country, was cut short prematurely and most tragically in a hail of bullets in August 15, 1975 when he was only 55. Bangabandhu was born in a remote village at Tungipra in the former greater Faridpur district on March 17, 1920 . But early in his life he broke out of his rural confines to establish himself first as a student leader of the Muslim League in the 1940s .But although he distinguished himself as a leader in the movement for Pakistan, his disillusionment with the concept of Pakistan was almost an immediate development soon after the establishment of that state.
He dissociated from the Muslim League and was an important figure in the Awami Muslim League which he helped to create. He was disenchanted due to the undeserved overlordship exercised over his people by the then West Pakistan based ruling elite. The Language Movement in 1952 only added to his passion to break the fetters of his people especially in the cultural sense at that time.
Bangabandhu was a front-ranking figure in the Awami League before the 1954 provincial elections; by that time the party had changed its name to be called the Awami League. Although his political mentors in the Awami League at that time were not seen as completely divorced from the aims and ideals of a united Pakistan, Bangabhandhu and a group close to him in the party were seen more transparently adopting Bengali nationalism ardently as their true philosophy marking their difference from the older leadership.
This was clearly manifested later when Bangabhandhu took charge of the Awami League completely and unfurled his six-point movement for the full autonomy of East Pakistan. Then came the general elections of 1970 when Bangabandhu’s Awami League won nearly all the seats in then East Pakistan. But the then Pakistani military junta, headed by Yahya Khan, decided to ignore the reality and unleashed barbaric brutality to suppress the movement in East Pakistan for freedom on March 25, 1971.
But prior to this Bangabandhu had veritably gone through the motions of declaring Bangladesh’s independence in an epic address to his people at Dhaka’s then Race Course ground on March 7. Today Bangladesh is paying homage to a titanic figure who is perceived by the people as the “greatest Bengali of all times.”
A very grateful nation is observing today(3/17/13) the ninety-third birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation. One can only recall with a sense of great loss that his life, dedicated so comprehensively to the well-being of the people and the country, was cut short prematurely and most tragically in a hail of bullets in August 15, 1975 when he was only 55. Bangabandhu was born in a remote village at Tungipra in the former greater Faridpur district on March 17, 1920 . But early in his life he broke out of his rural confines to establish himself first as a student leader of the Muslim League in the 1940s .But although he distinguished himself as a leader in the movement for Pakistan, his disillusionment with the concept of Pakistan was almost an immediate development soon after the establishment of that state.
He dissociated from the Muslim League and was an important figure in the Awami Muslim League which he helped to create. He was disenchanted due to the undeserved overlordship exercised over his people by the then West Pakistan based ruling elite. The Language Movement in 1952 only added to his passion to break the fetters of his people especially in the cultural sense at that time.
Bangabandhu was a front-ranking figure in the Awami League before the 1954 provincial elections; by that time the party had changed its name to be called the Awami League. Although his political mentors in the Awami League at that time were not seen as completely divorced from the aims and ideals of a united Pakistan, Bangabhandhu and a group close to him in the party were seen more transparently adopting Bengali nationalism ardently as their true philosophy marking their difference from the older leadership.
This was clearly manifested later when Bangabhandhu took charge of the Awami League completely and unfurled his six-point movement for the full autonomy of East Pakistan. Then came the general elections of 1970 when Bangabandhu’s Awami League won nearly all the seats in then East Pakistan. But the then Pakistani military junta, headed by Yahya Khan, decided to ignore the reality and unleashed barbaric brutality to suppress the movement in East Pakistan for freedom on March 25, 1971.
But prior to this Bangabandhu had veritably gone through the motions of declaring Bangladesh’s independence in an epic address to his people at Dhaka’s then Race Course ground on March 7. Today Bangladesh is paying homage to a titanic figure who is perceived by the people as the “greatest Bengali of all times.”
No comments:
Post a Comment