A hero is born

On this day in 1920, a child was born in the remote village of Tungipara in Gopalganj. Over the next 50 years, he would change the course of Bangladesh’s history with his relentless determination for freedom.

His parents named him Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.     By the time his illustrious life was cruelly cut short by power hungry assassins, over 75 million people proudly called him Bangabandhu, the Father of the Nation.

Bangabandhu was the third child among the four daughters and two sons of Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and Sayera Khatun. Sheikh Lutfar was a government employee at a Gopalganj civil court.

Bangabandhu’s parents played a key role in his early education, as he was initially taught at home. His parents kept three tutors for him:  Maulvi Sahib for teaching Islam, Pandit Sakhawat Ullah Patwari for general education, and Kazi Abdul Hamid as a mentor.

His early education suffered for about four years due to eye ailments. He completed his matriculation from Gopalganj Missionary School in 1942, Intermediate of Arts (IA) from Calcutta Islamia College in 1944, and BA from the same college in 1947, according to Banglapedia.

A born leader

Bangabandhu showed potential as a leader even during his school life. In 1938, the young Sheikh Mujibur Rahman organized a demonstration in order to impress the visiting AK Fazlul Huq, then chief minister of Bengal.

When he was a student at Islamia College, he was elected general secretary of the College Students Union in 1946.

Bangabandhu was also an activist of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League and a member of the All-India Muslim League Council from 1943 onwards.

In politics, he had been a fervent follower of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a legendary leader in the Indian subcontinent considered a champion of democracy.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Collected

After the partition of India in 1947, Bangabandhu was admitted to the University of Dhaka to study law. However, he could not complete his degree while alive as he was expelled from DU in early 1949 for inciting agitation by fourth-class employees to press home their legitimate demands.

Sheikh Mujib was one of the principal organizers behind the formation of the East Pakistan Muslim Students League in 1948. He also played an important role in the Language Movement from behind bars. He was among the first Language Movement detainees on March 11, 1948.

In 1953, he was elected general secretary of the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, subsequently Awami League, a position he held until he became president of the party in 1966.

Rise in politics

Bangabandhu established his full command in the party by using his skills as a magnetic orator and organizer throughout the early 1960s. In 1966, he announced his famous six-point “charter for our survival.”

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s insistence on freedom and equal rights for the people of Bangladesh put him at odds with the Ayub Khan regime, which resorted to once again throwing him in jail in the infamous Agartala conspiracy case.

Instead of discouraging Bangabandhu and his supporters, the controversial case only served to embolden them. Sheikh Mujib’s charisma grew as all of Bangladesh stood together to protest the imprisonment of its leader.

The mass movement, organized mostly by youths, gained such momentum that the Ayub regime withdrew the case in early 1969 in an attempt to avoid civil war. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was unconditionally released on February 22 the same year.

Over half a million people lined up on the road from the airport to Shahbagh to welcome the leader home Mujib100.gov.bd

During a reception organized by Sarbadaliya Chhatra Sangram Parishad at the Ramna Racecourse (now Suhrawardy Udyan) following his release, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was anointed as Bangabandhu by public acclamation.

Struggle for liberation

In 1970, during the first general election of the still-united Pakistan, Bangabandhu was due to be sworn in as supreme leader as his party had secured 167 (including 7 women reserved seats) out of 169 seats in the Pakistan National Assembly for East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

However, the Pakistan leadership was adamant in its refusal to hand over power to him. Tension began to build between Pakistan and Bangladesh, ultimately culminating in the Liberation War of 1971.

In early March 1971, Bangabandhu initiated a non-cooperation movement against the oppression by the rulers in Pakistan. On March 7, he delivered his historic address at the Ramna Race Course which effectively served as an unofficial declaration of independence.

Bangabandhu was again arrested on the night of March 25 and confined at Dhaka Cantonment until he was taken to Pakistan to face charges of sedition and inciting insurrection.

Before his arrest, Bangabandhu sent a wireless message to Chittagong, officially declaring the independence of Bangladesh.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was not released from Pakistani incarceration until after the liberation of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971. He was received with raucous applause and jubilation when he arrived in Dhaka via London on January 10, 1972.

After returning to the country, he headed the first post-liberation government of Bangladesh for just three-and-a-half years. In this time, he made significant progress in the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

Bangabandhu’s time at the pinnacle of the country’s leadership was cut short when a group of disgruntled army officers assassinated him and most of his family on August 15, 1975. The incident remains as one of the darkest chapters in Bangladesh’s history.

Only Bangabandhu’s daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana survived the assassination, as they were abroad at the time.