Today marks the 43rd anniversary of the historic Homecoming Day of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
On this day in 1972, Bangabandhu, the architect of the independence of Bangladesh, returned to a newly liberated Bangladesh after nine and a half months of captivity in prison in Pakistan.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at Tejgaon Airport in Dhaka to welcome him back home when the British Airways flight carrying Bangabandhu landed at 1:41pm.
President Mohammad Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages yesterday to mark the day.
The ruling Awami League, its associate bodies, other political parties in the 14-party alliance and different socio-cultural-professional organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day.
Awami League’s programmes is set to start with hoisting the national and party flags at its central office, Bangabandhu Bhaban and offices across the country at 6:30am, and placing wreaths at Bangabandhu’s portrait at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi at 7am.
The party will also hold a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on Monday for the occasion.
In a statement issued yesterday, Syed Ashraful Islam, general secretary of the Awami League and Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, urged the party’s leaders, activists and Bangabandhu’s admirers to take part in the programmes.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also president of the Awami League, will address Monday’s rally as chief guest, which will also be attended by the central leaders of 14-party alliance.
Originally scheduled to take place today, the rally was moved to Monday as to not disrupt the Biswa Ijtema congregation this weekend.
