It has been 47 years. Forty seven years since the darkest day in the history of Bangladesh.
It was on this day, on August 15, in 1975, when the Father of the Nation and the orchestrator of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with most of his family, were brutally and mercilessly murdered in cold blood at his residence in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
It is a loss that our nation, despite its incredible turnaround over the past five decades, is still reeling from. It is a loss of incalculable magnitude, one that, despite the years that have passed since, Bangladesh cannot truly recover from.
Bangabandhu’s entire life was dedicated to politics to serve the people better. Throughout his life, from his days as a student leader shaping policy that would become the pillars of our constitution, to his time steering us as a people and instilling belief that we could topple the oppressive regime of the Pakistanis, he always knew what to do and how to do it.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was unshakeable in his quest for justice, despite the insurmountable odds that were always placed before him. Persecution, imprisonment, and even death -- he never feared any of them, and to his last breath, never let any of them deter him from his faith in what was just and what was fair.
For Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his entire approach to his politics and indeed way of life was looking ahead to what could be achieved. In that sense, he was a true visionary if there ever was one. And blessed with the strength of character, ambition, idealism, political acumen, and above all, an unshakeable belief in the people of this country, it should not have been a surprise to anyone that he was able to lead our people to victory, that he was successful in creating Bangladesh.
To say that it is a tragedy that Bangabandhu’s opportunity of shaping Bangladesh as per his values and ideologies for decades since our independence was snatched away by the conspirators would be the grossest understatement. While Bangladesh may have indeed overcome incredible odds to emerge as a successful economy, with many being even more hopeful about its future, there is little doubt that, were Bangabandhu alive to live out his full life and complete his vision for Bangladesh, all our achievements would have happened far sooner.
Nevertheless, it is his values, his policies, his practices that have, even after he was taken away from us in the most gruesome of manners, continued to steer this nation through difficult periods, be they natural calamities or man-made catastrophes. His daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has done a stellar job of embodying her father’s character, and with Vision 2021 helping Bangladesh’s short term goal of becoming a more digital, knowledge-based, middle-income economy, all eyes are now on fulfilling the Sustainable Developed Goals of 2030 and the all-important Vision 2041 in less than two decades.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman may have been taken away from his people, but his extraordinary life and all he stood for left us with invaluable lessons. They are the lessons that are as relevant today as ever, as Bangladesh readies itself to pave the next path on its journey to becoming what Bangabandhu had always aspired his nation to be -- a “Shonar Bangla,” a prosperous, developed, and most importantly, equitable nation, free of poverty, where every Bangladeshi, regardless of religion, race, or creed, would be equal.
This August 15, as we remember the darkest day the Father of the Nation was taken away from us, may we honor his memory by embodying his spirit and his beliefs, and vow to create Shonar Bangla.
