The road to freedom for the people of Bangladesh was arduous
and tortuous smeared with bloods, toils and sacrifices. In the
contemporary history perhaps no nation paid so dearly as the
people of Bangladesh did for their emancipation.
The sovereign and independent People's Republic
of Bangladesh, as it stands today, is indebted to Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (March 17, 1917 - August 5, 1975) for
his outstanding role. He served as the ethos that shaped a long
chapter of the history and aspirations of his people. He rejuvenated
them with the indomitable and unbending spirit of what he described
as Bengalee Nationalism, charged them with courage, valour,
resilience and unity and triggered off a people's struggle against
the colonial attitude of the Pakistani rulers. His attachment
with his people was deep and abiding. The chronology of the
events of his life was the turning point in the history of the
nation.
He first fought against the British colonial overlords
and then directed his wrath against the then Pakistani neocolonialists.
Stage by stage he prepared his people for their eventual destination.
He was in the forefront of mass movements. From his imprisonment
in 1949 he gave active support to the formation of the first
mass-based opposition political party, the Awami League, under
the leadership of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, which subsequently
spearheaded the struggle for independence. In the 1954 provincial
elections, the Bengalees overwhelmingly voted the Awami League-led
United Front to power. The victory was, however, short-lived.
In order to maintain their sway and dominance, the rulers in
the western wing of Pakistan through coercive means, imposed
military rule in 1958. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and other nationalist
leaders put up stiff resistance against it and were detained
for years together. In 1966 he gave his famous 6-Point Formula
seeking autonomy for East Pakistan. People rallied round him
and a strong mass movement was built up in the country. In a
futile bid to quell the movement, Sheikh Mujib was hauled back
into jail and subsequently a charge of secession and high treason
was brought against him. It was known as the infamous Agartala
Conspiracy Case.
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Sensing the ulterior motive of Pakistani Military Junta
the people stood in defiance and, the mass upsurge that followed
in 1969 under the leadership of Maulana Bhasani washed away
their very edifice. Sheikh Mujib emerged stronger than before
and in the elections of 1970 his party had a landslide victory
capturing 167 out of 169 parliamentary seats in the fray. When
the Pakistani rulers refused to honour the mandate of the people
and transfer power to him as their lawful leader, on March 7,
1971, he asked the people to get ready for the impending independence
struggle. The marauding Pakistani troops cracked down on the
unarmed people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) on the night
of March 25, 1971.
A provisional revolutionary government was formed
on April 17, 1971 in Mujibnagar, the temporary capital, with
Sheikh Mujib as the President in absentia. The people of Bangladesh
organised one of the most effective guerilla wars of modern
time. The nine-month-long liberation war, which cost three million
lives, was the most glorious chapter of gallantry and patriotism
in the long and checkered history of Bangladesh. On December
16, 1971 the war came to a victorious end and independent Bangladesh
was born.
On January 10, 1972 Sheikh Mujib came back to his
jubilant people from Pakistani dungeon. To free his people from
the colonial yoke he spent more than sixteen years of his life
in confinement. Responding to the wishes and aspirations of
his people, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the charge of the new-born
country and directed all his energies towards the reconstruction
and rebuilding of the war-ravaged impoverished country. His
prime goal and long-cherished dream were to restore the legendary
prosperity and glory of Sonar Bangla or the land of gold, as
it was known in the days of yore.
In the early hours of August 15, 1975 Sheikh Mujib
was killed along with his family members except his two daughters
Sheikh Hasina (who was later prime minister of Bangladesh) and
Sheikh Rehana who were then staying abroad.
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